Politics « Thurles Information

Sign Of A Healthy Economy Should Be A Drinkable River.

“The sign of a healthy economy should be a drinkable river.”

[Quote by Ms Li An Phoa, (founder of the organization ‘Drinkable Rivers’)].

In relation to the pollution of the River Suir in Thurles which we, after 13 years of watching the sheer neglect of same, by Tipperary Co. Council, drew to the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the end of August last, has finally received a reply.

**Effluent continues to flow into the River Suir in Thurles Town centre**.
*Pic: G. Willoughb*y *(Dated October 9th, 2025)*

It is with great personal sadness and utter frustration that I report, first on the reply received from the EPA on Tuesday 25th November, 2025 which reads as follows:

(Ref: COM021813)
Dear Mr Willoughby,
Further to previous correspondence and responding to your concerns, the EPA wrote to Tipperary County Council seeking a written response from them on actions taken or planned on this matter.
Tipperary County Council replied to the EPA on 23/10/2025.
I enclose for your information a copy of a report received from Tipperary County Council in response to the issues raised in your complaint.
The EPA is satisfied that Tipperary County Council is dealing with the issue raised in your complaint and in view of this, the EPA will not be pursuing it further at this time.
The EPA recommends that you report any further issues directly to Tipperary County Council (preferably in writing) as the responsible authority.
Please use the reference number above in any further correspondence with the EPA regarding this matter.
Kind regards,
Nessa Dearle.

While the EPA publicly admit that wastewater discharged from 59% of Ireland’s existing treatment plants fail to consistently meet standards set in EPA licences to prevent pollution and further admit that wastewater discharges continue to harm water quality in rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters, they are not anxious to take on Tipperary Co. Council.

We will be publishing the inadequate awareness of the facts in the reply sent to the EPA by Ms Colette Moloney (Senior Executive Scientist with Tipperary County Council) shortly, as soon as time permits.

Christmas 2025 – Free Parking Initiative In County Tipperary.

Overview.

Tipperary County Council has rolled out a range of free-parking initiatives across multiple large towns in the county in the run-up to Christmas 2025. The aim is to support local retailers and encourage festive shopping.

Thurles Town – Free Parking Offer.

In Thurles Town: courtesy of Thurles Municipal District Councils administration (signed off on by Ms Sharon Scully), free parking will be available only for the first 30 minutes every day, (Fifteen minutes more than every ordinary) every day, throughout December 2025. Additionally, all council-owned car parks will provide free parking on the following Saturdays: 6th, 13th and 20th December 2025.
As it stands currently, it is important to note that three out of the town’s six main car parks will likely remain closed for this busy season, namely the car park beside the former Munster Hotel, (a long-standing resource for shoppers, parishioners and students); the car park underneath The Source building, (latter now closed for 3 years) and the new Market Area car park, beside The Source, (the upgrading of which has suffered serious delays).
So, no concessions on the busy three days prior to December 25th.
This limitation significantly undermines the stated objective of boosting local trade and enabling easy access to town centre shops.

Comparison With Other Tipperary Towns:
Tipperary Town: Same offers one hour of free on-street parking each day, and unlimited free parking in all council car parks for December 2025.
Roscrea: Same will have free parking throughout their towns every Saturday in December.
Templemore: Same will have free parking throughout their town every Saturday in December.
Clonmel Borough District: All council-owned car parks will have free parking on each Saturday in December, after 10am. The town also has a car park in Suirside which is free all year round and which will also be available for Christmas shoppers.
Cashel Town: Same will also offer free parking in all council-owned car parks on Saturdays throughout December.
Cahir Town: Same will also offer free parking in all council-owned car parks on Saturdays throughout December.
Carrick-on-Suir Town: There will be free parking in all of the council-owned car parks on each Saturday throughout the month of December.
Finally, in Nenagh Town: Here there will be three hours free parking in all council-owned car parks from Saturday December 6th, until Friday December 26th 2025. On-street parking will remain subject to ‘pay-and-display’.

