Environment « Thurles Information

‘Paw-Parents’ Worried About Noise From Illegal Fireworks

During the Covid-19 pandemic of the last 20 or so months, many households became first-time ‘paw-parents’, buying puppies or rescuing dogs held in shelters. These new ‘paw-parents’ did so in the knowledge that a pet could be the cure to keeping family members from tearing each other’s hair out, as they cocooned together, with more time to spare, corralled at home.

Now, according to the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA), same owners of these pets are extremely worried by the noise soon to be generated by illegal fireworks, the use of which becomes an increasing problem in the weeks before, during and after the Halloween period.

In the past, here in Co. Tipperary, thankfully for a short time only, fireworks were fashionable to entertain guests at weddings. Hotels, newly married couples, Insurance companies and professional licenced fireworks operators soon found themselves in legal wrangles, particularly by members of the farming community, when frightened mares lost their foals and terrorised cattle lost their calves or bursting through wire fences, ended up having to be put down, because of broken limbs.

**Fireworks, valued at some €1,000 seized by Clonmel Gardaí**.

Recently the Minister for Justice, Ms Heather Humphreys, launched a fireworks awareness campaign at the Dublin Fire Brigade Training Centre in association with members of An Garda Síochána, Dublin Fire Brigade and the ISPCA. The Minister warned that people who sell or light fireworks this Halloween face fines of up to €10,000 and or up to five years in prison.

Legislation came into effect in 2006, which make it an offence to possess fireworks with intent to sell or supply without a licence; light unlicensed fireworks, or throw or direct a lit firework at any person or property.

Gardaí attached to Clonmel Garda Station in South Tipperary, carried out a search under warrant in the Oldbridge area of Clonmel on September 27th last. During the course of this search, a large amount of fireworks, valued at some €1,000, were seized.

Gardaí are now reminding the public that such items are illegal and dangerous. Gardaí are continuing to target the sale and supply of fireworks and to address such anti-social behaviour in communities; same part of “Operation Tombola“.

Fireworks include items which burn and explode to produce noise or a visual effect for entertainment. Sparklers, bangers, fountains and rockets are all categorised as fireworks.

Most fireworks here in the Irish Republic can only be bought and used by professional, licenced operators. They require a licence to import them into Ireland and the way they are stored and used is strictly regulated by our laws on explosives.

Let’s all work together to have a safe and fun Halloween this year!

Thurles Residents Heartened By High Court Decision On Offaly Recycling Facility.

A High Court judge, Mr Justice Garrett Simons, has ruled that a waste recycling facility in Co. Offaly, can now only accept construction and demolition waste.

In his judgment, Mr Simons made orders prohibiting the site; latter controlled by the facility operator Guessford Ltd, trading as Oxigen Environmental at Barnan, Daingean, Co Offaly, (62mls from Thurles) from accepting any other type of waste material.

The judge made his ruling in proceedings brought by several local residents, all of whom live in the vicinity of the site. The residents had argued that certain activities being carried out at the facility were in breach of its planning permission and unexceptionable within a residential community.

The facility can no longer accept material such as mixed dry recyclables, from household or commercial skips or waste from civic amenity sites.

Oxigen, in opposing this action, had argued that it was authorised, thanks to a permit initially granted by Offaly Co Council in 2010, to carry out a much broader range of activities at the facility, including receiving and treating commercial waste and timber.

However, Mr Justice Garrett Simons said that he was making an order prohibiting Oxigen from accepting fridges, waste electrical and electronic equipment, beds, mattresses, sofas and tyres and the treatment of timber by shredding same, at the site. Was this where our Tipperary Mattress Bonus Give-away were bound?

**Cabragh Business Park, Ballycurrane, Thurles, Co. Tipperary**.

A similar case is pending here in Thurles, following Tipperary County Council’s decision to grant planning permission for yet a third material recovery facility within Thurles Town.

This latest facility was proposed for construction at the now visibly dishevelled looking Cabragh Business Park, at Ballycurrane, Thurles; same situated in the immediate vicinity of several private housing estates and within meters of a vast area of preserved wetland habitat.
Permission was initially, poorly applied for in February 2021, by Ryan Cleaning Event Specialists Ltd and because of planning application failures, was applied for again in July 2021.

As expected, over sixty persons, as individuals together with local businesses; some of the latter who are themselves based in Cabragh Business Park, have now lodged objections with the Tipperary Co. Council local authority and with An Bord Pleanala, following the granting of permission by Tipperary Co. Council, subject to 11 further conditions imposed by the latter.

It should be highlighted that initially, in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the objectors unable to meet as a group [in keeping with Public Health Guidelines, demanding strict adherence to social distancing and face covering.] communicated with all elected Councillors and Teachtaí Dála (latter Irish elected politicans) within the county of Tipperary.
The communication sought to seek that the planning application be set back, until such time as the COVID restrictions were removed. However, response from elected representatives, as is always expected, went almost totally unanswered.

Local residents and objectors to the proposed planning and the granting of permission by Tipperary Co. Council, are now somewhat heartened by this recent High Court ruling, which could have severely impacted on those residing close to the Co. Offaly facility.

