Thurles Information

Minister McEntee Announces Scheme To Regularise Undocumented Migrants.

A once-in-a-generation scheme will be open to those who don’t have a current permission to reside in Ireland.
Scheme will open online for applications in January with applications accepted during 6 month window.
Applicants must have a period of 4 years undocumented residence in the State, or 3 years in the case of those with children.
Successful applicants will receive immigration permission, access to the labour market and can begin path to citizenship.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has today announced that the Government has approved a scheme to regularise thousands of undocumented migrants and their families who are living in Ireland.

The scheme, which is a key part of Minister McEntee’s Justice Plan 2021, will be for long-term undocumented migrants and their eligible dependents, where the specific criteria is met.

It will enable eligible applicants to remain and reside in the State and to regularise their residency status.

There is no reliable data on the number of undocumented persons in the State but studies suggest there could be up to 17,000 undocumented persons including up to 3,000 children and that many could be in employment, although likely low paid employment.

Announcing the scheme, Minister McEntee said,

“I’m delighted that the Government has approved my proposal for this momentous, once-in-a-generation scheme.
Given that those who will benefit from this scheme currently live in the shadows, it is difficult to say how many will be eligible, but we are opening this scheme for six months from January to allow people come forward and regularise their status.
It will bring some much-needed certainty and peace of mind to thousands of people who are already living here and making a valuable contribution to our society and the economy, many of whom may be very vulnerable due to their current immigration circumstances.
As a result, they may be reluctant to seek medical assistance when ill, assistance from An Garda Síochána when they are the victim of a crime, or a range of other supports designed to assist vulnerable people in their times of need.
I believe that in opening this scheme, we are demonstrating the same goodwill and generosity of spirit that we ask is shown to the countless Irish people who left this island to build their lives elsewhere.”

People who are eligible under the scheme will:

Have a period of 4 years residence in the State without an immigration permission, or 3 years in the case of those with children on the date the Scheme opens for applications;
Be granted an immigration permission that allows for unrestricted access to the labour market; and
Have years of residence with that permission reckonable for the purposes of pursuing citizenship by way of naturalisation.
Those with an existing Deportation Order can apply, if they meet the minimum undocumented residence requirement.
Applicants must meet standards regarding good character and criminal record/behaviour and not pose a threat to the State.
Having convictions for minor offences will not, of itself, result in disqualification.

People with expired student permissions will also be able to apply.

Minister McEntee added,

“We know that regularisation programmes can yield import social benefits and improvements in economic living conditions and a reduction in the potential for exploitation in employment.
There are also economic benefits, both for the beneficiaries who are granted access to the labour market and who can benefit from a wider range of job opportunities, and for the State in terms of increased tax yields and social security contributions.
The scheme will include a parallel process to implement the recommendation included in the report of the Expert Advisory Group, led by Dr Catherine Day, by allowing international protection applicants who have an outstanding application for international protection and have been in the asylum process for a minimum of 2 years to apply.”

Outlining the rationale for this approach, Minister McEntee said:

“I am conscious of the recommendation made by the Expert Advisory Group, led by Dr Catherine Day, regarding people who have been in the protection process for two years or more.
In regularising those who are long-term undocumented in the State, the Government is keen to also ensure that we address any legacy asylum cases so that the new system envisaged under the White Paper can come into operation in 2024
I am committed to reducing processing times of both first instance decisions and appeals to 6 months respectively, which will ultimately benefit everyone in the protection process.”

The scheme was developed following a consultation process with key stakeholders including NGOs that work directly with people and families, who are in vulnerable immigration-related circumstances, as well as inter-Departmental and operational stakeholders.

The time-limited scheme will open for online applications in January 2022 and applications will be accepted for 6 months.

Killer Covid-19 Cases Reach 7,327 On Irish Mainland In Past 24 Hours.

The Department of Health has confirmed 5,419 new cases of Covid-19 within the past 24 hours here in the Irish Republic.

There remain 528 people in hospital who have tested positive for the virus, down 17 on yesterday’s figures and of these 110 remain in ICU’s, down seven on yesterday.

While the new variant Omicron has now been detected in some 38 countries including Ireland, to date there are no reported deaths so far according to the World Health Organisation,(WHO).

The Health Amendment Bill, which includes a return of Mandatory Hotel Quarantine has passed all stages in the Dáil tonight.

NPHET has advised the Government that cultural, entertainment, community and sporting events should operate at 50% capacity over the coming weeks, while indoor hospitality should be brought back to where it stood before October 22nd last; nightclubs will close, with restrictions remaining in place until January 9th at least. Covid passes will be required for gyms, leisure centres, hotel bars and restaurants.
Accepting NPHET’s recommendations Mr Martin has stated that he understood the frustration felt by people with the reintroduction of these restrictions.
With the level of disease in the community still a concern, a limit is expected to be recommended on household gatherings. However, An Taoiseach Mr Micheál Martin has stated that NPHET acknowledge that there was a need for flexibility on household visits.

