Republic of Ireland overwhelmingly in favour of extending marriage rights to same-sex couples. On 23 May 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. Ireland became the first country in the world to introduce an environmental levy for plastic shopping bags in 2002 and a public smoking ban in 2004. Recycling in Ireland is carried out extensively, and Ireland has the second highest rate of packaging recycling in the European Union. It was the first country in Europe to ban incandescent lightbulbs in 2008 and the first EU country to ban in-store tobacco advertising and product display in
Christopher Beaumont, 23rd Seigneur of Sark Christopher Beaumont, 23rd Seigneur of Sark Christopher Beaumont is the present Seigneur of Sark in the Channel Islands and a major. He succeeded as Seigneur on 3 July 2016, when his father Michael Beaumont died. On 5 July 2016 the "Sark Newspaper" published an article that listed reasons Sark residents should have doubts about what the Seigneury of the 23rd Seigneur held in store for them. The "Sark Newspaper" reported Sark residents could not know whether Beaumont would re-occupy the Seigneurie, the traditional residence of the Seigneur, even though it is a matter of public record that the elderly former