Windfarms in Irleand.

In a recent flyer from the protest group Anglesey against wind turbines they claim:

"Similar developments in Scotland and Ireland have permanently damaged their tourist industry."

I have posted before about the impact of wind farms on tourism in Scotland, see Wind farms and tourism 'compatible'.

But what about Ireland?

Research in 2008 undertaken by Lansdowne Market Research which involved face-to face interviews with 1,300 tourists, both domestic (25%) and overseas (75%) (1,000 in the Republic; 300 in Northern Ireland, for Fáilte Ireland’s Environment Unit says in summary:

Almost three quarters of respondents claim that potentially greater numbers of wind farms would either have no impact on their likelihood to visit or have a strong or fairly strong positive impact on future visits to the island of Ireland.

Of those who feel that a potentially greater number of wind farms would positively impact on their likelihood to visit, the key driver is their support for renewable energy and potential decreased carbon emissions. Those who are negatively disposed are more likely to cite that wind farms look ugly, are noisy and can frighten or damage wildlife. A small number also claim they have preference for other forms of renewable energy.

In terms of the size and composition of wind farms, tourists tended to prefer farms containing fewer turbines. If both produced the same amount of electricity, tourists also preferred wind farms containing a small group of large turbines (55%) to a large group of smaller turbines (18%).

You can download the leaflet from Fáilte Ireland’s Environment Unit.

Travellers have basic human rights too.

It may seem a long time ago, but I still think that the way the travellers at Dale Farm were treated was wrong.

Recently Dale Farm has been back in the headlines with some of the families moving back onto the access roads. See BBC News Jail threat over travellers' return to Dale Farm

One of the arguments against the extension to the existing lawful travellers site was that it was development in open countryside, although how a former industrial site at the location it is, with it seems much industrial units and housing in the vicinity, can be described as open countryside is beyond me. Have a look yourself on Google Maps.

And this is how Basildon Council saw fit to leave the a site in "open countryside" after the evicitions:

Now isn't that a nice view for the existing travellers living in the lawful site to wake up to every morning.

Sadly it seems discrimination against travellers is also a problem in Ireland as highlighted in this excellent programme by Vincent Brown

Tonight with Vincent Browne

For a refreshing and intelligent political debate can I suggest you forget the BBC and consider instead a nightly program from Ireland that is Tonight with Vincent Browne

From the website:Vincent Browne has been in journalism since 1968.

He was Northern News Editor of The Irish Press group 1970-'72, with Independent Newspapers from 1973 to 1977.

He founded and launched Magill magazine in 1977. Vincent was Editor of The Sunday Tribune from 1983 to 1994.

He is a columnist with The Irish Times and The Sunday Business Post.

He broadcast on RTE radio from 1996 to 2007.

He was editor and publisher of Village magazine and is writing a biography of Charles Haughey.

Vincent is married to Jean Learmond and they have two children, Emma and Julia.

Hat Tip: Golem XIV - Thoughts

External debt and Ireland

The near collapse of the Irish economy should be an important lesson to us in the UK. The main reason for the Irish crisis was not the level of public debt alone. Irelands public debt in 2009 was $42 billion or 57.7% of GDP, ranked 36 in the world. In comparison UK public debt in 2009 was 68.10% of GDP, 22 in world ranking.

Irelands biggest problem it seems, is the total level of its external debts. External debt (or foreign debt) is that part of the total debt in a country that is owed to creditors outside the country. The debtors can be the government, corporations or private households. The debt includes money owed to private commercial banks, other governments, or international financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank.

In 2009 Irelands external debts stood at a stagering $2,287,000,000,000, or 1004% of GDP, or $515,671 for every Irish citizen. This together with other factors bought about a lack of confidence in Irelands ability to service its debts; hence lowering its credit rating and increasing the cost of borrowing money.

We should not be complacent either, our external debts in 2009 according to the CIA stood at $9,088,000,000,000, or 416% of GDP or $147,060 per capita. We are ranked fifth in the world (external debt as a percentage of GDP).

The importance of Europe

Ireland has big problems. The Irish government’s decision to guarantee all investments in Irish banks, is looking less of a good idea than it was at the time. Ireland is in recession and things could be worse without a bailout from Europe.

Some in the UK query why should we; whom are facing harsh austerity measures ourselves, provide financial aid to Ireland?

It is important we do for various reasons. The UK is Ireland’s second largest trading partner behind the USA. Our banks have lent Ireland a substancial amount; RBS and Lloyds alone have total loans of £80 billion to Irish customers, of which £28 billion is in mortgages (source The Times).

If Ireland crashes, then other countries within the euro zone may follow suit. Portugal and Spain in example, both like Ireland have seen a property market collapse. This cannot be good for the stability of the European Union.

The EU is our biggest trading partner; in September 2010, our total value in goods exported to the EU was £11.8 billion in comparison to £10.9 billion for non EU Countries (Source ONS and uktradeinfo). True there are other developing markets China and India, but it will take time and they will not overnight replace any trade lost with Europe as a whole being in recession.

Least of all but still important, an Ireland economy in free fall would be very bad news for the economy of Anglesey.