Protecting cultural heritage, clean water & biodiversity.
In the News…
Irish Times
Sept 26, 2024
“If the unholy alliance of farm bodies and industry is successful in its lobbying, the price will be our rivers and lakes
When a tribunal of inquiry is eventually set up, hopefully it will ask the right questions this time”
Sadhbh O'Neill
Irish Examiner
Aug 22, 2024
“Save our rivers: Anglers and allotment holders work together to defend the Boyne
The Boyne Rivers Trust, along with anglers and growers, are taking an active role to help reverse decades of damage on the catchment, and build a sustainable future for the historic river”
Ellie O’Byrne
Boyne Vision Project
In 2023, Boyne Rivers Trust, Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), Development Perspectives and the Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies carried out consultations for the future of the Boyne.
007 is on the case!
Pierce Brosnan lends his voice to Save the Boyne
“I grew up on the banks of the River Boyne where it meets the Blackwater. It is one of the most beautiful rivers in Ireland and should be nurtured and cultivated as a sentient being of history, beauty and life-force of nature.”
Watch Video Now ➡️
PRESS RELEASE from SAVE THE BOYNE GROUP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 17, 2023
Save The Boyne Group
A recent judicial ruling against Dawn Meats on 25 counts on May 15th at Waterford district court found Dawn Meats Guilty of offences including:
Exceeding emissions for oils, fats and greases.
Exceeding emissions limit for suspended solids
Exceeding limit value for Ammonia
For supplying the EPA with information which was false and misleading, and declarations given that information was truthful and accurate.
The 75,000 euro fine a mere 3, 000 euro for each count is of little cost to this multi-national enterprise.
Save the Boyne group calls for a full review of all information supplied by Dawn Meats to MCC and ABP.
Save the Boyne Group calls upon Dawn Meats to withdraw its proposal for waste to Boyne.
Save The Boyne Group asks for this issue to be raised on all platforms by all who are concerned.
We also call upon our political representatives to place their views on record within the Chamber and news platforms.
This information calls into question the granting of this licence to Dawn meats. It also reinforces the views of all the people involved in this campaign to Stop Dawn Meats.
EPA prosecutes Dawn Meats Ireland Unlimited Company (P0179-01)
Hearing Date: May 15, 2023
On 15th of May 2023, at Waterford District Court, the Environmental Protection Agency prosecuted Dawn Meats Ireland Unlimited Company (P0179-01) for breaching conditions of their IE Licence.
Visit the STB Media page for the latest info:
Boyne Task Force Bill
Planning and Development Bill
Groundwater Abstraction and EU Court Case
EcoEye - Final Episode “Troubled Waters”
A big thank you to Eco Eye for focusing their final episode of a legendary 21 year run on the urgency of protecting Irish waters and implementing the guidelines of the Water Framework Directive to restore water quality and protect biodiversity for generations to come.
“NEW VISION FOR THE BOYNE NEEDED”
Calls for a new Task Force for coordinated multi-stakeholder implementation of appropriate environmental law. November 2022
“We need a single statutory taskforce to bring together all those interested in protecting the Boyne River”, said Labour Cllr Elaine McGinty.
She was speaking after her motion to Meath County Council was unanimously passed. The motion proposed the creation of a single statutory taskforce to bring all the stakeholders together with the common goal of protecting and enhancing the river.
She said:
“We need a new vision to protect and enshrine the future of the River Boyne. This Taskforce would co-ordinate the efforts of four separate councils, regulators, government, Irish Water, landowners, NGOs and community activists”.
Cllr McGinty said:
“Over the last year I have worked with Save the Boyne campaigners, from all walks of life, to identify how we can improve the water quality and biodiversity of the river. I have listened carefully to those who live, work and depend on this river every day.
“Nobody I have met needs any more data from scientists, we have all seen with our own eyes the deterioration in the water quality of the Boyne.
“The EPA are not mincing their words when they say that the quality of the water in the Boyne and our rivers nationally is not good enough. We know that our winters are wetter, our summers are dryer, it’s the middle of November and it’s too warm for a coat. There can be no further delay - we have to adapt and fast.
“This means that all our wastewater treatment plants that feed into the Boyne must be reviewed and upgraded at a minimum. We need to look at the new reality of what exactly this river can handle or assimilate to quote science, so that we do not destroy it.
