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Opinion Polls Review 2011

For several years Thurles.info has run opinion polls trying to get your opinion on a number of important issues to Thurles people. So far this year we have run 12 opinion polls, usually once a month, and many have produced surprising results.

So as 2011 draws to a close, we would like to do a review of this years opinion polls and illustrate the depth of feeling Thurles people have about issues, both locally and nationally.

Poll Date	Question Asked	Poll Results	Comments
January 2011	Should Social Welfare recipients perform community work?	[poll id=”23″ type=”result”]	Surprisingly, almost 80% of Thurles people were in favour of people on Social Welfare performing some form of community work.
Febuary 2011	Will a new leader improve Fianna Fáil’s election prospects?	[poll id=”24″ type=”result”]	This poll was conducted around the time of the general election and showed absolutely no confidence in Fianna Fáil’s new leadership. The Fianna Fáil political party subsequently went into melt-down as the election results were revealed.
March 2011	Are roads and footpaths being allowed to deteriorate in Thurles?	[poll id=”25″ type=”result”]	96% of Thurles people agreed that our footpaths were being allowed to deteriorate. The poor state of our footpaths was highlighted in a video and article here. 8 months on it seems nothing much has changed, expect perhaps the fact that Iona Ave’s footpaths are being redone.
April 2011	Should Michael Lowry resign as TD?	[poll id=”26″ type=”result”]	This was a close one for a while but eventually it seems that Thurles people have finally lost all faith in Michael Lowry TD. This poll also received more votes than any other this year.
May 2011	Will you be in Cashel for Queen Elizabeth’s visit?	[poll id=”27″ type=”result”]	This poll revealed that there are not many fans of the British royal family here in Thurles. Although it is not too surprising really as Tipperary people have long memories.
June 2011	Will Thurles tourism increase following high profile visits?	[poll id=”28″ type=”result”]	Surprising, Thurles people did feel that the global attention brought about by the Queen’s visit to Tipperary would at least help to promote local tourism.
July 2011	Will Thurles By-Pass be in place by Dec 2011?	[poll id=”29″ type=”result”]	Yes, Thurles people must be psychic or something because soon after this poll was finished the Thurles by-pass was cancelled.
August 2011	Are you satisified with the Governments first 100 days?	[poll id=”30″ type=”result”]	This was close run thing but in the end most people were not satisfied with the coalition’s first 100 days. I’d imagine if that poll was run today it would be a more clear cut ‘No’.
September 2011	Will proposed Household Charges gravely affect consumer spending?	[poll id=”31″ type=”result”]	Not surprisingly the new household charges were felt to definitely affect Thurles people’s pockets
October 2011	Do you feel safe walking the streets of Thurles?	[poll id=”32″ type=”result”]	This was an important poll that generated a lot of comment on the website with strong feelings by all concerned. However the final result did a least illustrate that Thurles is still a relatively safe place to walk around despite the lack of Garda foot patrols on the streets.
November 2011	Do we need another Supermarket in Thurles?	[poll id=”33″ type=”result”]	This poll seemed to suggest that Thurles people do indeed want another shopping centre. However, the question is can we handle the traffic that another shopping centre would inevitably bring.
December 2011	Is crime going unreported in Thurles?	[poll id=”34″ type=”result”]	This is the most disturbing poll that we have had all year. A huge 80% of people felt that crime was going unreported in Thurles! If true, and I have no reason to believe it is not true, it means that the Governments figures about a down-turn in criminal activity, is hugely inaccurate. Why do so many Thurles people believe this to be true?

To view all of our opinion polls results you can visit our main Polls Archive page.

Many thanks to those that participated in the polls. It certainly gives an idea of Thurles peoples opinions on a wide range of topics. Please feel free to comment on any of our 2011 polls by using the comment link below.

Thurles.info Gets A New Crime Category

It is a sad fact that we have to now include a new Crime category on the Thurles.info website. Despite government and Garda reassurance that crime is on the decrease country-wide, there has certainly been an upsurge in criminal activity around the Tipperary area recently. In fact, our most recent Opinion Poll seems to strongly suggest that criminal activity is going unreported to the Gardaí in the Thurles area!

In the last couple of weeks there has been several incidents that has been causing concern to Thurles residents. There was the Masked Vandals Smashing Car Windows incident at the Halloween weekend, but nothing seems to have been done about it. Also, there has been several large drug seizures in recent weeks which has been causing concern that gangland style criminal activity, which is increasingly related to gun crime, is also on the increase.