Disparity Between Thurles and Tipperary Town:
The differential treatment between Thurles and Tipperary Town, in particular, is stark and concerning:
In Tipperary Town, shoppers benefit from unlimited free car-park access, plus one hour of free on-street parking, offering real convenience to those visiting the town centre.

In contrast, Thurles’ offer is limited to just 30 minutes free daily, and only on three Saturdays in December, while simultaneously reducing the supply of parking spaces by possibly having three of its main car parks closed. This severely undermines the town’s capacity to attract and accommodate shoppers.

Question: So where in this scenario are our Local elected Municipal District Councillors and our Thurles Chamber of Commerce. Thurles businesses no longer has a voice.

Given that the declared purpose of the initiative is to “promote local trade and encourage support for Town Traders during the festive season,” this disparity highlights an inequality in how different towns within the county are supported. Oh and by the way there is little on-street parking in Thurles town centre since over 60% was removed following it beings half upgraded.

Call for Review & Equal Treatment.
We call on Tipperary County Council to reconsider the parking allocations for Thurles, especially in light of the closure of significant car parks, thus ensuring that the town receives a level of support comparable to other towns such as the afore mentioned Tipperary Town.

Failing to address this inequity risks undermining the very objective of stimulating local commerce in Thurles during what should be one of the busiest trading periods of the year.

Thurles Businesses & Parish Alarmed At Munster Hotel Car Park Closure.

Thurles businesses and parish alarmed, as Munster Hotel car park in Thurles, faces closure, yet again, with effect from 1st December, 2025.

The decision to close the car park, situated beside the former Munster Hotel, yet again, on December 1st next, 2025, has sparked deep concern and outrage among local business owners, churchgoers, and the wider Thurles community.
What was once a lifeline for retailers, consumers, parishioners and school-bus users, east of the town is now threatened, just as the town prepares for its busiest season of the year.

**Former Munster Hotel car park threatened with closure on December 1st next, 2025.**

A Blow To Faith, Commerce and Community.
The car park’s closure will leave attendees at Thurles Cathedral, for Masses, funerals, and other important rites, struggling to find parking, creating potential hazards and serious access issues.
Small local businesses, already feeling the strain from limited footfall, now fear a catastrophic drop in trade at the worst possible time: the run-up to Christmas.
With the Thurles Market Quarter car park still closed for over a year and ‘The Source’ building car park closed for nearly three years, the looming loss of this space could be a tipping point.

**Public car parking spots on Kickham Street reallocated to school bus services**.

Shockingly, in what many see as “salt in the wound”, a number of previously public parking spots on Kickham Street, have recently been reallocated, without prior notice, to school bus services.

Ownership, Influence And Frustration:
The Munster Hotel and its adjoining car park are understood to be owned by Mr. Martin Healy, a high-profile local businessperson and a former member of the Thurles Chamber of Commerce, latter the very organisation that is tasked in promoting entrepreneurship and supporting small enterprises in the town.
The irony is not lost therefore on local small business owners: the private owner closing a facility that is absolutely vital to the community.

The car park is currently rented by Tipperary County Council, but unconfirmed reports suggest that lease negotiations have broken down, fuelling accusations of neglect and mismanagement.

A Town On The Brink:
Many in Thurles are now asking: how much more can local businesses absorb? How many more loyal customers will be lost because they simply cannot find a spot to park? And what message does this send when, at a time when the town should be rallying together, its own infrastructure fails exactly those who need it most?
The impending closure will also likely expose pedestrians and road-users to increasing risk. With school buses now allocated to street parking, and the Cathedral’s forecourt full, the potential for dangerous traffic congestion is all too real.

Businesses Call For Immediate Action:
Tipperary County Council must urgently intervene. This car park is not just a private asset; it is a public necessity.
Thurles Chamber of Commerce must reflect on its role: supporting small businesses means protecting their lifelines, not shutting them off.
Local elected representatives and stakeholders must demand a rapid, transparent solution that ensures parking is available for parishioners, shoppers, and visitors, especially during this Christmas season.