“We need to legislate, plan and, more importantly, act for the here and now and not base any future planning applications on past data. We need our pollution standards and water directives to be implemented.
“This motion is about saving the river from us, our generation, and ultimately preserving it for future generations.
“The motion is asking the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to consider establishing a statutory River Boyne Taskforce charged with preserving for future generations the distinctive character of The River Boyne, its ecology and biodiversity.
The Taskforce I am proposing will co-ordinate the efforts of four separate councils, regulators, government, Irish Water, landowners, NGOs and community activists.
“We need to act now and lead in our fight against climate change, this river is not a resource with unlimited capacity, and we need to stop treating it so. My proposal is a necessary first step to change how we treat The River Boyne and realise its remarkable potential.”
Council and EPA need to use legislation to save the Boyne - McGinty -
Drogheda Life | Oct 4, 2022
Councillor McGinty said that water quality in Meath, and in particular The River Boyne, is going in the wrong direction and added that the Dawn Meats planning application has been a catalyst for change in how we as a community value and protect this river for future generations.
“We now have clarity from the Minister on the legislation however, Ireland’s performance against European Union Water Framework Standards is worrying. The EPA have acknowledged that the quality of water in many Irish rivers, lakes and estuaries is unacceptably poor. While there is an active plan on river basin management in place to help address these issues, we urgently need to resource, implement and effectively enforce the laws we have.
“We currently have no rivers in County Meath classed as pristine or high standard and only 18% are classed as good which is a fall from 45% in 2007. We also know from data recently provided by the EPA that water levels in The River Boyne dropped by c. 20% in July and August this year alone.
In order to Save The Boyne, Meath County Council and the EPA need to look at their own data on The River Boyne and effectively implement the legislation it has at its disposal.
Councillor Elaine McGinty
***APPEAL UPDATE***
An Bord Pleanála notified observers and appellants that they would be unable to come to a conclusion about the Boyne case by their projected outcome date of September 19, 2022 due to a large volume of planning applications in review. They then projected forward to December, 2022. No decision has yet been made.
Prior to the 19th September Save the Boyne submitted new information to ABP regarding Dawn Meats EIAR. New information was provided by Irish Water confirming that Dawn Meats has been tankering its wastewater exclusively to Drogheda, Marsh Road WWTP facility. This would be inconsistent with previous information submitted to Meath County Council by Dawn Meats in which they claimed to be tankering waste to Ringsend Dublin and or Navan.
ABP refused to accept the new information provided by Save the Boyne in spite of providing evidence of misinformation on the company’s Environmental Impact Assessment Report in which they claimed best practice and a greater ‘sustainability’ for this proposal by elimination of the risk during tankering to Dublin.
_________________________________________
On June 29th, An Bord Pleanála asked Dawn Meats to post new public notices following appropriate guidelines.
The GOOD NEWS is -
ANYONE could submit an OBSERVATION on the APPEAL PROCESS to Save the Boyne until AUGUST 15, 2022 to An Bord Pleanála
First time Observers - 50 Euro fee.
If you have submitted and earlier Observation on this appeal , there is no additional fee.
Check your eligibility and submit online at: TAKE PART - OBSERVATIONS
Feel free to contact us at Save the Boyne with any questions or concerns at rise@savetheboyne.org
PLEASE SHARE OUR SITE!
Save The Boyne
Decision by ABP Not to hold oral hearing.
ABP states that it is at their discretion whether or not to hold a oral hearing. Those who made submissions were charged 50 euro for this request each. ABP states. that it believes it has enough information in the submissions and observations to continue the decision making process behind closed doors.
What ABP do not understand is that not only is this an issue of local and National importance which could an impact for generations to come, it is an issue of transparency. ABP need to understand that the decision making process and the evidence needs to be aired in public. This will allow for some transparency in the decision making process. More importantly it will allow scrutiny by the public, environmentalists, politicians and those whose lives may be impacted by the decision of ABP. To dismiss the request for appeal on grounds cited by ABP is not only insulting to the many hundreds of households who placed objections with MCC but also to those who have rallied behind the Save the Boyne Group and have made their views and voices heard on the streets, social media and the riverbanks.
