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 plansin 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 websiteHERE.
Pre-deceased by his parents Jeremiah and Mamie, his sister Margaret; Mr Darmody passed away peacefully following a long illness most bravely borne; while in the wonderful care of his family and the staff at Community Hospital of the Assumption, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
His passing is most deeply regretted by his loving family; devoted wife Mary, son John and daughter Evelyn, grandchildren, daughter-in-law Sinead, son-in-law Alan, brothers John, Sonny and Gerard, sister Bridget, nephews, nieces, sisters-in-law, brother-in-law John, cousins, extended relatives, good neighbours and many friends.
Requiescat in pace.
Funeral Arrangements.
The earthly remains of Mr Darmody will repose at Hugh Ryan’s Funeral Home, Slievenamon Road, Thurles on Thursday evening, October 20th, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. His body will be received into the former Cistercian Abbey Church, at Holycross, Thurles, arriving on Friday morning, October 21st, at 11:00am to further repose for Requiem Mass at 11:30am. Interment will follow immediately afterwards in the adjoining graveyard.
The extended Darmody family wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time and have made arrangements for those wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shownHERE.
Pre-deceased by her parents Margaret and Henry Ely, sisters Norah Delaney, Katie Alexander (Moyne) and Ann Caton, brothers Martin (Newhill, Two-Mile-Borris), John and George; Mrs Cahill passed away peacefully, while in her 90th year, in the Cloisters Care Home, London.
Her passing is most deeply regretted by her nephews, grand-nieces, extended relatives, great neighbours and her many friends.
Requiescat in pace.
Funeral Arrangements.
The earthly remains of Mrs Cahill will repose at Hugh Ryan’s Funeral Home, Slievenamon Road, Thurles, on Saturday evening, October 22nd, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Her body will be received into the Church of Our Lady and St. Kevin, Littleton, Thurles on Sunday morning, October 23rd, at 11:30am to further repose for Requiem Mass at 12:00 noon. Interment will follow immediately afterwards in the adjoining graveyard.
For those unable to attend Requiem Mass for Mrs Cahill, same can be viewed online HERE.
The extended Cahill family wish to express their appreciation for your understanding at this difficult time and have made arrangements for those wishing to send messages of condolence, to use the link shown HERE.
Councillors at a Thurles Municipal District Council Meeting on Monday last were calling for ‘a plan’, latter to be drawn up 40 years too late, in an effort to tackle unprecedented flooding in Thurles on Sunday night.
Fianna Fáil Councillors Mr Seamus Hanafin and Mr Sean Ryan; the former confirming that the issue was a 40 year old inheritance problem and blaming Tipperary County Council; while the latter councillor acknowledged that this was the 3rd such incident over the last 18 month period.
As non-red faced Councillors verbally “passed the political buck” yesterday, local dissatisfied residents were seriously asking the question; “What were both above named, paid and elected public representatives doing for the past number of years, while both were members of this same Tipperary County Council, led by Chief Executive Mr Joe MacGrath?”
The answer of course they already know, same being; “Mostly talking party politics and further destroying Thurles town’s valuable, rich, history, to the detriment of our local tourism industry”.
Meanwhile, according to a recent ‘Press Release’, Irish Water yesterday outlined its investment in water and wastewater infrastructure projects across the Premier County, since 2014.
Surprise, surprise, Thurles is not targeted for future upgrading except under the “Leakage Reduction Programme”, but we learn that between 2014-2019, the utility invested €69m into various projects in Tipperary, with an estimated €65m, once again being ‘pumped’(pardon the pun) into other un-named projects, up until 2024.
[None of which I might add, includes even a sandbag or a sewage blocker, being offered to Thurles town businesses or residents, and OMG, do you think, with local elections occurring in 2024, will the local electorate remember?]
Pending the ‘Commission for Regulation of Utilities’ approval; a further €136m will be also invested beyond 2024.
Speaking after a meeting with Tipperary County Council’s elected representatives yesterday, ‘Operations Lead‘ speaking for Irish Water, Ms Catherine McDonough said; “Irish Water is committed to providing quality water and wastewater services for the people of Tipperary. There is a strategic and targeted approach to infrastructure developments and proper investment is allocated for improving water and wastewater treatment plants, strengthening networks, supporting housing and economic growth, and protecting the environment. All of which are providing a more quality service for now and years to come.
As part of the Leakage Reduction Programme, almost 30km of old and problematic watermains across the county have been replaced in Newport, Kilcommon, Garrykennedy, Ballyglass, Tullakeady, Clonmore, Thurles, Clonmel and Templetouhy; and next year we plan to replace approximately 17km throughout the county.
