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 The partially constructed and then abandoned hotel site situated on the old road to Thurles, west of Urlingford village. An area on the Tipperary / Kilkenny border on the west side of Urlingford; currently the site of a partially constructed and later abandoned hotel, is to be demolished to create a new nursing home.
The demolition work on completion, will soon make way for a new €5 million, 85 bedroomed nursing home.
Following years of campaigning, on what can only be described as a monstrous blot on the landscape, this skeleton construction is to be demolished over the coming weeks, providing employment for some 50 construction workers over a 12 to 18 month period.
Work on the new development is expected to begin before the end of November, following the granting of planning permission to Blockstar Building Ltd, C/o Ray Connolly, Fire and Risks Solutions Ltd, Crosshaven, Co. Cork.
We understand that this new promising nursing home facility will be known as the ‘Blackstone Nursing Home’ and is expected to employ local people, subject to the necessary skills being found available.
This area, situated on the old road between Thurles and Urlingford, was decimated since the opening of the Dublin-Cork motorway and the bypassing of both named towns. To add further insult to injury, this current partially constructed eyesore, then became yet one more victim to Ireland’s economic crash.
 Ind. TD, Michael Lowry Independent T.D., Deputy Michael Lowry has welcomed the decision by Independent politician & Minister for Children, M/s Katherine Zappone, to implement new programmes designed to meet the needs of vulnerable young people within South Tipperary.
Deputy Lowry complimented Tipperary Education and Training Board and South Tipperary Community Youth Service for their excellent work in compiling data and information, to underpin their successful applications. He also acknowledged Coolmore for taking initiatives on this matter and for their outstanding contribution and commitment to the overall project.
Projects designated for the Fethard/Killenaule area will commence immediately with the enhancement of services at Fethard Youth Centre, Main Street, Fethard and the Old VEC Premises/Youth Centre, Killenaule. Services will be co-located between both neighbouring towns, providing a targeted response for approximately 30 – 40 young people. Same will greatly assist in addressing for such issues and needs as substance abuse; mental health difficulties and the provision of support to access further education, training and employment.
An ‘Operational Grant’ of €26,600 has now been sanctioned and will cover the period from now until December 2016. Financial provision has also been made to fund this programme for 2017.
Fethard is also under consideration for Capital Funding of €96,000 for Capital Works – which will include €70,000 for renovations to its premises and €26,000 for the provision of necessary furniture and equipment.
Killenaule will come under consideration for a capital grant of €38,700 – €28,000 in respect of renovations to its building, together with €10,700 also for the provision of necessary furniture and equipment.
It is now the intention of Minister Zappone to formally distribute this capital fund which has been made available to her, very shortly.
The town of Cahir will also now benefit from a new funded service. The Minister has authorised a new service for the town, situated at Cahir Youth Centre, with an operational fund of €31,242 to cover the period up to December of 2016.
A decision will be made shortly with regard to a further application for €18,000 in grant aid for a fit-out of this same Youth Centre, with regard to equipment and furniture, with financial provision again to fund this project into 2017. This same project is expected to provide a targeted response for up to 40 young people in Cahir town, focusing again on the identified needs of young people aged 10 – 24 years, through one-to-one support and development, through group activities.
“Young people identified as being at particular risk of isolation will benefit significantly from engagement with these Youth Work Services”, stated Deputy Lowry.
Thurles ‘Meals on Wheels’ Committee
 Pictured Back Row L – R:- M. Fahey, C. Verling (Community Garda), C. Hayes, B. Maher, B. Gleeson (Solr), T. Collins, J. Halloran, C. Halloran, T. Joyce, P. Drake. Front Row L – R:- P. O’Connor, M. O’Connor, J. Browne, M. Doyle, K. Dorney, P. Russell & L. Cooke. Mrs Mary Doyle, (Thurles Meals On Wheels), pictured above, receiving a sizeable donation of €1,020.00 in funding from Miss Josephine Browne, Dublin Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
Miss Browne raised the funding through her being sponsored and her personal completion of the North Tipperary 2016 Ladies Mini Marathon, latter held here in Thurles on Sunday September 25th last. This was Miss Browne’s second year taking part in the event for charity.
Miss Browne would like to take this opportunity to thank all her sponsors for their generous donations of support, which enabled her to participate in this annual fund-raising event.
Well Done Josephine.
“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies”.
[Above quote by British publisher & political publicist Sir Ernest John Pickstone Benn.]
Some 1,433 persons left the live register during September 2016, per figures published in a Statistical Release on the 6th of this month, October 2016, by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Some 649 left the Live Register in North Tipperary, while 784 persons vacated same in South Tipperary.
However, please let all our 1000 (+) daily readers refrain from ‘jumping for joy’, at this time, as no new Foreign Direct Investment or indeed any other sizeable form of decent employment has darkened our borders; despite the promises of the outgoing former Fine Gael / Labour coalition government, prior to the General Election held on February 26th 2016 last.
I am informed by the CSO that this sudden drop in Social Welfare claimants is merely down to normal reductions expected in September figures, brought about by students returning to education, etc.
In the hope of finding out more information on this September statistics reduction, an e-mail query has been forwarded to the Labour Market Section, at labour@cso.ie. Should I receive a reply, you our readers will be first to be informed.
One major tax concession in Tuesday’s ‘non event leaked budget’ is most certainly not expected to permeate the picturesque borders of Co. Tipperary in the immediate future. I refer of course to the concession directed at first-time new house buyers and the tax refund of up to €20,000 on those buying newly built homes, valued at up to €600,000. (Much of this concession paid for out of taxes taken from minimum paid workers who will not ever be able to buy a house.)
To take advantage of this major tax concession of course such young people will first need to hold a job. With 18 to 24-year-olds only getting an additional €2.70 per week, bringing their personal weekly rate of unemployment benefit to €102.70 per week; whatever about our cities, I don’t expect to see a huge surge in newly built houses in Co. Tipperary.
Twenty five year old persons benefited to the tune of €3.80 in their personal rate in Tuesday’s budget, bringing their payments to €127.80. Even twenty-five-year-olds will have difficulty in simply affording /attending a job interview in Dublin, where all the jobs are available; with the cost of a return train fare in excess of €50, (Note Dublin to Thurles, return, presently costs €53).
Perhaps a reduction in builders VAT Rates and a public transport concession for those seeking employment would have been a more appropriate answer to the problems of first time house buyers and major unemployment, latter up 120% over the past 10 years in Co. Tipperary.
 The monthly ‘Cash Draw’ for Thurles Credit Union (TCU) Members, for October 2016, took place last Saturday (1st October 2016).
Our congratulations go to this month’s computer generated 1st prize winners Thomas and Kathleen Burke, Thurles, Co.Tipperary, latter who won the monthly 1st prize of a whopping great €10,000 in cash.
Congratulations must also go to three other lucky TCU Member winners, each of whom received prizes of €1,000 each; namely:- M/s Esther Butler, Horse & Jockey, Thurles, Co. Tipperary; Mr & Mrs Kevin & Irene Kelly, Loughmore, Templemore, Thurles, Co. Tipperary and finally M/s Carmel Tierney, Bawnmore, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny.
Please Note: Members can still join these current TCU Members Monthly Cash Draws by simply completing an application form in any of the three Thurles Credit Union associated offices or by downloading the ‘Members’ Cash Draw Application Authorisation’ from HERE.
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