Other News In Brief

Thousands Delayed As Vandals Target Heuston Station

Thousands of Dublin rail passengers faced delays on Wednesday morning after equipment was damaged by vandals overnight.

A cable was stolen on the line between Newbridge and Kildare causing trains in and out of Heuston Station to be delayed for over 90 minutes.

The signalling issue was resolved later in the morning, with delays reduced to around 50 minutes while congestion clears.

Balbriggan Students Take Stand Against Climate Change

Students from Loreto Secondary School in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, have taken a stand in the fight against climate change with a new initiative.

Fianna Fáil representative Darragh O'Brien was presented with the school's 'Stop Climate Chaos' letters during a recent visit.

These letters were created during the recent march to Dáil Éireann to highlight climate change. The pupils and staff remained in class and devised their own initiative by placing their thumbprint on cards which they sent to Deputy O'Brien to show their support and concern for the climate.

Praising the students on the initiative, Deputy O'Brien said: "I would like to commend the students and staff in the Loreto Secondary School for taking their own stand to show their support for the recent climate marches by students across the world.

"I was blown away by the enthusiasm of students at the school on my recent visit to the school and this is exactly what we need to see, young minds engaging in a pro-active way with their local representatives to voice their concerns about the climate."

He added: "A huge effort was put into this project from both the students and teaching staff in the Loreto Secondary School. Their decision to remain in school on the day of the worldwide protests is also highly commendable. They marked the day in their own special and highly productive way, which is extremely pro-active."

€6 Carbon Tax Increase Criticised

The recent increase of carbon tax by €6 has been met with criticism by Sinn Féin.

The party's Climate Action spokesperson, David Cullinane TD has labelled the tax "regressive", claiming it will "make people poorer, but it won't make the state greener or cleaner".

Deputy Cullinane said: "Any further increase will widen poverty and inequality, and will hit low to middle income households harder.

"All this talk of using it for climate action is simply a ruse because the alternatives are not in place – nor will they be in place under this government.

"We know the barriers to climate action in this state and the main one is the lack of investment.

"We are still suffering from the consequences of almost a decade of cuts in capital expenditure.

"Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in our public transport system.

"People cannot shift from private to public transport if no alternatives are available.

"The pathway is clear: we need to dramatically increase our investment in public transport and renewable energy.

"Until we do that, increase in the carbon tax will only penalise people for not being wealthy enough to make changes."