Politics « Thurles Information

For What Are Thurles, Co. Tipperary Residents Paying Property Tax?

Yesterday, January 22nd 2024, the road sweeper unit made several passes up and down on Kickham Street, east of Thurles Town centre, Co. Tipperary.
Their purpose for the crew’s occupancy, was not to collect litter or debris relating to ‘Storm Isha’, but rather to suck up loose gravel, generated by the cold tarmacadam that had been brought into play, to fill giant craters just 14 days before.

**Street sweeper unit gathering gravel on Kickham St. Thurles.**
*Pic: G. Willoughby. Mid-morning January 22nd 2024.*

Thankfully, the cold spell experienced over the past two weeks had held this tarmac together, now that the rainy season has arrived, as we have experienced since Saturday last; unprecedented heavy traffic and heavy rain has, as expected, loosened the cold tarmacadam, resulting in the road surface becoming one long gravel driveway. (See image hereunder).

**Gravel on Kickham Street, Thurles, before the Road Sweeper Unit arrived; brought to my attention by stones striking the toughened glass on my front window**, **latter broken by flying surface gravel, sometime previously.**
*Pic: G. Willoughby. Early Morning of January 22nd 2024.*

Yesterday’s road sweeping exercise resulted in a two man operation. One driving the sweeper unit, while another employee attempted to keep pace, slightly to the fore, using a leaf blower to drive loose gravel from pavements; slung their by the wheels of vehicles and aimed at unsuspecting pedestrians.

Mr Joe MacGrath (Chief Executive Tipperary Co. Council), was busy yesterday, rubbing shoulders and having his picture taken with Fianna Fáil’s Minister Mr Darragh O’Brien and Tipperary Fianna Fáil TD Mr Jackie Cahill (Thurles); all 3 individuals attempting to boost both their images and personal expenses, while officially opening a children’s playground in Newport, Co. Tipperary, which by the way, cost almost €3 million to deliver.
They were then later joined in their promotional picture by Mr Michael Lowry TD. (Thurles), who climbed in on the act, at Woodview Close, Nenagh, where Mr Darragh O’Brien officially cut the ‘Munster GAA blue ribbon’, suitably chosen, to open 10 social homes.

Meanwhile, back on Kickham Street, in forgotten Thurles, Co. Tipperary, within 4 hours after the sweeper had sucked up much of the loose gravel and departed, the last remnants of the streets cold tarmacked surface broke loose, leaving behind massive crates. (See image hereunder).

**Kickham Street, Thurles yesterday afternoon, after the road sweeper unit had returned to base.**
*Pic: G. Willoughby. Afternoon of January 22nd 2024.*

We ask the question again and again, “For what are Thurles residents paying property tax ?”
We get absolutely nothing in return, except silence or arrogance from officialdom, same disposed to exaggerate their own worth or self importance; often dished out in an overbearing manner”.

Time has now come to name the Tipperary Municipal District officials responsible.

Ms Sharon Scully (Thurles District Administrator), together with Mr Joe MacGrath (Chief Executive of Tipperary Co. Council) and Mr Marcus O’ Connor, (latter Director of Services Roads and Transportation, Active Travel, Health and Safety) have all been notified.
[We have been made aware that Mr Joe MacGrath will be away from his office until Friday next, January 26th, with limited access to his emails. To this end a communication has been forwarded to his secretary Ms Evelyn Harty, since this matter now requires urgent attention.]

Tipperary Marginally Below National Average In Pobal HP Deprivation Index.

Tipperary is marginally below the national average level of affluence, according to the 2022 Pobal HP Deprivation (Poverty) Index.

The Index, which is Ireland’s primary social gradient tool, found a nationwide improvement in measures such as employment and population growth, with levels largely returning to those observed in 2006, however persistent disadvantage remains for many communities.

Since the 2016 general election, County Tipperary has been a parliamentary 5 seater constituency that has elected to Dáil Éireann, 5 TDs, (Teachtaí Dála). In August last, 2023, an Electoral Commission, because of population increase, has recommended that Tipperary revert to a 2 x 3 seater constituency (6 TD’S), representing North and South Tipperary, in the next general election; same expected to take place at the latest in 2025, if not sooner.

Those 5 TD’S elected in the previous 2020 General Election, together with their vote counts are shown in the table hereunder.


