Although some senior Government Ministers are staying at home, this coming St. Patrick’s Day, 23 key Government figures are flying to locations around the world to meet with key business and political figures to sell our wares.
We are told that these Government Ministers are using St Patrick’s Day as an opportunity to promote Ireland to locations around the world.
We understand that the Minister for Transport Mr Noel Dempsey will be in Toronto, Canada this St Patrick’s Day, to attend the Ireland Fund’s St Patrick’s day lunch with 1,000 business and political decision makers, meeting clients and their customers at an Enterprise Ireland business breakfast. It would appear, however, that Mr Dempsey’s “Ministerial Mercedes”, not to mention the vehicles of local TD’s, Local and County Councillors have not driven on the road from Templetuohy to Johnstown in the past three years.
The video hereunder demonstrates the current state of the road presently tolerated and shared by residents and those trying to transact their everyday business in and around Thurles, Templetuohy and the Moyne areas of Co.Tipperary.
We now ask a simple question “Minister, with the greatest respect, how do you promote a country with a secondary road structure familiar, only, to a fourth world State”
While in daylight this road surface is visible, some night soon some unfamiliar stranger to this area is going to loose their life.
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey recently announced the investment of some €411.408m in the regional and local roads network for 2010 with priority being given to repairing roads damaged by floods and freezing conditions.
Minister Dempsey said in allocating the money his priority had been “to address the most urgently required repairs resulting from the extensive damage caused by the recent severe weather,” estimated by County Councils to total €180m.
The minister said he had also simplified the grants structure and given more flexibility to local authorities to decide how the funds are spent.
Deputy Noel Coonan
North Tipperary Deputy Noel Coonan said this year’s road grant allocation is almost €5 million less than North Tipperary received in 2009 and falls very short of what is needed to repair the ‘Beirut Blitz’ on our roads throughout the constituency. Deputy Coonan said we have two North Tipperary Government Deputies patting themselves on the back yet again over a job, badly done.
The Regional and Local Road Grant Allocations to Tipperary North (County and Town councils) for 2010 are €11,807,118. The figure for last year was €16,239,338. This is a decrease in funding of almost €5million for the coming year.
Deputy Coonan said:
“While this funding is welcome it is not remotely adequate and we have Government Deputies Lowry andHoctor patting themselves on the back for this allocation which is nowhere near enough to repair the extensive damage from flooding before Christmas and frost after Christmas.
North Tipperary County Council has been operating with its hands tied behind its back waiting for this response, especially following the very bad weather we received. The roads are in an outrageous state in some areas which is a clear example of a totally indecisive Government that has failed to take rapid and immediate action. It lacks the confidence and ability to do so. People are suffering damage to their cars on a daily basis. The €139,000 allocated to Templemore Town Councils is a meager amount in comparison to the €204,000 it received last year for regional and local road maintenance.
Both Nenagh Town Council and Thurles Town Council received €287,000 in 2009 but this has fallen sharply to €195,000 for this year. The Department of Transport should be providing extra funding to rehabilitate the dire state of our roads at the moment but instead has provided an even lesser amount this year. Minister Noel Dempsey said these grants represent a significant investment at a time when public finances are under pressure but it is this Government that has created such pressure and I fear this slashing in funding will impact on safety levels on our local network of roads.”
North Tipperary Independent Deputy Michael Lowry has confirmed that he has held discussions with Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and the latter has confirmed his commitment to providing some €2.6 million, in relation to the completion of the Thurles link road.
This funding will see the link between the Templemore and Nenagh roads completed before the end of 2010.
This link road will includes the building of a €2.2 million bridge over the main Dublin-Cork railway line, which has been, supposedly, the major stumbling block to the continued progress of this long drawn out project. Construction came to a sudden stop in October last with the road footprint having been carved out. Deputy Lowry has stated:
“I have been in discussion with Minister Noel Dempsey on this congestion issue and arising from these talks I have gotten a commitment that the link road will be completed before the end of the year. Monies are being provided to finish the road and the engineers and design team have now agreed on the necessary requirement for the bridge. This will be a very significant piece of infrastructure for the area.”
When this long overdue road is completed, it will be the first step in alleviating heavy traffic congestion coming from the north of the county, which together with a poorly designed and badly flawed traffic calming system, presently brings Thurles to a standstill between the hours 8.30am – 9.30am and between 3.30 pm – 6.00 pm.
