The bridge will close nightly from 19:00hrs (7:00pm) until 05:00hrs (5.00am), from Thursday night next, June 27th, 2024 until Friday July 05th 2024 in order to facilitate the resurfacing works, which were first promised in May of 2023.
Alternative routes are identified as follows: Traffic attempting to progress eastward on the N75 towards Two-Mile-Borris will be diverted in Liberty Square central, before turning right, continuing on the N62 for approx. 2.5km, before turning left onto the L-4161 at Turtulla, Cross, (turning left at the T junction above Thurles Golf Club), then left onto the L-4157 Mill Road, to exit at the N75 roundabout east of Kickham Street.
Traffic attempting to progress westward on the N75 will be diverted at the afore mentioned Mill Road roundabout, onto the L-4157 Mill Road for approx. 2km, before turning right onto the L-4161 at Turtulla and turning right again, at the upcoming T- junction onto the N62, remaining on this road before entering unto Liberty Square to continue your onward journey.
This Mill Road is exceptionally narrow and traffic is warned to take great care.
We are informed that grounds for a method of appealing against Local Property Tax (LPT), by Irish householders, on the basis of dissatisfaction with local (in this case Tipperary Co. Council) Council services, does not relate to an established set of principles governing an Independent state, according to T.D. and Minister for Finance, Mr. Michael McGrath. We now ask the question “Is this constitutional?”
Residents, having tolerated the state of the road surface, the flooding, etc. over a three year period, our question to the Minister was simple; “How can householders appeal against Local Property Tax (LPT), when their homes/property are being destroyed by the failure at local government to sort out issues.?”
Ms Niamh Kavanagh, (latter private secretary to the Minister for Finance) replied to our query as shown hereunder.
Readers: Do take note of links shown hereunder in Ms Kavanagh’s communication.
Dear Mr. Willoughby,
The Minister for Finance, Mr. Michael McGrath T.D., has asked me to acknowledge receipt of your email of March 14th, concerning your appeal against the payment of your Local Property Tax (LPT) and related complaint about (Tipperary) County Council.
The LPT was introduced in 2013 to provide a stable and sustainable funding base for local authorities and is a significant base-broadening measure. It is collected by Revenue, and the proceeds of LPT are subsequently transferred to the Local Government Fund which comes under the responsibility of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The funds are redistributed to local authorities in accordance with Government policies on funding allocations.
LPT along with other revenue streams is used to fund a broad range of services in the public realm. While this includes road maintenance and cleaning, it also includes fire and emergency services; street lighting; spatial and development planning and other similar services; regulatory and inspection functions and business support services, as well as libraries, parks, and other recreation and cultural public amenities.
The proper functioning of these services is important for the wellbeing of every community and household. The decisions on and implementation of these services are matters for each individual local authority and its councillors.
LPT is payable in respect of all habitable residential properties, and there are no grounds for exemption on the basis of dissatisfaction with local services. However, I note the mention of your personal circumstances in your email. There exists an exemption from LPT for properties purchased, adapted or built for use by incapacitated persons. This exemption may be claimed where a resident of the property is permanently incapacitated to the extent, they cannot maintain themselves by earning an income through work and where their condition dictates the type of property they can live in. Further information on this exemption is available on Revenue’s website: https://www.revenue.ie/en/property/local-property-tax/lpt-exemptions/incapacitated-persons.aspx
Where no exemption is applicable in respect of a property, a property owner may opt to defer or partially defer payment of their LPT, where their income is below certain thresholds. A deferral is not an exemption, and the deferred LPT becomes payable at a later date and carries an interest charge of 3% per annum. Further information on LPT deferrals is available here: https://www.revenue.ie/en/property/local-property-tax/deferral-of-payment/index.aspx.
I hope this information is of assistance. Yours sincerely, Niamh Kavanagh, (Private Secretary to the Minister for Finance).
The reply from Minister McGrath was received on May 30th last, shortly after the road surface had been properly repaired. We thank the Minister for his intervention.
So far this year, (during quarter one of 2024), 80 people have lost their lives on Irish roads, sadly the worst record in a decade.
Over the bank holiday weekend, up until 7:00am this morning [June 3rd], 137 motorists have been arrested for intoxicated driving.
On the M7 near Nenagh, Co Tipperary, An Garda Síochána set up a road safety checkpoint, using number plate recognition technology, as well as their mobility application; targeting vehicles approaching their checkpoint, which saw officers arrested one man on suspicion of committing an offence under the Road Traffic Act. During this check, dozens of motorists were breathalysed to identify those who may have had alcohol or drugs in their system.
Gardaí are currently looking at implementing a system whereby motorists with dash camera footage of road traffic offences, will be able to upload same footage to an online portal system, thus allowing Gardaí to check and possibly use same in road traffic prosecutions.
Ireland to miss emissions targets even under a best case scenario – EPA.
Ireland is projected to achieve a reduction of up to 29% in total greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to a target of 51%, when the impact of the majority of actions outlined in Climate Action Plan 2024 is included.
To achieve a reduction of 29% would require full implementation of a wide range of policies and plans across all sectors and for these to deliver the anticipated carbon savings.
Almost all sectors are on a trajectory to exceed their national sectoral emissions ceilings for 2025 and 2030, including Agriculture, Electricity and Transport.
