Cllr Maria Dollard welcomes new Woodland Creation on Public Lands scheme

In a letter to Kilkenny County CEO, Maria supports the identification of land for planting of woodland

Cllr Maria Dollard today wrote to CEO Ms Collette Byrne, to lend her support to the Council identifying land for the new Woodland Creation on Public Lands scheme announced last week by Ministers Calleary and Hackett, Department of Agriculture.

Maria explained that the the scheme is to encourage Public Bodies to establish new native woodlands on suitable bare land on sites from 0.1 hectare. "I see this as fitting in very well with Kilkenny County Council’s commitment to both climate action and combating biodiversity decline through such initiatives as the All Ireland Pollinator Plan and the Climate Action Charter. In particular, the planting of native woodland shows a strong commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13, Climate Action referenced in the Climate Action Charter." said Maria in her letter.

The scheme includes grant funding for planting, trails, signage and forest playgrounds.

Maria understands the current restraints on Council spending and drew Ms Byrne's attention to subsection 2.4 of the Scheme Outline;

the larger the area, the more likely it is that the Scheme will cover the majority or all of the costs involved in site preparation, planting and early maintenance. Alternatively, a number of smaller sites can be bundled together and submitted as a single application, in order to achieve the necessary scale.

Maria offered her assistance in moving this forward as she looks forward to Kilkenny County Council becoming an early adopter of this scheme.

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Legislation to Cap Excess Profits for Energy Companies

By Maria Dollard • September 4, 2023

New bill to combat high electricity costs welcomed by Kilkenny Councillor by Liam Kelly O’Rourke Kilkenny People 01 Sep 2023 4:48 PM Kilkenny Green Party Councillor, Maria Dollard, has welcomed the publication of the Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill. The Bill provides a cap on the market revenues genered by non-gas generators in the wholesale electricity market between December 2022 to June 2023. The estimated proceeds from the cap on market revenues are in the range €80 million to €150 million and these will now be retained and used in the electricity sector to provide financial supports to households and businesses affected by high energy prices. Cllr Dollard, commented: "This is good news for Kilkenny consumers who will see the money collected ring fenced to be returned to consumers who have been paying way too much for electricity for a long time now. We need to support those on the lowest incomes. There’s no doubt some people are being hit harder than others and without access to good insulation, bills can be very high for some, especially older people and people with reduced mobility." Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan, claimed the move would 'ease the impact of high energy prices on electricity consumers' and stated he intends to bring this Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas when the Dáil resumes after the summer recess. https://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/local-news/1287190/new-bill-to-combat-high-electricity-costs-welcomed-by-kilkenny-councillor.html