New environmental group will campaign on water quality

Water pollution will be the primary target of a new environmental campaigning organisation, inaugurated in Dublin yesterday to fill a void left by the winding up of Greenpeace Ireland earlier this year. The new organisation, known as VOICE (acronym for Voice Of Irish Concern for the Environment), has been set up by the former leadership of Greenpeace Ireland, though its executive director, Ms Clare O'Grady Walshe, is not involved.

Ms Walshe and her former Greenpeace colleague Mr John Bowler were both present for yesterday's ceremony aboard the mv Sligo Bay at City Quay, but said they were "taking time out" from environmental campaigning after years of intensive involvement.

Patrons of VOICE include the founder of the Ballymaloe Cookery School, Ms Darina Allen; the artist Pauline Bewick; the poet Brendan Kennelly; the singer Christy Moore, and two wellknown environmentalists, Mr Don Conroy and Mr John Feehan.

Mr Dick Warner, the environmentalist and broadcaster, who is also a patron of VOICE, said it was "one little beam of light in a rather gloomy year" which had seen a high level of fish kills on Ireland's rivers; this demonstrated the need for "constant vigilance".

Father Sean McDonagh, the former chairman of Greenpeace Ireland and now chairman of VOICE, said it had been created because people "feel very strongly that now is not the time to walk away from environmental concerns in Ireland". Speaking in full view of the International Financial Services Centre, shiny symbol of the "Celtic Tiger", Father McDonagh said that Ireland's booming economic development in recent years had had a "devastating effect" on the environment.

"If we do not awaken to the fact that quality of life is founded on having clean air, water and soil, the Celtic Tiger will remain a figment of the imagination of a consciousness that believes money can buy quality of life," he said.

Father McDonagh said VOICE had emerged "out of the ashes of Greenpeace Ireland" and it planned to work with the many local groups all over the Republic who were fighting to protect the environment. "We hope to become a voice for other voices."

Many of these groups were represented, including the "tree people" who are living in the Glen o' the Downs in Co Wicklow to prevent the destruction of a swathe of its ancient woodland for road-widening; they handed out new acorns for people to plant.

Ms Iva Pocock, former toxic waste campaigner with Greenpeace and co-ordinator of VOICE, said Ireland's rivers were still being treated as sewers, its lakes contaminated by intensive farming, its land scarred by quarrying and its air polluted by increasing traffic. The new organisation, she said, would be "a strong, uncompromising voice". The ceremony concluded with a blessing by Sister Mary Minehan, who is also a patron of VOICE. Afterwards, representatives of the new organisation delivered a letter of introduction to the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, at the Custom House.

VOICE can be contacted at its office, 14 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin 2, telephone (01) 661 8123. Its e-mail address is avoice@iol.ie.