‘A clear setback’: More drivers speeding in Ottawa with photo radar gone, city says - Ottawa | Globalnews.ca The City of Ottawa says more drivers are speeding in school zones five months after the Ontario government shut off automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras.

Three months after Ottawa removed its automatic safety cameras, the share of drivers following the speed limit plunged from 87% to 41%(!). "High-end speeding" is up 10x.

Automatic enforcement saves lives. If you remove it, people will die.

Tractor Runs A protest about fuel that reveals a deeper failure of resilience

Tractors on streets aren’t just about fuel prices; they’re also another warning.

We’ve built a food and transport system that can’t function without fossil fuels. When prices spike, it’s not inconvenient; it’s existential.

Aislínn Kelly sees the bigger picture.

open.substack.com/pub/aislinna...

Motorist travelling 138kmh in 50kmh zone in Tipperary, as over 3,000 caught speeding and 138 driving under influence in past four days Nearly 140 people were arrested for driving under the influence during the first four days of a Garda Roads Policing Operation over Easter weekend.

But high vis will protect us from this, right? Right??

- Nearly 140 people were arrested for driving under the influence
-3,000 drivers detected for speeding
-Over 310 people have been detected holding a mobile phone or not wearing a seatbelt

m.independent.ie/irish-news/m...

Is the Emissions Glass Half Full or Half Empty? Emeritus Professor John Sweeney, Irish Climate Analysis and Research UnitS (ICARUS), Maynooth University writes that while optimistic noises may be made about our progress in limiting emissions, the u...

While optimistic noises may be made about our progress in limiting emissions, the underlying problem is not being tackled by effective policy measures.

While our EU partners have achieved average emission reductions of 40% since 1990, we have managed a measly 5%.

www.antaisce.org/news/is-the-...

So much for the "narrow interests" which the government says use judicial review.

When they went out and asked people what they thought 1,470 asked for Access to Justice to be upheld, only 30 sided with the government

So which interest is the "narrow interest"?

Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly Infographic - pre-draft public consultation.

The Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly has published a Strategic Issues Paper to support engagement with pre-draft public consultation for the review of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy.

consult.emra.ie/en/consultat...

Open until 5 pm, Friday, 22 May 2026.

@emrassembly.bsky.social

The wind from the West is a pest,
The wind from the East is a beast,
The wind from the South is a pain in the mouth,
But the wind from the north is the very worst sort!

A day for warm coats.

Main Street, Clane, before St Patrick's Day Parade, 2026. Calm!

Happy St Patrick's Day from #Clane. Taking in some of the relative calm ahead of the crowds that will cheer on the paraders.

Alexandra Bridge (1864), Clane over the high flows on the River Liffey.

While water levels are high in Clane, updated public data on the ESB-managed levels is limited.

esb.ie/what-we-do/g...

Commuters disrupted as north Dublin hit by heavy rain Follow developments as flooding is being reported in parts of the capital, with north Dublin particularly impacted.

By lifting the Dublin Airport passenger cap, delaying funding for public transport that has planning permission and opening the door to commercial LNG, Minister @darraghobrientd.bsky.social's message to his constituents seems to be: prepare for much more climate chaos.
www.rte.ie/news/2026/02...

Oisin Coghlan (@oisincoghlan) By lifting the Dublin Airport passenger cap, delaying funding for public transport that has planning permission and opening the door to commercial LNG imports and rising fossil gas use, Minister Darra...

The paradox of the climate policies being agreed by the Irish government is succinctly put by
@oisinc.bsky.social on his Subtack.

substack.com/@oisincoghla...

"We're for the jobs the comet will bring..." #DontLookUp

Department of Transport u-turns on mandatory helmets and high-vis for cyclists Mandatory helmets and high-vis for cyclists are now not being looked at by the Government, the Department of Transport has confirmed. The introduction of mandatory Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for bicycle users is "outside the scope of the current measures" being looked at by the Government, a Department of Transport spokesperson has said this afternoon. The Department issued what it terms a 'clarification' about 24 hours after it said that bicycles were included in a move to make helmets and high-vis mandatory for e-, and hours after the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, contradicted the Department's statement from yesterday.

