Politics « Thurles Information

Cycling To Fiscal Responsibility? Not When Your Bike Shed Pricier Than My House.

€18,611 Per Bike? That’s One Expensive Two-Wheeler Area.
Bike Rack or Bank Vault? €336K Suggests the Wheels Were Secured Through Gold Bars.

Simon Harris faced a wave of criticism from the public after news broke about the €336,000 bike shed erected at Leinster House.

Dozens of emails accused the then Taoiseach and other politicians of wasting taxpayer money, with some suggesting the project symbolised everything wrong with government spending priorities.

**Leinster House’s Deluxe Bike Hangar: While Taxpayers Wait In The Rain**.

An internal audit later found that no value-for-money assessment was carried out before construction began. The controversy intensified after it emerged that a separate €190,000 was being spent on a fitness instructor for TDs.

**Failure by OPW to plan *“hot air”* openings for Tipperary politicians.**

Many correspondents expressed anger over what they saw as misplaced priorities, contrasting the bike shed’s cost with ongoing struggles faced by families of children with disabilities and survivors of State institutions.
One disgruntled observer locally in Thurles was heard to quip that a section of the shed should open occasionally, to allow “hot air” to escape, from Tipperary politicians.

FAI Moves To Seek UEFA Ban On Israel.

Questions Raised Over Motivation and Governance.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has voted overwhelmingly to submit a motion to UEFA calling for the suspension of the Israel Football Association (IFA) from European football competitions.

The motion, passed by 74 votes to 7 with 2 abstentions, was adopted at an extraordinary general meeting of the FAI. It urges UEFA to remove Israel from participation in club and international competitions, citing alleged breaches of football governance and human rights obligations.

Grounds for the Motion:
The proposal contends that the Israel Football Association:

Operates clubs in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association — said to breach UEFA and FIFA statutes.
Has failed to uphold UEFA’s anti-racism and equality policies, contrary to Article 7bis of the UEFA Statutes.
UEFA has already decided that no European competition matches can take place in Israel due to ongoing security concerns. However, the FAI motion goes further, seeking to completely suspend Israel from all UEFA competitions.

Next Steps and Potential Outcomes:
The FAI’s motion will now be transmitted to UEFA, where it may be considered by the organisation’s Executive Committee or Congress.

If acted upon, the suspension could see:

Israeli clubs removed from the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
The Israeli national team barred from European Championship and World Cup qualifying campaigns conducted under UEFA.

No formal timetable for discussion or decision has been announced by UEFA.

Potential Consequences
Analysts warn that the move could have wide-ranging implications:
Sporting disruption: Fixtures involving Israeli clubs or national sides could be cancelled or restructured.
Legal risk: The Israel Football Association could challenge any suspension before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), arguing that it is politically motivated.
Diplomatic impact: UEFA could face political and commercial pressure from member governments and sponsors.
Precedent: A ban on Israel could prompt demands for similar action in other politically charged situations, raising questions about consistency and governance in sport.
Financial Context: – FAI’s Dependence on State Support.

This debate comes as the FAI continues to rely heavily on Irish Government and UEFA financial assistance.

In January 2020, the State, UEFA and Bank of Ireland agreed a €30 million rescue package to save the FAI from insolvency. This included €20 million in taxpayer funding through Irish government loans and grants.

In October 2025, the Government confirmed a further €3 million allocation in Budget 2026; same to support the development of League of Ireland academies.

This financial dependency has led some observers to ask who exactly initiated or influenced the FAI’s extraordinary meeting and subsequent vote and whether the association consulted adequately with its funding partners before taking a political position of such scale.

Broader Questions: While many within Irish football support calls for greater international accountability, others caution that the FAI, still emerging from years of financial crisis and governance reform, must act with care to avoid drawing itself into complex geopolitical disputes.

As UEFA weighs its response, the move has sparked debate not only about Israel’s role in European football, but also about the role of the Irish football authorities themselves, an organisation dependent on public funds now taking a stand on one of the most divisive issues in world sport.

Making Ireland’s 2026 EU Presidency A Voice For Its People.

For Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency to carry real democratic weight, the Government must move beyond token consultation and create genuine channels for citizens to shape the nation’s European agenda.

How the Irish Public Can Engage Meaningfully in Ireland’s EU Presidency Consultation (2026).

From 1st July to 31st December 2026, Ireland will assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union; a position that will place the Irish Government at the centre of EU policymaking for six crucial months. Ahead of this, the Department of Foreign Affairs has now invited views from domestic stakeholders and the public on the priorities that should shape Ireland’s Presidency programme.

Domestic stakeholders and the public who wish to express views – Please See HERE.

On paper, this is an admirable democratic exercise. In practice, however, the distance between the government and the citizen in Ireland has grown markedly, especially in recent years. Many people find it increasingly difficult to have queries answered by TDs or to receive substantive engagement from government Ministers and government Departments. Political dialogue has become one-directional with official statements flowing outward, but public input rarely finds its way back in.

To further prove this point I personally contacted 14 elected Irish TD’s, at the highest level, via email, during the time of this present government and, indeed, the previous government. I received acknowledgements from all 14, but sadly never any replys to the various queries I then highlighted.

If this consultation is to be more than a box-ticking exercise, the Government must create mechanisms that allow citizens to contribute ideas, challenge assumptions, and hold policy-makers accountable for how their feedback is used.

