Fairtrade News « Thurles Information

Christmas 2025 – Free Parking Initiative In County Tipperary.

Overview.

Tipperary County Council has rolled out a range of free-parking initiatives across multiple large towns in the county in the run-up to Christmas 2025. The aim is to support local retailers and encourage festive shopping.

Thurles Town – Free Parking Offer.

In Thurles Town: courtesy of Thurles Municipal District Councils administration (signed off on by Ms Sharon Scully), free parking will be available only for the first 30 minutes every day, (Fifteen minutes more than every ordinary) every day, throughout December 2025. Additionally, all council-owned car parks will provide free parking on the following Saturdays: 6th, 13th and 20th December 2025.
As it stands currently, it is important to note that three out of the town’s six main car parks will likely remain closed for this busy season, namely the car park beside the former Munster Hotel, (a long-standing resource for shoppers, parishioners and students); the car park underneath The Source building, (latter now closed for 3 years) and the new Market Area car park, beside The Source, (the upgrading of which has suffered serious delays).
So, no concessions on the busy three days prior to December 25th.
This limitation significantly undermines the stated objective of boosting local trade and enabling easy access to town centre shops.

Comparison With Other Tipperary Towns:
Tipperary Town: Same offers one hour of free on-street parking each day, and unlimited free parking in all council car parks for December 2025.
Roscrea: Same will have free parking throughout their towns every Saturday in December.
Templemore: Same will have free parking throughout their town every Saturday in December.
Clonmel Borough District: All council-owned car parks will have free parking on each Saturday in December, after 10am. The town also has a car park in Suirside which is free all year round and which will also be available for Christmas shoppers.
Cashel Town: Same will also offer free parking in all council-owned car parks on Saturdays throughout December.
Cahir Town: Same will also offer free parking in all council-owned car parks on Saturdays throughout December.
Carrick-on-Suir Town: There will be free parking in all of the council-owned car parks on each Saturday throughout the month of December.
Finally, in Nenagh Town: Here there will be three hours free parking in all council-owned car parks from Saturday December 6th, until Friday December 26th 2025. On-street parking will remain subject to ‘pay-and-display’.

Disparity Between Thurles and Tipperary Town:
The differential treatment between Thurles and Tipperary Town, in particular, is stark and concerning:
In Tipperary Town, shoppers benefit from unlimited free car-park access, plus one hour of free on-street parking, offering real convenience to those visiting the town centre.

In contrast, Thurles’ offer is limited to just 30 minutes free daily, and only on three Saturdays in December, while simultaneously reducing the supply of parking spaces by possibly having three of its main car parks closed. This severely undermines the town’s capacity to attract and accommodate shoppers.

Question: So where in this scenario are our Local elected Municipal District Councillors and our Thurles Chamber of Commerce. Thurles businesses no longer has a voice.

Given that the declared purpose of the initiative is to “promote local trade and encourage support for Town Traders during the festive season,” this disparity highlights an inequality in how different towns within the county are supported. Oh and by the way there is little on-street parking in Thurles town centre since over 60% was removed following it beings half upgraded.

Call for Review & Equal Treatment.
We call on Tipperary County Council to reconsider the parking allocations for Thurles, especially in light of the closure of significant car parks, thus ensuring that the town receives a level of support comparable to other towns such as the afore mentioned Tipperary Town.

Failing to address this inequity risks undermining the very objective of stimulating local commerce in Thurles during what should be one of the busiest trading periods of the year.

Call For Stronger Action Against Mobile & Broadband Providers Who Are Failing Customers.

The introduction of new legislation allowing consumers to exit mobile and broadband contracts in the event of price hikes is a welcome and long-overdue step. For years, customers have faced routine annual increases, often quietly applied and seldom explained, leaving households paying more for the same level of service.

However, while this new move addresses unfair price rises, it fails to tackle an equally serious issue: with providers continuing to charge full price even when their services are down for extended periods. Across the country, customers routinely experience outages lasting hours or even several days, yet no automatic refunds or meaningful compensation are offered.

This situation is unacceptable. It is fundamentally unfair that consumers are expected to honour their contracts in full when providers do not honour theirs. Reliable service is not a luxury; it is an essential utility, particularly for families working from home, students relying on online learning, and older people depending on digital communication.

Mobile and broadband companies have for too long enjoyed strong profits while delivering inconsistent service, placing the burden on customers who often have little choice of an alternative provider. A voluntary refund system is not good enough.

Regulators and the Irish Government must now go further by compelling providers to:

Introduce automatic compensation for outages, without requiring customers to chase refunds.
Publish clear service-level commitments, including timelines for restoring faults.
Be held accountable for persistent service failures, with penalties for repeated non-compliance.