Interesting to note that all 60 plus objectors to the Thurles ‘Ryan Cleaning Event Specialists Ltd’ planning application had to pay €20.00 each to the local authority to object, while Teachtaí Dála and Local Councillors are totally exempt. We see this in recent communications accepted by Tipperary Co. Council to planning objections, made by Co. Tipperary TD Mr Jackie Cahill and Councillor Sean Ryan, Littleton, Thurles, Co Tipperary.
Both men use the phrase in their objection communications “I am advised that as a councillor submitting a personal planning submission that I am exempt from the planning fee”.

Liberty Square Upgrade Will NOT Be Fully Completed Under Current Phase.

Reliable sources close to Thurles.Info have confirmed that the west side of Liberty Square, Thurles, will not now be completed as part of the current promised upgrade, latter which it was hoped would be completed by early 2022.

Part of the south side (Money Side) of Liberty Square is almost fully completed, with the exception of work for which the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is mainly responsible. This includes the removal of the old, shabby ESB lamp standards etc, on which the ESB are currently working. No further works will be undertaken, travelling west, to the entrance to Slievenamon Road and finishing outside Executive Men’s Wear.

On the north side (Sunny Side) of Liberty Square, work will cease at the corner of the junction with O’Donovan Rossa Street, ( previously Pudding Lane, and Jail Street), beside AIB Bank. No lighting standards, to date, has been introduced on the North Side, with the more recent modern and attractive lamp standards introduced, removed to ‘God knows where’.

The east side of Liberty Square, running perpendicular to Barry’s Bridge and the Butler Castle; like the remainder of the overall town centre area, same over one year on, still awaits final finishes.

We are informed that work on the west side of Liberty Square, including the exit unto Westgate/ Friar Street has yet to go to tender. We also learn that Slievenamon Road is to be further street-scaped and is to be narrowed to vehicle traffic, under plans which have, as far as we are aware, not been revealed to local residents.

Tipperary County Council’s Mission Statement:

Our Vision: “To lead and deliver on sustaining, promoting and improving the social, community, cultural and economic well being of all citizens in the county of Tipperary, through a positive proactive partnership approach to service delivery.”

With parking now greatly reduced on Liberty Square, major questions are being asked by the public; latter who claim that the Liberty Square project to date, includes none of their personal recommendations, which had been requested in a survey carried out and discussed by principal British landscape architects LUC, (landuse.co.uk).

This project, to update Liberty Square, [not including the demolition of J. Griffins newsagent shop; latter which began in February, 2020] and which began in mid-August 2020, has taken to date 13 months, with work continuing non-stop during the Covid-19 pandemic. As viewers can see from the video shown above, confusion still remains (last pictures in the above slide-show taken on Tuesday last September 14th) and will continue to do so for at least another 3 months.

**Two junctions; (A) Slievenamon Road / Liberty Square, Thurles and (B) Slievenamon Road / Clongower Road, Thurles.**
Pic G.Willoughby

Some of the questions being asked by residents and business people are as follows:-

(A) With no designated parking areas for invalided persons in the new south-sided car park, (exited via Checkpoint Charlie) and with invalid parking promised on Liberty Square; what space has been allocated for delivery trucks conveying daily goods for supermarkets, restaurants, public houses and the few other businesses, each with no alternative but to struggle on, in Liberty Square?

(B) Why has this information not been announced by local councillors through local press; through local radio and their social media outlets?

**Junction at Slievenamon Road and Liberty Square, Thurles**.
Pic. G.Willoughby.

(C) With Liberty Square further narrowed for heavy vehicle traffic which prohibits even the opening fully of a vehicle door and the now proposed narrowing of Slievenamon Road, how are Fire Brigade Units, Paramedics and Ambulances expected to go about their most urgent business?

(D) While we are aware that taxpayer funding remains available for to complete the next western phase of the Liberty Square project and the southern Slievenamon Road project, should the few remaining businesses not yet forced out of Liberty Square, be asked to put up with yet further traffic congestion for at least another 6 to 9 months, as engineers seated in back offices, dream-up other ways of how to spend hard earned taxpayers money?

(E) With 4 very mature trees removed from Liberty Square over the past 12 months; where are the new promised trees to be planted? In the initial plans many trees were to be planted.
Then in a more recent update we are informed only 6 trees are due to be installed, the variety to be sown was to be “subject to the street soil quality”. However, to date no street spaces appear to be allocated to trees, unless they are destined to replace ESB poles. So where will TDs and Councillors hang their photoshopped posters?

Any plans available for narrowing Slievenamon Road, will be interesting to observe, (See Pictures above) based on past experience, which saw several times a year, large trucks removing existing so called safety railings, not to mention, sadly, one fatal traffic accident in that immediate area, back in January 2014.

Finally, despite local protests, some of which became underhanded, using dirty tricks; we can fully and reasonably understand why An Post; seeing what was coming down the track on Liberty Square, regrettably beat a hasty retreat to the comfort of Thurles Shopping Centre.

EPA Publish Green Public Procurement Guidance.

