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Fine Gael TD, Deputy Noel Coonan has strongly criticised recommendations from An Bord Snip’s report which he claims will have a huge future impact on the everyday lives of the people of North Tipperary, if implemented.
Speaking to Thurles.Info today Deputy Coonan stated:
 “The McCarthy report has begun an unprecedented attack on rural Ireland and in particular on the fabric of life in the midlands and County Tipperary. The proposals to close the Tipperary Institute in Thurles and Clonmel together with the drastic cuts proposed in Agriculture and Environmental Schemes strike at the very heart of the social, and economic well being of the Premier County and if implemented will guarantee untold hardship and pain on the people of Tipperary.
The Tipperary Institute is the rock on which future development of our County depends and as such deserves the support of all elected representatives both in Government and Opposition. Fine Gael has a strong record in relation to the Tipperary Institute. It was Fine Gael in Government who purchased this site under the leadership of Garreth Fitzgerald and the Institute was made a reality under John Bruton as Taoiseach of a Fine Gael led Government. Fine Gael will continue to support the Tipperary Institute.
This attack on our county is not solely confined to McCarthy. The Present Government supported by Fianna Fail, Greens and Independents have agreed to the closure of the District Veterinary Office in Nenagh (despite all the Ri Ra over decentralization). They have implemented a ban on recruitment of students to An Garda Siochanna College, Templemore with the subsequent loss of jobs both directly and indirectly. This is a huge blow to the local economy of Mid Tipperary. These desperate decisions by Fianna Fail and their backers in Government, together with the sheer volume of recommendation in the McCarthy Report highlights the total lack of efficiency and value for money at the heart of Government for the last seven years. The question must now be asked; are the people responsible for this mess, capable of leading us into an economic recovery?”
The Government’s influential cost-cutting body dubbed “An Bord Snip Nua”, charged with finding billions in savings across all Government departments and the public sector, made its report public today.
The published report however brought what has been described as cataclysmic news for the Co. Tipperary towns of Thurles and Clonmel, with the recommendation that Tipperary Institute should be abolished as part of proposed rationalisation measures.
Vol.2. Page 69 of the report reads as follows:
D.2 Rationalisation of third level institutions
At present, Ireland has 7 universities, 14 institutes of technology and over 20 other third level educational institutions feeding into the CAO, many of which are comparatively small by international standards. Given the size and population of the country, there is scope to reduce the number of third level institutions. An Bord Snip now proposes the following rationalisation measures:
1. Abolition of the Tipperary Rural and Business Development Institute (TRBDI)
 The case for the continued existence of TRBDI is weak. The institute is located near two other IoT’s and has a high complement of staff (100) compared to the number of full-time students (338). The Group recommends that the institution be closed with existing students re-assigned to nearby IoT’s. The campus should be disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer.
The present development work of the Tipperary Institute includes promoting sustainable social and economic development through providing assistance, advice, mentoring, consultancy, research and training services to communities and businesses in the region, throughout Ireland, and across Europe. Areas of work include community planning and development, business planning and development, environmental management, software development, information and communications technology development and applications, personal development, public sector management, training and research.
Local Independent TD, Deputy Michael Lowry, who presently supports the present Coalition Government, stressed that the report is only a recommendation and not a final political decision.
The Bord, whose official title is the “Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes” (SGPSNEP), was chaired by economist Colm McCarthy, assisted by liaison officer Donal McNally, who is Second Secretary General at the Department of Finance. The other members of the Bord include Maurice O’Connell, former Governor of the Central Bank, WilliamSlattery, MD of State Street International, Mary Walsh, a former partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Pat McLaughlin, former Deputy CEO of the Health Services Executive supported by Dept. of Finance officials.
 A electricity generating plant planned for Cahir Co.Tipperary has finally got the green light.
An Bord Pleanála has ruled in favour of plans for a gas powered electricity generating plant near Cahir.
Mountside Properties Ltd previously had been granted permission by South Tipperary County Council to develop the project at Kilcommon, Cahir, Co.Tipperary at the end of January 2008, despite strong local opposition. Subsequently, six further appeals against the project were lodged with An Bord Pleanala.
