Is New Thurles Dump Detached Governance?

Cronyism is best described as “demonstrating partiality to long-standing friends and familiar wealthy acquaintances.” ( Ah, you know the sort of situation I mean – land and property, purchased from political party financial supporters, to build hospitals / clinics in a politicians own constituency, thus ensuring electoral area votes ahead of the next general election from grateful residents. Cash donations to County Councillors to obtain planning permission in areas prone to flooding , that sort of thing. I really shouldn’t have to spell it out for you.)

In our Ireland of today, in particular, Cronyism encourages massive support when it is aided & abetted by the wilful silence of our country’s electorate. This same silence results in meritocracy (By the latter I mean the implementation of a persons continued advancement, based solely upon their real intellectual talents.) being practically non existent, thus ultimately leading to vastly inferior local government protection services being implemented.

While cronyism might not be a factor in the case highlighted hereunder, one is forgiven for believing it may be a factor, due to the lack of local government transparency afforded to those who only attempt to protect their immediate environment.

Promised key reforms and recent remarks by the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan however, would now appear to directly contradict each other, e.g. (A) The power of councillors to overturn the decisions of planning officials is to be abolished, (Section 140 of the Local Government Act). (B) Citizens to be offered a chance to raise issues in their area, such as illegal dumping on fixyourstreet.ie. (C) The Ministers own quote “The people have grown more distant and detached from a system of governance that is supposed to support them locally.”

The following statement, which has all the appearance of being an indictment of this ‘detached governance,’ was forwarded by the Cabragh / Ballycurrane Residents Association to Thurles.Info today.

Their Statement Reads As Follows:

Cabragh – Ballycurrane Residents Association
RE: Planning Permission for Waste Permit in respect of Old Sugar Factory

1.   O’Dwyer Skip Hire (T/A Envirobin) applied to Tipperary N.R. Co. Co. for planning permission for a Waste Transfer Station & Recycling Centre at the old Dinans site at the Old Sugar Factory in Cabragh. The Cabragh – Ballycurrane Residents Association objected to this development and further pursued their objection to An Board Pleana, latter who eventually granted planning permission, thus  over riding their own Inspectors report, but subject to 18 conditions including the limiting of the waste throughput to 5000 tonnes per annum and the proviso that the works required by the conditions of the grant of planning be carried out prior to commencement of any operation of the facility.

2.    While granted planning permission subject to the conditions, O’Dwyer Skip Hire were struck off and dissolved by the Companies Registration Office on the 13th August 2012. Prior to this an application was made to N.T. Co. Co. for a waste permit regarding this site, by another company Killeenyarda Construction Ltd.

3. O’Dwyer Skip Hire (T/A Envirobin) had a national permit for kerb side collection administered by the NWPCO of Offaly County Council. Co. This body have said that once a company has been dissolved the kerbside permit dies with it. It is noted that this Company is still listed as authorised to collect household refuse by Tipperary North & Kilkenny Co. Councils, even though it no longer exists. Further to this, waste is being collected from households in North Tipperary (we do not know the situation in Kilkenny) which begs the following questions:
(a)    Monies are being collected and the service advertised even though there is no authorization and no waste transfer documents being prepared and issued. The waste transfer documents are a legal requirement which must be signed by the Collector and Company – signed by the operator of the facility receiving such waste and a copy of the document retained by both the original collector and the facility receiving the waste. The particular authority for inspection of these documents is Tipperary N.R. Co. Co.

4. The permit for kerbside collection requires that an annual report be submitted to the NWPCO in February each year, which is available to the public and each of the County Councils for the respective County where waste is collected. It has not been possible to trace the report which should have been lodged in February of this year.

5.  On 17th May 2012 Enviroco, an environmental consultancy firm on behalf of Killenyarda Construction Ltd, (T/A Envirobin) applied for a waste Permit in respect of this site in accordance with planning registration No. 10/510413 and An Board Pleanala Ref. No. PL22.238800 to Ml. Woulfe, Senior Executive Engineer, Environment Section, N.T. Co. Co. The Directors of this Company are listed as Ray Nally & Rose Nally. Ray Nally had previously issued documents, attended meetings and responded to a letter published by the “Tipperary Star,” as a director of O’Dwyers Skip Hire Ltd, T/A Envirobin. (See 8 (C3) below.)