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is to be reinstated for all those who lose jobs as a result of restrictions announced tonight.

Elsewhere
Belgium has tightened its coronavirus restrictions for the third consecutive week today to fight one of Europe’s worst spikes of Covid-19 cases.
With cases among children rising, mask mandates will apply to children from age six. Primary schools will shut for Christmas holidays a week earlier and secondary schools will shift to a hybrid system, with half of classes operating from home.

A further 1,908 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in Northern Ireland today down from the 2,272 cases reported yesterday.

There remain 326 patients with Covid-19 in northern hospitals, up 2 on yesterday, with 30 patients with Covid-19 remaining in hospital intensive care units.
Sadly 4 Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in Northern Ireland today.

Please do continue to listen to science and do keep yourself and your family safe by regularly washing your hands; wearing a mask when appropriate, and cut down on unnecessary social contacts.

Thurles Christmas Parking An Insult To Town Retailers.

Residents can read contents of this laughable, published and attached image themselves, composed first on November 24th, 2021.

Text of image left reads:

“Notice is hereby given that free parking is being made available to the public in the following town as follows: –

Thurles Town.

Free Parking for the first 30 minutes of every day for the month of December 2021.

[Then comes the real humour].
This initiative is designed to promote local trade and to encourage support for our local Traders, during the festive season.

Please shop local this Christmas.

We wish all our customers the compliments of the season.

Signed: Sharon Scully, (District Administrator Thurles).

This decision we must correctly assume was agreed NOT by Tipperary Co. Council, but by Thurles Municipal District Councillors controlled by Thurles Municipal District officialdom. We base this assumption on the information supplied on the Tipperary Co. Council’s own website, regarding other Tipperary Towns; Thurles as yet not included.

In Cashel: Free parking in all Public Car Parks each Saturday in December.
In Cahir: Free parking in all Public Car Parks each Saturday in December.
In Clonmel: Free Parking in Council owned car parks only.
In Carrick-on-Suir: Free Parking in Council owned car parks at William Street, New Street, Strand Lane and Greenside, on the following Saturdays, December 4th, 11th and 18th.
In Nenagh: From Saturday 11th to Sunday 26th December 2021, three hours free parking in carparks. Free parking continues to apply in the Railway Station Carpark, on a full-time basis.
In Mullingar, Co. Westmeath: Shoppers will be able to park for free in council car parks for six days in December. The days when free parking will apply are December 11th, 17th, 18th, 22nd, 23rd and 24th.
In Kilkenny City, Co. Kilkenny: From this morning Kilkenny County Council state that it is free to park at the Market Yard in the city from 9:00am to 12:00 noon, Mondays to Thursdays, for the next three weeks. There will also be no charge for vehicles that enter there after 6:00pm or at any time between December 25th and 28th. The carpark at County Hall will also be free every weekend in December: 5th/6th, 12th/13th, 19th/20th and 26th/27th as well as Monday 28th.

Of the above named Towns and City, where would you our readers shop, based on the info supplied?

Let’s Take A Look Now At Rules Imposed On Thurles Town Shoppers Christmas 2021.

But first, as part of sponsored content, the Tipperary Star Newspaper has announced via their publication, “The new installation of Christmas lights will be illuminated on the refurbished Liberty Square this Friday evening December 3rd at 5:00pm.”

“Sponsored Content”:
Same is material in any online publication which resembles the publication’s editorial content, but is in fact paid for by a hidden advertiser and intended to promote that advertiser’s product. In this case the paid-for PR material is totally untrue and totally inaccurate.

Work began on the refurbishment of Liberty Square with the opening of the proposed new car park to the rear of Jackie Griffin’s shop, back in May, 2018. The developers then moved unto Liberty Square itself in August 2020.

To date, December 2nd 2021, 16 months later, the first part of the refurbishment of Liberty Square is unlikely to be fully completed before Christmas, with part two of the project possibly not yet gone to tender and unlikely to be completed before next April 2022, or indeed later, resulting in this project likely to take some 4 years since it commenced; should it continue past May of 2022. Only the upper western end of Liberty Square and the eastern end have lighting. Lights in the centre, however, to use the lyrics sung by Danny Kay are “all together as naked as the day that it (he) was born”

So whoever wrote the paid-for sponsored content, for the Tipperary Star Newspaper, same unnamed individual is plainly a fabricator of visual truth.

With the introduction of car parking charges in the town, most of the smart businesses with household names, like Elvery’s, An Post, Heatons, Quigley’s etc, etc, etc, either left the town altogether, or moved to Thurles Shopping Centre, where parking is provided free of charge. Others just shut up shop. As we prophesied, Thurles town centre has now moved with some of its shops, reducing footfall in Liberty Square by 75%.

Since the developers moved unto Liberty Square in August 2020, people have further avoided Liberty Square, as employees of all the developers understandable took over early morning, available customer parking spaces, both on the street and in Ulster Bank car park and the new car park, latter affectionately known as “Checkpoint Charlie”.

