Thurles Information

It was with a great sadness that we learned of the death, on Saturday 30th May 2026, of Mr Michael John Bergin, New Forest, UK and formerly Thurles, Co. Tipperary; Magorban, Fethard, Co. Tipperary.

Pre-deceased by his parents Patrick and Molly, brother Patrick, sisters Catherine, Maura and Veronica; Mr Bergin was born in Thurles on 5th September, 1944 and grew up in Magorban, Fethard, Co. Tipperary. He spent his early years on the family farm where as a boy he helped out. In 1961 he joined the Irish army, before being deployed to the Congo with the UN peacekeeping mission, [(UNUC) United Nations Operation in the Congo (Opération des Nations Unies au Congo), latter a pioneering UN peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo from July 1960 to June 1964 to ensure the withdrawal of Belgian troops, assist the government with law and order, and prevent civil war]

Mr Bergin spent a good number of years during his life in the United Kingdom, employed as a car mechanic before eventually operating his own business as a self employed garage owner.

His passing is most deeply regretted, sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his sorrowing family; loving son Josh, Josh‘s mother Margaret, daughter-in-law Natasha, Patty, sister-in-law Dinah, nieces Marion and Caroline, nephew Gerard, extended relatives neighbours and many friends.

Mr Bergin will be remembered at a memorial service at the 17th-century former royal hunting lodge, Bramble Hill Hotel, Bramshaw, New Forest, UK, at 1:00pm on Sunday afternoon, July 19th 2026, near to where he once resided.

The extended Bergin family wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time, and have made arrangements for those persons wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shown HERE.

In ár gcroíthe go deo.

The Government is facing renewed scrutiny over the Department of Social Protection’s reliance on external technology providers after figures revealed that €102.8 million was paid to Deloitte between 2020 and 2025.

The expenditure covered consultancy and specialist IT services, including digital-product development, production support and work connected with MyGovID. Spending reached its highest annual level in 2024, when payments to the professional-services firm totalled €22.2 million.

Social Democrats social protection spokesperson Mr Eoin Hayes described the scale of the expenditure as deeply concerning and urged the Government to strengthen the public sector’s ability to design, operate and maintain its own digital systems.
He argued that essential technical expertise should be developed within the State rather than repeatedly purchased from private companies. Mr Hayes has called for a comprehensive audit of the external firms engaged by the department to establish whether taxpayers are receiving adequate value.
He also warned that unnecessary spending on contractors reduces the funding available to support people experiencing persistent poverty, including lone parents, disabled people and older people living alone.

The Department of Social Protection defended its use of external specialists, pointing to the scale and complexity of the systems required to administer more than €27 billion in social-protection services during 2024.

A departmental spokesperson said welfare services depend heavily on secure and reliable technology, with payments being processed every week. The department described ICT expenditure as an investment in maintaining an efficient social-protection system and said projects are subject to central oversight and ongoing value-for-money monitoring. It added that Deloitte personnel work alongside the department’s internal technology teams and that some specialist services are available only through external IT providers.
The department maintains that its consultancy expenditure has delivered value for money.