6. On 22nd July, Cabragh – Ballycurrane Residents Association made a written submission to the same Mr. Ml. Woulfe in response to the original application for a waste permit raising concerns that the applicant had failed to comply with the specific statutory requirements of Waste Facility Applications Article 12(7)B noted from N.T. Co. Co. dated 23rd May 2012 and signed by the Director of Services requesting the applicant to submit required information within a period of 25 working days. The residents raised 18 different points of non – compliance including the fact that O’Dwyer Skip Hire Ltd. T/A Envirobin had been served with a Section 55 notice after being investigated by T.N. Co. Co. in relation to illegal waste dumping at the Old C & C premises on the Templemore Road.

7. This fact becomes important in that on the 24th August Enviroco Environmental Consultants in a reply to Ml. Woulfe regarding the submission by Cabragh – Ballycurrane Residents Association stated that “The Residents Association incorrectly link the Directors of Killenyarda Construction Ltd with a section 55 notice. This is not the case. The activities of the previous company are of no concern or link to this application and are not reasonability for the directors of this firm.”  When in fact the names of Ray Nally and John O’Dwyer appear to be intertwined and inter-changeable throughout this project and again it should be noted that both the site of the present operations – the old Dinan’s site which is now subject to a Section 55 notice and the previous site the old C & C factory which previously was Section 55’D belonging we understand, in part to the Stakelum family and others. Machinery & Equipment the property of Ray Nally or his company were working at both sites and it is clear that there is a connection between the two offences.

Enviroco Submission to Mr M. Woulfe (NT.C.C.) dated 24th August 2012.

8.  A copy of the Enviroco submission is attached. (See Picture Above)  Special note should be taken of the incorrect statements hi-lighted and pen marked 1,2,3.  Note each of these are of equal importance.
(A1) This is clearly an effort to reconcile the Waste Transfer planning permission  for 5,000 tonnes per annum granted by An Board Pleanala (set out at 2A in An Boards Planning Conditions) to the 25,000 tonnes per annum requested in the Waste Permit permission application. This would require further planning permission as set per the An Board Pleanala conditions.
(B2) Section 55 notice (refer to 6 & 7 above).
(C3) This is totally untrue and has been proved to be so by the production of a video, photographs and eventually an investigation by Tipperary N.R. Co. Co. which resulted in the issue of Section 55 notice on the 12th October 2012. It should be noted that the Co. Co. and local representatives as per the attached list were notified of the situation on 31st July last.

North Tipperary County Council has shown scant regard for the information lodged with them by this Residents Association and in fact have appeared to do their best to ignore the situation, so much so that the Residents Association received no acknowledgement or response of reply to the concerns raised by a letter dated 31st July 2012 until in desperation this same Residents Association had to employ legal representation. The Solicitors letter was acknowledged within 48 hours and it now appears that the Residents must employ Solicitor to get an acknowledgement from the County Council never mind a response. This behaviour is totally at variance with the promises and requests for information contained in the County Council terms of reference and advertised on their web page.

The EPA was also sent a letter on the 31st July and issued an acknowledgement on the 8th August 2012. Subsequently the EPA issued a letter stating that an investigation would be carried out and a report compiled and forwarded to the Residents Association by the 13th September 2012. The EPA confirmed that a meeting had taken place with the County Manager on 29th August, where the concerns were raised but to date ( 17th October) no such report has materialized.

We can only conclude that the lack of transparency and misleading statements put forward by the applicants, since the commencement of this saga, are sufficient to lead any normal, sane, individual to believe, that there are places where something is rotten, other than, as Shakespeare once stated “the State of Denmark.”

This Statement Ends.

Note: Time and space will be fully afforded, here on Thurles.Info, to all persons directly involved in this conflict of interest and who may wish to contradict any information now included in this Cabragh – Ballycurrane Residents Association statement.

What was Minister Phil Hogan’s recent Local Government Change programme announcement called again? Ah yes! “Putting People First.”
Why the need for Phil Hogan’s reform? Quote Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, “the County Council system did not respond well to issues at district and region level; and that local government did too little governing, in relation to matters such as job creation and community development.”
What did Taoiseach Enda Kenny state? Quote “The Government had pledged reform on its election 18 months ago and the political system had long proved resistant to such change.”

New regulations established in July 2009 have strengthened the law against backyard and fireplace burning. In essence the burning of household waste is prohibited unless you have a waste licence, and this includes burning household waste in a domestic fireplace. It is, according to the EPA, an offence to ignore or breach these new regulations, and fines of up to €3,000 can be imposed. However it would appear from our slide show that burning is permitted in some instances.