Malcolm has posted some video clips addressing the electorate on issues of local concern.
Over the campaign we have tried to meet as many people in the area as possible but there sin’t enough time to reach everyone. Malcolm recorded these interviews with film maker Nicci Smith in Kilkenny in the final days of the 2009 local elections campaign.
These video clips include a great message of support from Minister Eamon Ryan as well Malcolm addressing various issues and local people
expressing why they think Malcolm should be re-elected.
So for those of you tired of opeing the door to the canvassers we give you the ‘video canvass’
1. Minister Eamon Ryan tags Malcolm Noonan as the ‘best green candidate’ running in this election.
2. Kilkennys Borough Boundary…green light at the end of the tunnel?
3. Malcolm Noonan faces the harsh reality of Kilkennys drug problem head on.
4. Kilkennys Hospice, ‘A Basic Human Right’. Malcolms loyalty to a dear friend and his community.
5. Climate Change – the single biggest threat facing humanity today!
6. Kilkennys thriving Arts Community, ‘The Jewel in Irelands Crown’
7. Malcolm Noonan proves why he should be re-elected on the 5th of June.
8. (part 1) Malcolm Noonan talks openly about his time in politics and the June 5th election.
Voters in this year’s European Parliament elections should question the environmental credentials of candidates in considering who to vote for in the East constituency. This is the view of Kilkenny Councillor Malcolm Noonan. He is calling on the electorate to take on board issues of climate change, support for Irish agriculture, genetic modification of food and water quality in deciding who to vote for in the upcoming elections.
Cllr Noonan, who was widely tipped to be the Green Party’s candidate for the East constituency, withdrew his name from the running to focus solely on his local election campaign. He also felt it was unfair that, had he been ratified, four of the five candidates would have been based in Kilkenny.
“I have spoken to a number of the candidates from other parties and I feel that there is nothing to be gained by my name being put forward at this stage,” said Cllr Noonan. “I would like to see voters taking environmental issues into consideration in deciding who to vote for. Climate change is the single biggest threat facing humanity in coming decades and I think it essential that Ireland has good representation in Europe which will reflect our commitment to tackling the climate crisis. I have worked to try and bring into effect a Climate Law which was first proposed in the Seanad by the Labour Party and I think that in the East constituency, they have a credible environmental candidate in Nessa Childers”, he said. “In my view, party politics have very little currency in these difficult times and I think it’s time for voters to think strategically about issues and policies.”
Cllr Noonan reiterated his call for a cross-party consensus in dealing with the economic crisis in Ireland.
“Everywhere I go, people are asking that political parties put aside their differences and show collective leadership to get us through our difficulties. This has gone beyond punishing Fianna Fáil for their mismanagement of the economy, people are looking for answers, they are looking for hope and we must provide some of that hope,” he concluded.
“Farming, artisan food production and the production of energy crops and renewable energy are key drivers of future growth in the economic recovery in County Kilkenny,” said Green Party Borough and County Councillor Malcolm Noonan.
Cllr Noonan believes that Kilkenny is ideally positioned to benefit from the Green New Deal which is now gathering pace since being adopted as policy by the new US administration and here in Ireland.
‘Kilkenny is still a predominantly agricultural county with a vibrant dairy sector and a growing number of specialist food producers,” said Cllr Noonan. “We are fortunate to have some of the best growing conditions in the country where the possibilities for diversification are good.”
While much emphasis has been placed on industrial scale agri sector, Cllr Noonan believes that smaller scale, local food networks, local abattoirs, farm scale energy projects and a return to locally produced food for local shops and farmers markets will best serve farm families creating a sort of fair trade network in Ireland and reconnecting farmers with consumers.
He feels that industrial agriculture has historically failed farmers. Farm gate prices have remained static or even declined in the last twenty years, a period where large agri food corporations and large retail multiples have increased their profits and squeezed many farm families out of business.
‘A new farming model based on the Green New Deal could see significant growth in employment in agriculture and energy production. My colleague Eamon Ryan has recently announced a fixed feed in tariff for small scale renewable energy projects. Anaerobic Digestion (AD) and small scale hydro projects could benefit from this scheme and provide much-needed rural employment. The new LEADER programme has the potential to create jobs in niche food markets and eco tourism. Farmers markets and direct supplying to local butchers and shops could give farmers a much better price for their product, but the regulatory system must support this’, said Cllr Noonan.
Cllr Noonan pointed to the role of Kilkenny Local Authorities, Kilkenny County Enterprise Board and the County Development Board in facilitating an environment where local food production and renewable energy projects could develop and flourish. Declaring the county as a GM (Genetic Modification)-Free Zone and focusing on Kilkenny as a single brand in terms of food output could be an important first step.
“We should market Kilkenny as a high quality food producer and a county open to business for renewable energy investors,” said Cllr Noonan. “There’s so much going on in the county. It just needs to be consolidated, marketed and developed and then the jobs will come’, he concluded.
Hi
By now the fruit tree project has well and truly started. We began planting in with Sean O hArgain, Muniteoiri agus na Paisti. It was such a great day and our little orchard will hopefully mature over coming years. On Thursday 5th of March, I planted six trees with sixth class and my son Colm who is in Junior infants at St Canice’s National School. Then it was on to the Castle Park on Friday for the main event. What a great turnout and we had a film crew from Glass Eye Productions in Thomastown. I hope to have footage of this up on this site when the edit is complete.