Indeed, just last night two men were shot in Templemore Town Park which is just a mile down the road from the national Garda Headquarters. (full story will be posted later today)

Remember, if you witness a crime or have any information about criminal activity you can call Crime Stoppers in the strictest confidence on 1850 250025 or visit their website at www.crimestoppers.ie or contact the Thurles Garda Station at (0504) 25100.

New Children’s Hospital Is Not National

Childrens Hospital For Dublin

It seems, according to the news today, that the new National Children’s Hospital is to go ahead at the Mater University Hospital Campus, Eccles St. in Dublin 7. It beggar’s belief that this project that claims to be the new National Children’s Hospital to serve all of Ireland is going to be situated right in the centre of traffic-congested Dublin. What about the 3/4 of the population of Ireland that doesn’t live in Dublin that this hospital claims it will serve?

Well, that’s our tough luck, it seems.

The new Children’s Hospital Dublin-centric location is going to cause all sorts of problems for people living outside of the capital. A long transit time with a possible sick child would be a nightmare for parents to endure. Traffic congestion in Dublin would only add to a parent’s anxiety and then there is the parking issue. All these point’s combine to make a possible journey to the Children’s Hospital a nightmare of those people who do not live in Dublin.

It seems to me that the term ‘National’ in National Children’s Hospital is just a buzz-word, as it appears that there is nothing national about it. Indeed, their own website seems to have an identity crisis, it is called the New Childrens Hospital. Even on their homepage, I quote;

“there is unanimous agreement that there is an urgent need for capital investment in children’s healthcare infrastructure in Dublin.”

Hmmm, nothing about it serving the whole of Ireland then.

“The Children’s Hospital of Ireland will also include an ambulatory and urgent care centre at Tallaght which will provide out-patient, day-care and emergency care services primarily for families in the south-side of the city.”

Good news for Tallaght, but what about the rest of the country?

Hospital Location Controversy

The location of the National Children’s hospital was called into question by Philip Lynch in 2010 as chairman of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board. He proposed a different location for it on a green field site outside of the M50. This new location made a whole lot of sense at the time as it would have been;

substantially cheaper to build there
have good road and rail links
would better serve the whole country and not just Dublin.

However, he was summarily sacked for just proposing the idea. In March this year, Philip Lynch went on the radio to make the case that the proposed city centre location for the new hospital would be inaccessible and have severe parking difficulties. He described the proposed city centre location as a “cul-de-sac” and that the decision to locate the hospital in the city centre as “political” [link]. He further claimed that the city location was only chosen because;

“a deal was done on the [Mater] site….by an eminent politician”

So don’t believe the hype, the new National Children’s Hospital is not national at all.

Masked Vandals Smash Car Windows

Picture Of Golf Club Used In Car Attack

It has come to the attention of Thurles.info that a gang of masked vandals smashed several car windows and did other damage along Kickham Street and in Monakeeba early last Tuesday Morning. A golf club was used to smash the back windows of several cars along Kickham Street at approx 1 AM on Tuesday morning, on the 1st November. A piece of the golf club (See Picture) was found next to one car that was attacked. The make of the golf club used is a ‘Howson’. The number of cars attacked is unclear, but a local resident estimated about 8 cars were attacked.

It is understood that 4 men were seen causing the damage at the time. The masked gang were allegedly dressed in Red and White Hoodies and wore white masks, possibly Hockey Masks like those seen in the film ‘Halloween’. It is believed that these men were costumed like this for the ‘Halloween Festival Weekend’ that took place in Thurles last weekend.

The owners of the cars were furious when they discovered the damage, especially as their normal car insurance doesn’t cover damage to back windows and found they would have to pay approx €300+ each, to have the damage repaired.

We are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or even perhaps taken pictures of these vandals over the Halloween weekend, to get in touch with the local Garda Station in Thurles at (0504) 25100.

New Multi-Storey Car Park For Thurles

The parking problems for people shopping in Liberty Square, Thurles may soon be over as plans are being put forward for a new multi-storey car park for the town centre.

Local businesses of Liberty Square have proposed that a new car park is vital to sustain their businesses as the Shopping Centre is increasingly drawing their customers away from the town centre. The fact that the shopping centre is also offering free parking at their multi-storey car park is also hurting the traditional town centre businesses.

The existing car park beside the Ulster Bank is being looked into as a possible site for the new multi-storey car park.