There is many aspects of the campaign against the Dawn Meats proposal which cannot be conveyed in submissions or observations. An oral hearing would have permitted those who know and understand the river Boyne to have their voices heard. Locals and river users can see the change in the water levels over the past few weeks, particularly below the proposed discharge point.
The people of Louth – Meath have been poorly served by the planning Department in MCC to allow this to go forward. Again the people of Louth – Meath have been denied transparency and an opportunity to make their views known.
Save The Boyne requests that ABP reverse its decision and allow for disclosure in a public forum. What have they to lose or more importantly what do they fear?
Tommy Martin
Save The Boyne Group
Save the Boyne and Save Our Irish Waters team up for Water Heritage Day 2022 for
‘A Day in the Life…” showing our appreciation for Our Irish Waters.
Check out the campaign!
"Go with the Flow" is part of a series of awareness raising protest walks, to preserve and improve the water quality of Ireland's rivers.
Feel free to join "the flow" at your own pace and ease of location.
“The Boyne is not for profit. This is our river. It does not belong to profits or industry, it belongs to us, our children and the people of Ireland.”
— Tommy Martin, Save the Boyne
What do we know?
The EPA Current Assessment Scorecard for Water: “Overall, current assessment is poor. Trends are mixed with serious declines in pristine river sites. Just over 50% of surface water is in a satisfactory ecological condition. This means that almost half fails to meet the legal requirements of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). There have been deteriorating water quality trends over the past 20 years, especially for rivers…”
"Nearly half of the surface waters in Ireland are failing to meet the legally binding water quality objectives set by the EU Water Framework Directive because of pollution and other human disturbance."
"The ecological status indicates whether a water body is being damaged by pollution, water abstraction or habitat degradation. Waters at high and good ecological status show only minor or slight changes from natural conditions, whereas waters at less than good status (i.e. moderate, poor or bad) are moderately to severely damaged by pollution or habitat degradation. Assessing the ecological status of water bodies helps guide the identification of appropriate management measures for their protection and restoration.”
EU Water Framework Directive requires achieving ‘good’ or ‘high’ quality water status across Ireland no later than 2027 and requires preventing further deterioration of current water quality standards. River Basin Management Plans and River Trusts have been established across the country to help achieve these goals.
We have a matter of weeks to assess the new information and make our responses to the council. There was a beautiful coming together of energies and expertise for the last round of submissions - we need to galvanize that again to study the new information, do our research, have conversations about it and submit our responses to the council to protect our river system.
Share with your networks who are working to protect our water ways and rivers around the world. When we help one, we help them all.
And stay tuned for developments. #SavetheBoyne
míle buíochas
Is Mise Boann
Take Action
CALL TO ACTION!
A planning application for a 7.2 km pipeline to discharge 400,000 litres of treated wastewater per day into the Boyne River is in its next round of review.
The new objections submission deadline is April 7th!
Let’s Save the Boyne
Ways to Support Saving the Boyne:
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Help with the review of Further Information including the ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT (EIAR) and file an objection.
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Raise awareness locally and on social media platforms! The river needs us to be her voice. Bring other individuals and organizations to the conversation. Let your elected officials know to amplify your voice clearly in support of improving water quality - not endangering it.
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Artists! Poets! Storytellers! Send us your work inspired the Boyne!
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File an Objection
Who can appeal?
Those who made an observation or submission to the planning authority on an application, and you now want to appeal the decision of the planning authority.
How to Comment on an Application
If you want to make an observation on a planning appeal which is currently with An Bord Pleanála. Fee €50 (Pay in person or by mail.)
You can learn more at the ABP Website or contact Save the Boyne directly to figure out the best way to make your voice heard.
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Outreach
Follow and share on social media!
Contact local politicians, TDs and MAPS ask them what are they doing to prevent this.
Appeal to those with knowledge on planning and / or the environment. Invite them to assess or advise the assessment process.
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Imbas
Please enjoy our growing gallery of poetry, music and art connected to the Boyne! Fall in love with the River… we protect what we love!
Maybe you would like to share with us your work inspired by the Boyne?
Join Is Míse Boann and others as we vision and create in honor of the story of the Goddess Boann and her life as the River Boyne.