Never follow community leaders who are more in love with gaining personal power, than with the people they have promised publicly to support and protect.
Hypocrisy is the skill of creating a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while at the same time concealing real inclinations.
In the case of Thurles Municipal District Council officials; same shaded under the umbrella of Tipperary County Council; hypocrisy is clearly the practice by them of claiming to have higher standards and more noble beliefs, than is truly the case.
Perhaps I should make myself clearer to those whom I accuse of this pretence.
News is slow here in rural Tipperary and Thurles Town presently, mainly because of the Covid-19 virus pandemic and the necessary wise guidelines laid down by our government, regarding public gatherings. Same guidelines, as you will be aware, were recommended by the Department of Health, led by our Chief Medical Officer for the Republic of Ireland, Dr Tony Holohan; all three of whom named have served this country remarkably well over the past number of months.
Here in Thurles the main news story, over the past week, was the removal of dumped rubbish from a back lane at Lisheen Terrace, Mitchel Street, Thurles, by Tipperary County Council.
We understand the local residents of that area, according to Radio and Press reports, are well aware of who is dumping this domestic rubbish. Despite this knowledge, we learn from these reports that the rubbish was removed on Thursday last, June 18th, by Tipperary Co. Council, at considerable expense to local taxpayers. While Tipperary Co. Council are to be commended for their actions in this regard, one must ask the question, will the costs of such action be recovered on behalf of Thurles Town taxpayers?
Please Study the picture above and weep.
Now here is the blatant act of hypocrisy. Imagine for a moment that Tipperary Co. Council identified the culprit/culprits, supposedly known to the local residents. They decide to prosecute through the courts. Could a court convict those accused if the defence provided concrete evidence that Tipperary County Council themselves dump, on a daily basis, their waste and litter into the River Suir via storm drains? Same can be viewed today under the building aptly called ‘The Source’, next to Barry’s Bridge here in the heart of Thurles town.
This is a deliberate act carried out under cover of winter high-water levels. The River Suir is now experiencing low water levels, revealing that the locking device closing one of the storm drains has been removed. This allows rain water containing litter and God only knows what else, to flow freely, unfiltered, into the river Suir, turning it into its current appearance; that of a badly managed slurry pit.
All of this is happening at a time when the so-called Environmental Section of Tipperary Co. Council are paying argumentative individuals, who carry no proper identification, to call to homes, checking if they have recycling bins.
It is also occurring at time when some Thurles elected representatives are delaying the introduction of a Thurles Recycling Centre; latter centres enjoyed by every other large town in Co. Tipperary.
Even a drop off point at former town council sheds in Parnell Street in the interim for mattresses, electrical waste etc. that Tipperary County Council could then transport on to Nenagh or Cashel recycling centres. Council themselves are using this as the unofficial town dump. Seen rats running around the car park the other day.
Chris. I spotted the rats myself, playing and chasing each other, in broad daylight on Sunday, late evening, in the Parnell Street carpark. They may have been made homeless when some people attempted to clean-up the filth around the glass bottle bank area some weeks ago, after years of neglect.