Environment Ireland Conference:THE CHAIRMAN of An Bord Pleanála, John O'Connor, has said the planning system's resources need to be refocused to encourage public good "rather than vested interests, special pleading and expediency".
Addressing the Environment Ireland conference in Croke Park yesterday, Mr O'Connor contended that planning authorities need to develop coherent development plans and clear policies. He emphasised that those authorities "must adhere to their own development plans". "There is a need to rationalise local planning administration, as currently there are over 90 local planning authorities," he said.
In relation to possible changes in the climate, he expressed the view that planning must take cognisance of water needs, especially if there are shortages in the future.
"The extent of the availability of water resources for future development is something that we have not thought about in the past. We will have to think about it.
"Planning in the past was too lax in dealing with the issue of pollution. I am concerned about the number of septic tanks that are being installed around the country. Water degradation and pollution is something that planners will have to take much more seriously in the future."
Later, Tony Keohane, chief executive of Tesco Ireland, disclosed it had become the first of the major supermarkets to introduce carbon labelling to its own-brand foodstuffs.
Mr Keohane said nine of its products - ranging from orange juice to washing detergent - would contain information on the packaging about its carbon footprint.
The Tesco own-brand concentrated orange juice contains 260g of carbon dioxide equivalent per 250ml serving, compared to 360g for 100 per cent pure-squeezed orange juice. The labelling explains that this is so "because more energy is required to chill and transport 100 per cent pure juice than concentrated juice".
Mr Keohane said the labelling was part of an effort by Tesco to become a more environmentally sustainable business. It has set itself targets of reducing its carbon footprint by half by 2020, recycling 100 per cent of its waste within two years and reducing its own-brand packaging by a quarter by 2010. The retailer will invest €30 million into energy efficiency over five years.
Next month, Tesco opens its first eco-store in Ireland in Tramore, Co Waterford, which uses renewable and alternative energies and energy-efficient technologies for its ovens, refrigeration, air conditioning and lighting.
Mary Kelly, chief executive of the Environmental Protection Agency, said Ireland's climate change targets for 2020 represented a huge challenge.
"The only way to meet those targets is by radical change. Incremental change is not going to do it," she said.
