Welcome to VOICE. The Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment.

Join VOICE in Kilkenny for a Green Day, tomorrow Saturday June 20th, 11am - 5 pm. We will be there with our new exhibition Food Matters, which explores the environmental impacts of the food we eat, along with lots of other environmental information.

Green Day is an opportunity to spend the afternoon browsing the stalls and meeting people from the various companies and organsiations that are based around Kilkenny area. The criteria is 'Green' and the objective is to learn who is doing what for the 'greener good' while running a business or community group. A number of renewable energy companies will be on hand to talk you through the aspects of bio fuels, heating systems while there will be local producers and gardeners imparting their knowledge and experience.

Time & Place
Sat. June 20th 11am - 5 pm
Macdonagh Junction Shopping Centre
Kilkenny, Co Kilkenny, Ireland
056 7777600.

For a map see the link below:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=mac+donagh+junction,+kilkenny&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=39.099308,59.150391&ie=UTF8&ll=52.657539,-7.246041&spn=0.014656,0.028882&z=15&iwloc=A

There will also be films examining how all the "stuff" in our lives affects communities and the environment; a talk on "Peak oil; a documentary film on how local food production, farmers markets, and allotment gardens will become more and more important in tackling climate change and preparing for peak oil; Heating your home with green energy; Cloughjordan's 'eco-village', to name a few.

Want to play a part in the fight against climate change? Now is your chance!

Join the Stop Climate Chaos day of fun and events at Sandymount Strand in Dublin On Saturday the 13th of June. There will be activities for the whole family, and you could help create a human hourglass made out of participants, to highlight the urgencey of tackling run-away climate change! For more details see:

is a coalition of civil society organisations campaigning to ensure Ireland plays its part in preventing runaway climate change

Latest News

19 May 2009

Press Release:

N. Ireland claims title of having ‘worst teeth in UK’ is a ploy to introduce water fluoridation

Northern Ireland is the latest UK region to be given the title ‘the worst teeth in the UK’ according to statistics supplied by the British Dental Association (BDA) and the North’s Chief Dental Officer, Donncha O’Carolan, so heard an invited audience to the BBC TalkBack programme in Downpatrick on 14^th May 2009. What they were not told by the BDA’s Claudette Christie is that Hampshire, the North West, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Gloucestershire and the Isle of Man have also been rated as having ‘the worst teeth in the UK’ by BDA statistics in recent years and months.

The common solution to this alleged dental crisis, says the the government, is the fluoridation of local drinking water which VOICE campaigner Robert Pocock stringently opposes. Read more...

VOICE have always used the occasion of Earth Day to offer people an opportunity to pause in a moment of respect for our planet. This year, we have asked a number of radio stations to play a number of earth-themed songs to honour this special day.

The International Earth Day started as an environment movement demanding a healthy and sustainable environment in response to the pollution caused by industrial development in USA in the 1960s. The first nation-wide rally was held on 22 April 1970, with 20 million Americans taking to the streets and parks. The protests had a dramatic influence on public policy and led to the creation of the US Environment Protection Agency, and to the passage of many important environmental acts, including the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts. In 1990, the Earth Day became a global event with 200 million people from 141 nations participating in thousands of activities. Such international concern for the environment has helped raise environmental issues on the world stage, and has led some governments to create agencies for environmental protection.

Earth Day is widely celebrated around the world as a collective expression of public will to create a sustainable society. Every year on 22 April, many communities and groups organise environmental activities. Every voice counts, every action matters; Earth Day is based on the simple philosophy that ordinary people, acting together can achieve extraordinary things. For more information see:

Press Release:

European Commission to investigate hazardous fluoride chemical in Irish drinking water

The EU Commission has reacted to appeals by VOICE of Irish Concern for the Environment to investigate the hazardous chemical, fluorosilicic acid added to most Irish drinking water.The Comission has now issued a ‘working mandate’ calling for information to be submitted on ‘the hazard profile, health effects and human exposure to fluoride and health risks associated with the most common fluoridation agents like fluorosilicic acid’. VOICE campaigner Robert Pocock said: “ We welcome this call because it reflects almost exactly the concerns we brought last year to senior officials of DG SANCO in a series of meetings involving international experts in toxicology."

