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Last Wednesday’s Budget should have been strongly centred on job creation and sustainability but instead failed miserably to help unemployed people or employees holding onto a job by their fingernails, according to Deputy Noel Coonan. The Fine Gael TD also said this Government has effectively cancelled Christmas for a majority of the people of North Tipperary.
 Deputy Noel Coonan Deputy Noel Coonan stated:
“As a result of the Budget, we have people living on less than €100 a week. We have 315,000 public servants nationwide taking a pay cut. We have extremely irate parents suffering 4% cuts in Social Welfare. We are going to have riots on the streets and heavy industrial action. We are facing one of the worse winters in the history of the state.
The Government has pick-pocketed the most poor and sick with prescription charges for medical card holders, an increase in the drugs payment threshold and a mere €10million for home care packages. The €221million cut to child benefit will rob families of €16 per child per month and will not help get this country back to work.
The farming community has sadly been attacked once again with a 13% cut in the Department’s Budget. To ease some of the pain for this vital sector, Fine Gael called for the Government to exempt farm diesel from the carbon tax but in return they slapped 4cent on every litre. Another sector that is struggling badly are thousands of home owners who are in negative equity and under huge worry and stress. This Government has provided no real help for these people.
Who would have ever thought Fianna Fáil would stoop so low to take money off blind people and widows by reducing their pension? Meanwhile, they failed to bring those on highest incomes further into the tax net. Where is the fairness and equality in that?”
The Fine Gael Deputy went on to said that not even the lowest of the low paid will escape a wage cut. Part-time public sector workers not in the tax net and earning less than €18,500 will face a 5% drop in take-home pay, almost twice as much as a Minister for State.
Continue reading The Low Paid Shoulder The Burdens Of The December Budget
 Thurles Credit Union 'People of the Year' Award Thurles Credit Union presented its annual ‘People of the Year Awards’ at a function in the Anner Hotel on Saturday night last, when a number of people were honoured for their contribution to their local communities on a voluntary level.
Thanks to many nights of careful planning this eagerly awaited annual event has now become the most prominent award ceremony in Co Tipperay and an interesting facet of this year’s recipients is that they represent seven different locations in Thurles Credit Union’s area of commonality, with Horse & Jockey, Gortnahoe, Littleton, Holycross, Upperchurch, Killenaule and Thurles itself, all represented on the presentation podium.
Among the many guests at the Awards dinner, were President of Thurles Lions Club, Kevin Barry; President of Thurles Chamber, Anne Strappe; Ms Jean O’Sullivan, representing “The Tipperary Star”; Superintendent Tony Cogan of An Garda Siochána, and adjudicators: Michael Dundon, editor of The Tipperary Star, former Mayor of Thurles, Mae Quinn, and George Willoughby, latter twice a recipient of this award.
Guest of honour, Mayor of Thurles, Evelyn Nevin, commended all the nominees for their input into the town and surrounding areas and to their respective organisations and communities at large.
Mrs Nevin stated:
“Volunteerism is now even more important than ever in our society and Thurles Credit Union is to be highly commended for making so much time and making such financial resources available in an effort to publicly recognise the huge input by unpaid volunteers in their respective communities. It is my sincere hope that the Credit Union will continue to highlight the great work being done by people such as those being honoured here tonight, together with all the associations and organisations they each represent”.
Credit Union Vice President Michael Campbell stated that Thurles Credit Union was delighted to show appreciation for the wonderful work, generosity of spirit, inspiration and dedication shown by all those nominated. The aim of the Awards is to formally recognise people in our communities who work tirelessly to help their neighbours, friends, team mates and other members of their community, whether that community be social, developmental, sporting or environmental. Volunteers are a vital element in the fabric of Irish society.
Continue reading Thurles Credit Union People Of The Year Awards 2009
By now you must have cleaned your glasses with vinegar at least once, just in case that excellent article published in our popular Tipperary Star newspaper, wasn’t just some trick of the flickering candle flame. What, you haven’t read it yet? Go out and buy a copy immediately, it’s further proof that the recession is over.
Having read this article several times myself, the words of the poet Willie Shakespeare “I know you all and will uphold the unyoked humour of your idleness“, suddenly sprang to mind. It also brought me to the startling realisation that I must now, humbly and profoundly, apologise to Mr Colm McCarthy of An Bord Snip Nua fame, who recommends rationalising the structures of local government by abolishing both regional authorities and town councils to provide a single local authority. Colm my old pal, I am truly sorry, please forgive me.
 Current state of footpaths at St.Mary's Avenue Our beautiful town of Thurles, Co Tipperary, which had a turnout of 4,166 voters at the last local elections, from a population of 7,000 unwashed residents, is just one of 80 towns throughout this messed up Green Land, which will, dare I say be relieved, if this An Bord Snip Nua recommendation is implemented.
Thurles Town Council, which has a staff, give or take, of about 25 and a budget for 2009 of a miserable, paltry €5.9 million, is responsible for ‘local rates’, ‘local litter prevention’, ‘local housing’, ‘street cleaning’, ‘planning’, ‘leisure amenities’ and a few ‘potholed local roads’. They have no responsibility for ‘fire brigade’, ‘national and regional road maintainance’, ‘water’, ‘libraries’ etc, as they come under the care of North Tipperary Co.Council.
Thurles town council has nine elected members and they meet once a month, suspiciously at night, except during the month of Sextilis (better known as August), because most of those we elected enjoy other daily profitable employments.
Continue reading Public Apology To Colm McCarthy
 NAMA Uncertainty Ireland’s largest, not for profit Housing Association, Respond, believe that up to 25,000 families countrywide face repossession of their homes because of the impact of the present severe economic slump.
