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 Local firefighters have referred their ongoing wages dispute with the North Tipperary County Council to the Labour Relations Commission and could yet resort to strike action.
Local representatives this week informed a meeting of North Tipperary Co Council of their concern that the dispute, which first began last year, had not as yet been resolved. The real dispute is understood to centre around disagreements over changes in work practices. County Manager Mr.Terry Ó Niadh said the matter is unresolved simply because North Tipperary’s firefighters are refusing to enter into direct discussions with his Councils representatives.
Mr Ó Niadh stated:-
“The remedy lies in the hands of the firefighters themselves, We would be more than happy at this stage to sit down with all concerned.”
However, the firefighters have referred the matter to the Labour Relations Commission, which is expected to hear their case next month. Mr Ó Niadh said the council is prepared to go to the commission with the firefighters.
Last September a group of firemen staged a protest here in Thurles over changes to their agreed work practice. Those involved complained about the introduction of new rostering, or staffing arrangements and claimed that pay entitlements, due to them, were being withheld because of this matter.
At the time, North Tipperary Co Council said it had been introducing a number of workplace changes and that staff affected were asked to nominate representatives to sit on a working group to consider certain implementation issues. North Tipperary Co Council said the firefighters would not cooperate with the working group, and the council duly informed the Performance Verification Group that North Tipperary’s firefighters were in breach of agreements outlined by Social Partnership and signed off in the ‘Towards 2016 Agreement’ document.
The Performance Verification Group replied by not sanctioning a wage increase that was due to the firefighters in March of last year.
 All primary and post-primary schools in Co Tipperary are expected to benefit from the welcome return this year of the Summer Works Scheme.
Indeed over 1,180 small and medium-scale building works are expected to get under way in 967 primary and post-primary schools across the country this Summer as part of an €80 million Government scheme announced today by the Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe TD.
The Summer Works Scheme, which returns this year after a 12-month deferral period, covers school projects such as gas, electrical and mechanical works, roof replacements and repairs, window replacement, toilet upgrades, structural improvements and access works.
The Summer Works Scheme had been deferred for one year to allow the Department’s Planning and Building Unit to focus on larger-scale building projects.
Since 2004, over 3,000 summer works projects have been carried out in primary and post-primary schools at a cost of almost €300 million.
This year, Minister O’Keeffe will invest €610 million on the school building programme – the highest spend on school buildings in the history of the Irish State.
Announcing the fund, Minister O’Keeffe said:
“The €80 million fund will finance over 1,180 small to medium-scale capital projects in these schools over the Summer months so that disruption is minimised. The fund will dramatically improve structural, mechanical, electrical, gas and other works in schools right across the country.The investment in our schools will also create much-needed jobs in the construction sector. The capacity of schools to take responsibility for delivering small and medium-scale projects is a key component of the Summer Works Scheme and I’m pleased to be in a position to make funding available once again. I’d ask schools to ensure that they get best value for money on prices for jobs in the more competitive construction market.”
The Planning and Building Unit will shortly contact all schools approved for grant aid under this year’s Summer Works Scheme with further details and instructions on how to proceed.
Minister O’Keeffe said he’ll announce over the coming days details of a new energy efficiency scheme to improve roof and cavity wall insulation levels in schools but meanwhile schools are invited to log onto www.energyeducation.ie for further information.
Later this year, Minister O’Keeffe is expected to invite applications for the 2010 Summer Works Scheme.
 Latest official figures show that decentralisation plans for over 5,000 public servants have been deferred, while just 2,500 people have moved under the plan announced in 2003.
The figures from the Department of Finance show that another 3,500 public servants are still in the process of being decentralised but have not yet been moved.
Plans to move 5,140 people to 50 locations were deferred in the Budget and it is now widely accepted that the moves will never take place.
