With major traffic delays currently being experienced by motorists and other heavy duty, delivery vehicles, all attempting to pass through Thurles town; speeding traffic has greatly increased in both directions along the Mill Road, as same motorists attempt to access and exit the N62, thus avoiding the now generated bottleneck that is, alas, Liberty Square.
Mill Road surface, located west of the approach to Brady’s Mill. Pictures: G. Willoughby
Same excessive traffic has now seriously collapsed the edges of this narrow road’s surface, as motorists, heavy trucks and agricultural machinery wend their way northwards, from Littleton and the N62 turnoff, travelling towards the Mill Road roundabout, close to the dangerous bend, at the entrance to Brady’s Mill.
The road surface initially collapsed in this area last November, (see pictures above) following on partially from a ditch having been removed, leaving a soft unsupported margin.
Despite politicians and local councillors announcing major funding for roads in Co. Tipperary, same road collapse has gone totally unattended, leaving the area with surface furrows/ruts/tracks between 15cm and 22cm (6 and 9 inches) deep at the road’s edge and not clearly visible to advancing motorists.
Sadly, a motorcyclist, who was involved in a collision with a motor vehicle, here in Co Tipperary, earlier last week, (on December 28th last), has passed away in hospital.
The crash happened on the N24 in the towns-land of Kilshane, Co. Tipperary, at approximately 12.20pm.
Gardaí confirmed this evening, that the motorcyclist; a man as yet unnamed and aged in his 50s, has been pronounced dead at Cork University Hospital. A male teenage pillion passenger on the motorcycle was also hospitalised, but with, thankfully, no known life threatening injuries.
The Coroner has been informed and a post-mortem examination is expected to be arranged in the coming days.
The crash scene on the main road between Tipperary and Cahir had already been examined by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators. However, Gardaí are once again appealing for witnesses to this collision. Persons who may have dash-cam footage, are being asked to make same available to investigating officers.
Those who may have information are being asked to contact Tipperary Town Garda Station Tel. No: 062-80670, the Garda Confidential Line Tel. No: 1800 666 111, or indeed any Garda Station.
Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2021 comes into effect today.
Averts ‘legal cliff-edge’ due to take effect immediately after 30th November.
Reforms law on prescriptive easements and profits à prendre.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has today welcomed the passage and enactment of the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2021. The Bill completed its passage through both Houses of the Oireachtas on Wednesday 24th November, and was signed into law by the President on Friday 26th November. The Act comes into operation today, Tuesday 30th November.
It repeals a number of changes to the law on prescriptive easements and profits à prendre, under the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009, which were due to take effect on Wednesday 1st December.
‘Prescriptive easements’are ones that have been acquired by prescription (that is, by long use as of right, where there is no written deed formally granting the right, or the written deed has been lost). Various legal conditions apply – in particular, the claimant must prove a minimum number of years of continuous use, as of right, in order to establish that she/he has acquired a prescriptive easement or profit à prendre. Twenty years was the usual period of use before the 2009 Act.
‘Profits à prendre’ are less common, and are private rights held by a person (not necessarily a property owner) over another person’s land (not necessarily a neighbour) that involve taking a natural product of the land (such as fishing or shooting rights, or certain traditional seaweed gathering rights).
The Minister said, “I’m delighted to welcome the timely enactment of this urgent Act. It averts a legal cliff-edge that was due to occur on 1st December, when major changes to the law on private rights of way, and other prescriptive rights, were due to come into effect.
I know that those impending changes have been causing worry and stress to many people, with farmers and homeowners at risk of losing important rights that have been enjoyed for many years without dispute. This Act repeals those changes, and protects acquired rights and acquired years of use”.
Common examples of prescriptive easements include:
a right to use water or sewerage pipes, running under a neighbour’s land,
a right of support between adjoining buildings that have different owners,
a private right of way to access your home, or field, over a laneway that runs across your neighbour’s land.
The Minister continued, “Legal terms such as ‘prescriptive easements’ or ‘profits à prendre’ can sound very remote and arcane (mysterious or secret) but in practice, these are issues that have very direct and practical consequences for many people.”
Serious concerns had been raised by stakeholders, including the Law Society and the Bar Council, about the changes that were due to take effect on December 1st 2021.
Minister of State Mr James Browne TD, who steered the legislation through the Seanad, added:- “The Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 was a major piece of reforming legislation, which repealed a large number of outdated laws and concepts, and modernised much of our land and conveyancing law. However, after carefully considering the concerns raised by stakeholders about this particular chapter of the 2009 Act, it was clear that in this particularly complex legal area, the 2009 provisions were not working as intended. I am grateful to the Law Society and the Bar Council, in particular, for their work to highlight these difficulties. I would also like to thank all the stakeholders who worked with my Department to develop the provisions of the Bill, and the Attorney General for the valuable legal advice and drafting expertise provided.“
As well as repealing the major changes due to take effect on December 1st 2021, under the 2009 Act, the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2021 provides that:-
claims to validate or register a prescriptive right that are already pending on 30 November (before the courts, or the Property Registration Authority) will continue to be decided as they were before 30 November (as transitional cases, they were decided under the law that applied before the 2009 Act);
periods of long use that were acquired before or during the years 2009 – 2021, will not be lost on November 30th, if no claim has been made, but can still be counted in a claim made after that date(the clock is not re-set);
new claims (brought after 30 November 2021) will largely be decided under the judge-made law (the ‘doctrine of lost modern grant’) that applied before the 2009 Act. This reflects the strong preference expressed by stakeholders, who see these as the most satisfactory and familiar set of rules available, pending more detailed review;
it will still be possible to confirm a prescriptive right, either by applying to court or by registering it directly with the Property Registration Authority. But this will be optional, (as it was before the 2009 Act), rather than a mandatory requirement to avoid losing any rights acquired through long use.
