In the words of talented singer / songwriter Bruce Springsteen (Album “Wrecking Ball.”)
“The banker man grows fatter, the working man grows thin, It’s all happened before and it’ll happen again,
Rural Tipperary Dogs Must Continue To Eat Of The Crumbs Which Fall From Their Masters’ Table
A submission request, seeking the repatriation of the Derrynaflan Hoard back to its home in Thurles Co. Tipperary has possibly fallen on deaf ears, or maybe it is a case of local politicians & Tipperary Councillors being ‘deaf in one ear and unable to hear with the other.’
Either way rural townships, like Thurles, are struggling desperately, with unemployment the single greatest stumbling block to local consumer spending.
Nationally “The Gathering 2013,” was an excellent government proposal, however the policy of continuing to fund & attract visitors to the Gateways of Ireland only; i.e. Our coastal towns & cities like Tralee, Galway, Limerick, Dublin, Waterford etc, at the expense of midland counties, is having a major effect on our Irish heartland communities.
These local communities in midland counties, like Tipperary, are becoming dangerously despondent, cynical, unenthusiastic & lifeless. Events designed to attract & continuing to be run by a remaining few well meaning & strong willed committees in midland areas, now fail to draw previously expected support, mainly because of the total lack of ‘public purse,’ funding being generously doled out only to what are described as the “Gateways to Ireland.”
(1) During the life time of our last government, over €1million was spent to attract British tourists to Dublin, by the quango previously known as the Board of Dublin Tourism now re-employed as Fáilte Ireland employees with a similar Dublin Tourism only aim.
(2) In 2013, €5 million was laid aside for Marlborough Street Bridge in Dublin, covered by the NTA (National Transport Authority), through funding provided by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
(3) In January last Minister for Arts Jimmy Deenihan announced that Dublin’s National Gallery is to get a €20 million upgrade, thus forming a key part of the plans for the 1916 centenary commemorations in Dublin.
(4) North Tipp Labour Minister Alan Kelly announced, last February, €5 million in funding for sustainable transport projects, for guess where, yes Dublin; €2.6 million to expand the Dublin Bikes scheme as far as Kilmainham, €1.5 million for improvements to the Thomas St. / James’s Street bus-lane to shorten bus journeys from Ballyfermot and the west of the City, €250,000 to extend the existing Chapelizod – Heuston Liffey Cycle Route as far as the City Centre, €120,000 to plan an upgraded cycle-lane from the Blackhorse Bridge down Davitt Road as far as Portobello, €60,000 for pedestrian improvements in Inchicore Village & €40,000 for traffic management on Inchicore Road. These funds come as part of a €23 million allocation for the Dublin City Council area, which also includes funding for street resurfacing across the city, designing a new cycle network, and other measures that will benefit all areas of Dublin.
The list of funding for our capital city is endless, including constant job announcements, thus demonstrating that our Dublin must be taken care of as a number one priority, while not so much as a ‘red cent,’ is to be spent in promoting much of Tipperary & Thurles. In relation to Thurles, just one example of incompetence can be found by Checking HERE. Note Discover Ireland has conveniently forgotten the Thurles Butler connection.
The Derrynaflan Hoard and its arrival back home to Thurles, is now a must, for reasons already discussed HERE and sent to Minister Leo Varadkar in December 2012. (Five Months ago.) Had a decision been made, we would now have an attraction for which the current non-existent bus tour operator would immediately have included in their daily itineraries. Events could have been organised around its arrival and we could have worked together to create some small much needed employment on the back of its repatriation.
Obviously the return of these wonderful pieces of Tipperary owned Irish heritage will generated a certain resistance by others, in particular those whose economies stand to gain most at Tipperary’s expense, namely Dublin. The urgency with regard to a government decision in the repatriation of the Derrynaflan Hoard, back to Thurles, is now paramount to our town’s very existence, which has seen 14 businesses fail in just 12 months on Friar Street, Thurles alone.
Since our local elected representatives appear helpless, you our readers can assist by emailing the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton at minister@djei.ie. Remember a simple “Copy & Paste,” of the link (http://www.thurles.info/2013/04/20/thurles-gis-a-job-minister-bruton) emailed to the Minister’s Office will suffice. Alternatively, share this Blog on your Facebook Time Line.
