Tipperary County Council to invite public consultation on Harmonised Parking Bye-Laws 2026.
Tipperary County Council will commence a public consultation on January 12th 2026 regarding the proposed “Harmonised Parking Bye-Laws 2026”. These bye-laws aim to deliver a fair, consistent and modern county-wide parking system, moving away from the nine separate systems, which currently exist in each of our towns where there is a charge for parking.
The key proposed changes are as follows:
Three-tier charging structure for the nine towns reflecting the diverse character of each town.
Formal 20-minute free parking period in short and medium-stay parking zones; (perfect for that person in flat shoes, who can complete a full town-centre errand, involving running at Olympic pace; to post a letter; collect a prescription; grab a loaf; que at a Supermarket check-out; then find the one shop you actually needed is closed, and be back at the car before the engine properly cools). Standard parking location maps for all pay parking areas across all Tipperary towns. Parking zones at different rates will still be decided by the Elected Members at District level, if they can avoid their full time teaching posts and other occupations, in order to attend.
The new county-wide bye-laws seek to:
Support our town centres by encouraging parking turnover and the associated footfall.
Provide equity county-wide with equal charges for similar parking services for the towns in each of the 3 tiers.
Introduce a formal 20-minute free parking period in short and medium-stay town centre zones.
Ensure that off-street car parking will be cheaper than on-street parking.
Provide clarity and consistency with standardised permit categories and charging times county-wide.
Provide clear and consistent mapping of the parking system across all nine towns for public display.
The proposed bye-laws will replace multiple existing regulations and bye-laws and, subject to adoption, are expected to come into effect on September 1st 2026.
In parallel to the new bye-laws a scheme is proposed to return a percentage of parking income to each of the nine towns where that income is generated: same to support and fund town centre projects, initiatives and developments, e.g. Straighten sign posts and replace bollards removed by high sided vehicles the week before, or correct errors previously designed by money wasting town engineers. On wonders where such funds generated were allocated previously. However, focusing on Thurles; many will note a small mathematical complication: you can’t generate much parking income in a town centre where car parks remain unavailable and areas, like our town centre, where there are little to no spaces left to generate it from. It’s a bit like running a swimming pool fundraiser, after the water has been removed.
And while Thurles town centre may be short on parking, retail consumers point out it doesn’t seem short on enforcement, with two traffic wardens still in place, giving the impression that Thurles has perfected a rare civic innovation: a town centre where parking is scarce, but getting a ticket remains reliably available.
Tipperary County Council will have these draft Bye Laws available for inspection from January 12th 2026, for a period of one month, and will be inviting comments and submissions on these bye-law proposals for a further two weeks.
Members of the public are encouraged to participate, safe in the knowledge that their views, as is usual, will be carefully received, respectfully acknowledged, and then placed in the traditional local authority filing system marked as “Please Ignore”.
Lyrics: John Winston Ono Lennon, English musician and activist, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist with the Beatles and Ms Yoko Ono, Japanese artist, musician and activist. Vocals: Canadian Singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist Ms Céline Marie ClaudetteDion.
MsCéline Dion.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” is basically a Christmas song written as an anti-war message, and more specifically, a protest against the Vietnam War and the wider “normalisation” of war at that time.
Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
So this is Christmas, And what have you done? Another year over, A new one just begun, And so this is Christmas, I hope you have fun, The near and the dear ones, The old and the young. A very Merry Christmas, And a Happy New Year, Let’s hope it’s a good one, Without any fear. And so this is Christmas (ooh) For weak and for strong (ooh) For rich and the poor ones (ooh) The war is so long (ooh) And so happy Christmas (war is over) For black and for white (if you want it) For yellow and red ones (war is over) Let’s stop all the fight (now). A very Merry Christmas, And a Happy New Year, Let’s hope it’s a good one, Without any fear. And so this is Christmas (ooh), And what have we done? (ooh), Another year over (ooh), A new one just begun (ooh). And so happy Christmas (war is over), We hope you have fun (if you want it), The near and the dear ones (war is over), The old and the young (now). A very Merry Christmas, (And a Happy New Year) Ooh, oh, (Let’s hope it’s a good one) It’s a good, it’s a good one, Without any fear. And so this is Christmas (war is over), And what have we done? (If you want it), Another year over (war is over), A new one just begun (now).