Party [2020 General Election].	Candidate.	Vote Count.
Independent	Michael Lowry	14,802
Sinn Féin	Martin Browne	10,004
Independent	Mattie McGrath	9,321
Fianna Fáil	Jackie Cahill	7,940
Labour	Alan Kelly	7,857

The Pobal HP Deprivation Index uses data from Census 2022, analysing ten measures of an area’s levels of disadvantage. These include educational attainment, employment status and the numbers living in individual households. Almost 19,000 small areas, including 640 in Tipperary, (50-200 households) were indexed, leading to the development of a detailed map of the relative affluence and disadvantage.

Ms Anna Shakespeare (CEO of Pobal) has recently stated “The 2022 Pobal HP Deprivation Index is created to inform national policy and ensure that resources can be properly directed to where they are most needed. There has been an overall improvement for the majority of communities in Ireland, however we must also recognise that this is not being experienced equally.
At Pobal, we are committed to working on behalf of government to support communities to
combat disadvantage. This tool helps to create an understanding of the challenge of disadvantage and where it is prevalent, which is an important step towards achieving social inclusion for all.”

The 2022 Pobal HP Deprivation Index, is available on Pobal Maps HERE, (latter a free online Geographical Information System map viewer), which outlines the deprivation score for various geographic units such as county, constituency, electoral division or small area. Percentage data for the area is provided under a range of categories such as unemployment, educational attainment, and population change. The data can also be extracted for further analysis, through the geoprofiling viewer and compared between the
2022 Index Census and the three previous editions.

The two questions which now must be asked are:-

Why has Tipperary, with 5 Teachtaí Dála, been allowed to fall behind on the Pobal HP Deprivation Index?

Should the Tipperary electorate now change their choice of candidates, when it comes to voting in the 2025 General election?

Strangest Dream.

Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream.

Vocals: American singer and songwriter, the late John Denver (1943 – 1997).
Lyrics: American folk singer-songwriter, the late Edward Potts McCurdy (1919 – 2000).

Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream.

Last night I had the strangest dream,
I never dreamed before.
I dreamed the world had all agreed,
To put an end to war.
I dreamed I saw a mighty room,
And the room was filled with men,
And the paper they were signing said,
They’d never fight again,
And when the paper was all signed,
And a million copies made,
They all joined hands and bowed their heads,
And grateful prayers were prayed,
And the people in the streets below,
Were dancing round and round,
And guns and swords and uniforms,
Were scattered on the ground.

(Sing it with me)
Last night, I had the strangest dream,
I’d never dreamed before.
I dreamed the world had all agreed,
To put an end to war.

(Sing it again)
Last night I had the strangest dream,
I’d ever dreamed before.
I dreamed the world had all agreed,
To put an end to war.
I dreamed the world had all agreed,
To put an end to war.

END

New Garda Recruitment Campaign.

Significant increase in training allowance.
New trainees to receive €305 per week.
Change to age requirements opens role to 35 to 50 year olds for first time.

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, has welcomed the new recruitment campaign for An Garda Síochána, which opens for applications today and closes on Thursday 8 February.

Noting that recruitment into An Garda Síochána has accelerated following the forced closure of the Garda College to intakes, due to Covid-19, the Minister said: “I am very pleased to see Garda recruits once again regularly entering training at Templemore, and this competition will ensure there is a continuous pipeline of new trainees.
As a government we allocated the highest ever budget of €2.3 billion to An Garda Síochána for 2024. That included funding for between 800 and 1,000 new Gardaí, and I hope, and indeed expect, that there will be a strong response to this campaign.
I encourage anyone who believes they can make a positive contribution as a Garda to consider putting their name forward.
Policing is a career in which no two days will be the same – it can be exciting, rewarding and undoubtedly challenging, but it offers a great opportunity to have a positive impact in the community and to be a part of a modern, inclusive police service that has the respect and trust of the Irish public.”

The last Garda recruitment campaign which closed in April 2023, received approximately 5,000 applications.

Both the Government and Garda Commissioner have said they are committed to reflecting the increasing diversity in Irish Society by ensuring that all communities see themselves reflected in An Garda Síochána. The Garda Commissioner has also put a strong focus on equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from people of all backgrounds to join An Garda Síochána through this campaign.

Noting recent changes made to the eligibility requirements and increased training allowance, Minister McEntee added: “We have significantly increased the training allowance for trainee Gardaí, to €305 per week. Given that, and the decision to increase the maximum age of recruitment from 35 to 50, I believe we are opening up policing as a career option to a new cohort of people who will bring a range of different life and career experiences to the table.
Across 2023 we have seen recruitment into An Garda Síochána gain real momentum. And with unprecedented funding recently allocated for equipment and wellbeing initiatives, and recent increases in frontline supervisors, I believe those who join will be supported as they take on what I know can be a challenging job.
Our Gardaí do vital work every day investigating crime, supporting victims and maintaining the security of the state. Given that my top priority is building stronger, safer communities, I want to express my gratitude to them for their outstanding dedication and commitment and I hope this competition will lead to many more joining their ranks.”