If you have a favourite Minister you would like to contact, chances are, you can find all their Email addresses HERE.
Ministers, we also would like to be in a position to pay the heavy burden of taxation your government have levied on us, Taxes for debts brought about not by us, but by greedy Developers & Bankers, latter with which most of us had little business connections.
Note also the ransom being sought for the return of our property (€100,000 – See Noel Coonan’s correspondence in video.) is €33,000 less than the cost of sending Minister Phil Hogan & his advisor’s, jetting from Durban in South Africa to Shanghai in China and Rio de Janiero in Brazil, where he clocked up bills of €133,000 since he took office in March 2011. His 181,000km round trips in the past two years are the equivalent of a trip halfway to our moon.
Silence is no longer an option for Thurles & County Tipperary.
“It is morally wrong, unjust and unfair to tax a person’s home.” – Enda Kenny, 1994.
“We are going to face the electoral difficulties that the Labour Party now faces.” – Eamon Gilmore 2013. “We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, …” – Irish Republic Proclamation.
Anti-Home Tax protests in Dublin & in Hayes Hotel Thurles, Tipperary.
The anti-Local Property Tax and austerity protest rally which gathered outside City Hall in Dublin city yesterday afternoon, must surely have shown Fine Gael and its weakest link, namely the Labour Party, the overall mood of the Irish electorate. Gardaí, whose figures are normally accurate for such protest marches, have estimated that at least 5,000 people took part.
The protesters were made up of Socialist Party and People Before Profit members joining with unions and anti-austerity groups, and was set to coincide with the meeting of EU Finance Ministers in Dublin Castle. Roads in the vicinity of Dublin Castle were cordoned off, as were all entrances to the Castle yard.
Speakers, using the more accurate description of “Home Tax,” instead of Local Property Tax, urged the assembled crowd not to pay and promised a National Campaign of Resistance.
The Revenue Commissioners claim that at least 60,000 home owners have made their property tax returns via 36,888 electronic returns and 23,068 paper files, however it is unlikely they are, as yet, fully aware of the true substance contained in each individual return. This percentage of tax returns submitted falls far short of the 1.2 million local property tax letters, covering more than 1.3 million properties, which have been issued through the Revenue’s online services. Thousands of demands for example have been issued to those who only rent and who own no property whatsoever in the Irish State currently.
While attendees at the Thurles Local Property Tax (LPT) information & protest meeting, organised Deputy Seamus Healy on Wednesday April 10th last in Hayes Hotel was small, (around 50 angry souls, mainly pensioners, did turn up), the fury here also was very evident. There were many calls to boycott government party local councillors, who would choose to stand in next year’s local elections. Others in attendance questioned the possibility of seeking legal advice.
One elderly lady stated that her home presently lacked any real comfort since she could no longer afford to heat it, now she must pay a tax on this same discomfort. All attending agreed fully on one topic for discussion, that this present government had no mandate from those who elected them to introduce a Local Property Tax on Irish citizens.
Speaking to pensioners after the meeting, some felt that after working all their lives, the present Labour party, in particular, were echoing the words of Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso, who stated to the elderly in his country earlier this year “hurry up and die,” to avoid an unnecessary drain on his country’s finances.
One elderly gentleman stated that Sean Quinn, Bernard McNamara and Sean Dunne had been allowed to run up debts of €3bn and the elderly were now expected to forward their pensions to these same people, as if they were worthy charitable institutions. There was much criticism of local politicians also, who it was claimed were failing to support any form of local initiative, to the betterment of rural Ireland and Tipperary.
In the words of Dr. Seuss, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” This tax must now be vigorously resisted by all citizens and not just by the elderly.
A shout of “hurrah,” deafened this country, coming from the Internet searching Press Reporters of Ireland today.
For according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), figures, published on-line this week, more than 30,000 extra visitors came to Ireland in the period December 2012 – February 2013.
These marvellous, encouraging new figures from the CSO could indicate that tourist numbers actually did grow over the period December 2012 – February 2013, as the Government’s ‘The Gathering,‘ initiative got under-way.
Per the CSO, in the period December 2012 – February 2013, the total number of trips undertaken to Ireland increased by 2.6% to 1,176,100 – an overall increase of 30,200 bodies, compared to the same period twelve months earlier.
