A recruitment campaign to recruit prison officers for the Irish Prison Service has opened today. The 2024 recruitment campaign offers applicants the opportunity to embark on a rewarding career within the Irish Prison Service, and to make a positive, lasting impact on society.
The Public Appointments Service, on behalf of the Irish Prison Service, is running this year’s competition, and the Prison Service intends to recruit more than 250 prison officers this year.
The Irish Prison Service invites applications from suitably qualified persons who wish to be considered for inclusion on a panel from which vacancies for Recruit Prison Officer may be filled.
The Irish Prison Service is responsible for the provision of safe, secure and humane custody for those people committed to prison by the Courts. Political responsibility for the Prison System in Ireland is entrusted to the Minister for Justice.
The Irish Prison Service operates as an executive agency within the Department of Justice. It is headed by a Director General supported by a number of Directors. The Service is a key component in our country’s criminal justice system ensuring safer community life and employs approximately 3,500 personnel.
The Irish Prison Service are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and encourage applications under all nine grounds of the Employment Equality Act.
The last recruitment competition was held in 2023 and welcomed more than 1800 applicants. The 2024 Recruit Prison Officer Competition will remain open until September 26th 2024, closing at 3:00pm.
Work on the new restaurant conversion in Thurles Park’s car park area, latter situated close to‘The Source’ building in Cathedral Street, has temporally ground to a halt due to the presence of the Common Pipistrelle and Soprano Pipistrelle bat species. Following a survey, ecologists have found that a small number of these Pipistrelles Bats, together with house sparrows were using the building. Recent surveys indicate that since 2003 the soprano pipistrelle has increased significantly, while the common pipistrelle has also increased, albeit more slowly.
Pic 1: The Pipistrelles Bat Species. Pic 2: Closed car park area with 8 year old landscaping including trees removed. Pics: G. Willoughby.
Construction work begun by the contractor has now been paused temporarily until a Derogation License can be issued by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Ireland remains listed under Annex IV of the EC (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations and as a result of this work, which could capture, kill, damage or destroy their roosts or disturb them at an important part of their life cycle, cannot take place without first obtaining a Derogation Licence. This licence is issued under Regulation 54 of the Regulations, and strict criteria must be met before such a licence can be fully approved.
The project being undertaken in the area had been expected to take 12 months to fully complete, at an estimated cost to the Irish taxpayer of €3.4M. Modification of the building in question will see a mid-19 century farm yard shed being converted into yet another 83 seater Thurles café, with a canopy planned to be erected over the open car park area, thus reducing current existing car parking from 49 to 33 spaces (including 2 disabled parking spaces).
The area had been totally revamped, at great expense, just 8 years ago. Same upgrade had included a partially bricked footpaths area, including steps, safety railings, flowerbeds and 10 X 4.5 metre (14.5 foot) high trees; latter fully planted with various shrubs, thus greatly enhancing this area. All this landscaping has now been ripped up and removed (See Image above) and the car park closed for use by the public for 12 months, greatly affecting footfall within the town centre.
With the closure of the Thurles town car park beside ‘The Source’; parking for all vehicles used by persons attempting to do business or attend religious services in Thurles is now at a premium.
The car park rented by Tipperary Co. Council, situated south east of the Munster Hotel, for the past at least two years has 3 car parking spaces, unavailable due to a fallen tree.
The tree, latter a victim of a wind storm two years ago, luckily now hides a vast amount of litter, were Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) ever to come a calling. See images hereunder.
Litter permitted to congregate behind a fallen tree in Munster Hotel Car Park for past 2 years. Pic. G. Willoughby
Meanwhile; the people anxious and encouraged to attend Thurles Swimming Pool and Thurles Leisure Centre, latter erected by funding from local rate payers; the owners, managers and beneficiaries being Tipperary Co. Council, are forced to park on double continuous yellow lines, due to this aforementioned closure.
Speaking of Thurles Swimming Pool; to the rear of this building administration appears to be missing here also. It appears what isn’t readily on view to the public doesn’t exist. See images hereunder.