Prospective candidates can visit publicjobs.ie for more information on how to apply.

Closing Date for the competition is Thursday 8th February 2024.

Is Munster Car Park In Thurles Due For Imminent Closure?

**Redesignated parking on Cathedral Street, Thurles.**
*Pic: G. Willoughby*

In the early part of last month (December 2023) an elected Thurles town councillor, namely Mr Jim Ryan, correctly raised the clear possibility that the town could lose a vital car parking area, located on Cathedral Street.

The area sits adjacent to the now derelict, eyesore once known as the Munster Hotel.

Independent Councillor Mr Jim Ryan, who first raised the issue, stated that some existing 100 car parking spaces could be made unavailable, following a failure to agree on future rent sought by the owner of the Munster Hotel, Mr Martin Healy, and his current tenant, Tipperary County Council, with the facility set to be closed to the public on a date, confirmed by Mr Healy, possibly February 2024.

Cllr Ryan has correctly stated, that a lot of schools, shops, businesses and the religious facility nearby (Cathedral of the Assumption), all who benefit from the use of this car park on a daily basis will suffer huge inconvenience, when going about their normal business in Thurles.

Cllr Ryan has called on the relevant bodies (namely the declared owner of the car park and Tipp. Co. Council), to come together to find a compromise, thus ensuring that the car park in question remains open to the public.

In the meanwhile, Mr Healy, the named owner of the car park facility, has publicly stated that his dispute with Tipperary Co. Council is not about money, but instead, what he is looking for is a proper future lease that would involve better maintenance of the car park site; which of course confirms Cllr. Ryan’ statement that any such compromise will involve money.

In the days prior to Christmas week, 2023, Tipperary Co. Council officials appear to have taken the initiative to ensure that school buses will now move from the Munster Hotel car park area, unto Cathedral Street. This appears to be confirmed by the appearance of new road markings on both sides of the streetscape. (See Image shown left above).

If the car park is closed to the public, what will be the future possible consequences?

Keep in mind that presently, school buses arrive into Thurles and park between the hours 8:45am until 4:15pm each day, in this now disputed rented car parking area.
From February, the proposed car park closure will see these buses move unto both sides of Cathedral Street, leaving no spaces for would-be consumers, either in the car park itself or on the street outside.
Students of all ages attending secondary schools will now be places in decidedly greater danger, while attempting to board school buses in this area of heavy moving traffic.
This non availability to park vehicles, now presents existing tennants and their landlords; same running foodpremises, bookmaker establishments, hardware, dentistry, clothing, beauty, dry cleaning, charity and hair salon businesses, latter all currently trading in the immediate area; unable to attract and service regular consumers, in turn resulting in the nonpayment of rates, or at best found to be in serious arrears of same, thus leading to closures.

Attendances at the nearby Cathedral of the Assumption will be greatly reduced at daily Mass times, (which normally take place at 11:00am and 7:00pm on week days), with the elderly, in particular, now possibly forced to move to attend religious ceremonies in the nearby Church of St. Joseph and St. Brigid, in Bothar-na-Naomh, Thurles, where adequate free parking is readily available.
Any such closure could cause greatest upset at funeral times, where people travelling great distances, particularly in winter time, will find no place to park in an already delibertly congested town, when wishing to attend such events in the Cathedral of the Assumption building.

Why does The Source Carpark remain closed.
The recent fire in the carpark underneath the existing “The Source” library area has remained closed to the public for some time, even before two arson attacks; same having had its ceiling regularly attacked by “latch street kids” and others with “idle hands”.
Latter travel around in small groups, while waiting for parents to return home from work. It was therefore no surprise that same area was set on fire, when strips of insulation was left unattended, dangling every-where in easy reach, from the ceiling area; within months of the building opening to a non attended political fanfare, back in 2006.

Where indeed will ticket paying consumers now park intent on attending Thurles Theatre and Thurles Library. Once again greed and poor planning; both have clearly “cut of their nose to spite their face”, a phrase which best expresses a needlessly, self-destructive, overreaction to a Thurles problem.

Time now for local councillors and their officials to inform their local electorate what exactly in going on at local government level. It is no longer acceptable for Councillors, TD’s and their officials, to treat their electorate like mushrooms – kept in the dark, and fed bullshit; while planned futures are being totally demolished.