Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 10:54 AM
Subject: European Parliament Petition 809/2001
Despite the many £millions of
taxpayers money which are being spent on the Law Court "Tribunals",
it is my view (based on what I see as hard evidence) that political-type skulduggery still
appears to be rampant in the Republic of Ireland regarding matters connected with the
protection of the environment.
PLEASE NOTE: I would like to state that I am happy for
members of the Committee on Petitions to print out copies of anything
they wish (anytime) from either of the above two web sites: on the understanding
that such copies are for their own personal use only, and that they will not be
used for financial gain. Also, I hope to have added computer translation
facilities for the most popular of the European languages to all of the relevant pages
before January; and, as you may know, most of the pages which relate to petition
809/2001 already have this facility.
All things considered, it
appears (to me) that the State of the Republic of Ireland is itself acting well
outside the limits of its own written Constitution in regard to a number of
important matters connected with environmental issues. Far more importantly (as
I see it), the State of the Republic of Ireland does not (at the present time) appear to
have what it takes to purge itself of the defects which are sustaining the set
of problems connected with petition 809/2001: even though there appears to be a
legal precedent for doing so. "The
Supreme Court decided in Byrne v Ireland (1972), that the State is a juristic person which
can be sued for the wrongful acts of its public servants." This is a quote from page 9 of the
1999 edition of the book entitled "PRINCIPLES OF IRISH LAW" (5th
edition) by Brian Doolan (who is a barrister, and who lectures in law at
the Dublin Institute of Technology).
PLEASE NOTE: "PRINCIPLES OF IRISH
LAW" is published by Gill & Macmillan ( http://www.gillmacmillan.ie/college/law.htm ); the
ISBN reference number is 0-7171-2839-3; and, as far
as I know, copies are usually available (off-the-shelf) at many of the larger bookshops
here in the Republic of Ireland.
The problems connected with
Petition 809/2001 have been discussed by me with a number of lawyers who
practice here in the Republic of Ireland. Privately (at least), they appear to
believe that the use of the "order of mandamus" legal
procedure would provide a remedy for many (if not all) of the problems: because it can be
used to compel a person, or a body (such as Galway County Council for example), to
perform a legally imposed duty. I understand that President Mary McAleese is a
lawyer, and consequently that she must know about
the order-of-mandamus remedy. (As you may know, the President of the Republic
of Ireland is the overall guardian of the Constitution: with job responsibilities - it
appears to me at least - for ensuring that the State's political-type standards are kept
within reasonable limits.)
PLEASE NOTE: I did consider trying to make use of the
order-of-mandamus remedy myself. As you possibly know, in the Republic of Ireland
the services of three lawyers (one solicitor, and two barristers - one senior and one
junior) are required to initiate the process. However, it quickly became clear to me
that I might have enormous difficulties finding lawyers who were prepared to undertake the
job: even though I had readily available cash to pay for their legal fees, and there was
(and still is) what I regard as irrefutable evidence of raw sewage discharges going
straight into the river in New Inn village within yards of where I live.
Some additional information regarding the eleven law firms I contacted can be seen at:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~williamfinnerty/legal-help.htm
With further reference to
recent comments made by Councillor James Joyce (as related on page 11 of
The Connacht Tribune Newspaper article dated December 14th 2001), I note from
what he has stated that the sewage system in the East Galway town of Eyrecourt
also discharges raw sewage into the local river. The river
in question (called the Eyrecourt river) is a tributary of the River Shannon (which
is Ireland's largest river). I believe the Committee on Petitions
considering Petition 809/2001 should be made aware (without delay) of the fact that this
part of the Shannon (like most other parts) is much used by people such as anglers,
holiday makers, and tourists of all kinds; and that it is just 8 miles or so upstream from the East Galway town of Portumna: which is one of the
main tourist centres on the Shannon. For further information on the tourism
industry in the Portumna area please see:http://www.connoisseurafloat.com/iacontent/en/47.phtml
and / or
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=portumna%2Bholidays&btnG=Google+Search
As you probably know, one of the main problems with raw sewage is that
it can contain many types of disease-causing organisms. These include (for instance)
strains of the bacterium referred to as "E. coli O157:H7".
It has been well known for some considerable time now that E. coli O157:H7 can cause a
variety of very serious medical problems in humans: some of which are life-threatening
(particularly for the very young and the very old). Treatment for the set of
illnesses in question can involve such things as blood transfusions, kidney dialysis,
kidney replacements, and the need to spend a period of time in intensive
care.
It seems to be common knowledge that one
young woman in the village of New Inn has fairly recently had to have a kidney
transplant. It is also the case that at least one elderly person who used to
live in the village of New Inn suddenly took ill some years ago and died from
kidney failure a week or so later. The elderly person in question was my own mother.
In addition, a teenage girl from the parish of Bullaun / New Inn (who used to
work part-time for my brother) had a very close encounter with death a few years ago:
because (I understand) of an e-coli infection.
PLEASE NOTE: There
could have been other similar medical problems around the New Inn (County
Galway) area which I would know nothing about (largely because I have lived most of my
life in places other than Ireland). Also, and allowing for the fact that New Inn has
already hosted a large rubbish dump for a period of 18 years or so (between
1971 to 1989), I would be very interested to know if any attempt is being made by the European
Parliament health authorities to monitor area-patterns of illnesses associated with
water pollution coming from land-fill sites of the kind in question? There is strong
evidence (connected with - among other things - the unlawful destruction of an ancient
Children's Burial Ground), that throughout the 18 year period it was in use, this
particular rubbish dump may have been run in a completely reckless fashion by Galway
County Council.