Finally I went to the Model School on the Comer Rd and prepared the planting holes for the parents who were coming in on the Saturday. I had to be in Wexford at our Party Conference on that day so I haven’t gone back to see how they got on yet.
All in all it has been a really inspiring project, one that I hope will leave a lasting mark on the 400 celebrations. Here’s the press release I put out that week, we will be back in Autumn to complete the planting.
Malcolm
Celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of the signing of the City Charter will take place this week in schools around the city and will culminate in the planting of an orchard in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle. The 400 fruit tree project will see the planting of orchards around the city to leave a lasting legacy of the 400 celebrations.
Speaking on the significance of the event, steering committee member, Cllr Malcolm Noonan stated that it was particularly poignant given that the theme of this years National Tree Week is ‘Our Trees, Our Culture’. ‘Kilkenny City and County is steeped in a tradition of growing and self reliance and this project seeks to reconnect communities with growing our own food, while enhancing wildlife in our urban areas’.
Three primary schools will take part in the first phase of the project, Gaelscoil Osraí, St Canice’s National School and The Model School and will plant small orchards of old native varieties of fruit trees including one native to County Kilkenny. On Friday March 6th, a group of twenty trees will be planted on the grounds of Kilkenny Castle formally marking the start of the project.
Brian Dillon of Future Proof Kilkenny who are involved in the coordination of the project acknowledged the support of Kilkenny Local Authorities, the OPW and other partner organisations and schools. ‘Claire Murphy of Kilkenny County Council has been instrumental in sourcing the right trees and we are most grateful for the support of the Local Authority and the 400 Celebrations Committee. Also the OPW have been most supportive of this project since it was first mooted’ he stated.
Elaine Bradshaw of Keep Kilkenny Beautiful is hopeful that the project will enhance Kilkenny’s chances in this year’s tidy towns, particularly under the wildlife and biodiversity categories.
It is hoped that the project will be completed in late autumn 2009 and the committee will be announcing a sponsor an orchard scheme to raise further funds to complete the planting. They are also hoping to identify more suitable sites throughout the City that are secure and will be well maintained.
This is a press release I issued last week. I find it incredible that many of the alternatives I put forward during the Oral Hearing for the Central Access Scheme now form part of this proposed policy. The same consultants were used here and they referenced the ’2020 Vision Sustainable Travel and Transport’ document to inform this policy shift. Yet during the oral hearing they admitted they weren’t aware of the new policy direction of the Department of Transport. Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted they’re taking many of my recommendations on board, including the transport forum, but I am left wondering if this were presented at the Oral Hearing, the rationale for the road would have been completely debased. In any event I could have saved the Council a few quid by letting them use my submission!
M
Many aspects of a new mobility plan for Kilkenny City and Environs have the potential to make the City one of the most progressive regional towns in the Country in dealing with urban mobility and Transport. Cllr Malcolm Noonan believes that many measures of the plan if fully implemented can offer planners a viable alternative to the Central Access Scheme and at a fraction of the cost. He also disagrees with the Consultants contention that ‘soft’ measures in the draft plan cannot be implemented without the Central Access Scheme.
The Draft Urban Mobility Plan for Kilkenny City and Environs was presented to members at last Monday’s meeting of Kilkenny Borough Council. Among the main measures in the plan are provisions for an extended cycle lane network, options for park and ride scheme, public transport options and educational programmes including ‘walking buses’ for schools. However the plan states that many of the measures such as one way systems and pedestrianisation of High St cannot be introduced unless the Central Access Scheme (CAS) is given the go ahead.
‘There are many innovative proposals in this plan that are in line with alternatives put forward during the CAS Oral Hearing. I am encouraged by the fact that the Council is now seriously considering public transport and taking on board my call for the establishment of a County Transport Forum to oversee all these measures. Emerging policy from the Department of Transport (DoT) is encouraging us to change the way we plan our transport systems. The Local Authority is now using the DoT ‘2020 Vision-Sustainable Travel and Transport’ document to inform this plan but failed to use it to inform their justification for the Central Access Scheme’ stated Cllr Noonan.
Cllr Noonan stated that a mobility plan cannot be considered in full until a decision is made on the Central Access Scheme by An Bord Pleanala. ‘Many of the measures outlined in the plan can be brought forward without a decision, however we can only plan the movement of people around the city when we know the full context within which we are working’ he said.
He also said that public transport may not require heavy subvention from the Local Authority if a partnership approach were to be adopted with State Street, businesses in the Purcellsinch Business Park, the Watershed and other large transport users and if it were linked with an integrated system involving rural transport providers.
‘An approach like this will give public transport the necessary critical mass and facilitate the roll out of bus shelters and signage. I am encouraged by the ambitious programme for the expansion of the cycle lane network but this must be backed up by adequate cycle parking facilities in the city’ he said. ‘I would urge members of the public to make submissions on the draft plan in the coming weeks to the Borough and County Council’, he concluded.