Minister McEntee concluded, “The Act addresses the most pressing need, by repealing the major changes due to take effect on 30 November, and thus removing the deadline. However, more comprehensive reform may be required. The Government has agreed to establish a time-bound review to identify any further changes that are desirable to ensure that this area of law is placed on a sustainable long-term basis. I hope that the review could start work early in the New Year, with a view to completing its work by the end of the summer.”
Rhythmic, gymnastic flapping motions of blue and gold ribbon, awaiting the scissors of one or other idle Tipperary politician (rarely observed in Dáil Éireann these days), has not yet been stretched across the ever narrowing expanse of Liberty Square here in Thurles Town central; and already high sided vehicles have begun contorting our new street signs. This is the second bent sign on Liberty Square in just 5 weeks, due to be paid for by the taxpayer.
It would appear that Tipperary council engineers are incapable of learning from their past, costly mistakes. Because of the now formed acute bend linking Liberty Square and Slievenamon Road, large long trucks are forced to enter and encroach into oncoming traffic, (Well some do & some don’t. See picture above) in order to make their necessary exit.
While air quality in Ireland in 2020 was generally good there are worrying localised issues.
Air pollution from traffic fell at all monitoring stations, particularly at urban roadside locations, as a consequence of reduced traffic volumes due to Covid-19 restrictions.
However, Ireland was above World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines for particulate matter (PM), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone at 52 monitoring sites, mostly due to the burning of solid fuel in our villages, towns and smaller cities.
Fine particulate matter from the burning of solid fuel remains the biggest contributor to poor air quality in Ireland, responsible for an estimated 1,300 premature deaths per year.
The choices we make in how we heat our homes and how we travel directly impacts the quality of the air we breathe.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today launched its annual air quality report ‘Air Quality in Ireland 2020′. The report shows that, while air quality in Ireland is generally good and compares favourably with many of our European neighbours, there are worrying localised issues which lead to poor air quality.
EPA monitoring shows that Ireland was compliant with EU legal limits in 2020, largely assisted by the significant reduction in traffic due to Covid-19 restrictions. Air pollution from traffic – nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – fell at all monitoring stations, but most notably at urban-traffic locations where levels fell by up to 50%.
However, air quality levels were above the WHO stricter guideline values at 52 monitoring stations, largely due to the burning of solid fuel for home heating.
Air quality has an impact on people’s health and there are an estimated 1,300 premature deaths in Ireland per year due to levels of fine fine particles (particulate matter) in our air. Levels of this pollutant are of growing concern and are particularly high during the winter months, when people’s use of solid fuels such as coal, turf and wood impacts negatively on-air quality, especially in villages, towns and smaller cities.
The EPA air quality report notes that any movement towards cleaner home heating choices and less smoky solid fuel choices will result in a subsequent improvement on air quality.
Launching the report, Air Quality in Ireland 2020, Dr Micheál Lehane, Director of the EPA’s Office of Radiation Protection & Environmental Monitoring, said, “The EPA’s air quality monitoring carried out in 2020 has shown that there were dramatic and immediate decreases in air pollution in our urban areas due to reduced traffic volumes associated with COVID-19 restrictions. As we now start to travel more we must not lose sight of the obvious link between our journey choices and levels of traffic derived air pollutants. Pollutants from traffic have a negative impact on people’s health and our actions, as individuals, do impact the air we breathe.“
Pat Byrne, EPA Programme Manager, said, “Ireland still has issues with poor air quality due to the burning of solid fuel in our villages, towns and smaller cities. Ireland is above WHO air quality guideline values at many locations and it is imperative that we each, as individuals, make cleaner air choices when deciding how to heat our homes, as this can improve our local air quality and have associated health benefits.”
The Government has announced that new regulations on the use of solid fuels will come into force in 2022 – all coal products sold will be required to be low-smoke and all wood sold for immediate use must have a moisture content of 25 per cent or less. This is a positive step for air quality, which will need to be supported by clear communications to ensure public engagement and the best outcome for air quality and health.
The ‘ABC for Cleaner Air’ campaign, launched by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, highlights some simple steps we can all make and help reduce pollution from solid fuels. The EPA’s home heating infographic also identifies what changes people can make to home heating choices to improve air quality.
The ‘Air Quality in Ireland 2020’ report is available on the EPA website. The EPA continually monitors air quality across Ireland and provides the air quality index for health and real-time results online HERE. Results are updated hourly on the website, and people can log on at any time to check whether the current air quality is good, fair or poor.
Further information: Niamh Hatchell/Emily Williamson, EPA Media Relations Office: 053-91 70770(24 hours) and media@epa.ie
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