Nessa Childers MEP
Nessa Childers MEP
Meath students impress Childers with knowledge of EU and awareness of political & social issues
Labour MEP Nessa Childers visited three Meath second-level schools last Friday, coming away ‘enormously impressed’ with the level of knowledge about the workings of the European Union demonstrated by local students.
The Leinster MEP who was elected last June visited Dunshughlin Community College, Beaufort College in Navan and Boyne Community School in Trim where she was accompanied by local Labour public representatives including the current Chair of Meath VEC, Cllr. Tommy Grimes of Kells.
On her visit to Meath, she was also welcomed by the Mayor of Navan, Cllr. Joe Reilly and the Mayor of Kells, Cllr. Brian Curran.
In Kells, Ms. Childers met with representatives of the local Chamber of Commerce and local Labour Party members, all of whom raised the various economic, employment and tourism challenges facing the Kells area.
The Labour MEP said, “I would like to thank the CEO of Meath VEC, the individual school principals, staff and most of all the students who are the lifeblood of any school community for making me so welcome last week.
“I believe it is important that MEPs remain in touch with the local communities who elected them. In doing so, I also see myself as having a role to play in acting as a vehicle for debate and discussion on the EU.
“In a sense, I want to bridge the local, national and European and ensure that young people in Meath and elsewhere in Leinster get the opportunity to have their voices and views heard.
“I was extremely impressed and encouraged at the level of knowledge the young people I met had about the EU and their level of engagement in political and social affairs fills me full of hope for the future.”
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Offending member states could be forced to clean up their act by European waste tsar
Consistent failures by EU Members States, including Ireland, to implement and enforce EU waste law means that the European Commission has now set its sights on forming a powerful new body with the powers to directly inspect and take strong action against waste facilities that do not meet EU standards, Nessa Childers MEP has said.
Labour’s MEP for Ireland East who is a member of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee welcomed the proposed move which was recommended by a European Commission study published this week.
She said, “A powerful waste tsar is just what’s needed to get Europe and Ireland to clean up its act. This study and the concrete proposals contained therein are to be welcomed. Ireland has a particularly poor record in transposing and implementing EU environmental legislation, including elements of EU waste law.
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Childers seeks EU investigation into pollution at Kilkenny farm
The European Parliament Petitions Committee today heard calls from Leinster Labour MEP Nessa Childers for the European Commission to conduct an independent investigation into claims that elevated levels of a dangerous pollutant is poisoning cattle at a farm in Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny.
Nessa Childers said: “An independent investigation carried out by the European Commission is the only way we can reach a definitive conclusion to this long-running saga. Dan Brennan’s struggle has gone on for too long and it is high time he and his family received closure on this difficult chapter in their lives.
“I will be visiting the farm shortly to meet with the Brennan family and their advisors in order to assist them to move the process on.
“The Parliament’s Petition’s Committee had some harsh words for the Environmental Protection Agency today in terms of its handling of the issue. Mr Brennan and others have also lost confidence in the ability of the Department of Agriculture to reach a conclusive position on this case.
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SHOCKING TREATMENT OF LENIHAN FAMILY BREACHES LETTER AND SPIRIT OF MEDIA PRIVACY CODES - CHILDERS
The shocking treatment of Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan and his family in the context of media reports into the Minister’s health is a ‘clear and disturbing breach’ of the Broadcasting Commissions of Ireland’s Code of Programme Standards and the Press Ombudsman’s Privacy Code, according to Labour MEP, Nessa Childers.
“Even a cursory reading of the relevant sections of these Codes shows that the media outlets who went public with the revelations about the Minister’s health status drove a coach and four through the letter and spirit of the frameworks governing print and broadcast media standards in Ireland.
“In fact, I would also be concerned that this unwarranted intrusion into a public figure’s private life may even be in contravention of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights which provides a right to respect for one's ‘private and family life.’
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