EPA publishes Green Public Procurement: Guidance for the Public Sector

Minister Mr Ossian Smyth today launched the EPA’s revised Green Public Procurement: Guidance for the Public Sector at the EPA’s Circular Economy Conference 2021.
Green Public Procurement is a process where public authorities seek to source goods, services or works with reduced environmental impact.
Annual public sector purchasing accounts for up to 12 per cent of Ireland’s GDP (approximately 20 Billion Euros annually).
The public sector has the opportunity to stimulate the provision of more resource-efficient, less polluting goods, services and works within the marketplace.
This EPA guidance provides step-by-step instructions and criteria for implementing green public procurement and should be the go-to guide across the public sector when procuring goods, works and services.

Mr Ossian Smyth TD, [Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement and eGovernment at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) and with special responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC)], today launched the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Public Procurement: Guidance for the Public Sector at the EPA’s online Circular Economy Conference 2021.

This EPA guidance provides step-by-step instructions and criteria for implementing green public procurement in line with policy and legislation for use when procuring goods and services across the public sector.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Smyth stated:
“Each year the State spends billions of euro on goods and services to support the delivery of vital services to the public. Our Climate Action Plan sets out an ambition to ensure that this significant expenditure is managed in an environmentally responsible way. The Office of Government Procurement, for which I am responsible, is leading on this work through including Green Public Procurement in its framework agreements, for example by providing alternatives to single use plastics.
This new guidance from the EPA will be of assistance to all public servants who find themselves procuring goods and services by providing practical support on how to include realistic and measurable green targets in their contracts with suppliers.”

The guidance is aimed primarily at those responsible for procurement in the public sector in central and local government, state agencies and other public bodies such as universities, hospitals and schools. It will also be of interest to the private sector when responding to tenders or applying green criteria in their own procurement.

Addressing the conference today, Ms Laura Burke, Director General of the EPA stated:
“Green public procurement has an important role in Ireland’s move to a green and circular economy, where waste and resource use are minimised and the value of products and materials are maintained in the economy for as long as possible. The EPA Green Public Procurement: Guidance for the Public Sector supports this transition.”
Ms Burke further added:
“This guidance is timely with an increased focus on policy measures to expand and strengthen the usage of green public procurement. With a purchasing power of approximately €20 billion annually, the public sector has significant opportunity to stimulate the provision of more resource-efficient, less polluting goods, services and works within the marketplace by implementing green public procurement.”

The guidance forms a part of a suite of EPA supports to deliver green public procurement, which include developing and delivering green public procurement training, and monitoring and reporting on green public procurement implementation by government departments.

The EPA’s Circular Economy Conference 2021: Ireland’s move to a new economy takes place online on today and tomorrow, (15th & 16th September) and today featuring a session focussing on Green Public Procurement to coincide with the launch of the guidance.

For more info: See EPA’s Circular Economy Conference 2021.

Devils Bit Scabious, Bobby Bright Buttons or Pincushion Flower.

Its Irish name is ‘Odhrach bhallach’; its Scientific name is ‘Succisa pratensis’, but you may know it as ‘Devil’s Bit Scabious’;

Devils Bit Scabious is a tall plant with rounded purple-blue flowers that resemble a pincushion. It is a close relative of the Teasel family and like its relative, it is a rich and valuable late source of nectar and pollen for insects.

**Tortoiseshell butterflies feasting on the nectar of the *‘Devil’s Bit Scabious’* plant**.
*Picture: G.Willoughby*

As Tipperary wildflower and insect expert, Mr John Fogarty, explained to me yesterday; all butterflies love it as indeed do all bees, with same a major food-plant for so many insects, both as adults and larvae, attracted to its pincushion-like head. Indeed, this wildflower is the main larval food-plant of the now seriously threatened Marsh Fritillary butterfly, latter said to prefer where the ‘Devil’s-bit scabious’ plant chooses to grow.

**Blue-violet Devil’s Bit Scabious growing on the Double Ditch, Mill Road, Thurles**, **Co. Tipperary**.
*Picture: G. Willoughby*.

Blue-violet in colour, this medium sized perennial with deep green, blotchy, oval shaped leaves can be located in marshes and pastures, brightening up areas where it flowers, (in this case on the Great Famine Double Ditch, Mill Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary) from June to October. Sadly this plant can be scarce presently in areas where intensive farming in being carried out.

Mr Fogarty points out that the plant’s more common name ‘scabious’ comes from the herb’s traditional usage as a folk medicine to treat scabies, latter a rather itchy skin condition caused by a tiny burrowing mite called Sarcoptes scabiei. Legend states that this plant, ‘Devils Bit Scabious’ got its name due to the fact that it has an abruptly truncated, short root which folklore dictates that the Devil bit off in a fit of annoyance, at the medicinal properties of this most attractive plant.

The ‘Devil’s Bit Mountain‘, north of Thurles has no bearing on the plant’s name, but it does confirm that the Devil spent an inordinate amount of time here, over the years, in and around Thurles, with some people claiming that he has actually never vacated the area; and can be seen influencing political outcomes, during years when local and general elections occur.