Presently, from a health and safety view point, both Fire, Doctor and Ambulance services are now being greatly hindered in their efforts to answer 999 emergency calls, particularly on the Dublin road, through Cathedral street and Kickham street, due to clogged motorists unable to mount high footpaths to give a clear way to these essential services. One angry frustrated motorist informed us this week:-
“Elderly cyclists who pay no road taxes, now decide the speed of traffic in Thurles, since they cannot be overtaken by motorists, due to the recent traffic calming measures introduced. These so called calming measures have had quiet the opposite effect to calming, with motorists forced to take unnecessary risks while becoming enraged and discourteous in their everyday driving habits within the town. We continue to elect Maurice Hickey type, self serving, headline gathering town and county representatives, with little or no business acumen or qualifications, to service our town and county’s need and what we elect is what we get.” he continued.
Once daily shoppers from the villages of Two Mile Borris, Moyne, Templetuohy, Holycross, Glengoole etc. have now taken their daily shopping trips to nearby Cashel, because of the long delays in Thurles traffic. Supermarkets on the outskirts of the town who offer free car parking, continue to do reasonable business at the expense of the now strangled town centre. Some local commuters and centre town businesses are now privately calling for a blockade of the town in order to highlight this ever growing problem.
Other Road Problems
North Tipperary County Council have estimated that between €3.2 and €4 million will be needed to repair roads damaged in the recent cold spell. Of this sum, €2.7 million will be needed to spent on restoring local and regional roads.
Motorists are asked to be particularly careful driving on the road between Thurles and Templetuohy, where road surfaces have been described as similar to mountainous terrain. The road from Templetuohy to Johnstown is grossly unsafe to travel by any form of transport, with large areas of the surface having subsided by up to 12 to 18 inches in many places over the past twelve months, leaving it particularly hazardous for unfamiliar motorist during periods of darkness.
If you feel strongly about this issue, please feel free to comment hereunder.
In Tipperary, motorists, particularly around Thurles, are being warned to be especially careful.
Road temperatures continue to drop and snow is falling in many parts of the country. Conditions on secondary and minor roads are treacherous. Drive with extreme care and remember gentle maneuvers are the key to safe driving.
Motorists are experiencing very icy road conditions on the N7 between Moneygall and Nenagh, and extremely icy conditions also exists on the bridge at Fiddown, connecting the N24 Carrick-on-Suir Rd and the Portlaw Rd (R680).
Motorists are advised, during this expected week long cold spell, to drive with extreme care coming up to Christmas.
The first 7km section of the Nenagh-Limerick M7 motorway, known as the Nenagh Bypass, which includes a new link to the Thurles Interchange, is now officially open
The section comprises part of Nenagh’s existing N7 bypass, which has been upgraded to motorway standard, and includes an interchange with the R498 Thurles road.
Full motorway restrictions apply with temporary traffic management and speed restrictions remaining in place on both the Eastern and Western ends of this section of the Motorway.
The interchange will now enable traffic to join or exit the motorway at Knockalton instead of having to come through Nenagh town.
The section is opening ahead of the main 38km Nenagh-Limerick motorway, which is not expected to carry traffic until March or April 2010.
Project contractor Bóthar Hibernian is advising motorists to exercise “extreme caution” while temporary traffic management is being removed from this route.
Iarnród Éireann has advised its customers that its early morning commuter service from Thurles to Dublin has been restored to its former time. The 6.55am direct Limerick to Dublin train will be advanced to leave Limerick at the earlier time of 6.35am, scheduled to arrive into Dublin at 9am.
A spokesman Iarnród Éireann stated:
“This timetable alteration is in response to requests from commuters travelling from Limerick, Thurles, Templemore and Ballybrophy to Dublin City, for a restoration of an earlier arrival into Dublin. The 6.55am service from Limerick to Dublin will now have a change at Limerick Junction and is still scheduled to arrive into Dublin at 9.15am. This alteration will give Limerick commuters an additional morning service to Dublin with a total of 17 train services available each weekday for people travelling from Limerick to Dublin.”
Full details of all train services leaving and arriving at Thurles are now available by clickinghere
An Taoiseach, Mr Brian Cowen, was in Clonmel, Co.Tipperary yesterday surveying the severe damage caused by flooding over recent days, where at least 30 homes have been damaged by flooding with a large number of families being displaced.
An Taoiseach Mr Brian Cowen
Mr Cowen, when asked what funding would be available to those who cannot get insurance, stated that the issue would be discussed within Government today.
South Tipperary’s Junior Minister for the Office of Public Works, Martin Mansergh is confident that funding for flood relief schemes will not be cut in the Budget. He said he had met with the Finance Minister last week and he is very confident that major works underway presently in Clonmel, will still continue, despite substantial cuts to OPW funding.
Meanwhile as homeowners and businesses in North Tipperary wade through the damage caused by a week of torrential rain, Fine Gael will this week use its Private Members’ Time to put forward a Motion to ensure a new national flood alert system is established.