This is a significant breakthrough for all those who have long opposed the addition to drinking water of the industrial waste, fluorosilicic acid. It is significant that the Commission’s working mandate has correctly listed in first place the hazard profile of fluorosilicic acid because the Irish Health Minister and her innumerable fluoridation advisers are still in complete denial of its toxic origins. Read more...

VOICE wants to say a big Thank You to everyone that supported the Earth Hour 2009 campaign. It has been described as “an incredible success," by World Wildlife Fund International Director General James Leape. Last year Ireland was the only country in Europe to take part in Earth Hour but this year, Ireland joined 88 other countries in switching off lights on Saturday the 28 th of March for the hour of 8.30- 9.30pm, to highlight climate change and the need to take action against it.

Some key Irish buildings such as Leinster House, The Custom Building, the Four Courts, the Rock of Cashel and Ormonde Castle powered down and stood in darkness in support of the global campaign. EirGrid reported a reduction for the hour of 70 MW, enough to power Irish 45,000 homes.

WWF reported that the planet's brightest spot from space - Las Vegas' Strip - went dark for the first time since Frank Sinatra death in 1998. Global monuments such as Big Ben, China’s Bird’s Nest Stadium and New York, Times Square all switched off lights to show their support.

To remind ourselves what lies behind Earth Hour, in the extreme north members of the Catlin Arctic Survey are conducting the first ever ground survey of the thickness of Arctic sea ice. Expedition members videoed themselves counting down to Earth Hour. Predictions are that the summer sea ice could disappear within a generation, leading to catastrophic consequences for this vital global ecosystem.

Earth Hour Global Director, Andy Ridley, expressed his amazement at the unprecedented volume of support and participation in the lights out campaign. The ‘votes’ will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.

On Saturday, March 28, VOICE asks that you switch off your lights between 8:30 and 9:30pm. 1 billion people will be switching off their lights at 8.30 local time as part of the global campaign Earth Hour.

This year Earth Hour is asking for us to ‘Vote Earth’ where switching off lights and electronics is one way to support the campaign. You can also cast your vote at: http://www.panda.org/

‘Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from.’ The campaign plans to reach its target of 1 billion ‘votes’ which they will present to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.

The campaign created by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the campaign grew to 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness for one hour to mark support for the campaign.

Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to the Earth Hour campaign 2009 and we urge you, where ever you are, to cast your vote this Saturday at 8.30 to put the issue of climate change firmly on the agenda of global leaders.

Press Release: UK public health authority flouts public opinion and scientific evidence on water fluoridation

UK Councils Against Fluoridation (UKCAF) and the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), supported by VOICE of Irish Concern for the Environment, have today roundly condemned yesterday’s decision of South Central Strategic Health Authority (SHA) to support the introduction of water fluoridation in Southampton and parts of the County of Hampshire. Read more...

The hospitality industry should consider the use of cotton towers in public places

VOICE welcomes CWS-boco calling on the hospitality industry to consider the importance of using cotton towels in public bathrooms. A recent Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study published in 2006 by the independent organisation Öko-Institut, has compared the environmental performance of two systems. Read more...

Our Government can save millions of Euros by ending the unnecessary addition of fluoride to drinking water. Read more...

Comment on European Food Safety Authority Opinion on sodium monofluorophosphate

Europe’s top food regulator The European Food Safety Authority(EFSA) has been severely criticised for endorsing as safe for ingestion the toothpaste toxin, sodium monofluorophosphate. Read more...

Press Release: Limerick 'Boil Aluminium in Water Notice' seriously misleading, says leading UK ecologist

The boil-water notice issued on 5^th December 2008 by Limerick County Council to 2,000 people on the public water supply in Adare, Co Limerick is highly misleading, according to leading UK Forensic Ecologist, Doug Cross. Read more...

Join people all over the world on December 6th and 'Ring the Changes'. Read more...

On Sunday 23rd of November, O'keefe Home and Garden will held an Eco-Family Fair Day. To discover: Alternative Energy and Eco-Shop. Read more...

