Open letter to
Mr John Gormley
Party Leader of Comhaontas Glas
Minister for Environment
Dáil Éireann
Dublin 2
10/12/2009
A chara,
About two months ago I wrote a letter to you in which I explained the precarious situation in terms of recycling here in Donegal. The vast majority of the people of Inishowen is very unhappy with the charges on goods returned to the recycling facilities introduced this year. Recycling in this county now costs the consumer the same price as waste just ending up on landfill.
The county management ignores the will of the majority of the people and does not hesitate to colour and tell lies about the waste and recycling management in Donegal. I explained you all that. But despite promises of your secretaries to reply me soon, I have not received any answer from you.
Our waste management does not seem to interest our Minister for Environment.
You also seem not to care that Moville (Inishowen) plans a sewage pipe, which would be releasing untreated waste water directly into the Foyle River, where the tide will drag the slops as far as to the City of Derry.
The disastrous planning situation in Donegal does not seem to interest you. You have never shown any support for our Green town councillors in Letterkenny, where it was only about implementing already existing planning regulations.
Donegal has been left alone with their problems by the leadership of Comhaontas Glas.
Nevertheless, when it came to the disassociation of the Donegal Greens from Comhaontas Glas, you found your time to write two e-mails and two letters to our members within one week, quoting this disassociation would have been not valid, again ignoring the will of the majority of our members. Not to mention a letter with your personal invitation for a Christmas Dáil Dinner, which we received in November.
You could hardly demonstrate us more ignorance!
In national politics, you arranged that Comhaontas Glas is now the only party in Ireland where the members voted in favour for the National Assets Management Agency (NAMA), if we can believe the National Executive Committee of that party.
NAMA is extraordinarily in contradiction to Green basic principles, which favours a balanced and sustainable system of production and utilisation of resources. A system that balances the rate of natural resource consumption with the rate of natural resource production and a system that keeps account of TRUE profits and costs. Green task is to transform into reality our vision that we believe will ensure the continued viability of life on this planet. NAMA just sells out the future of our children!
Also determined in the Green Principles is that "All political, social and economic decisions should be taken at the lowest effective level."
The leadership of Comhaontas Glas was not shy to start a nation wide campaign in favour for the Lisbon Treaty which was based on fear and lies. Lisbon not only opens the door for undermining our workers' rights, it also weakens Ireland's people say and position in Europe and much more.
The rape-seed programme, originally introduced by the European Greens, has been ignored and abandoned by the leadership of Comhaontas Glas. Colzaoil used as energy source will now be imported from states where ecologically important rainforest is cut down to plant the canola.
The problem with Shannon Airport has been ignored by the leadership of Comhaontas Glas. This is in contradiction to our Article 2.3.4 "The need for world peace and justice overrides national and commercial interests".
Ignoring the problems of the Corrib Gas Pipe Line in Mayo when we have Green Party Ministers, the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Energy, directly responsible for this situation, who are supporting the interests of the multinational company Shell instead of supporting the good and the will of the people in our country!
At the last Comhaontas Glas convention the members had to vote for or against a Programme for Government before they even got that paper to read.
The Comhaontas Glas representatives in the Dáil Éireann now vote in favour for the government's budget 2010, which charges the most vulnerable of our society for an economic downturn caused by the most rich. A budget that not only is extremely unsocial, it actually hampers economical recovery and does not include stimulation and/or investments for future sustainable jobs, what our country needed so urgently.
I can only conclude that the leadership of Comhaontas Glas has abandoned every single one of our Green Principles for the sake of power.
Sustainable politics have lost for a couple of more months being in government with Fianna Fáil!
Not only have they betrayed our Green Statutes and Principles. They obviously seem not to care about the people of Ireland who indeed have lost faith in the Comhaontas Glas. And it also seems that they don't care that those disastrous policies have put the most massive damage in our young history to the Green Movement as such in this country.
Therefore I couldn't see any other way than the Donegal Greens disassociate from Comhaontas Glas to ensure that, at least in Donegal, these Green Principles are NOT and under NO CIRCUMSTANCES any more negotiable!
Is mise,
Charlie Williams
Member of the Donegal Greens Policy Council
62 Ard Colgan
Carndonagh
Co. Donegal
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