The present Government is aiming to attract 325,000 more tourists to Ireland this year. None, I hasten to add, have materialized here in Thurles, or indeed North Tipperary, to any great degree this year to date.
Can these CSO figures be accurately proven or should they be categorised under a heading, which is attributed to the 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881,) by the American author and humorist Mark Twain, the former who supposedly stated “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
Emigration from Ireland in the twelve months to April 2012 is estimated to have increased to 87,100 from 80,600 in the year to April 2011. Add another 10,000 at least to these figures to keep us in line with 2013 figures not yet presented.
The question must now be asked, purely to curb the use of statistics being used to bolster weak arguments; “How many of these so called ‘extra visitors,‘ were simply these same former, forced emigrants returning from abroad for a brief spell, to be with their families for the Christmas season, before returning back into exile, where paid work for them is more easily available?”
Forgive the humour, but in this country “The problem with unemployment is that it’s not working.”
Are the Irish people & hence the world, being drip-fed with the fertiliser normally attributed to the nourishing of the Mushroom Crop, grown in the darkness of a producers poly-tunnel ?
As my once wise old granny used to say, after I had retrieved the hurling ball, before she discovered the smashed window pane “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” In other words, as in a mathematical formula: “Travel,” implies “Visitor,” but “Visitor,” is false, therefore “Travel,” is false.
News of further possible taxation as Labour Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte states that everyone will now have to pay a new ‘Broadcasting Charge,’ latter which will replace the annual TV Licence. This charge will be made, regardless of whether or not you actually own a Television Set.
The Minister has informed the Dáil that he is due to receive a ‘Value For Money Report,’ (Probably the first one in the history of the Irish State.) recommending the best way to implement this new Broadcasting Charge. Same report is expected to be ready by the end of March.
The new charge will take account of the fact that people, who may not own actual TV receiving equipment, just maybe viewing TV programme content on mobile devices such as Smart phones, Tablets or Laptops. Let’s therefore call this new tax for what it really is, “The Technology Tax.”
Like Water Charges, Household Charges, Septic Tank Charges & Property Tax, Labour Minister Pat Rabbitte believes that his new Broadcasting Charge or Technology Tax should be implemented on every home in the country regardless, since access to programme content is not dependent on the ownership of just a Television Set.
Minister Rabbitte stated, “Everybody benefits from the availability of these services, regardless of how content is accessed or relayed to the public, and therefore it is my view that the cost should be borne by society as a whole.”
Are we, the taxpayer, to now pay for the compensation correctly paid to Fr Kevin Reynolds, latter seriously libelled and defamed by false allegations in ‘Mission to Prey,’ by an over paid RTÉ gutter press, who seriously believe they are entitled to the same pay as professional footballers?
Can we expect RTÉ cameras ‘to roll,’ shortly in an effort to depict why the world should now visit our ‘green red-necked abode,’ during this year’s “The Gathering 2013,” instead of being recommended, in repeat programmes, to take Airboat Rides in Orlando’s Florida Everglades?
Can our children perhaps expect to view some educational children’s programmes, during and around the time we air “Judge Judy,” perhaps in the not too distant future?
TV Licences do not exist, at all, in Australia, so surely if we, The Taxpayer, must fund RTÉ salaries & programming, then we should also have some small control over its current programming content or must we continue to seek out foreign channels that actually do entertain?
Despite the austere ‘Budget 2013,’ measures introduced on December 5th 2012 last, the search for gaining other ways of imposing further taxes on the Irish nation continues unabated.
Children’s Allowance May Be Taxed
Joan Burton, Minister for Social Protection, has suggested this week that taxing Child Benefit is now a possibility & the fairest way to make reforms to monthly payment to some 600,000 Irish families.
The Ministers expert Government Commission Group is understood to be recommending that these payments be taxed or a two tier system be now put in place regarding these payments.
This report from the ‘Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare,’ will be brought before the Cabinet for discussion on Tuesday next.
While this Government’s Commission Group Report does strangely acknowledge the necessity to retain this family support for the rich, by keeping these universal payments in place, the Minister will now undertake to decide how to achieve the best outcome. Meanwhile children whose bread winners are unemployed & other low income families must now await the outcome of Tuesday’s Cabinet decision.