Dumped filters, mats and cardboard strewn at rear of Thurles swimming pool. Pic. G. Willoughby.
Just a few metres away the large car park underneath ‘The Source’ building, remains closed to the public, since March 2020. Despite no public access, three cars were parked in this underneath car park today, possibly owned by persons working in the building. However, the interior continues to show no effort is being made to repair the never completed ceiling insulation, torn down by the idle hands of vandals.
Sad and deplorable state, for the past 4 year, of this never sealed interior ceiling insulation, pictured today (22/8/2024), from within ‘The Source’ car parking area . Pic. G. Willoughby.
One hastens to add, where was the CCTV supposedly operating in the area, when this same vandalism was in progress? The time has come for either resignations or indeed sackings from within the Thurles Municipal Council official grouping, due to their inability to manage our town, allowing it to slide, headlong, downhill in a deafening silence.
Thurles Golf Club commenced work on Friday August 9th, to fell their commercial forestry at the Mill Road entrance to “Our Ladies Well” walk-way. Walkers will be aware that the “Our Ladies Well” walk-way remained closed from both entrances (both from the Mill Road and N62 Turtulla entrances), on Wednesday 14th, Thursday 15th and Friday 16th last (August 2024), but has since opened again to the public.
“Our Ladies Well Walk-Way”, Thurles. Pic. G. Willoughby.
Perhaps the seat on the walk-way, kindly sponsored by Dew Valley Meats, in Thurles, could now be moved slightly westward, into shelter. In the coming months for those who may choose to“Dwell Awhile”, at where it resides presently, no shelter remains available and that line taken from an Irish blessing, “Go raibh an ghaoth go brách ag do chúl” (English translation- May the wind be always at your back.), I have no doubt was written for those walking and not for those seated.
Meanwhile; back on Barry’s Bridge, in the Thurles town centre, a mystery has unfolded.
Where Are The Missing Chrome Bollards Gone? Pic. G. Willoughby.
Where are the 4 Chrome impact protection bollards/posts, each costing possibly €137.00 [ inc VAT. (Total €548.00)plus labour costs ] and once situated on the left-hand-side, as you crawl westward, slowly behind numerous HGV’s? Were they stolen? Were they struck by a heavy goods vehicle, (HGV)?
The bolts end, which once retained these missing chrome bollards to the pavement, suggest that an angle grinder had at least a small part to play in their sudden disappearance.
The waste of ratepayers money, by Tipperary Co. Council, continues.
We will of course be forwarding an email to Ms Scully again later tonight, seeking further assistance with regards to the next 100 metres of this town’s valued river Suir.
Pic (1) Despite two days with no rain, evidence of ground water continuously flowing from under the Leisure Centre. Note the plastic papers ready to exit, come the next downpour to push open the heavy drain lid. Pic (2, 3, 4) Supermarket Trolley’s which have remained in the River Suir for months.
What we would like is that Ms Scully would contact three of the local Supermarkets, latter backing unto the river Suir, asking that they remove their shopping trolleys from the water.
I know that Ms Scully will be anxious to observe this area herself, (after all seeing is believing), and so there are two other issues she might help us with, which are as follows:-
(1). Take a walk on now retired Mr S. Hanifin’s tarmac path from the ‘Swinging Gates’, on Emmet Street and examine the crater close to the now deceased Chestnut tree stump, same waiting for some pedestrian to fall into. (Yet another day out in Dirty Dublin, emerging for Tipperary Co. Council to visit the High Court, may still await.)
Pic (left) – Giant crater on riverside walk near Emmet Street ‘Swinging Gates’. Pic (right) – Some unknown liquid flowing into the river Suir from behind the future useless and yet unfunded ‘Thurles Inner Relief Road’.
(2). What is flowing into the river Suir from a drain at the area where the inner relief road will be built. (Look, it’s possible that it was someone just brushing their teeth). Sure you know the area that I am talking about, didn’t TD Mr Jackie Cahill get the money from government to buy and update this area way back in 2021, or was he joking. [See video HERE quickly, before someone teaches him how to remove it.]
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