The first two carbon budgets (2021-2030) will not be met, and by a significant margin of between 17% and 27%.
Ireland will not meet its EU Effort Sharing Regulation target of 42% reduction by 2030.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its greenhouse gas emissions projections for the period 2023-2050.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its greenhouse gas emissions projections for the period 2023-2050.
EPA analysis shows that planned climate policies and measures, if fully implemented, could deliver up to 29% emissions reduction by 2030 compared to 2018, a reduction of 4% each year from 2023 to 2030. This is insufficient to achieve the ambition of 51% emissions reduction in Ireland’s Climate Act.
The first two carbon budgets (2021-2030), which aim to support achievement of the 51% emissions reduction goal, are projected to be exceeded by a significant margin of between 17% and 27 %.
All sectors, except Residential buildings, are projected to underperform relative to the sectoral emissions ceilings. Agriculture, Industry and Electricity sectors are projected to be the furthest from their sectoral ceiling in 2030.
MsLaura Burke, Director General, EPA said: “The EPA’s projections show that full delivery of all climate action plans and policies could deliver a 29% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This is well short of both our European and National emission reduction targets and highlights the scale of effort required to achieve the required reductions across all sectors of our economy. The key priority must be to translate the aspiration in our policies and plans to implementation on the ground.”
Ms Burke added: “The transition to a low carbon society is building momentum in Ireland. We see this with more electric vehicles on our roads, renewable electricity powering our homes and adoption of new farm practices. However, we need to speed up and scale up the transition.”
Agriculture. Total emissions from the Agriculture sector are projected to decrease by between 1% and 18% over the period 2022 to 2030. Savings are projected from a variety of measures including limits on nitrogen fertiliser usage, switching to different fertilisers and bovine feed additives. The higher ambition scenario assumes that most of the measures outlined in Climate Action Plan 2024, AgClimatise and Teagasc (MACC) are in place.
Transport. Emissions from the sector are projected to reduce by 26% over the period 2022 to 2030, if the measures set out in plans and policies are implemented. These include over 940,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030, increased biofuel blend rates and measures to support more sustainable transport. Road freight is projected to be the biggest source of road transport greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Energy. Driven by a reduction in fossil fuel usage and increased net importation of electricity from interconnectors, there was a marked drop of almost 24% in emissions from electricity generation between 2022 and 2023. In combination with planned increases in renewable energy generation from wind and solar, energy sector emissions are projected to reduce by 62% and achieve over 80% renewable electricity generation by 2030.
Land use.
Emissions from this sector are projected to increase between 23% to 99% over the period of 2023 to 2030 as our forestry reaches harvesting age and changes from a carbon sink to a carbon source. Planned policies and measures for the sector, such as increased afforestation, water table management on agricultural organic soils and peatland rehabilitation, are projected to reduce the extent of the emissions increase.
Commenting, Ms Mary Frances Rochford, Programme Manager said: “The EPA projections show the importance of accelerating the delivery of renewable technologies to support decarbonised electrification across the economy, adopting known emission reduction technologies while new solutions are developed in agriculture, providing alternatives to car and freight transport, and taking action to reduce emissions from land to reduce Ireland’s emissions. Increasing the pace of implementation will deliver the required emission reductions and create space for adoption of further policies and measures.”
According to a notice posted on the Tipperary County Council website; the bridge crossing the river Suir joining Cathedral Street with Liberty Square, [known locally as ‘Barry’s Bridge’ situated on route N75 east of Thurles,] will close next month.
Barry’s Bridge, Thurles
The period of closure is understood to take place nightly from 7:00pm to 5:00am, for an estimated 9 day period beginning Monday, June 17th until Tuesday, June 25th.
During this period, traffic travelling eastwards on the N75, towards Two-Mile-Borris, will be diverted in the town centre, (Liberty Square) to turn right onto Slievenamon Road, (N62) travelling to Horse and Jockey, before turning left onto the R639 as far as Littleton, and turning left in the village onto the L-4157, remaining on this road until the roundabout on the N75.
We are informed that traffic travelling westward on the N75 route into Thurles will be diverted east at the Mill Road Roundabout onto the L-4157 as far as Littleton village, turning right onto the R639 to Horse and Jockey, turning right onto the L4150 and continuing on the N62 to Liberty Square.
REASON FOR CLOSURE: To facilitate resurfacing works already one year late which had initially been scheduled for May of 2023, according to Tipperary Co. Councils Chief Executive, Mr Joe MacGrath.
Why traffic is required to travel to Littleton and Horse & Jockey before returning to Thurles via the N62; latter a distance of 21.7k(some 13.5 extra miles), instead of using the Archerstown route and onto the N62 close to the rear of Thurles Golf Club, (in relation to both diversions) has not been explained. But then Co. Council engineers may not be familiar with the area.
It would now appear that Tipperary County Council’s promised Traffic Calming Measures on the N75 from Mill Road roundabout to Barry’s Bridge, is no longer on the June 2024 agenda, as reported by local Councillor Mr Sean Ryan scheduled for this June, 2024. Also, the necessary pedestrian crossing and pavement improvement schemes for this area, are no longer viewed as an emergency. Read HERE and Read HERE.
Do we actually need to elect local councillors on Friday, June 7th, 2024 next or should we have a referendum to decide whether or not they are required at all?Think of the savings that could be made nationally!
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