These latter individuals are those who in an effort to make ends meet, were forced in recent months, to gorge their bellies on incorrectly labelled Beef Bolognese Sauce, Cottage Pies, Beef Lasagne’s & Burgers, same containing 100% Horse meat, Pig DNA & other foreign frozen assorted beef trimmings, thus ensuring that some wealthy criminal factions in our midst, once again increased their company profits by deceit.
I can still hear my granny, speaking from the shadows, cast by the paraffin oil lamp, warning me, “It is far from Beef Bolognese Sauce & Beef Lasagne’s you were all reared. Take care that ye do not end up wearing an S.& A.G. Davis flour sack for a petticoat, in your not to distant futures.”
[Explanation: For those of you who were not around in the 1950’s, local shopkeepers, back then, were being continuously propositioned by low income families, to put aside any empty large S.& A.G. Davis bulk flour sacks, which were then manufactured by this same company, using light weight white linen material. This much sought after large linen sack was then recycled by enterprising rural women folk, mainly to make pillow cases & bed sheets, but also (& I whisper) young ladies undergarments. The difficulty, however, with these sacks when recycled, was that users could never remove that red dyed imprinted lettering, S.& A.G. Davis, latter which remained very clearly visible on any hand sewn garment, despite scrubbing & bleaching, thus causing some little embarrassment on occasion to a proud wearer.]
Still this decision on children’s allowance could mean the end of ‘Ballet Classes,’ for those on the upper income scale.
Further Property Stealth Taxes On The Way
Meanwhile, as irresponsible & criminal meat processors and dealers continue to tamper with the fruits of honest Tipperary farming folk, in order to steal an extra buck, yesterday’s Sunday Business Post reports that hard pressed house owners may again be hit with yet another charge, on top of Minister Phil Hogan’s patriotic €100 Household Charge & his soon to be imposed and much sought Property /Water charges.
It appears that County Councils and/or Local Authorities have the legal right to recoup the cost of unpaid development levies from burdened home owners. Development levies, you might vaguely remember, were charges forced on dodgy developers to cover the cost of connecting properties to essential public utilities, e.g. sewage & water, much of which was ignored or simply went unpaid by unscrupulous builders.
Wicklow County Council were first ‘out of the trap,’ last week in this venture, seeking payment of over €65,000, & have accordingly sent letters to home owners requesting payments of up to €4,800, which they are now legally entitled to pursue through the courts, if deemed necessary.
New Suggestion To Increase Government Revenue
I was just thinking the other day, is it not peculiar that this Government has not, as yet, introduced a licence on our Irish cat population, after all the family dog has been licensed for many years. Then I suppose Minister Phil Hogan might interpret such licensing action as somewhat racist, him being a Kilkenny Cat, if you understand me.
On the issue of dog fouling, mentioned in the Sunday Independent yesterday, since our family dogs are fully paid up community tax contributors, surely they are well within their rights to cock their leg, on the odd occasion at least, near Kilkenny Golf Club, without Minister Hogan, his overpaid senior special advisers and a number of his wealthy constituents voicing grave concerns. His action after all forced an impoverished Kilkenny Co Council into erecting embarrassing dog sign-age, criticizing these unfortunate animals who after all are illiterate.
Phil, my old son, dog fouling is simple a matter of mathematics, plus add a shovel & a good yard brush, preferably with a connected handle, in the interests of H & S.
Now allow me to deal with the maths for you first. A dog is taken on his walk past your golf club play ground once a day & defecates during this one outing from home. If he is taken on this same walk seven days in a row, expect him to defecate seven times and keep in mind that he may be a guide dog, which brings about separate issues for his handler. Do not assume that thousands of dogs are at large, deliberately converging daily on & targeting your favourite play ground. Solution is to put an advert in the paper seeking one skilled individual & stating, “Previous Shovel & Yard Brush Experience Essential,” & you will find that same skills are in abundance in your local area & available for interview – no more expensive signs now required, one dole payment less to be gratuitously handed out, PAYE & other taxes can be collected from his/her pay packet at source, local Kilkenny high street economy begins to grow etc. etc. etc.. Truth is Minister, everyone wins.
Personally I fear that this country is just slowly going to the cats.
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