Environment « Thurles Information

Shame On Thurles Municipal District Council & TD’s.

While the wind and heavy rain experienced here in Tipperary over the past few days were a source of regret to sun worshippers; Thurles residents can breathe a sigh of relief, as the rising waters of the river Suir, have today successfully moved on its cesspool appearance and much of its stench.

Framed in the backdrop of deteriorating, graffiti sprayed, woodwork and a closed new car park under The Source Theatre and Library; a plastic sign, (crudely screwed to a broken tree support), excuses the lazy Municipal District Council’s unwillingness to cut the weeds and grass; latter claiming the area is, quote, “Managed for Wildlife” as part of an “All-Ireland Pollinator Plan”. Trust me no self-respecting Bee, Bumble or otherwise, have ever visited this blossom free area.

Pictures shown in the above video amply explain the total lack of maintenance within this area, which we once again are forced to highlight.

Plastic bollards, left behind by the disastrous, half upgraded, Liberty Square, has joined the other litter, within the rivers water.

Back in the mid 1960’s, as young people, we would have swum the base of Niagara Falls to lay our hands on and retrieve two footballs and the numerous tennis balls, currently caught in the reeds of this slow, shallow, river water. But today, in this greedy, whinging society and in an extremely rich county, it appears everything and anything is now disposable.

The stone dam, directly opposite Thurles indoor Leisure Centre and heated swimming pool building, has been dismantled and the two fish ways on the dam underneath ‘The Source’ County Library building, have also been allowed to crumble, both now reducing the water levels.

Manhole covers, taking water-run from our streetscapes, are left unlocked, allowing small sized litter to join the numerous bottles, cans and plastic bags; same which are quickly grabbed by slow moving water, to float on unsightly filamentous green algal growth, thus compromising the life of the river bed. Further down near the foot bridge sewage waters continue to flow, close to the swinging gates for the past 3 years.

Gone are the two water fountains which once helped to aerate the water within 50 meters of each other, close to Barry’s Bridge.

Our locally elected, powerless, doubly employed and highly paid town councillors are now only ‘stored’ as window dressing; in existence solely to provide a political presence for local unquestioning press and radio, while positively announcing leaked information from central government.
The silent Thurles electorate have lost all confidence in elected representatives; council officials and their two Dáil Éireann TD’s.
Same elected personnel reign over a town, which has long since been ignored, and no longer encourages, supports or attracts voluntarism.

The shame and lack of maintenance here in Thurles, lies clearly at the door of Thurles Municipal Council; TD’s and their lack of foresight and staff availability.

Again, I ask why are we paying Local Property Tax?
There will be a day of reckoning.

Thurles Shopping Centre Setting High Standards In Thurles.

If you’re out and about visiting Thurles in the coming days; enjoying our summer spell of warm sunshine, please do be sure and take a walk down to the rear of Thurles Shopping Centre. There you’ll find a ‘must see’ wildflower garden, reminiscent of a showcase exhibit at “Bloom” in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.

Congratulations to the Management of Thurles Shopping Centre for not just supporting this wonderful example of biodiversity and urban beauty, but also in providing a new seating area, together with an appropriately sized Litter Bin to handle recycling waste.

“Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay”

Extract from the poem “The Deserted Village”, by Irish born novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774).

In Goldsmith’s poem, “The Deserted Village”, latter published as a poem but also as a political broadside, in 1770; the poet laments the total decline of rural life and the depopulation of the countryside.
Same decline had been brought about as a result of commonage land enclosure, by greedy, wealthy individuals then in power; eventually leading to the destruction of the livelihoods of peasants and subsistence farmers.

“Those fence-less fields the sons of wealth divide
And ev’n the bare-worn common* is denied”.

[* ‘bare-worn common’ – land that was owned by more than one person.]

This poem remains as up to date today, as it did in 1770, when first dedicated to the 18th century English artist Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723 – 1792).
However, today, the then 18th century land grabs by the wealthy and power hungry, have changed name and are known as ‘Local Property Tax’, (LPT), latter introduced in 2013 to provide we were told “a stable funding base for local authorities” and to supposedly deliver “significant structural reform”.

“Thus fares the land, by luxury betrayed:
In nature’s simplest charms at first arrayed;
But verging to decline, its splendours rise,
Its vistas strike, its palaces surprise;
While, scourged by famine from the smiling land,
The mournful peasant leads his humble band;
And while he sinks, without one arm to save,
The country blooms — a garden, and a grave.”

Currently, we reside in a town where elected representatives and highly paid Municipal District Council officials are no longer embarrassed by their abject failure to administrate.

Same was evidenced today when a Government Minister visited the town to officially opened an upgraded Liberty Square and the public were not invited to attend, despite same being invited 4 years ago to contribute their vision for the future of this same town centre area.

Thurles Street Lights Burning 24 Hour Each Day Increases From 27 To 50.

On June 6th last, Thurles based County Councillor, Mr Seamus Hanafin announced to the Tipperary nation that the current council policy of not putting lights in areas, which have a 60 kilometre per hour speed limit, now needs to change.
He cited as example those persons travelling out towards Lady’s Well towards the new sorting office in Thurles, find it dark at night. He also highlighted as yet another example; the Holycross Road area, between Árd na Croise and the Dew Valley Food factory, as being “dark at night”.