Further information regarding E.
coli O157:H7 can be seen at:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ecoli.html
and / or at
http://www.google.com/search?q=E.+coli+0157%3AH7&btnG=Google+Search
I have made numerous attempts to bring the matter
of the raw sewage discharges into the river in New Inn village to the attention of
the medical authorities here in the Republic of Ireland. For example, I pointed it
out to the Minister for Health Mr. Micheal Martin T.D. in a letter to him
dated July 27th 2000. For a variety of reasons, copies of this particular
letter were also sent to the following three people:
a) Dr. Anne Jeffers (Consultant Psychiatrist,
Western Health Board),
b) Dr. Sheila Ryan (Chief Executive Officer of the
Western health Board),
and
c) Mr. Kenneth Murphy (Director General of The Law Society of Ireland).
Scanned copies of the Post Office receipts for the four
registered letters in question can be seen at:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~williamfinnerty/post-moh.htm
PLEASE NOTE: Although some alterations were made around the
area of the bridge in New Inn village six months or so ago, the several sewage
discharges still go straight into the river; and the odours from the Primary
School sewage system are still present. Some photographic evidence can be seen at:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~williamfinnerty/environment.htm
In so far as I can judge, the
ongoing difficulties outlined in Petition 809/2001 are not the consequence of government
money shortages of any kind. Media reports suggest that a considerable amount of
cabinet discussion time is now being spent on matters relating to a sports
complex which it is estimated could (if it goes ahead) cost something in the
region of £550 million. It is to be located somewhere in or
around Prime Minister Ahern's own electoral constituency area in the
Dublin region. In connection with this project, at least one senior cabinet minister
now appears to be having major doubts (relating to "priority"
considerations, it seems). Nevertheless, the following quote has appeared in the December
17th 2001 edition of The Irish Independent Newspaper: ' Mr Ahern said only
last week that he remained "as committed as ever" to the Abbotstown complex.'
Further information can be found at:
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=657930&issue_id=6563
There are a number of other reports in circulation here
concerning allegations and complaints (being made by politicians other
than Councillor James Joyce) that government ministers are spending money
(intended for the country as a whole) in a disproportionate way: which is heavily biased
in favour of their own electoral constituencies. If true, this is done presumably
(?) for the purpose of boosting re-election chances: and/or furthering
their own political ambitions perhaps(?). As an example of the kind of report I
have in mind, the November 30th 2001 edition of The Irish Times Newspaper carries
an article (on page 14 of the Features section) which states that £6.5 million has
recently been spent on a new music centre "in the heart of the constituency
of Sile de Valera, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands".
As far as I know, it is the case that nothing remotely
resembling that kind of £6.5 million sum has been spent on any one particular heritage
project in the East Galway area during Ms Sile de Valera's term in office as Heritage
Minister. I do know though that there is still no sign (that I know of) of
any money being spent on certain important and needy heritage sites in
the parish of Bullaun & New Inn. Woodlawn House (for
example) is literally falling to pieces at the present time - even though the site
was visited by an architect from The Heritage Council (on October 18th
2001) who expressed the view that the building was definitely worth saving. Further
information can be found at:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~williamfinnerty/wh/pr2.htm
The world famous Turoe Stone is also
located in the parish of Bullaun & New Inn. For various reasons this
priceless item of Celtic heritage - which is well known to have close links with the La Tène area
of Switzerland (right in heart of mainland Europe), and which is
thought to be somewhere in the region of 2,000 years old, has been struggling (by itself)
for some time now to retain its shape and general appearance. Help has been sought;
but, no help seems to be forthcoming: even though the matter was brought to the attention
of both Heritage Minister Sile de Valera herself, and the then Junior Minister for
Heritage Mr. Éamon Ó Cuív, over two years ago.
More detailed information can be found at:
http://homepage.eircom.net/~williamfinnerty/protest/nov21_stone.htm
With due regard
for the information I have provided above (and elsewhere in earlier
correspondence), it seems to me that many ordinary citizens (including myself)
are systematically and blatantly being deprived of some of the most basic
environmental protections provided for us in law: for no good reason
that I know of.
As I see it, a person's local environment is by far the most important asset that they
have; and consequently I take these matters extremely seriously: as I hope the
Committee on Petitions will when they start to examine petition 809/2001 in January.
I fully realise (and accept) that, in the interests of fairness, the European
Parliament will now require a reasonable amount of time to consider this and earlier
information I have provided in connection with petition 809/2001. At the
same time though, I do hope that there will not be any undue delay. In
connection with this point, I feel that the petition 809/2001 type difficulties I have
been struggling with during the past few years have been ignored by a lot of people - some
of whom are being very well paid from taxpayers money - who (in my view) should know
better. Regardless of whether such feelings are justified or not, it is
nevertheless the case that throughout this lengthy period I have often felt as though
I am being subjected to some form of very ugly and very potent psychological
violence: which possibly has no limits attached to it.
There is also of course the matter of the stress and strain connected with
my financial expenses: which, apart from a sum of £2,300 donated by my
brother in the early stages of this long drawn out saga, have all had to come
from my own personal savings. These financial reserves are much depleted
now: as are my emotional reserves.
Allowing for the contents of the two paragraphs immediately above, it would be very
much appreciated if you and your colleagues would please consider forwarding this
e-mail to the members of the Committee on Petitions BEFORE they
start their work on petition 809/2001 in January. Later today, I intend to send a
copy of this e-mail to you through the registered post (which I will sign).
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your colleagues at the European
Parliament for all of your help to date in connection with petition 809/2001.
I would also of course like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas.
Sincerely.
Mr. William Finnerty.
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E-MAIL: wfinnerty@eircom.net
WEB SITE: http://homepage.eircom.net/~williamfinnerty/
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Printed copies of the above e-mail were
also sent on December 21st 2001 through the registered post to the three people shown
below:
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