A number of locations with advance parties already decentralised will not now get the numbers originally planned. Among them are Athy, Co Kildare, where 180 officials from the Revenue Commissioners were due to join colleagues, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, where 83 members of the Health and Safety Authority were due to move, and Thurles, Co Tipperary, where 66 more people from Garda headquarters were due to transfer. A hold has also been placed on the transfer of 25 people from the Equality Authority to Roscrea, Co Tipperary, and the same applies to the move of 23 people from the Garda Ombudsman Commission to Roscrea.
 Approximately 2,975 North Tipperary people joined the unemployment register in the last year.
With 5,705 people now on the ‘Live Unemployment Register” in North Tipperary and a prediction that one in six workers nationally will be out of work by the end of the year, Deputy Noel Coonan is calling on the Government to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in North Tipperary to protect existing jobs.
Speaking to www.thurles.info, today Deputy Coonan said:
“There has been a 100% hike in the number of people signing on in North Tipperary over the last year. In the last month alone, 213 people joined the dole queue in the area. Roscrea witnessed the biggest jump in the last month of over 5% while 91 more people signed on in Thurles in the same period. Unfortunately, Nenagh did not fare well either with an additional 68 people joining the Live Register. Fine Gael has been proposing measures to help SMEs but they have not been implemented by this Government and those who support it in North Tipperary. Such measures include launching a PRSI exemption for companies taking on new employees and freezing local authority rates and charges to business. I believe a Government-backed loan guarantee for SMEs needs to be introduced as has been done in the UK. The rate of VAT has to be reduced if SMEs are to survive and the Travel tax needs to be abolished. I’m disheartened to see the Government voting against such productive and proactive proposals. Fine Gael is trying to plan for an economically secure future but we are not helped by a Government who seems determined not to support us no matter how fruitful our measures may be.”
Small & medium enterprises (SMEs) currently employ 800,000 people and represent 97% of Irish companies and North Tipperary cannot afford to lose its’ indigenous businesses who provide such vital employment at a time of economic turmoil.
Deputy Coonan also expressed deep disappointment that the Government, this week, voted down a Fine Gael motion to introduce an €18 billion stimulus package over a four-year period that would provide 100,000 jobs and build a modern infrastructure in the area of energy / telecommunications. The latter would have been achieved through the creation of a new State industrial holding company, the New Economy and Recovery Authority (NewERA). This company would co-ordinate, restructure and finance new and existing State companies in the best strategic interests of the Irish people in order to develop the most competitive economy in Europe.
Ireland now has the second highest unemployment in the Eurozone at 11.4%. By Christmas, there could be half a million people on the dole.
Shannon Development recently organised a special business function for Dublin based companies and influential management representatives from the accounting, legal, banking and venture capital sectors. The event was designed to forge new business contacts for the Birr Technology Centre, and Shannon Development’s four other Knowledge Network business and technology parks at Thurles, Tralee, Ennis, and Limerick.
Dr Vincent Cunnane, Chief Executive, Shannon Development, and acclaimed Offaly businessman Ray Leonard from Romaquip Ltd, a company based at Shannon Development’s business park in Birr which won a £45stg million UK contract, were key speakers at the event.
Demonstrating to the Dublin business audience that it is possible to work locally in the Shannon Region and still operate globally, Dr Cunnane said:
“Shannon Development’s knowledge network of five business and technology parks in Birr, Limerick, Tralee, Ennis, and Thurles are a vibrant and growing cluster. In 2008 over 20 new companies established businesses at our knowledge network, which employs over 3,000 people. These locations offer a great quality of life, access to third level research and development facilities and a pool of highly skilled graduates, as well as world class business infrastructure and facilities. We made a conscious decision to promote our knowledge network business locations and we are delighted with the response we have received.”
Romaquip Ltd located at Shannon Development’s Syngefield Business Park in Birr Co Offaly, is a manufacturer and supplier of road maintenance equipment, including salt spreaders, snowploughs to Ireland, the UK and continental European markets. They hit the headlines last year as one of two companies that secured a £45stg million contract to supply a new fleet of winter service vehicles to the UK Highways Agency – the largest contract ever awarded by the agency.
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