Conclusion:
This is more than a car park dispute. This is a story of a town’s heartbeat being squeezed: of faith, community, and commerce, all now under threat. With the Munster Hotel itself long derelict, the parking facility has become more than a convenience, it is a cornerstone of Thurles daily life.

Its closure cannot be allowed to be yet another casualty of short-term thinking.

Ireland’s Position Regarding the EU–Mercosur Agreement.

For the benefit of the ordinary man in the street, what exactly is the EU–Mercosur deal?

The EU–Mercosur deal is a major trade agreement between the European Union and four South American countries, namely Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (known together as Mercosur).

Its main purpose is to make trade between the two regions easier by:
(1) Cutting or removing many tariffs (import taxes) on goods going both ways.
(2) Opening up markets for EU cars, machinery, medicines and services in South America.
(3) Giving Mercosur countries more access to the EU for products like beef, poultry, sugar and other agricultural goods.
(4) Setting common rules on things like food safety, intellectual property, and government contracts, including environment and labour commitments, though critics say these may not be strong enough.

Supporters say: It will boost trade and strengthen EU ties with South America.
Opponents, especially Irish farmers, say: It will bring in cheaper agricultural imports produced under lower standards, thus harming rural economies, and could indirectly increase deforestation in South America.

The EU–Mercosur Agreement, now entering a contentious ratification phase across the European Union, represents one of the most far-reaching trade deals negotiated by the EU in decades. While the agreement promises tariff reductions, expanded market access and strategic benefits in South America, it also presents serious risks for Ireland’s agricultural sector, its environmental standards and long-term rural sustainability. For these reasons, Ireland is justified in maintaining a cautious, and in many respects critical, stance as the ratification process unfolds.

Politically, the agreement remains highly unstable. The European Parliament is deeply divided, with recent votes showing only a narrow margin between supporters and opponents. Key member states, including France, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands and Italy, have already expressed strong reservations. The European Commission has attempted to push the process forward, but the fact that ratification was paused earlier this year reflects the scale of political tension surrounding the deal. Ireland is far from isolated in its concerns.

From an Irish perspective, the most immediate threat arises in agriculture. The agreement would grant substantial additional market access for South American beef, poultry and sugar into the European Union. Even with quota limits, the increased volume of imports would land directly into the most sensitive areas of Irish farm production, particularly beef. Irish farmers compete in one of the most regulated, high-cost and environmentally scrutinised agricultural systems in the world. Allowing cheaper imports produced under lower labour, welfare and environmental standards risks undermining the viability of family farms that form the backbone of rural Ireland. The European Commission has floated an “emergency brake” to reimpose tariffs if imports surge, but farmers’ organisations in Ireland are unconvinced that such mechanisms would be swift, robust or transparent enough to prevent serious market disruption.

Environmental concerns deepen this opposition. Ireland, like all EU member states, is bound by stringent climate and biodiversity targets. Yet the Mercosur bloc includes regions facing chronic deforestation pressures, particularly in Brazil and parts of the Amazon basin. Critics fear that increased export incentives for beef, soy and other commodities could accelerate land-use change in sensitive ecosystems. Although the agreement contains sustainability clauses linked to the Paris Agreement, enforcement mechanisms remain weak. It would be inconsistent for Ireland, already struggling to meet its own climate commitments, to endorse a trade deal that may indirectly contribute to global environmental degradation.

A further issue is regulatory asymmetry. The EU maintains some of the highest standards in the world regarding food safety, traceability and animal welfare. While the agreement requires Mercosur exporters to meet EU standards at the border, there is limited assurance that production systems on the ground will adhere to equivalent requirements. This raises real concerns about fair competition and consumer confidence. Irish farmers and processors, who invest heavily in compliance, would face competitors who do not operate under the same regulatory burdens.

Ireland also has legitimate procedural concerns. The decision by some in the European Parliament to challenge the structure of the agreement before the Court of Justice highlights unresolved questions about democratic scrutiny. Attempts to rush ratification without adequate debate risk eroding public trust in EU trade policy at a time when transparency is essential.