Today, many householders in North Tipperary face repossession and a worrying and bleak future without a family home.
At national government level the National Assets Management Agency (NAMA) Bill has passed into its Second Stage and now goes to Committee Stage where amendments to the Bill will be finally decided.
The Fine Gael party have a total of 99 amendments to this Bill and in principal opposed it in its present state.
The Fine Gael amendments to the (NAMA) Bill include a ‘Home-Owner Support Scheme’ and speaking to Thurles.Info today, Deputy Noel Coonan outlined how their Party plan to protect homeowners and taxpayers.
The Deputy Stated:
“It is Fine Gael’s wish to help struggling homeowners through its amendments to the NAMA Bill. If agreed families who face repossession proceedings because they cannot meet mortgage payments will be able to apply to NAMA for support under the ‘Home-Owner Support Scheme’, to be operated by the National Assets Management Agency.
People in dire financial circumstances are continuously visiting my office and looking for help. They are obviously feeling irate at the Government’s NAMA proposal which bails out bankers and developers, the very people whose reckless greed landed us in our current mess.
If the Home Owner Support Scheme amendment is accepted the spectre of expected widespread repossessions can be avoided, NAMA will have an equity share in a portfolio of assets that is being serviced and some social benefit will be seen to flow from NAMA.
Fine Gael is determined that NAMA should be of benefit to homeowners and not just greedy and reckless banks. Our proposals are geared towards patching up as best we can what we believe to be an essentially flawed policy. ” said Deputy Coonan.
So how will the Fine Gael ‘Home-Owner Support Scheme’ work?
This proposed ‘Home-Owner Support Scheme’ would allow NAMA to take an equity share in houses facing repossession, after negotiating a write-down in the existing outstanding debt with the owners mortgage provider.
The home-owners would then service his or her remaining share of the mortgage and also pay a rental fee to NAMA for its share of the property. The home-owner would also have a clear option to buy back the NAMA equity share at any time in the future.
Those who do not meet the eligibility criteria under this scheme would immediately be referred to Local Authorities for alternative housing solutions.
Fine Gael believes there is a clear financial and social logic to ensuring that the extensive residential property portfolio that NAMA will acquire from bankrupt property developers be made available to Local Authorities for use to house families under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).
In order for a property to be eligible for inclusion in the scheme it must have a market value of less than €750,000, be adequately maintained and insured, be a property mortgaged to one of the participating institution and the person must reside in the property as their main residence.
In making an application under this Scheme, an eligible person would demonstrate the following:
1. That they are at least three months in arrears on the their current mortgage repayments to their participating institution,
2. There has been a material change in their overall financial circumstances since the date of the original mortgage agreement,
3. They have taken all appropriate financial advice on every option available to them in their attempt to repay their outstanding loan.
4. They are in a current position to service at least one-third of their previous mortgage obligations, at current interest rates, out of 50% of their net income.
5. They have made reasonable efforts to agree an alternative repayment schedule with their participating institution.
6. They have not availed of the Scheme previously.
Some of the other amendments to the NAMA Bill proposed by Fine Gael include a proposal to abandon the payment of the so-called long term economic value for the loans taken on from the banks and the suggestion that the risk of NAMA could be shared more fairly by the State taking a bigger equity stake in banks, and in exchange giving an equity share in NAMA to the banks and their bondholders.
Fine Gael also wants a discoverable register created and made easily available, latter listing every non-performing loan taken on by NAMA, together with the establishment of an Oireachtas Committee which has the backing of a new section in the Comptroller and Auditor General office, that would fully oversee NAMA’s day to day operations.
Give us your views on NAMA, in confidence; we would like to hear from you. See the ‘Leave a comment‘ tab under this post.
US Secretary of State Mrs Hillary Clinton recently made it clear to several key Irish Americans that she would shortly appoint an economic envoy to Northern Ireland. Now, understanding this very important role in terms of helping to get the Northern economy moving, she has just announced the appointment of Tipperary born Mr Declan Kelly, an Irish business advisor, as her government’s economic envoy to this post.
 Mr D. Kelly Mr Declan Kelly, aged 41, is a native of Portroe, Co Tipperary, son of Nan and Tom Kelly. He received his BA degree in English and Legal Science in 1989.
Mr Kelly only recently announced that he is to step down from FTI, the International consulting firm which in 2006, acquired his former company Financial Dynamics (FD) International, a holding company which managed the Financial Dynamics network worldwide. He will remain with FTI in a consulting capacity but will step down as Executive Vice President.
Mr Kelly presently is a senior advisor to some of the world’s largest corporations and business leaders and has served on the board of a number of non profit organisations, including Co-Operation Ireland, latter a non profit organisation dedicated to funding peace initiatives in Northern Ireland.
He has been a Director of the Dublin Theatre Festival for several years and was appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of Glucksmann Ireland House at New York University. He serves in an advisory capacity to the Board of Directors of the American Ireland Fund and GOAL, the third world humanitarian organisation.
He is also Chairman of the US Foundation Board of NUI Galway, where he studied for a number of years and remains one of the leading advisors to US Secretary of State Mrs Hillary Clinton.
Mr Kelly was also a former journalist with the Tipperary Star, Nenagh Guardian and Irish Examiner newspapers. He is a regular visitor to North Tipperary and to his parents home in Portroe. Mr Kelly was in Tipperary in August last to attend the wedding of a former Tipperary Star and Nenagh Guardian journalist and colleague.
US State Department sources confirm that he is expected to visit Belfast today, when he will meet with business leaders. He will accompany the new US ambassador to London, Mr Louis Susman.
His brother MEP Alan Kelly recently secured himself a seat in the European Parliament elections in Ireland as the mid-west’s Labour candidate.
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