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 Carrick on Suir Town Council
Sylvia Cooney Sheehan – Fianna Fáil, Dennis Landy – Labour, Liam Walsh – Sinn Féin, Margeret Croke – Fine Gael, Pierce O’Loughlin – NP, Kierin Bourke – Fianna Fáil, Richie O’Neill – NP, Patsy Fitzgerald – NP, Martin Henzey – WUAG.
Clonmel Borough Council
Seamus Healy – WUAG, Pat English – WUAG, Brian O’Donnell – WUAG, Billy Shoare – WUAG, Tereasa Ryan – WUAG, Dinny Dunne – Fine Gael, Joe Leahy – Fine Gael, Siobhain Ambrose – Fianna Fáil, Richie Molloy – Fianna Fáil, Niall Dennehy – Independent, Darren Ryan – Labour, Gabrielle Egan – Labour.
Nenagh Town Council
Hughie McGrath – Independent, Seamie Morris – Sinn Féin, Virginia O’Dowd – Labour, Lalor Magee – Labour, Jimmy Moran – Fianna Fáil, Tony Sheary – Independent, Tom Moylan – Fine Gael, Connor Delaney – Fine Gael, Tom Mulqueen – Fianna Fáil.
Templemore Town Council
Joe Burke – Independent, Martin Fogarty – Independent, Lilly O’Brien – Fine Gael, Jim O’Shea – Fianna Fáil, Valerie Young – Independent, Maura Byrne – Fine Gael, Marcus Wilson – Fianna Fáil, Mick Connell – Fianna Fáil, Michael Ryan – Fine Gael.
Thurles Town Council
Jim Ryan – Independent, Michael Cleary – Fine Gael, David Doran – Sinn Féin, Michael Grogan – Independent, Johnny Kenehan – Labour, John Kennedy – Labour, Evelyn Nevin – Independent, Gerard O’Brien – Fianna Fáil, Noel O’Dwyer – Independent
Tipperary Town Council
Dennis Leahy – Independent, Brian Rafferty – Independent, Larry Creamer – Fianna Fáil, Christy Kinihan – Independent, Ruari Devitt – Fine Gael, John Wallace – Fianna Fáil, Mary Swords – Independent, Anna Touhy Halligan – Fine Gael, Billy Bourke – Labour
Thurles Council had 9 seats on offer with an electorate of 5,877 and fifteen candidates declared.
Turnout was 4,166 voters with 49 declared spoiled votes, giving a valid pole therefore of 4,117.
The agreed quota was 412.
 Three candidates were declared elected on the first count, all having exceeded the required quota:-
Michael Cleary (Fine Gael) – Total Votes 432.
John Kennedy, (Labour) – Total Votes 469.
Jim Ryan, (Non Party) – Total Votes 619.
The following remaining candidates were all elected without reaching the required election quota:-
Michael Grogan (Non Party) – Total Votes 382
David Doran (Sinn Féin) – Total Votes 376
Noel O’Dwyer (Non Party) – Total Votes 276
Gerard O’Brien (Fianna Fáil) – Total Votes 266
Evelyn Nevin (Non Party) – Total Votes 243
Johnny Kenehan (Labour) – Total Votes 219 took the last seat.
Other Candidates:-
Bill Dwyer (FF) TV. 196 – Mae Quinn,(Mayor, outgoing)(FG) TV. 181 – Patricia Durak-O’Dwyer (FF) TV. 138 Johnny Purcell (NP) TV.110 Martin Ryan (NP) TV.109 & Lorraine O’Keefe (FF) TV.101 were duly eliminated.
Small businesses throughout North Tipperary will save around €50,000 each under a new 18 point plan proposed by Fine Gael. Deputy Noel Coonan believes small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of North Tipperary’s economy but the current Government is failing to support this vital sector.
“SMEs across the constituency are having an increasingly tough time due to rising costs imposed by this Government. Fianna Fáil, the Greens and Independents have hiked up the VAT rate which has driven customers North of the border. Small businesses have had to lower prices to compete and they have witnessed a fall in demand for their services. However, Fine Gael represents the light at the end of tunnel for businesses with ‘A Fresh Start for Jobs in Small Business’,” said Deputy Coonan.
Fine Gael’s proposals will save the average small business owner in the region of €50,000 per year in costs by cutting energy costs, cutting regulatory red tape and making savings driven by VAT reductions.
Combined with the Rebuilding Ireland stimulus package launched earlier this year Fine Gael’s plans will deliver 100,000 new jobs and protect 80,000 existing jobs in small businesses.