In the meanwhile, as Mr Hanafin, who has been a councillor for God knows how many years, continues to spout the obvious, the people of Thurles still remain in the dark (excuse the pun) as to why for months street lighting remains burning, 24 hours each day, in the town.

As you walk through the streets of Thurles over the past fortnight, the number of street lights, (Lamp Standards); their heads burning brightly in the midday sun, have greatly increased in number; from 27 to 50.

Of the fifty lamp standards burning 24 hours each day, we counted :-

32 in the immediate vicinity of Thurles town Park area. (Add to this four of these Lamp Standards are not working, while two of the four are without heads; one remains leaning westward, following some sort of vehicle collision.)
8 on Liberty Square (Only installed less than one month ago on May 17th 2022.
1 on Thomond Road.
1 on Pearse Terrace.
6 on Jimmy Doyle Road.
1 on Slievenamon Road.
1 on Emmet street.

In the absence of any explanation, we must assume there is no capable administration and governance amongst officials, engineers and elected representatives within the Thurles Municipal District.

Airtricity appear to be in control, thus one other company; other than Irish Water, exists where the “tail is wagging the dog”.

EPA Announces €650,000 Funding Opportunity For Innovative Irish Businesses In Circular Economy.

The EPA’s Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy fund worth €650,000 is now open for applications.
A circular economy aims to reduce waste at all stages of the economic cycle and ensure materials are used as efficiently as possible.
Circular business models contribute to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient economy.
Funding in the range of €50,000 to €100,000 will support development of circular solutions by Irish businesses.
The funding is aimed at projects in the areas of food, water and nutrients; packaging, textiles, plastics; construction and buildings; electronics and ICT; batteries and vehicles.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today launches its €650,000 funding opportunity for Irish enterprises to innovate, demonstrate and implement new circular economy approaches in their business models, moving away from the ‘Take Make Use Dispose’ economic model. Circular business models appeal to customers and consumers looking for sustainable options and contribute to a climate-neutral, resource-efficient economy. The EPA’s Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy fund worth €650,000 is now open for applications.
Applications for project funding in the range of €50,000 to €100,000 are invited. This funding will support Irish businesses to develop circular solutions in product and service design, production and distribution, use of resources including raw materials, and in water, energy and waste reduction.
The fund is aimed at business-ready innovative projects targeting the areas of food, water and nutrients; packaging, textiles, plastics; construction and buildings; electronics and ICT; batteries and vehicles.

Speaking about the Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy funding call, Ms Laura Burke, Director General of the EPA stated:
“Circular businesses reduce costs and environmental impact by reusing, repairing and recycling materials already in use. These approaches can advance the green transition, accelerate digital transformation and can deliver new jobs and skills as Ireland transitions to a more sustainable economy.
The EPA is inviting business and industry applicants from across Ireland’s economy with business-ready innovative projects targeting our priority areas of food, water and nutrients; packaging, textiles, plastics; construction and buildings; electronics and ICT; and batteries and vehicles”.

The EPA’s Green Enterprise: Innovation for a Circular Economy fund supports Irish enterprises to develop and demonstrate circular economy approaches, designing out waste and pollution and keeping products and materials in use for longer.

The types of projects being targeted include:

Use of eco-design to develop sustainable products.
Innovation to reduce the use of raw materials in product manufacturing.
Development and implementation of circular production processes (designing out waste, life cycle analysis),
Recycling, reuse and repair activities in the business and industry sector.
Circular services and business models (to transform consumption patterns, logistics and to foster reuse and repair).

Mr Warren Phelan, (Programme Manager, EPA) stated: “The Green Enterprise fund is an opportunity for Irish business to access finance in support of their innovative and circular business ideas. In the past the fund has supported business to pilot and test new enterprise activities creating new market opportunities and jobs as well as preventing wasted resources. We encourage businesses that are considering new circular activities to consider the support offered by the Green Enterprise fund”.

Some previously funded circular economy projects include:

A project to reduce food waste by using surplus bakery bread as a secondary raw material in brewing beer.
An innovative manufacturing process using recyclable, reinforced plastic for producing wind turbine blades and
Evaluating the potential to recover and use the biomass generated in fruit and vegetable supply chains to produce new food fibre ingredients.

The deadline for submission of proposals for Green Enterprise funding is 19th July 2022.

Further information is available on the EPA website, HERE
Contact: Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office, Tel: 053 9170770, Email: media@epa.ie

Winner Of Thurles Shopping Centre Art Competition Announced.

The winner of the Thurles Shopping Centre Eco Art Competition has been announced this morning. The competition had been to design a scene for a wall mural, to fit in with a theme for Thurles Shopping Centre, based on “Wildlife”.

Huge congratulations now go to Ms Aoibhe Kojiol, aged 11 years; the outright winner of this Thurles Shopping Centre’s recent competition, first announced in mid-April of this year.

Ms Kojiol will now have her work enlarged and displayed on the entrance wall in this busy shopping complex and has already received her first prize of a €250 shopping voucher.

Thurles Shopping Centre would like to thank all of you young artists out there, for your magnificent response to the competition and are now looking forward to displaying Ms Kojiol’s art work, to further brighten up this busy, popular, market place.