Department of Transport u-turns on mandatory helmets and high-vis for cyclists

Mandatory helmets and high-vis for cyclists are now not being looked at by the Government, the Department of Transport has confirmed. The introduction of mandatory Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for bicycle users…

Department of Transport u-turns on mandatory helmets and high-vis for cyclists Mandatory helmets and high-vis for cyclists are now not being looked at by the Government, the Department of Transport has confirmed. The introduction of mandatory Personal Protective Equipment (PP…

Compulsory reading... but with a trigger warning... pull on a helmet.

irishcycle.com/2026/02/05/d...

Primary school forced to close despite warning six months earlier of fire safety problems Department of Education ‘suddenly very forthcoming once closure happened’

Primary school forced to close despite warning six months earlier of fire safety problems

www.irishtimes.com/ireland/educ...

ESB issues flood warning for Newbridge and Clane as it may empty excess water from Poulaphouca reservoir ESB has said that it may need to allow some water to “pass through” from the Poulaphouca reservoir due to its “limited” storage, placing the towns of Clane and Newbridge under direct flood threat.

Keith Kelly, Irish Independent, was in contact about possible surges in of ESB managed Liffey water levels for Newbridge and Clane, as they deal with excess water in Blessington Lake.

www.independent.ie/irish-news/e...

esb.ie/news---insig...

Water levels at the pedestrian bridge over the stream confluence with the Liffey, Clane.

Alexandra Bridge (1864), Clane, and high flow water levels as the ESB work to drain the saturated upper catchment centred on Blessington Lakes.

Posting a record of the water level of the Liffey, Clane, at 10:30 am, Saturday, 31 January... similar to levels last witnessed in late 2009.

Security, Urgency, and Power: What is the Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve Bill up to? The Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve Bill uses urgency to bypass scrutiny, climate law, and public participation. Make your submission!

padraigmcevoy.substack.com/p/security-u...

The Bill is still at pre-legislative stage, and it can be fixed.

A clear solution exists:
• retain the Climate Act consistency duty
• remove legislative “deeming” of compliance
• require climate compatibility to be assessed, not asserted

Submissions to the Oireachtas committee are still open.

That replaces demonstrated compliance — assessed with evidence and public participation — with assertion.

It shifts climate law from a binding safeguard to a matter of discretion, increasing legal risk and weakening accountability at exactly the point where scrutiny matters most.

A key issue in the Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve Bill is how it weakens Ireland’s Climate Act.

The Bill would require decision-makers to act consistently with climate plans only “to the extent they consider practicable”, and then deem climate compliance in advance.

Ireland's dangerous roads: When cars come first, everyone loses Sadhbh O’ Neill says that the reduction of road deaths in Ireland is being strangled by a lack of political courage.

Ireland's dangerous roads: When cars come first, everyone loses.

High volumes, high speeds and lack of progress in safe road design cost lives.

Other countries fixed this by prioritising safety.

jrnl.ie/6933338

Delaying the 2026 Climate Action Plan is deeply concerning. Efforts are already way off-track & the CAP is the main tool for closing the delivery gap this decade. Saying we must wait for post-2030 carbon budgets is conceptually backwards - delay now makes future targets harder and more expensive.

Climate tipping point will be reached by the end of this decade, Copernicus institute warns 2025 was the third warmest year on record

In Irish terms, climate tipping point will be reached by the end of this government. #speirgorm
www.thejournal.ie/climate-tipp...

The climate stripes graphic in a colour scale from blue towards red to depict the rise in average annual temperatures.

Earth's third-warmest year on record has earned another dark red stripe in the climate stripes graphic, highlighting continued and unprecedented global heating.

The Journal Investigates: Where are all the data centres and why should you care?

As of June 2025, there are 89 data centres in Ireland, all of which have been mapped by The Journal Investigates here: investigates.thejournal.ie/data-centres

I Wanted to Understand How Environmental Court Cases Actually Work in Ireland. This Is What I Found. There’s been a lot of noise recently about environmental court cases in Ireland, particularly planning cases, and what role they play in housing and infrastructure delivery.

padraigmcevoy.substack.com/p/i-wanted-t...

I tried to understand how environmental court cases actually work as a system in Ireland: how cost rules shape behaviour, who can realistically use the courts, and why Aarhus/EU access-to-justice rules exist as legal obligations, not optional preferences.