Deputy Noel Coonan extended his deep sympathy to families, property and business owners throughout the constituency who have been devastated by floods. The Deputy commended the work done and dedication shown by the Defence Forces, Garda Síochána, Civil Defence, Local Authorities and communities and the Red Cross in battling the worst flooding in living memory.
As the clean-up begins, Fine Gael believes we must tackle the issue of flooding in the future to maintain public safety and avoid the severe social and economic hardship caused by serious flooding this time round.
Yesterday, the N65 Portumna/Borrisokane Road was impassable at Carrigahorig. Property owners and landowners from south of Killaloe/Ballina to Limerick City are on high alert as low lying areas of the River Shannon were at serious risk of flooding and the Borrisokane to Athlone Road was closed at Rathcabbin.
The Blackcastle Road out of Templemore is badly flooded yet again. This road has been prone to flooding for years but there seems to be no urgency in addressing these flooding black spots. Meanwhile, residents continue to suffer. Blackcastle Road has been under consideration for a long time for remedial flooding works and Deputy Noel Coonan will be seeking assurances from the Government that funding is provided to implement OPW projects that have been planned locally. Continue reading Taoiseach Visits Flood Ravaged Tipperary
A fourteen day trial of a new traffic management plan came into effect today in Thurles.
This new system, which has the full approval of An Garda Síochána includes a number of new one-way routes, put into place from early this morning.
However Gardaí are continuing to remind motorists who are entering Thurles from Templemore that they must stop and yield to the two lanes of traffic coming down right on the now one-way Cuchulainn Road, while noting also that traffic from Nenagh direction is now being diverted left away from Parnell Street, which is presently one-way only to drivers leaving Liberty Square.
So during this trial period “Lets be careful out there folks, concentrate and watch out for those newly erected signs.”
Thurles people are strongly urged to engage with the consultation process for the planned route selection for the N62 Thurles Bypass which were on display to the public in the Anner Hotel yesterday from 2pm-8pm.
“A full study has been completed and five potential routes have now been identified by the National Roads Authority (NRA) as options for the bypass”, stated Co. Councillor John Kennedy , who attended yesterdays display .
When the Public display in the Anner Hotel ended, the plans for the suggested route corridors went on display in the Source Library, the Thurles Town Council Offices in Thurles and the County Council Offices in Nenagh and will remain there until Wednesday the 14th of October.
Note: The deadline for all submissions is the 16th of October next.
North Tipp Co.Councillor Mr John Kennedy
The Thurles bypass is one of only two NRA capital projects presently being funded in the country, the other project being the Castleisland Bypass, Co.Kerry, which has not yet been started. All other projects nationwide have been temporarily frozen because of the country’s economic difficulties.
Meanwhile work will begin shortly on other road developments in the area with the final phase of a €2.5 million road improvements package, to deal with the badly needed resurfacing of the Holycross/Beakstown/Thurles road, which is expected to begin this coming weekend.
Parnell Street To Become One-Way
Still on road matters, some Thurles councillors are outraged that the Town Council has decided to progress with their controversial traffic management plan.
Thurles Area County Councillors were informed at a recent meeting that the council is going ahead with a one-way system on the west side of Liberty Square. This plan will now make Parnell Street one-way only and divert all traffic, including heavy goods vehicles, from the Nenagh Road onto Cuchulainn Road.
The Town Clerk, Mr.Michael Ryan, stated, that in the interests of safety, a two-week trial of this proposed plan will take place during the mid term school break next month and following this, a final decision would be made. Gardai have been pushing for this one way system, in an effort to speed up the constant early morning and mid afternoon traffic jams, caused mainly by excess traffic on school runs. Alternative plans, to limit parking on Parnell Street, have been shelved and are viewed by many local residents as completely unworkable.
IARNROD Éireann are to run special return train services for the U2 concerts in Croke Park Stadium, Dublin, this coming weekend.
Fans will be able to avoid the expense of staying overnight in Dublin or having the hassle of delays and parking associated by driving, and can avail of these special return services from Heuston Station after each of the concerts.
U2 Fans Can Book Online
U2 fans can book online at www.irishrail.ie to avail of these online fares.
The concerts are timed to finish around 11pm each evening and the train service, travelling to both Limerick and Cork, are at scheduled to leave Dublin at 1.00 am.
Luas services will be in operation to take all U2 fans from the city centre to Heuston station.
The return service, with a change at Thurles, Co.Tipperary, for Limerick, is due to arrive back in Limerick at 3.20am.
IARNROD Éireann are to run special return train services for the 
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