Politicians who condemn the deaths of children in Gaza, voted to strip protections from children at home, demonstrating a blistering display of hypocrisy.
The vote in Dáil Éireann exposed a stark and shameful contradiction at the heart of Irish political life. Parties and politicians who repeatedly condemn the killing of children in Gaza, and who speak in sweeping moral language about the sanctity of human life, were prepared to back legislation that would remove key safeguards for unborn children in Ireland.
Leinster House, the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him” – Proverbs 26:4.
The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill, brought forward by People Before Profit, sought to abolish the three-day waiting period for abortion on request, permit access to abortion throughout pregnancy, and decriminalise abortion provision within the State. The Bill was narrowly defeated by roll-call vote,73 votes to 71 votes. However, two senior female cabinet members Minister for Health Ms Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Minister for Foreign Affairs Ms Helen McEntee, together with Minister for Public Expenditure Mr Jack Chambers are understood to have voted in favour of the Bill.
Yet the vote revealed something the public cannot ignore: Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit, alongside the above named senior government figures, were prepared to support a far-reaching removal of legal protections for the unborn, while continuing to posture as champions of children’s lives in other international conflicts.
This is not merely inconsistency. It is moral double-standards dressed up as compassion. Time now to take a closer look at candidates before casting future votes.
When children die in Gaza, these parties demand outrage and action. But when asked to defend vulnerable life here at home, many of the same voices moved to weaken the last remaining vestiges of protections for unborn children and to expand abortion access in a way that opponents believe would normalise termination up to birth.
If the death of a child is a moral outrage in Gaza, then the destruction of a child’s life in Ireland cannot be treated as morally weightless simply because it happens quietly, clinically and behind a different set of political slogans.
Yes, time and space do matter in moments of crisis.
This is the core question Irish people deserve answered plainly: How can politicians speak with absolute moral certainty about children’s lives overseas, while voting to diminish protections for children at home in Ireland?
The public are not completely stupid. Voters can see the selective empathy and the convenient moralising. If these parties truly believe every child matters, then that principle must apply consistently, not only when it is politically fashionable, safely distant, or useful for social media outrage.
We call on Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and some government ministers to explain their position honestly, without spin:
Do they believe there should be any legal protection for unborn children?
Do they accept any limit at all on abortion access.
Do they recognise any moral weight in the life of the unborn child?
Until they answer clearly, their condemnations of the deaths of children in Gaza will ring hollow to many Irish people, not because Gaza does not matter, but because their proclaimed moral principles are being applied selectively without using rational, thus making them unfit to run this country.
Gardaí are investigating a serious assault that occurred in Cahir, Co Tipperary, in the early hours of this Saturday morning, December 20th 2025.
Shortly after 1:40am, an incident took place in the Abbey Street and Barrack Street area. A man aged in his 20s was treated at the scene by emergency services before being brought to Tipperary University Hospital with serious injuries. This mprning he remains in hospital in a critical condition.
The scene has been preserved for a technical examination and investigations are ongoing.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or who was in the vicinity of Abbey Street and Barrack Street between 1:15am and 2:00am, to come forward. Any person who may have video footage (including dash-cam footage) from the area during that time is requested to make it immediately available to investigating Gardaí.
Anyone with other information is asked to contact Cahir Garda StationTel: 052 744 5630, the Garda Confidential Line Tel: 1800 666 111, or indeed any Garda station.
This Christmas remember those less fortunate than ourselves. If you can, donate something to the people and charities working on the ground to provide aid, food and shelter to victims of war and suffering, worldwide.
Away in Bomb Shelters.
Lyrics & Vocals: UK-born and Edmonton-based folk singer/troubadour Martin Kerr
Martin Kerr.
Away in Bomb Shelters.
Away in Bomb Shelters.
Away in bomb shelters, concrete for a bed, The little lost children lay down their sweet heads, The drones in the dark sky look down where they lay, While they pray to the angels to fly them away.
The mothers are crying, the babies awake, The building is rocking, the whole city shakes. Bless all the dear children who are living through hell, But the Lockheed and Boeing shares are doing so well.
O Father forgive them, for they still don’t know, This world is a sandbox and time’s wind will blow, Away all the borders, every kingdom will fall, And the riches we fight for will be nothing at all.
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