“We need to support businesses in North Tipperary in order to save jobs. That is Fine Gael’s plan. I believe that we can not tax our way out of recession and we need to keep a low-tax economy to increase consumer spending. While big multinationals like Dell in Raheen get the headlines, North Tipperary’s SME sector is also constantly hemorrhaging jobs. We desperately need to stop this flow of unemployment because North Tipperary’s economy simply cannot sustain it,” said Deputy Coonan.
Fine Gael’s proposals include:
1. PRSI exemption for staff employed over the next two years, or an alternative of a €6,000 wage subsidy per employee over the same period
2. Reduce energy costs
3. Freeze local authority rates and government charges
4. Reduce VAT rates
5. Ensure prompt payments to businesses from Government and creditors
6. Make it easier for SMEs to win public tenders
 North Tipperary TD Deputy Noel Coonan wants the Government to outline exact number of North Tipperary children who will be eligible under the new Pre-Schools Scheme.
Numerous North Tipperary children may be unable to avail of this scheme promised by the Government in last April’s budget because the scheme’s capped payment is below what some child providers charge.
Deputy Noel Coonan expressed deep distress that Fianna Fáil, the Greens and Independents are giving families further ‘false hope’ with proposals that seem unworkable.
Under the new scheme, the Government will pay pre-schools a maximum of €64.50 to cover three hours of early childhood education for five days each week. That works out at a monthly payment of €254 for a four-week month. However, Deputy Coonan outlined that some preschool providers charge above this payment a month for 15 hours a week.
Deputy Coonan stated:
“The Irish Preschool Play Association is worried that the subsidised amount will now not cover existing costs. I believe their concerns are very real because only pre-schools which accept €64.50 a week can take part in the scheme. In the local elections the absence of information on the introduction of the Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme has been a recurring worry for North Tipperary families. Cash-strapped families who are losing the Early Childcare Supplement at the end of this year are especially concerned.When the scheme was first announced no information was made available to parents and pre-school providers. Even now, almost two months later, parents across North Tipperary have no idea how the scheme will work or where it will operate. For the sake of openness, the Government must outline the number of children who can avail of the scheme in my constituency,”
A Fine Gael private members motion this week is challenging the Government to outline exactly how the scheme will operate for both parents and providers. The Government will also be asked to outline the exact number of eligible children by county and the location of participating service providers.
Deputy Coonan further stated:
“I’m hoping our motion will force the Government to reveal information to North Tipperary families about whether they can fully avail of this scheme.”
 “Replacing local fresh high quality produce with foreign imports is crippling the Irish Farming Community” stated Deputy Noel Coonan
North Tipperary‘s farming community is being brought to its knees by a Fianna Fail Government, which continually fails to protect farmers and the food industry, according to Deputy Noel Coonan. The Deputy’s comments relate to issues between supermarkets and Irish food producers, current milk prices and low beef prices.
Deputy Coonan stated:-
“We saw frustrated potato farmers stage a protest at a meeting of senior Tesco officials during the week in Meath where they voiced their just concerns over the importation of potatoes from abroad. The decision to replace local fresh produce with imports affects not just farmers but those working in delivery and packaging too. The Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith has to take adequate steps to protect this indigenous vital industry and immediately outline the Government’s plans to protect jobs in the industry. The farming community has the potential to play a strong role in revitalising the economy. The frustration felt by potato farmers echoes from dairy and beef farmers too. Liquid milk producers are losing out severely per litre for every litre they produce. Beef farmers also need a higher share of the consumer spend on the products they supply. Producers are not being rewarded for their efforts and are effectively being forced off the land. The margin is too great between what farmers sell and what the supermarkets sell it for. Minister Smith has previously described the agri-food sector as Ireland’s most important indigenous sector, providing hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout every county in the country, at both producer and processor levels. Yet we see farmers facing cut after cut which hinders the development of the sector. The Government is doing nothing to stem the drift from the land when the country really needs agriculture to drag it out of this current recession.
Fine Gael Agriculture Spokesperson Michael Creed TD has questioned Minister Smith on how he proposes to protect and increase jobs in the food industry in view of threats posed to employment in the sector by the major multiples. This is an issue that is of grave importance and we will continue to question and press the Minister until we get an adequate reply.”
Deputy Coonan said that in contrast Fine Gael recognises the potential of the agri-food sector to stimulate job creation and economic growth and the party is committed to ensuring that Irish producers are competing on a level playing field with other countries.
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