Soapbox | Thurles Information

Sewage Continues To Harm Quality Of Our Rivers, Lakes & Coastal Waters, Says EPA.

A must read for Thurles residents and their businesses.

QUESTION: Were Thurles Councillors & Officials duped yet again at their Monday meeting with Irish Water officials?

Poorly treated sewage continues to harm the quality of our rivers, lakes and coastal waters, says EPA.

Just half (51%) of Ireland’s sewage was treated to the European Union standards set to protect our environment, well below the EU average of 90%.
Works to eliminate raw sewage flowing into seas and rivers from 32 towns and villages have commenced or are due to start by 2024.
Irish Water has no clear plan to improve treatment at 27 priority areas where waste water discharges are impacting on rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

The EPA report on Urban Waste Water Treatment in 2021, [Found HERE] and released today, shows that investment in waste water infrastructure is delivering improvements to priority areas identified by the EPA, but treatment at many areas is still not as good as it needs to be.

**Emmett Street running parallel with River Suir.**

“Irish Water does not have clear plans in place to deal with one-third of the priority areas where waste water is adversely impacting the environment and has not allocated resources in its investment plan to complete improvements at these areas” ~ says EPA

Irish Water must provide for all improvements needed at these areas in its next investment plan, which covers the period 2025-2029.

Launching the report today, Dr Tom Ryan, EPA Director said: “This report shows that targeting investment at the priority areas identified by the EPA is delivering improvements in water quality, and the elimination of raw sewage discharges from Cobh and Castletownbere in Cork are good examples of progress.
However, it will take a high level of sustained investment over the next two decades to bring all treatment systems across the country up to the required standard to protect the environment and public health”.
Dr. Ryan added: “Irish Water has failed to produce action plans to improve treatment at one-third of the priority areas identified by EPA where waste water is harming our rivers, lakes and coastal waters. It is essential that Irish Water provides clear, site specific action plans and time frames to improve treatment in these areas, and it needs to allocate the necessary resources in its next investment cycle to implement and complete them and to resolve the associated environmental harms”.

Ireland’s largest treatment plant at Ringsend in Dublin is overloaded and fails to consistently treat sewage to the required standards. A major upgrade of the plant began in 2018 and is due to be completed in 2025.
Construction work to provide treatment for the 32 areas discharging raw sewage listed in the report is either ongoing or due to start in the next two years. It is essential that Irish Water delivers these projects as soon as possible.

Mr Noel Byrne, EPA Programme Manager said: “Sixteen years after the final deadline to comply, half of Ireland’s sewage is still not treated to the standards set to protect the environment. It is particularly concerning to see some towns such as Ballymote in Sligo failing in 2021, despite having the necessary treatment infrastructure and meeting the standards in 2020. This highlights the need for improved vigilance and oversight by Irish Water to make sure treatment infrastructure is always operated at its optimum”.

The report also highlights that Irish Water needs to improve its information on the condition and performance of sewers to inform and plan upgrade works necessary to mitigate environmental risks from sewer overflows.

The report is now available on the EPA website HERE.

Update On Thurles Flooding.

Workshop held today (October 18th) between representatives of Irish Water and elected members of Tipperary County Council.
Issue of flooding in Thurles Town high on the agenda.

Today, a ‘Workshop’ was held between representatives from Irish Water and elected members of Tipperary County Council, including Thurles Municipal District officials and engineers, from the Council’s Water Services Section; their business to discuss investment plans for Co. Tipperary.

We are told that high on the agenda was the issue of flooding in Thurles Town, experienced on Sunday night, which occurred following a period of heavy rainfall, which in turn resulted in streets being flooded by water and sewage, to a dept of over 100mm on various streetscapes.

We understand that Thurles Municipal District Council members outlined on our behalf, details of the impact that flooded streets were having on the town and the difficulties being frequently experienced by local businesses and private homes in the areas of Friar Street, west of the town.

Irish Water representatives from the Waste Water Network Asset Planning
section confirmed that they were aware of the extent of the issues and confirmed that an analysis of the network had recently been completed and would be expedited.

While we have no details as of yet, with regards to the closed discussions, we understand that our elected representatives were informed that once design options were further advanced, then Irish Water will present all solutions to Tipperary County Council.

As we head into an uncertain winter season and to sum up; there are no real solutions currently in the ‘pipeline‘ (forgive the pun), aimed at presently solving or resolving the flooding problems in Thurles, so probably best to acquire sandbags.

Another Road Sign Required For Liberty Square, Thurles.

Another of the recently erected directional road signs on Liberty Square, Thurles, has “bitten the dust”, struck by a vehicle attempting to manoeuvre within a now drastically reduced driving space.
Wonder what would have happened if the electrical box, sitting close by, had been struck? Probably would have turned off the lighting currently burning in broad daylight.

So before someone gets killed, where is the Thurles Relief Road which was announced in 2018, as being eligible for funding under the National Development Plan. See HERE.

With two politicians resident in Thurles, both supporting our present coalition government, surely, we must have some clout in Dáil Éireann; but apparently not!

Thurles History Destroyed As Minister Malcolm Noonan’s Office Sleeps.

“Bricks through the window now,
Thieves in the night.
When they rang on her bell,
There was nobody there.
Fresh graffiti sprayed on her door,
Shit wrapped in a newspaper posted onto the floor.”

