Brian Gormley D7

Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time Record solar expansion and steady wind growth driving world’s shift away from fossil fuels in 2025, report finds

💃🎉🙌 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Sir , – Minister Darragh O’Brien’s Department of Transport has identified a “funding gap” for Public Service Obligations (PSO) of €250 million. The PSO imposes an obligation on the Government to shore up routes that might not be commercially successful, but are nonetheless considered essential, especially in rural areas. These include BusConnects and the “connecting Ireland rural mobility plan,” the Young Adult Card and the 90-minute fare free child fares inclusion of those aged five to eight-years old. Acknowledging that it is not “fiscally responsible” to maintain such a deficit, the Department proposed a new “sustainable funding model” to “plug the gap”. The alternatives offered are an increase in public transport fares, cutting public transport services or taking €250 million a year away from National Development Plan infrastructure projects. An alternative would be for Mr O’Brien to reinstate the €10 tax on airline tickets imposed by minister for transport Noel Dempsey in 2009 but cancelled by his successor Leo Varadkar in 2014. Ireland is in a minority worldwide in not imposing any airline tax. Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands maintain airport taxes ranging from €29 to €42 per passenger, while even the United States imposes a passenger facility charge (PFC) which averages €37. All increase according to distance. The UK’s short-haul tax is a modest €15 air passenger duty (APD) for short-haul economy class fares, with an increase in taxes in April 2025 and again in April 2026 which will include a 50 per cent increase on private jets – from €673 to €1,141. A flight from Dublin to Rome attracts no tax. Returning you will contribute to another country’s climate efforts. Restoring the air travel tax could meet the funding gap required to maintain our Government’s commitment to public transport – and would also be a step towards climate justice. – Yours, etc, TONY LOWES, Friends of the Irish Environment, Co Cork.

Funding deficits for essential rural public transport services and affordable public transport fares? There is a simple and just solution: impose taxes on polluting flights. Excellent letter from Friends of the Irish Environment in today's Irish Times.

Meanwhile the Ryanair CEO gets more Trumpy by the week.
“The green agenda is dead,” said Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, at a recent media event.

Aviation fuel should absolutely be taxed.

We have spotlighted five things to watch in Budget 2026 tomorrow to assess the Government’s commitment to tackling the interlinked climate and cost of living crises

Read it here: bit.ly/5thingsBudge...

Much like "crab", industrial music is constantly re-evolving from first principles basically anywhere where there's a bunch of metal and plastic laying about

zeldawilliams 20m From Create Mode •• Please, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad. Stop believing I wanna see it or that I'll understand, I don't and I won't. If you're just trying to troll me, I've seen way worse, i'll restrict and move on. But please, if you've got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop. It's dumb, it's a waste of time and energy, and believe me, it's NOT what he'd want. To watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to 'this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that's enough, , just so other people can churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them is maddening. You're not making art, you're making disgusting, over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings, out of the history of art and music, and then shoving them down someone else's throat hoping they'll give you a little thumbs up and like it. Gross.

And for the love of EVERYTHING, stop calling it 'the future. Al is just badly recycling and regurgitating the past to be reconsumed. You are taking in the Human Centipede of content, and from the very very end of the line, all while the folks at the front laugh and laugh, consume and consume.

Daughter of Robin Williams, Zelda Williams 💔

Neurodiverse Learners Transitioning to Higher Education 📚

Join us for the next lunchtime seminar in our series, Higher Education, Today and Tomorrow in NUI, 49 Merrion Square.

📅 21 October
⏰ 12.30pm
🥯 Light lunch to follow

Register here: www.eventbrite.ie/e/neurodiver...

@connectingcabra.bsky.social

ATU Mayo will host the 8th International Swift Conference next May in association with Swift Conservation Ireland/Mayo, Mayo Co Co, Fáilte Ireland, NPWS, OPW and other sponsors. The event was launched by ATU President Dr Orla Flynn @oflynnatu.bsky.social @perryshare.bsky.social @atu-ie.bsky.social

bsky.app/profile/book...

Glad to hear the damage isn’t bad! Keep up the good work!

A small fire at the front of the bookshop was started last night after rubbish bags that were awaiting collection were set on fire. The guards don’t have reason at this time to believe it was a targeted attack. Thankfully the damage was limited and everyone is safe. We are open for business as usual

‘Really shocking’: Independent Dublin bookstore damaged in arson attack Books Upstairs manager hopes to partially open the D’Olier Street store later on Monday

‘Really shocking’: Independent Dublin bookstore damaged in arson attack.

A great bookshop - I hope they can get back up and running as soon as possible.

#Speirgorm

Apparently it was Catherine Connolly’s skill with keepie-uppies that was the last straw for Jim Gavin. #aras25

Of all Jim Gavin’s gaffes, it turns out it was his spare one that took him down.

Headline is badly misleading. RTE reported it correctly. @conorpope.bsky.social

Serious risk of electrocution from 114,000 circulating pumps in homes in Ireland - CCPC Consumers The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is an independent statutory body that enforces competition and consumer protection law in Ireland

Yep it's wrong. CCPC headline is circulating heating pumps not heat pumps. Is this deliberate by @irishtimes.com (given pic and headline).
www.ccpc.ie/consumers/20...

Is this headline correct? Should it not read 'heating' pumps? There's no notice on CCPC either, a link would be helpful 😡. Picture is wrong too?
@conorpope.bsky.social www.ccpc.ie/consumers/pr...

(Source unknown)

#aras25

He'll let you have the lot for the low low price of €3,300

Breaking: Jim Gavin withdraws from Presidential Election.

🚨 Jim Gavin has withdrawn from the Presidential Election. #aras25 @virginmedianews.bsky.social

Gavin Newsome has withdrawn from the election?? 😂

Jim Gavin withdraws from Presidential Election Fianna Fáil's candidate Jim Gavin has announced he is withdrawing from the Presidential Election "with immediate effect".

#aras25

Janey Mac! I was not expecting that. Jim Gavin withdraws from Presidential election!

www.rte.ie/news/ireland...

Merv, Merveille du Jour - a beautiful green moth with black and white markings. North Herefordshire, SO24

Carcina quercana, a brown micro moth with long antennae and golden yellow edges to its wings North Herefordshire, SO24

A lovely fresh Sallow. An autumnal yellow moth with brown markings on the wings. North Herefordshire, SO24

A respectable 61/14 last night - first moth to greet me was a Merveille du Jour and it was great to finally meet a Satellite and Carcina quercana, both absent from our old garden despite being quite common locally. Box fresh Sallow also a treat and two Black rustic #TeamMoth

Reuters talked to four different Irish sources to confirm that IBEC and permanent officials have succeeded in cowing ministers into watering the OTB down so far that it will only effect €230K of trade.

www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

The clip shows what it is they're keen to keep profiting from.

Labbacallee Wedge Tomb under old trees in North Cork

Labbacallee • Cork

Labbacallee is Ireland’s largest example of a wedge tomb.

The name Labbacallee derives from Leaba Chaillí, which can be roughly translated to ‘The Hag’s Bed’.

Archaeologists discovered the remains of an adult woman, a man, and a child. All dating between 2456–1776 BC.