While this new legislation empowers consumers to walk away from unfair price increases, it is only one part of a wider problem. True consumer protection requires not just the right to leave a contract, but assurance that the service being paid for is delivered reliably and responsibly.

It is time to hold mobile and broadband providers to a higher standard. Irish customers deserve no less.

Thurles Shoppers Observe Sharp Supermarket Price Gaps.

Shoppers in Thurles are noticing striking price differences between local supermarkets, underlining the continued strain of rising grocery costs across Tipperary.

A check in Thurles this week showed that an 18-can slab of 7UP Zero cost €8.99 in Aldi, €10.00 in Dunnes Stores, and €11.99 in Lidl; a €3 difference between two main German international discount chains operating in Ireland.

**Zero 7Up – Comparing Lidl price today.**

While small on paper, the gap highlights how uneven supermarket pricing has become during Ireland’s ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

Prices remain high.
Nationally, grocery inflation stands at 6.3%, with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) estimating that food prices have climbed by roughly 27% since 2021. Even as energy bills ease, household shopping remains costly. Shoppers say they are now comparing prices item by item, with differences between stores adding up quickly.

Surveys show major contrasts.
A recent Checkout.ie study found big variations in the cost of a standard grocery basket. Prices came to €150 at Lidl, €207 at Dunnes Stores (or €172 after vouchers), €195 at Tesco (or €185 with Clubcard), and €209 at SuperValu.
An Irish Independent comparison of branded goods found a smaller basket costing €34.51 at Aldi, versus €49.24 at Dunnes and €49.88 at Tesco, a price gap of more than 40% on identical everyday items.

Different models, different prices.
Aldi and Lidl run leaner operations with smaller product ranges and lower margins, helping them hold prices down.
Local costs and Ireland’s new deposit-return scheme can also affect prices; for example, some 18-can packs now include a €2.70 refundable deposit, which does not appear on shelf labels.

Impact on local households.
For families in Thurles, a few euro saved on a single product can mean €20 to €25 per week, or over €1,000 a year.
With grocery prices still rising faster than inflation overall, more shoppers are switching stores, choosing own-brand goods and tracking weekly promotions.
The example from Thurles shows that even between discount retailers, prices now vary widely, making careful comparison a key part of every household shop.

Support Thurles Fairtrade Fortnight 2015

Tipperary County Council Chairperson, Mr Michael Fitzgerald, endorses Fairtrade Fortnight.

Tipperary County Council Chairperson, Mr Michael Fitzgerald has today endorsed “Fairtrade Forthnight” which begins on February 23rd and runs until March 8th 2015.

In his declaration Mr Fitzgerald states:-
“As an Cathaoirleach (Chairperson) of Tipperary County Council, it gives me great pleasure to support and endorse the concept of Fair Trade and I would encourage the population of Co Tipperary to please renew and continue their support for Fairtrade, particularly during the two weeks from February 23rd to March 8th, (2015) designated “Fairtrade Fortnight” and to ask all retail outlets to stock Fairtrade products.

Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council, Michael Fitzgerald, (Centre), with members of Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee, (From Left), Kitty Scally, David O’Gorman (Student LIT Global Development Group), Mary Larkin, Gerard O’Hara, Noel Kennedy, Evelyn Nevin, and Nancy Tynan.

By switching to ‘Fairtrade’ products for their regular shopping, involving items such as Teas, Coffee, Bananas, Cotton Goods etc., Tipperary people will make a real difference to small producers in other developing countries.

The Tipperary towns of Thurles, Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel, Nenagh, Roscrea and Tipperary have all achieved Fair Trade Status. Thurles and other Tipperary towns have worked hard in the past to achieve this status and I would urge all other areas to please get involved in this very important and worthwhile venture.”

Signed: Michael Fitzgerald (Cathaoirleach, Tipperary County Council).

Please do support all Thurles FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT initiatives, details of which will be announced closer to the event by Mr Martin Kennedy, member of the Thurles Fairtrade Town Committee.

[Note: The FAIRTRADE Mark is the independent guarantee that products, carrying that ‘Mark,’ have been produced according to Internationally agreed Fairtrade standards.]

What Are You Doing For Fairtrade Fortnight?

A gentle reminder folks, that we hope you will support Thurles Fairtrade and field a team in tonight’s Fairtrade Fortnight Table Quiz. Please call Noel Kennedy with any queries and to confirm your team on 087 921-2600.

Spectacular Fairtrade hampers for each member of the first prize-winning team plus plenty of spot prizes. Field a team of four for just €20 and reserve a table.

An enjoyable evening is promised with quizmaster Tom Noone presiding. Remember no specialist knowledge required!

See you all tonight.