Having grasped all of these development issues, together with Covid-19 shutdowns, readers would have thought that struggling retailers should have been given a real break this Christmas to entice back footfall.

Currently parking on lower Liberty Square, Thurles has been reduced by approximately 8 car parking spaces, same designated to 5 Taxi spaces and 3 spaces for any 1 delivery truck . A further 2 spaces have been correctly given over for disabled parking. Currently about 14 other legal parking spaces only, remain available tonight, due to refurbishment staff vehicles and their site office.

We are informed by our Traffic Warden and some Councillors that stationary vehicles are permitted 15 minutes of free parking every day of the year. Surely the extra 15 minutes now added on for Christmas shopping, shows a middle finger to both retailers and their customers, by our local administration.

Where now is the farmer’s friend Mr Jackie Cahill TD and the millionaire’s friend Mr Michael Lowry TD and his Lowry Team councillors?
Where also is Thurles Chamber of Commerce in all of this?

Answer to both these questions is nowhere.

Since Mr Michael Ryan’s retirement as Thurles administrator, back in April 2016, quality and dedicated administration in Thurles, has been sadly lacking.

We now invite Ms Sharon Scully, to don her overcoat, scarf, gloves, plus wellies and armed with a note pad and pencil to make notes; take a walk around Thurles town and introduce herself to the retailers. Note please, the empty shop buildings and the damaged sign posts.
Please come on a Friday morning, if possible, when stinking offal is being driven through the town centre, usually between 11:00am and 12:00 noon, forcing shops to close their doors because of the stink.
Note what pedestrian crossing lights are not working; where the grass is growing in our drains and on our pavements; visit Kickham Street and survey the river of water flowing down the roadway and the water filled potholes damaging people’s homes. The glass bottles and clothing falling from ‘Recycling Pods’ in various parking areas; the continuous destruction of our new town park; the graffiti; the raw sewage flowing into the river Suir, the litter bins unfit for purpose, etc, etc, etc.

Finally, in Tralee, Co Kerry: Parking will be free all day in Council-owned car parks in the town from November 29th 2021 to January 2nd next 2022.
Parking is subject to a maximum stay period of four hours in all Council car parks, except in Garvey’s car park (2 hours); St John’s/Abbey (2 hours); Tesco town centre (2 hours) and Parklands (2 hours), to ensure traffic flow.
Traffic wardens will continue to monitor and enforce illegal parking during this period.
Tralee traders on social media are protesting, stating # Tralee for next five weeks, “Don’t feed the Meters”.

Tipperary Employment.

Kilshane House, Kilshane, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, are currently seeking to fill the post of Wedding and Event Coordinator, reporting directly to the owners.

Candidates applying for the position would require the following distinguishing qualities and characteristics: –

Professional appearance and friendly approach.
Ability to think on your feet.
Focused on providing excellent customer service.
Sensitive to people’s needs.
Intuitive, confident, upbeat.
Ability to work on your own initiative.
Proven management skills.
Equipped with a good sense of humour.
Available on some weekends and prepared, if necessary, to be flexible on hours if the event requires it.
Computer literacy essential.

For further details please view the following link shown HERE.

Killer Covid-19 Cases, On Irish Mainland In Past 24 Hours Reach 6,435.

The Department of Health has confirmed 4,163 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, here in the Irish Republic.

There remain 545 people in hospital who have tested positive for the virus, down 33 since yesterday and of these there are 117 in our intensive care units, the latter figure unchanged overnight.

Another 2,272 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Northern Ireland over the past 24 hours, up from 1,992 on the number of cases reported yesterday.

There are 324 patients with Covid-19 in hospitals in Northern Ireland, down from 332 on yesterday, with 30 patients with Covid-19 being treated in intensive care units, the same number as reported yesterday. Sadly, 2 further Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in Northern Ireland today.

The Irish Republic’s Government will assist businesses and the Irish work-force who are negatively affected by any new measures introduced to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, Mr Leo Varadkar has informed the Dáil that it would be judicious for the Cabinet to wait until the National Public Health Emergency Team gives its advice later today, before taking further decisions on any form of targeted financial supports.

The Minister for Health Mr Stephen Donnelly has informed the Dáil that he strongly believes there is a need to have a system of hotel quarantine ready and on hand to operate. The Minister stated that Ireland would be in a better position to act speedily should legislation be introduced to permit hotel quarantine should it is needed.

The HSE Chief Executive Mr Paul Reid has warned that the Republic’s hospital system is still under significant pressure from Covid-19, stating that we are still far from out of the woods despite being in the top five of EU countries with regard to the roll-out of booster vaccines, per head of population.

The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) has stated that based on mathematical modelling conducted by them, there are indications that the new Omicron could account for over half of all Covid-19 infections in the EU/EEA within the coming months.

Following a meeting with the country’s regional leaders, Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated that Germany will now ban people who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19, removing them from greater involvement in public life.

Please do continue to listen to science and do keep yourself and your family safe by regularly washing your hands; wearing a mask when appropriate, and cut down on unnecessary social contacts.