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The present Government has closed 39 rural police stations over the past year and is set to make further significant cuts to the remaining 700 stations around the country. Due to a lack of personnel, a large majority of these police stations now open only on restricted hours.
 Templetuohy loose telephone wires to scrap metal merchants. Recent statistics, released through the Central Statistic Office, state that 80% of police stations record only one or less crime per day and 40% record only one crime per week. However these statistics totally distorts the true crime figures, since when a crime is committed in any garda catchment area, because these stations are on restricted hours, they are not necessarily attributed to that particular local police station.
Government statistics while being used to justify continuing cuts to garda personnel and their budget, is not an indicator of the true level of crime committed or the fact that many people currently residing in isolated areas of rural Ireland are now living in real fear.
Rural Ireland Now Living In Fear
In recent days on the isolated Johnstown road running from the rural village of Templetuohy here in Tipperary, thieves cut down strategic telephone poles in order to obtain the valuable copper telephone wire which these poles supported. The wire and poles were then removed from the scene, the insulation burned off to access the wire and same was then taken to scrap metal merchants, latter who appear not to ask question as to the source of such material.
While this is not an isolated incident over the past two years and nothing new on our less travelled roads here in County Tipperary, local rural dwellers are being left without communication of any sort for up to five days. It is these same rural areas where mobile phone signals are weak and access to internet depends solely on land line telephone links.
The unemployment rate in Ireland was last reported, in September last, at around 14.8%. In the past from 1983, to date, Ireland’s Unemployment Rate averaged 10.8%, reaching an all time high of 17.3% in December of 1985 and a record low of 3.7% in January of 2001.
This latest criminal activity must be viewed as a case of “grab what you can before this country sinks further into the mire,” and which sees, currently, one well educated, highly skilled person emigrate abroad in search of a future, every five minutes.
 Serious anti-social behaviour regulation laws are to be introduced which will help Local Authorities evict tenants who are engaging in serious acts of anti-social behaviour.
Minister for Housing Jan O’Sullivan has stated today that there are problem with evicting such offenders and the Government will be introducing new legislation next year which will also include a probationary period for new tenants who offend.
Some 6,000 complaints of serious anti-social behaviour have been reported in local authority controlled housing throughout the country and the minister believes that those who engage in such behaviour should be denied local authority tenancy.
Complaints received included problems with graffiti, music, intimidation and drug dealing and & so far this year councils have conducted 20 evictions for such behaviour.
Graffiti here in Thurles continues to go unchecked and ignored as onlookers who attended the recent Tipperary Women’s Mini Marathon will attest. I must admit however that I find it difficult to understand how we must wait until next year for new legislation to deal with such anti-social behaviour problems. After all, the legislation demanding Household Charges & Septic Tank charges were able to be introduced into law within a few weeks.
Are ‘Town By-laws,’ which were previously permitted rules adopted by Town & City Councils, to regulate the affairs and behaviour of citizens, a thing of the past and are local councillors now devoid of all real power & therefore no longer required in our towns & cities, since the introduction of central funding controlled by national governments? Are there significant financial savings to be made, by the abolition of local councillors?
 Thurles & Tipperary CSO Crime Figures 2011 Thieves are going online to confirm when private homes are unoccupied. Gardaí have warned that thieves are using Facebook and Twitter to spy on their victims in an effort to discover when they are likely to leave their homes unattended. Social networkers are foolishly and openly stating their intentions to travel on holidays or to attend social occasions like weddings and other family events.
Nowadays with strict drink driving laws in force, people are more inclined to stay overnight if alcohol is consumed, thus leaving their homes unattended for at least 12 to 14 hours.
With a 7% rise in burglaries up to July 31st last and with one-in-three burglars now simply breaking in through your front door, people need to be extremely careful about the information they disclose when using such social networks.
Click image on left to obtain a larger view of reported crime in your area or click here to see the crime rate of all towns listed in Tipperary. (Note: Select ‘Tipperary,’ in box marked ‘County or State,’ on the indicated link.)
One other source of information, inviting criminals unto your property now also appear to be ‘For Sale,’ signs, as experienced in Holycross some weeks ago, when scrap metal thieves removed all the copper piping including the copper cylinder from a two story house which was advertising the owner’s intension to sell. Of course no one saw anything suspicious, but surely the questions must now be asked; who receives this stolen metal and is it now time to licence & control those dealers involved in the purchase of such scrap metals, most of whom deal strictly in cash?
With our greatly reduced police force now under massive pressure, attempting to solve our ever increasing crime rate, one must also ask the question why members of our excellent unarmed police force are observed, daily, escorting bank security vehicles around town, when up to six soldiers, armed with Steyr Assault Rifles, are already employed on these same patrols.
Time has come to make changes, time has come for people to start looking out for each other and time has come to be grateful you have a nosy neighbour.
 Thurles Courthouse A 23-year-old male has appeared, today, before Thurles District Court, on the serious charge of manslaughter.
The charge refers to an assault at Liberty Square, Thurles, Co.Tipperary which resulted in the unfortunate death of 25-year-old Mr James Tynan, a native of Johnstown, Co.Kilkenny, on February 20th last 2012.
A male, then aged 22, from the Templemore area, was arrested in relation to this incident and detained under Section 4 of Criminal Justice Act, at Thurles Garda Station.
It is understood that there was CCTV in the vicinity of where the incident happened and gardaí, headed by Supt Pat Lordan, examined digital film footage as part of their then ongoing investigations.
The late Mr Tynan was an extremely popular and much loved young man, who worked with his father Pascal, in Tynan Meats, in Johnstown, Co Kilkenny and our sympathy is with his family at this sad time.
The defendant was remanded in custody to appear before Nenagh District Court on Friday September 7th next.
 Were you in Littleton, Tipperary on Monday evening last around 5.00pm? Photo courtesy M.Bannon Thurles Gardaí are appealing for any information regarding the theft of a Mitsubishi Pajero Jeep containing a white Sheep Dog, from outside a premises in Littleton, Co Tipperary on Monday evening last.
When stolen, the Jeep carried the registration plates 03-D-18556.
The vehicle was taken from outside a house in the village, at about 5.00pm – 5.30pm on the evening in question, while the owner went briefly inside. (The red dot on above picture, marks the area where the Jeep was last parked.) Two young men were later seen travelling at high speed in the Jeep and it would appear that the vehicle was possibly driven to Laharden and across by Ballyerk.
A sheepdog, with white body and black head, who answers to the name “Nellie,” and who had accompanied the driver, is now also missing. The owner is particularly concerned and upset for his dog’s safety and welfare. So if you see a stray sheepdog in your area with the above identifying marks, please do call Thurles Gardaí at Tel: 0504 25100.
It is believed that the Jeep may have been also observed at the Turpike & Mary Willies Crossroads at around 5.20pm.
Someone may unwittingly have seen the theft of this vehicle or indeed may have noticed a neighbour who has come into the possession, rather suddenly, of a black Mitsubishi Pajero 03 Jeep.
Persons who were in any of the areas mentioned in this text, are asked to please study the above picture closely, and call Thurles Gardaí at Tel: 0504 25100 with any information, which will be treated in confidence.
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