Finally, the strategic argument advanced by the European Commission, that the deal is needed to diversify trade and secure access to raw materials, does not outweigh the potential social and economic consequences for Ireland’s rural communities. Diversification is important, but not at the expense of domestic sectors that have already absorbed significant pressures from climate policy, volatile markets and rising production costs.

For all these reasons, economic, environmental, regulatory and democratic, Ireland is justified in maintaining a firm, evidence-based opposition to the EU–Mercosur Agreement in its current form. Any trade deal of such scale must protect the interests of Irish farmers, uphold the integrity of EU environmental commitments and ensure equal standards for all producers supplying the European market. Until those conditions are met, Ireland’s stance is both prudent and necessary.

Is Sinn Féin Really Fit For Government?

A Growing Catalogue of Arrests, Resignations, Expelling’s and Charges Raises Questions.

As Sinn Féin positions itself as a “Government-in-waiting”, the party continues to face uncomfortable scrutiny over the number of members, former members and associates who have been arrested or charged with serious offences in recent years.

An examination of publicly reported cases between 2015 and 2025 reveals a significant series of criminal investigations involving individuals linked to the party; ranging from sexual offences and child exploitation to violent crime, coercive control, fraud, and high-profile gangland-related charges. While the party has consistently stressed that individuals facing prosecution are immediately suspended and that Sinn Féin “does not tolerate criminality,” the accumulation of cases has prompted renewed debate about whether the organisation is adequately equipped to manage governance at national level.

A Decade of Difficult Headlines.
Among the most serious cases is that of Mr Jonathan Dowdall, the former Dublin City councillor who was arrested and later charged in connection with the Regency Hotel investigation. Dowdall ultimately pleaded guilty to facilitating the murder of Mr David Byrne and received a four-year prison sentence before entering the Witness Protection Programme.

Also significant is the conviction of Mr Michael McMonagle, a former Sinn Féin member in Derry, who pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault against minors. He was sentenced to prison and later returned to court for breaching court-imposed restrictions.

Then there was Mr Niall Ó Donnghaile a Senator and former Sinn Féin Seanad leader who was suspended (reported Sept 2023) and resigned from the Seanad in December 2023.
Referred internally to PSNI/Social Services after it emerged, he had sent “inappropriate” messages to a 17-year-old; party says there were no criminal findings, but the matter led to his suspension and later resignation.

Mr Barry McElduff, a Former Sinn Féin MP (West Tyrone) was suspended in January 2018 and then resigned as MP shortly afterwards. The reason was he posted a video widely seen as mocking the Kingsmill massacre, (Whitecross massacre) which saw the shooting dead of 10 workmen, which caused major public outrage; suspension was a party sanction (the incident was not a sexual/criminal charge but was a conduct controversy that led to suspension/resignation).

In Belfast, Mr Cathal McLaughlin, a councillor at the time of his suspension from the party, was charged and later convicted of sexual assault, receiving a suspended sentence. His appeal was dismissed.

In recent days a female, a party member in Co Laois, was expelled from Sinn Féin after her home was searched by an Garda Síochána and her partner was arrested in connection with a terrorism-related investigation. The probe relates to an alleged far-right extremist group plotting an attack on a mosque in Galway, linked to explosives found in Co Laois and Co Down.
Sinn Féin’s statement says the member failed to inform the party that her home had been raided, or to alert the party to the seriousness of the situation. That failure was cited as the reason for expulsion. Her partner, a man in his 30s, remains detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. He is not named in initial press reports.
The fact that a raid occurred on the house of a party member linked through a partner to an extremist investigation, touches on issues of vetting, disclosure and risk management within the party structure.

