Transport « Thurles Information

Persons Charged Following Enquiry Into Alleged Tipperary School Bus Cartel.

It is understood that 14 persons have been charged regarding their alleged involvement in a cartel that is said to have rigged tenders to operate school transport routes, here in Co. Tipperary and further afield in Co. Waterford, Co. Limerick and Co. Kilkenny.

Bid rigging in public procurement situations can be particularly harmful; artificially increasing prices and ultimately costs, while reducing the quality of services the State provides.

Same legal action now follows on from investigations carried out by the ‘Competition and Consumer Protection Commission‘ (CCPC).

The enquiry by the CCPC had focused on supposed alleged abuse of the State school bus system, latter which undertakes to transport some 100,000 children each day (or some 40 million journeys annually), between students rural homes and their places of education.

Bus Éireann, latter which operates the service on behalf of the Department of Education utilize a tendering process, using the government’s tenders portal, before hiring some 4000 subcontractors, who in turn are obliged to bid, in order to operate specific rural school bus routes.

The submission to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) follows an enquiry into alleged “price rigging” in Co. Tipperary, which is said to have begun initially back in 2016. The CCPC claim to have received a letter from an anonymous insider; latter who has provided information about this continued practise and which officials believed may to be more widespread here in the Irish Republic.

The anonymous letter is understood to contain details of various meetings and calls, which it is alleged took place between those involved, before tenders were eventually submitted to operate certain school runs.

The CCPC, working in conjunction with officers from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau are understood to have raided some 20 premises. and subsequent charges follow an examination by the DPP of the evidence gathered by the CCPC.

The regulatory agency has now opened a Confidential Telephone Line [Tel. No. 087 7631378] for any person wishing to make further disclosures in relation to this alleged abuse of the State School Bus service.

Note: The Cartel Immunity Programme operated by the CCPC, in conjunction with Director of Public Prosecutions, means that a member of a cartel may avoid prosecution if they are the first member to come forward, reveal their involvement in illegal cartel activity and fully co-operate with the investigation.

Temporary Traffic Management On R-659, At Cabragh, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

**Cabragh Road, Thurles, Co. Tipperary**

Temporary Traffic Management will be in place on the R 659, Cabragh, Thurles, Co. Tipperary from 7:00am on Wednesday morning next, June 15th, to 7:00pm on Friday evening, June 19th next, 2022 due to road resurfacing.

Temporary traffic management and diversions will be in place for the duration of the works with local access only.

Thurles exam students, normally using this route, should make special note, in case of unforeseen delays.

June 2nd 2022 – Shame On Thurles Municipal District Councillors.

**Empty flower beds and empty dirty flower containers**, **Thurles June 1st, 2022**

Today is June 2nd, 2022, and as yet not one flower container or flower bed has been planted this year by Thurles Municipal District Council staff.

Perhaps one of our local councillors might like to communicate to the public on why this has been allowed to happen.

Before the introduction of Property Tax all of our flower containers and hanging baskets were planted. Today, no public hanging basket exists and expensive flower containers remain filthy and empty of plants, except for what seeded itself over last year.

**Thurles Railway Bridge, 1st June, 2022.**

Yes, we have some large new pink flower containers on Liberty Square filled with “Box Hedging” and lavender-blue flowered “Catmint”, but these containers also are being neglected, with much evidence of “Dock” plants and “Yellow Rocket Cress”, same never ever intended for planting.

Thankfully, Thurles Shopping Centre and Lidl Supermarket have privately set the example, with both premises shaming Thurles Municipal District Council officials and our local elected councillors.

**River Suir Thurles yesterday, June 1st, 2022.**

Between poor street surfaces, a river that currently looks like an open sewer and street lighting burning 24 hours each day; 4 questions:
(1) Why do we need a tourist office?
(2) Why do we continue to pay Property Tax?
(3) Why do we continue to pay the salaries of failed administrators?
(4) Why are Thurles residents accepting poor standards of administration in complete silence?

Male Pedestrian Dead Following Motorway Accident In Tipperary

A male pedestrian has sadly lost his life after being struck by a lorry near the village of Burncourt, Cahir, Co Tipperary.

As a result Gardaí confirm that the southbound carriageway of the M8 motorway remains closed to all traffic, between J11 (Cahir south) and J12 (Mitchelstown north), with diversions currently in place.

Gardaí are also presently appealing for any witnesses after the pedestrian, understood to be aged in his 60s, was struck by the articulated lorry at around 3:00pm this afternoon, (May 19th, 2022).

The male pedestrian sadly, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, while the driver; a man aged in his 30s is understood to have required no medical assistance.

The pedestrian’s body has since been removed from the scene and the coroner has been notified.

Nightmare On Friar Street.

As we are all aware a nightmare is really just a most unpleasant dream that causes strong emotional responses from our minds. Not only does it cause, typically, great fear, but also often great despair, anxiety and even inordinate sadness.

Well between ourselves, and please let this conversation go no further; I had a nightmare last night that left me waking up, drenched in sweat, while shouting “Jackie, where is the half million Euros”.

**Massive hole continues to grow on Friar Street in Thurles**, **Co. Tipperary**.

From what I can still clearly recall, there was a massive hole in the street at Bowes Corner on Friar Street here in Thurles; that was causing a lot of accidents, damage to vehicles and worst of all, deaths.

The Cathaoirleach of Thurles Municipal District Council held an emergency meeting with the more intelligent people on the council, to discuss a possible solution to this most worrying of developments.

One councillor suggested parking an ambulance next to the hole, so that whenever any such accident occurred in the future, the victim could be quickly transported to our majorly overcrowded University Hospital in Limerick, to repose on a trolley, possibly reducing at least a few of the rising fatalities.

Another councillor suggested that there could be a scenario on any GAA match days, where a multiple collision could occur, thus while one ambulance is busy transporting a victim on the 90 mile round trip to Limerick, other victims would be left stretched on our dodgy footpaths. He suggested putting ten ambulances near the hole instead of just one.

A third councillor wisely interrupted and raised his concerns about the prices of petrol and wages for paramedics; pointing out that building a new hospital, next to the hole, would actually cost less in the long term.

Yet another councillor suggested that the assembly were being over dramatic, and with the poor quality of hurling emerging from Tipperary clubs this season, the idea of multiple collisions was the “stuff of unnecessary panic”.

To avoid a plenary session, which would have allowed councillors to spend time working in smaller groups and taking an informal approach to problem solving, with lateral thinking; the Cathaoirleach of the Thurles Municipal District Council interrupted his convened assembly.
He tells them that such solutions are all far too expensive, and instead he suggests that the hole be filled-in immediately and another one dug in front of Limerick hospital to save money.

With no chance of sleep now returning to my weary bones and with the sun coming up over the ridge of Killough Hill, I quickly took a cold shower, got dressed and headed with all haste for Bowe’s Corner.

Yes, thanks be to the Almighty God, I can now confirm it was all a complete nightmare. The nine month old crater still remains fully intact and getting bigger by the day.

Ah, sure I’ll have to stop eating and exercising just before bedtime and avoid those naps in the middle of the day.