Major Tom

Attacking stupid people from a safe distance. Politicians and Governments are a favourite.

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@anders_aslund You forgot the most obvious reason of all. Trump wants #Greenland so that he can rename it Trumpland. He wants to see his name on a map, not just on buildings. He keeps repeating how big it is. Size matters to his ego.@anders_aslund #GreenlandNotForSale #GreenlandIsNotForSale

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@JWPlayer09 @lukeming Show us how it's done John. I dare you to offer the Irish people the benefit of your genius by standing for public service.

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@florapeering @liamcunningham1 They all have jobs though.

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@RepMTG What Trump is doing to you is unacceptable. But you campaigned for the tyrant and gave him the power he is now directing against you. Millions of Americans voted against the tyrant. You did not protect the Constitution, you protected Trump. Keep safe.

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@caulmick What were they saying 16 years ago? I'll wait.

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@AbubakerAbedW @FIFAcom So brave.

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@RoryHearneGaffs Rory and his SocDem comrades believe housing is a human right. It's not a human right. It's communism.

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@FineGael take note. @SimonHarrisTD

[Rasheed J. Griffith @rasheedguo]

Why can Madrid build but Dublin can't?

It is common to blame EU Directives that mandate tedious environmental assessments and also enable too may judicial reviews. But Ireland and Spain are both under EU rules, yet there is a clear divergence. How? Why? I think an important detail is how both countries chose to transpose the environmental EU Directives into national law and how each state deals with administrative law procedures.

The law (21/2013) in Spain allows for two distinct environmental assessment processes: simplified and ordinary. It sets legislated caps on how long the simplified environmental assessment can delay (3 months) the entire process before continuing the planning assessment. Ireland does not have this differentiation. So in Spain certain classes of projects like those of mass transit in already urban areas are given fast tract default and lower requirements for assessment. Still a high bar though.

Like Ireland, Spain also gives broad standing to whom can challenge via judicial review but costs are dealt with differently. In Spain, for these kinds of environmental challenges, costs are held to the losing party, by default. To meet the EU Directive requirements of access to justice, Spain gives free legal aid only to qualifying NGOs and persons with vlid direct interest. But these have to be applied for etc. It is not like in Ireland with default own-cost rules.

In Spain, when you challenge an administrative act, the act (like granting project permission), is default deemed valid until a final appeals court says it is not valid. (this is the principle of administrative legitimacy). So projects always continue even through active judicial reviews. Where in Ireland that principle is not there and a JR effectively halts projects. Also in Spain. there are specific courts for admin law reviews, whereas in Ireland all of these go direct to High Court mixed with all other issues.

On the admin law principles. In Ireland, the Court can quash an approval from the Planning Board (An Bord Pleanála) ab initio. That is void the entire grant of permission like if it never existed. But that is not possible in Spain, the administrative courts can only force the administration to fix the part of the permission grant that was legally dubious and then allow the process the continue. It cannot void an administrative ruling like that. Since very large infrastructure projects like the Madrid Metro are technically regional government projects (with some private contractors) they are technically administrative acts. So any challenges go to the specialized administrative court sections.

From my limited understanding of Irish planning laws, a distinctive feature is the right to an independent administrative appeal on essentially any planning decision. If a local authority grants or refuses permission (with or without environmental assessment), third parties or the applicant can appeal that decision to An Bord Pleanála within 4 weeks.

Spain’s system generally does not have a specialized independent tribunal for planning/environmental appeals equivalent to Ireland’s An Bord Pleanála. In Spain the law itself states that the environmental pronouncement (EIA judgement) is not a standalone decision open to appeal, to avoid procedural duplication. Any challenge must target the final authorization which incorporates that judgement. So Ireland’s appeal layers offers a non-judicial avenue for addressing objections, but at the cost of extended timelines relative to Spain’s much more streamlined one-stop process.

There are more differences. I am just pointing out is not necessarily accurate to assume all EU Directives (not Regulations) are transposed equally and you have to take into account local administrative procedure rules.

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@Kathleensf1 How embarrassing is that?

[Louise Burne @louiseburne_]

“The poll said Michael D Higgins was never going to be president. He won the election. He won twice. He did a very good job. Tomorrow, we're going to defy all the skeptics, and we're going
to elect Heather Humphreys the 10th president of Ireland”, Simon Harris says in Donegal

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@fatscally @moneillsf You're some sausage.

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@wallacemick Where are you living now Mick?

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@EOBroin You must be spitting bullets

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@lukeming @ivanabacik @catherinegalway @MaryLouMcDonald @rodericogorman Nothing but a table of whingers getting paid for whinging never doing. Pretending to be public representatives but they only represent themselves. #Aras25

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@AndrewAFC89 @paulmurphy_TD I wish to acknowledge your respect for the student union 🤡 pretending to be a TD.

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@ScottMoore0 Most Irish people who went to school during the physical punishment era remain traumatized by the physical and psychological abuse they received for 14 years as an adult teacher tried to beat the Irish language into them. They don't need to be punished anymore so gfu. #Aras25

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@davidcullinane Sinn Fein president incoming. Connolly is the Trojan Horse. #rtept #Connolly4President #aras2025 #Aras25

[David Cullinane T.D. @davidcullinane]

Catherine Connolly’s campaign is a movement for real change — in the future for a Government without Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Proud to be part of that movement. Proud to vote No 1 Catherine Connolly for President.

#connollyforpresident 🇮🇪

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

@MaryLouMcDonald @catherinegalway @MaryLouMcDonald couldn't find anyone in her own party with courage, principle and integrity to run for SF. #rtept

[Major Tom @MajorTom_says]

#rtept Connolly "My personal regret is that I agreed with the government." Not an ounce of humility in her. Blame the government, blame Eamon O'Cuiv blame O'Sullivan blame everyone but herself.