The full facts are not yet publicly available. However, we understand that the suspect in this far-right extremism probe met Mrs Mary Lou McDonald campaigning during the general election and urged people to vote for the party last year, declaring: “Let’s bring our country back.” While not known as a party member he was in attendance at a party event in Dublin some six weeks ago.
Sinn Féin have confirmed that the woman and her partner, who is being held in a Midlands Garda Station, were signed into Leinster House twice.
We ask the question, “Is Sinn Féin now expelling members for terrorist activities, God knows in the past they were welcomed?”

Why have so many Councillors Jumped Ship in the past decade?

Name.	Council/Area	When left	Reported Reason/ Context
June Murphy.	Cork (Fermoy).	Sept 2015.	Resigned citing “an increasingly negative experience” amid local bullying/discipline disputes.
Kieran McCarthy.	Cork County Council.	June 2015 (expelled).	Expelled after an internal review into constituency structures (financial/disciplinary disputes).
Melissa Mullane.	Cork.	2015 Suspended (12 months).	Following the Cork East internal review; part of the same row that saw other departures.
Ger Keohane.	Cork County Council.	Nov 2015.	Resigned from Sinn Féin (reported as a defection) part of multiple Cork departures in 2015.
Noeleen Reilly.	Dublin City Council (Ballymun-Finglas).	Feb 2018.	Resigned citing an “orchestrated bullying campaign”; previously suspended by the party.
Lisa Marie Sheehy.	East Cork.	Sept 2017.	Resigned citing intimidation / being “plotted against” (connected to the Cork East disputes).
Sorcha O’Neill.	Sorcha O’Neill Kildare (former Sinn Féin councillor).	Apr 2017.	Resigned citing “bullying, hostility and aggression” within the local organisation.
Gabe Cronnelly.	Galway County Council.	May 2020.	Resigned from Sinn Féin and sat as an Independent; cited lack of local/national support.
Paul Hayes.	Cork County Council May 2020.	May 2020.	Resigned from Sinn Féin and sat as an Independent; cited lack of local/national support.
Danielle Twomey.	Cork County Council (East Cork).	Dec 2023.	Resigned citing relentless online harassment and internal party “backhanded moves”; now Independent.
Aidan Mullins.	Laois County Council.	Aug 2024.	Resigned after being told he would be suspended for three months; said he was being “silenced” on migration and related issues.
Caroline Dwane-Stanley.	Laois County Council.	Dec 2024.	Resigned saying the party was “not a safe place”; cited the party’s handling of a controversy affecting her family.
Ursula Gavan.	Limerick City & County Council.	Jan 2025.	Resigned citing “family loyalty” after her husband, Senator Paul Gavan, was left off the party’s Seanad selection.

So we ask “Pattern or Misfortune?“
Sinn Féin would argues that such incidents are comparable to those occurring in other major parties and insists that swift disciplinary action is taken when allegations emerge. In several cases, the party suspended individuals even before charges were formally brought, citing safeguarding concerns.

Critics, however, contend that the volume and gravity of cases linked to Sinn Féin is “disproportionately high,” particularly compared with other parties of similar size. They also point to instances where individuals remained active in local structures despite concerns being flagged, or where the party leadership sought to distance itself, only after legal proceedings became public.

Security analysts note that Sinn Féin’s rapid growth, combined with historically looser local-level structures, may have contributed to inconsistent vetting and oversight. Several of the cases involved long-standing activists who operated within community-based settings with limited central supervision.

Mounting Political Pressure.
Opposition politicians have already moved to capitalise on the issue, arguing that Sinn Féin has yet to demonstrate that it can meet the standards of transparency, safeguarding and organisational discipline expected of a party preparing to lead government.
Privately, some within Sinn Féin acknowledge that the headlines of the past decade, and particularly the high-profile nature of the most serious cases, have caused significant internal discomfort.

The Question for Voters.
As the party continues to anticipates entering government for the first time in the Republic, the question lingers: Can Sinn Féin convincingly reassure the public that its structures, oversight and internal controls are robust enough for national leadership?

The answer may ultimately rest not on the number of individuals charged, but on whether the party can demonstrate that it has learned from its many past failures, and whether voters believe Sinn Féin can uphold the standards it repeatedly demands from other parties in Government.