Hosted by Kathy Sinnott MEP and the Independence / Democracy Group Venue: Jury’s Inn, Lower Mallow St, Limerick
Date: Monday November 24, 2008, 7.30-9.30pm Agenda...

‘Health Department squandering millions of Euro on imports of hazardous waste’ Finance Minister told. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has today been advised of millions of Euro savings available to the exchequer if the government was to stop the Department of Health importing the hazardous waste chemical, fluorosilicic acid. Read more...

The EU health commission is expected to issue a ruling soon on whether fluoride in Irish drinking water is safe. MEP Kathy Sinnott has appealed to the commission to compel the Government to stop fluoridation as it flouts EU directives on medicines and drinking water. Read more...

From 16 to 22 September 2008 the European cities and towns will have the opportunity to participate to the most widespread event on sustainable mobility, the European Mobility Week. Be a part of it! Read more...

The Greener Homes Scheme provides assistance to homeowners who intend to purchase a new renewable energy heating system for existing homes. The scheme is administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland and aims to increase the use of sustainable energy technologies within Irish homes. Read more...

Climate change is an issue of major concern to Europeans. Besides the fact that it is considered to be one of the most serious problems the world is currently facing, three-quarters of citizens also confirm that they take the problem very seriously. Read more...

Waterford Today: Kathy Sinnott calls on the Government to cease fluoridating Irish drinking water

Kathy Sinnott, MEP for Ireland South and Member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee, and Dr Vyvyan Howard recently met with the European Commission's Public Health and Consumer Protection directorate on the dangers to human health posed by water fluoridation in Ireland. Read more...

Press release: The latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency on the Quality of Drinking Water has revealed excess aluminium in several of Donegal’s drinking water supplies. Read more...

On Sunday, June 15th at 3pm, come to the event organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition in Sandymount Strand. Read more...

Free fun public events will be hosted all across the island of Ireland during Biodiversity Week 2008. Many of Ireland's environmental groups are taking part in 6 'shows', involving treasure hunts, workshops, guided nature walks, displays, markets, talks, and much more. Read more...

Just across the water in the UK, a new study, believed to be the first of its kind in the world, has shown that one third of the food bought in the UK is thrown away. That is like one in three bagfuls of food shopping going straight into the bin. Read more...

A new study commissioned by EEB and FOEE explains how much recycling can fight climate change. The study, conducted by German consultancy Ökopol, calculates for the first time the CO2 emission reduction potential of establishing EU-wide legally binding recycling targets for municipal solid waste. Read more...

You can make a difference: help us to shut down the lights to reduce the amount of CO₂. If everyone does their part, even the simplest things have a positive impact on climate change. Read more...

Preparations are well under way for the 2008 Flora Women’s Mini-Marathon. Charities are the big winners of this event, the largest women’s sporting occasion in Europe. Get ready and join the race! Be our female supporter, runner or walker, and help raise funds for VOICE. Read more...

VOICE met today with Minister John Gormley to present its findings on the economic cost of relying on incineration as Ireland's main method of waste disposal. Read more...

On Saturday December the 8 th, the Stop Climate Chaos Parade for the Planet took place in the streets of Dublin. Despite the bitter weather, the enthusiasm, good mood and above all the commitment of 800 participants didn’t wash out with the rain. Read more...

3 million at risk from illegal medicine in dysfunctional Irish health system

“Regulation of counterfeit medicines in Ireland is a contradiction when three million Irish consumers are exposed every day to an unlicensed medicine in their tap-water” said VOICE spokesman, Robert Pocock in Dublin today. Read more...

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas is for the first time proposing a ban for the cultivation of two genetically engineered maize varieties because of the long-term risks they pose to the environment and biodiversity. Read more...

Seven out of ten people in Co Donegal are getting too much fluoride, says VOICE campaigner Robert Pocock. His comments are backed up by results from a survey involving volunteers from three different fluoridated areas of County Donegal, who monitored their urinary fluoride intake over a 24-hour period. The survey was carried out by Clane GP, Dr Andrew Rynne who engaged an EU accredited pathology laboratory to obtain the results. Read more...