A number of practical steps could make that possible:
Regional Forums: Host open hearings in towns and cities across Ireland — akin to the Citizens’ Assembly format — where ordinary citizens, community organisations, and businesses can voice views on EU priorities such as energy security, migration, the digital economy, and climate policy.
Online Platform: Establish a transparent online portal where individuals can submit policy suggestions, endorse others’ proposals, and see how those inputs are reflected in the final Presidency agenda.
Sectoral Round-tables: Engage directly with universities, trade unions, youth groups, farmers, and SMEs to capture the breadth of Irish experience and expertise.
Public Accountability: Publish a detailed summary showing which ideas were adopted or rejected, and why.

This kind of participatory approach would do more than enhance policy legitimacy. It would also help to restore public faith in democratic dialogue, at a time when trust in institutions and in politics itself is under strain.

An inclusive, transparent consultation process would ensure that Ireland’s EU Presidency is informed not only by officials in Dublin, but by the lived experience of Irish society. That would make the EU Presidency not merely an administrative duty, but a national expression of Ireland’s values and voice in Europe.

Note: The deadline for receipt of submissions is Friday 12th December 2025. If you have any questions, please send your query to the email address hereunder.

The public are invited to please submit their submissions via email to EUPresidency2026Consultations@dfa.ie

Criminal Assets Bureau Annual Report For 2024 Published.

Over €17m diverted from criminals to the Irish exchequer.

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is a multi-agency statutory body established under the Criminal Assets Bureau Act 1996. The Bureau’s remit is to target a person’s assets, wherever situated, which derive, or are suspected to derive, directly or indirectly, from criminal conduct. Since its inception, the Bureau has been at the forefront of fighting organised crime in this jurisdiction and disrupting the activities of criminal gangs by depriving them of ill-gotten assets.

The Bureau has staff drawn from An Garda Síochána, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners (including Customs), the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Justice.

The latest Annual Report from the Bureau has now been published for 2024, showing €17.052 million was returned to the Irish Exchequer, due to their activities.

The Bureau sold twenty forfeited properties by 2024; the highest number sold in any one year. One of these properties was sold for €931,000, one of the highest sales prices ever achieved for any one asset.

An updated Proceeds of Crime Bill is now understood to be making its way through the Oireachtas currently and if implemented same is expected to strengthen the State’s ability to further identify, freeze, and confiscate assets linked to serious and organised crime. Once passed into law, the Criminal Assets Bureau should have stronger investigative powers and will be able to dispose of assets much more quickly than is currently the case.

Some of the Bureau’s other key achievements of the year included:

46 search operations conducted, consisting of 227 individual searches in 13 counties.
21 new cases commenced under the Proceeds of Crime Act during 2024.
Submission of 30 new Proceeds of Crime files to the Criminal Asset Section of the Chief State Solicitor’s Office for progression through the courts.
The Bureau held its second publicly advertised online auction which received global interest, realising in excess of €216k.

Yet one must be forgiven for asking, is this simply yet another tax generated on the hard pressed, ordinary Irish household?

Let us think for a moment:-

(1) Crimes in question are rightly identified by Criminal Assets Bureau.
(2) Proceeds amounting to €17.052 million are now returned to the Irish Exchequer.
Question: What fraction of this significant sum will actually be channelled back into local rural communities, where the crime identified first originated?
Note: Every time a drug seizure is made, criminals take to rural Ireland to steal/plunder, often by force, valuables, goods etc, from the residents in towns and villages, to the benefit of the Irish Exchequer.

“Surely this amounts to a tax in another name”.

We wait to see how much of this €17.052 million, will be returned to Irish local communities.

Farmers Urged To Report Suspected Cases Of Bird Flu & Step Up Biosecurity.

IFA calls for housing order to protect poultry as avian flu confirmed in Co Carlow.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has called for the introduction of a housing order requiring free-range poultry farmers to keep their birds indoors, as authorities confirm an outbreak of avian flu in a commercial turkey flock in Co Carlow, a county bordering on Co. Tipperary.

The virus, which causes the disease, is known as HPAI H5N1 and has been in circulation among wild birds over the past year.

Mr Nigel Sweetnam, Chair of the IFA National Poultry Committee, said the measure is urgently needed to help contain the spread of the highly contagious disease and safeguard farmers’ livelihoods.
He urged all poultry farmers to be on high alert and to contact their vet and the Department of Agriculture, immediately, if they suspect any signs of avian flu.

Mr Sweetnam said farmers should watch for indicators such as high mortality and lethargic birds, and highlighted the importance of establishing exclusion zones around affected farms where movement of birds in and out is tightly controlled under veterinary supervision.

With the whole pattern of bird flu changing/mutating; the virus has appeared earlier than usual this year and in different geographical areas, with two outbreaks in Co. Cork.

Mr Sweetnam believes that a housing order should be comparable to restrictions in place during the Covid-19 pandemic, thus limiting movement and requiring birds to be kept indoors.
The IFA continues to engage with the Department of Agriculture on measures to contain the outbreak and protect Ireland’s poultry sector.
The Department is reminding all flock owners to maintain the highest standards of biosecurity, including disinfecting footwear and equipment, restricting visitors, and preventing contact between domestic poultry and wild birds.