THE country's largest private waste collector claimed yesterday that a decision by Bord Pleanála to turn down its plans for a controversial €20 million superdump would only compound the waste crisis facing the Munster region.

A DEVELOPER who built 52 holiday homes close to the Rock of Cashel has been granted "retention planning permission" for 32 of the houses.

Developer Seymour Sweeney is appealing against the planning refusal for his controversial Giant's Causeway visitor centre scheme, it can be revealed today. The move opens the way for another round in one of the most high-profile battles ever waged in Northern Ireland's planning system.

Energy Saving Day was a flop, its organiser admitted last night after the National Grid confirmed that across Britain energy use went up by just over one per cent.

Protecting our groundwater sources is a matter of top priority, Environment Minister John Gormley has said

The first public hearing to be conducted under a new fast-track planning process for major infrastructural developments will begin today.

A €500 million gas terminal at the Shannon estuary in Co Kerry is the first project to be advanced to An Bord Pleanála oral hearing stage under the new Strategic Infrastructure Act.

Bord Pleanala will begin an oral hearing in Clonmel tomorrow on a project which crystallises the national debate on how to dispose of or recycle waste.

A business consortium, Green Organics Energy Ltd (GOE), wants to build a facility for the "environmentally sustainable treatment" of waste, including animal by-products generated by the Irish meatprocessing industry.

Radical plans by the European Commission to cut carbon emissions are creating the first serious policy rift between Fianna Fail and the Green Party. The far-reaching plans emerge as efforts to combat climate change come into conflict with business and economic interests.

IRELAND'S 40 shades of green does not include the all-important "eco-green" and that is severely tarnishing its reputation with tourists according to travel bible, the Lonely Planet.

After 200 days of research by seven contributors including the main author, Fionn Davenport, the latest edition on Ireland, released yesterday, provides the usual mix of reviews, some complimentary others critical, of Ireland's main tourist hotspots.

Yet again Bundoran, Co Donegal, comes in for criticism. In 2006, the guide described it as "a kitsch assortment of half-baked fairground rides, flashing arcades, fast-food diners and overpriced B&Bs".

PEOPLE in the picturesque village of Sneem, where Taoiseach Bertie Ahern holidays, are kicking up a stink over a foul smell believed to be coming from the local sewage system.

Environment minister John Gormley has been told that incineration is vital to Ireland meeting its waste management targets.