Extract from that wonderful poem “History”, by Carol Ann Duffy, DBE FRSL HonFBA HonFRSE.

A current decision by Dublin City Council planners to grant permission for a proposed demolition of yet another part of Moore Street’s 1916 battlefield site; latter to make way for another office block, has been described as “deplorable”. If relatives of the Signatories to the 1916 Proclamation and the Moore Street Preservation Trust expect help from Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Mr Malcolm Noonan, then forget it and for God’s sake don’t communicate, as we did, by email.
We base this assertion on the Ministers assistance in preventing the total destruction of the Great Famine Double Ditch, once situated at Mill Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Over the past few weeks we have continued to watch as officials of Tipperary County Council and Thurles Municipal District Council combined to further continue to wipe out Thurles History.

Watch the video hereunder and sigh.

You can see from the video, that despite threats of “COVER CCTV” detecting “ENVIRONMENTAL OFFENCES”; the most of these offences I might add, were done by Tipperary County Council and Thurles Municipal District Council, whose combined destruction of this area has continued unabated.

The old 1846/47 stone walls built by starving, emaciated men, have now been totally destroyed in favour of modern wire fencing. This same fencing has removed legal access to the lands on the southern side, of the now destroyed ditch area, formerly identified as Bohereen Keagh [translated from Irish to English ‘Blind Road’]

The old stile entrance appears to has been temporally replaced, with the worst effort at stone masonry that I and many others have ever witnessed. [Compare same with left section of stile built in 1846]. Sadly, none of the original faced stone work was retained. Dog walkers are now beginning to use the stile entrance as an area to dump dog faeces bags.

Thankfully, the perennial Common Spotted Orchid, despite every possible attempt to destroy it, has survived the cement post holes. Alas, other wild flowers have since been replaced by tarmac.

The promise by Councillor Seamus Hanafin in Press and Radio Statements of February 20th, 2022, to the more gullible of his electorate, has, as we suspected, never materialized.
His quote, lest our readers forget, “This coming week contractors will begin site preparation works on the pathway running from Monakeeba to the Mill Road through the double ditches. Some vegetation will be removed and illegal dumping cleaned up“.

Five months later, this filth and unsightly dumped rubbish remains in its entirety; some 3.5 years, after we first highlighted its existence, and today remains currently hidden, courtesy of Mother Nature’s green cloak, until next autumn.

Quite a few of the newly built houses, situated north of the destroyed Great Famine Double Ditch, are now occupied.
To demonstrate their ‘gratitude’, a few of these newly housed persons have already begun to rip numerous vast breaches in the new green chain link fencing, in their efforts to gain access to lands to the south side of the now destroyed Famine Ditch.

With council officials unable to fill a pothole in Thurles streets; same are unlikely to be able to control continued acts of local vandalism to the satisfaction of Thurles taxpayers.

Shame On Thurles Municipal District Council & TD’s.

While the wind and heavy rain experienced here in Tipperary over the past few days were a source of regret to sun worshippers; Thurles residents can breathe a sigh of relief, as the rising waters of the river Suir, have today successfully moved on its cesspool appearance and much of its stench.

Framed in the backdrop of deteriorating, graffiti sprayed, woodwork and a closed new car park under The Source Theatre and Library; a plastic sign, (crudely screwed to a broken tree support), excuses the lazy Municipal District Council’s unwillingness to cut the weeds and grass; latter claiming the area is, quote, “Managed for Wildlife” as part of an “All-Ireland Pollinator Plan”. Trust me no self-respecting Bee, Bumble or otherwise, have ever visited this blossom free area.

Pictures shown in the above video amply explain the total lack of maintenance within this area, which we once again are forced to highlight.

Plastic bollards, left behind by the disastrous, half upgraded, Liberty Square, has joined the other litter, within the rivers water.

Back in the mid 1960’s, as young people, we would have swum the base of Niagara Falls to lay our hands on and retrieve two footballs and the numerous tennis balls, currently caught in the reeds of this slow, shallow, river water. But today, in this greedy, whinging society and in an extremely rich county, it appears everything and anything is now disposable.

The stone dam, directly opposite Thurles indoor Leisure Centre and heated swimming pool building, has been dismantled and the two fish ways on the dam underneath ‘The Source’ County Library building, have also been allowed to crumble, both now reducing the water levels.

Manhole covers, taking water-run from our streetscapes, are left unlocked, allowing small sized litter to join the numerous bottles, cans and plastic bags; same which are quickly grabbed by slow moving water, to float on unsightly filamentous green algal growth, thus compromising the life of the river bed. Further down near the foot bridge sewage waters continue to flow, close to the swinging gates for the past 3 years.

Gone are the two water fountains which once helped to aerate the water within 50 meters of each other, close to Barry’s Bridge.

Our locally elected, powerless, doubly employed and highly paid town councillors are now only ‘stored’ as window dressing; in existence solely to provide a political presence for local unquestioning press and radio, while positively announcing leaked information from central government.
The silent Thurles electorate have lost all confidence in elected representatives; council officials and their two Dáil Éireann TD’s.
Same elected personnel reign over a town, which has long since been ignored, and no longer encourages, supports or attracts voluntarism.

The shame and lack of maintenance here in Thurles, lies clearly at the door of Thurles Municipal Council; TD’s and their lack of foresight and staff availability.

Again, I ask why are we paying Local Property Tax?
There will be a day of reckoning.