| Burren rescue plans are revealed
THE Heritage Council in Ireland has called for a national landscape management
plan for the Burren in Co. Clare after a report found that the region
is seriously under threat from scrub overgrowth which is destroying the
habitats of rare flowers and plants.
Carried out in conjunction with the BurrenLIFE project the report found
that the natural and archaeological heritage in the Burren is far richer
than previously understood.
But it is under threat from ad hoc changes such as reduced cattle grazing
and farming activity which have allowed scrub to grow unchecked.
Covering over 600 km the Burren is one of Ireland’s main tourist
attractions as well as being one of the country’s most important
heritage assets.
Heritage Council chief executive Michael Starrett said urgent action needs
to be taken to manage required changes.
He said: “This approach is vital for our economy, quality of life
and environment and we strongly recommend that urgent steps are taken.”
air fare rip-off
AIRLINE passengers can pay almost 32 per cent more in compulsory taxes,
fees and surcharges on air fares depending on which airline they choose.
Passengers on all flights have to pay the levies on top of the standard
fare and optional extras to cover government taxes, airport fees and landing
charges.
But passengers flying to the same destination on rival airlines can end
up being charged up to £10 more for taxes, fees and charges on one
plane than on the other.
An investigation of seven of the most-popular routes from Ireland to Europe
revealed significant discrepancies in compulsory passenger fees of up
to 31.9 per cent.
child food poverty
IRELAND is one of the wealthiest nations in the world but 15 per cent
of children are experiencing “food poverty” due to parents
being too busy to provide proper meals.
A new report has found that children from middle-class families are suffering
while 16 per cent of all Irish children under the age of 18 have no food
available to them when they are hungry.
The report by the Department of Health Promotion found that 15 per cent
of 8,424 children in Ireland aged between 10 and 17 from both private
and public schools suffered from food poverty while the figure for all
affected children under 18 years was 16 per cent.
Report author Dr Michael Molcho said that the findings of the study raised
“serious cultural issues” with parents being either too busy
or not having the will to provide adequate amounts of good food for their
children.
Ireland was placed 12th in the table with Portugal reporting lowest levels
of food poverty at 5 per cent. |
