23 April 2023
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
On Saturday, April 22nd, members of the Social Democrats celebrated Earth Day by organising a community clean-up in Cork. Earth Day is an annual global event to support environmental protection. This year’s theme was Invest in Our Planet.
The event organiser Pádraig Rice said,
“We were delighted to hold a community clean up this weekend to mark Earth Day. Unfortunately, there are a number of spots across the city where litter is left to build up – so we decided to tackle some of those. Litter looks terrible, but it’s also bad for the environment and for wildlife, so it’s important that it gets cleaned up.
“For the Social Democrats, one of our top political priorities is protecting the environment. For us, it’s not just about words; it’s about actions. That is why we organised the clean-up this weekend.
“We can all take steps at an individual and local level to improve the environment. But there is also a role for the City Council and Government to do more. I think there should be more bins and recycling facilities around the City. There should also be a focus on improving some of the streets and roads, particularly as you move out from the City Centre.
“We have seen a huge loss of biodiversity in recent years. This is very concerning, and it has to be stopped. We have to create more spaces across the county where nature and wildlife is supported to thrive. We saw on our clean-up this weekend that some green spaces have lots of litter. There are also places where unused concrete patches could be turned into small pocket parks. The Social Democrats would like to see more green spaces across Cork City.
“Connected to this is the need for more sustainable transport, better bus services and more space for pedestrians. We need to rethink how best we use the space in the city and how to reduce air pollution at the same time.”