This year has been challenging so far for certain parts of Tipperary with the warm weather and drought we experienced. This put some water supplies under immense pressure and resulted in some water restrictions, outages, loss of water pressure, and in some cases, Boil Water Notices.
I want to thank the people of Tipperary for playing their part in conserving water throughout the Summer and for having patience while we tried to restore their water supply. We have invested a lot in the local infrastructure to limit the impact this can have. We have accomplished a significant amount with our colleagues in Tipperary County Council over the last number of years, and we have more work to do as we continue providing a quality service for the people of Tipperary “.
Irish Water are also investing €65 million to upgrade and standardise disinfection systems across Ireland. In Tipperary, 21 Water Treatment Plants have had upgrades of their disinfection systems to date and upgrades at the remaining eight plants will be completed by the end of 2023.
The National Water Resources Plan is Irish Water’s plan to identify how we will provide a safe, sustainable, secure and reliable water supply to our customers for now and into the future whilst safeguarding the environment. It will set out how we will balance the supply and demand for drinking water over the short, medium, and long term and ensure we have a safe, sustainable, secure and reliable drinking water supply for everyone.
North Tipperary is included in the Regional Water Resources Plan for the Eastern and Midlands region – and was recently adopted by IW. The remaining parts of Tipperary will be included in the Regional Water Resources Plan for the south-east which will be published for public consultation in 2023.
More limited details on the plan are availableHERE.
A Bill to overhaul Garda Compensation Scheme completes passage through the Oireachtas.
Claim assessment time and legal costs to be reduced.
Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee and Minister of State Mr James Browne are pleased to announce that the Garda Síochána (Compensation) Bill 2021 has completed all stages in the Oireachtas.
This Bill provides for a complete overhaul of the current Garda compensation scheme, which has been in operation since the 1940s.
The Garda Compensation Scheme is for members of An Garda Síochána who sustain personal injuries in the performance of their duties, to help affected members get support necessary for their recovery and compensate them for their injuries. The scheme is also open to dependants of deceased members of An Garda Síochána who were fatally injured while on duty, or while acting in their general capacity as a member, or merely because of their being a member of An Garda Síochána.
The main objectives of the Bill is to reduce the length of time it takes for Garda compensation claims to be dealt with from the initial application right through to the award of compensation and to reduce legal costs.
It also offers opportunities for settlement and resolution of claims much earlier in the process with cost savings for all of the parties involved. The Bill achieves this by setting out clear time limits in relation to each stage of the process and providing what will happen where those timelines are not met. It also aims to reduce the number of applications ultimately proceeding to court, which will in turn reduce the significant legal and administrative costs and lengthy delays associated with the current scheme.
A significant change in the new scheme is that where an assessment concludes that a member has been injured as a result of a malicious incident, and is therefore entitled to compensation, the Garda Commissioner will arrange for an application to be made on the claimant’s behalf to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) who will assess the claim on an independent and impartial basis. After a claim has been made to PIAB, the State Claims Agency will represent the Garda Commissioner.
The Personal Injuries Assessment Board is the independent state body which assesses personal injury claims. It was established to support the prompt and fair resolution of claims without the need for costly and lengthy litigation.
Welcoming the passing of the Bill today, Minister McEntee said: “We can all agree that members of An Garda Síochána do their utmost to tackle crime and to keep the public safe and I commend them on this.
Unfortunately, the nature of this work means that members of the Garda can suffer injuries, or in the most tragic cases, injuries causing death, and they, or their family members in the case of death, deserve to be compensated in recognition of this.
Having met the Garda representative organisations on a number of occasions since becoming Minister for Justice, I know this is an important issue to members, and I am delighted to see the legislation passed so we can move towards establishing a revised scheme that will better serve those who need to avail of it”.
Minister Brownecommented: “This much anticipated Bill to reform the Garda Compensation Scheme is important, to not only those individuals on the frontline protecting and supporting our communities, but also their family members who feel the direct effect of when their loved ones are harmed while on duty. It is only right that when incidences like these occur that members and their families are redressed in a fair and efficient manner to avoid any further burden on the injured parties.
I cannot express enough the deep respect that we all have towards members of An Garda Síochána who, despite the now dangers involved with tackling criminal activity, go out to face it first-hand. I am pleased to have brought this Bill through the Houses and look forward to the revised scheme assisting in providing Gardaí with compensatory supports in a way that will lessen delays and financial costs that the now outdated procedures sometimes had on members in the past”.
Ministers McEntee and Browne look forward to early commencement of the Bill and express their thanks to their colleagues in both houses of the Oireachtas for their assistance in ensuring its timely delivery.
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