A joint venture is expected to be carried out through Greener Peaking Ltd, and Mountside Properties interest in the joint venture is valued at some €40m.
Mountside is best known as the company which won the tender to build a €300m, 400mw gas-fired power station in Tynagh, Co Galway. It later sold down its shareholding, retaining a 20pc stake, while the remainder is owned by GE Energy Financial Services and Gama Construction.
The new company has application for planning permission for a number of small power stations in including Cahir, Co Tipperary, Kilkenny City and Claremorris, Co Mayo. In Cahir it is expected this project will now be fast-tracked.
The State Planning Appeals Board has now decided to reject their own inspectors recommendation, which was to refuse permission, and has given the green light for the development of the power plant subject to certain revised conditions.
Work is in progress to assign two permanent staff members to Thurles’s Social Welfare Office because of the increased number of claims for jobseeker payments.
Deputy Noel Coonan Fine Gael speaking this morning to Thurles.Info stated:
 “One temporary member of staff has been approved for the Thurles local office pending the assignment of permanent staff. The number of posts allocated to Thurles Local Office since June 2007 has risen from 17.6 to 19.2 but may need to be increased further with 1,417 Jobseeker’s Benefit applications made, up until mid June. North Tipperary’s social welfare staff provide an excellent and efficient service and as their workload increases it’s only right that additional staff are recruited to ease the load. The total number of applications for Job Seeker’s Allowance last year was 2,789. However, 2008 application were received up until 14th June of this year for the same allowance. This is 72% of the total received last year so I can only imagine what the figure will be by year’s end. It is a similar situation with the number of Jobseeker’s Benefits applications received. Three full time and four part time staff have been operating in the Roscrea office since 2008. This number has not increased this year. In Nenagh, one extra member of full-time staff has been allocated this year to bring the number to five. Recent Central Statistic Office figures show that the number signing on continues to rise steeply in North Tipperary. Additional staff are needed to help deal with the rising claim load for jobseekers payments,” concluded Deputy Coonan
In response to a parliamentary question, the Minister for Social & Family Affairs Thurles born Mary Hanafin TD stated:
“Offices in Roscrea and Nenagh are branch offices and operate under a contract for service to the Department. Branch office managers are therefore responsible for recruiting their own staff”.
Deputy Coonan’s remarks are bourne out by recently confirmed official figures.
North Tipperary had the highest percentage increase of people joining the Unemployment Register nationally in the month of June. An additional 489 people signed on, representing an increase of over 8% on the figures for the month of May. Fine Gael Deputy Noel Coonan TD has again called on the Government to immediately adopt Fine Gael policies in order to halt this growing problem.
Deputy Coonan stated:
 “North Tipperary fared worse than any other county last month. We had the highest percentage increase in the number of people joining the dole than in any other area of Ireland. There were 6,024 people on the dole in May. By the end of June an additional 489 had joined this list. Approx 207 joined the dole in Nenagh, 177 in Thurles and 105 in Roscrea. People under the age of 25 are being particularly badly affected. Almost 1,000 people in this age group joined the dole over the last two years in North Tipperary. This represents a 202% increase. CSO figures also show that over the last two years, a whopping 4,051 people have joined the dole in North Tipperary. In the same period, 1,657 more people signed on in Thurles, 1,647 in Nenagh and 747 in Roscrea. A growing number of national and international organisations have criticised Fianna Fáil’s approach recently and with due reason”.
The recent criticisms referred too by Deputy Coonan include:
- The IMF, which described Ireland as ‘the most overheated of all advanced economies’ and warned of the collapse in Irish exports, pointing the finger of blame firmly at Brian Cowen
- The CSO‘s national quarterly accounts, which revealed a staggering 12% slump in Gross National Product
- The OECD, which warned that GDP will have fallen by 14% by 2010;
Deputy Coonan further stated that the Government must now adopt Fine Gael’s policies to restore competitiveness and stimulate consumer demand.
Fine Gael is calling for reductions in spending to allow cuts in VAT and employers’ PRSI, the abolition of the Travel Tax, the creation of a National Recovery Bank to restore credit lines to small business and home-buyers, and a plan to reduce Government-imposed costs on small business.
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