‘Independence for Clonmel' amid debate to revive borough councils
"There has been some soundings from the Taoiseach in particular, and I know during the General Election back in November when he visited Drogheda, he said on the record that the abolition of borough councils, and indeed many of the town councils, was a mistake,' Deputy Murphy said.
"Now that the Government has established this Local Democracy Taskforce that I felt that it's really important to keep this on the agenda … I spent 15 years as a local councillor, I'm a strong advocate for local government,' he added.
"I genuinely believe that in terms of many of the challenges we face at a national level, that some of these challenges can only be truly solved with the meaningful involvement of local government and local authorities'.
The Local Democracy Taskforce commits to reforming and strengthening local government, as outlined in the programme for Government.
According to Deputy Murphy, the abolition of Clonmel Borough Council, as well as the amalgamation of North and South Tipperary County Councils in 2014 had a 'huge' impact on Clonmel.
"I felt that the power base switched to Nenagh and I did call for independence for Clonmel,' he said.
The restoration of the borough council would allow monies made in Clonmel to be reinvested back into the town, the Fine Gael deputy said, and would ensure that the town could benefit.
"Clonmel is really strong, we have a lot of commercial rate payers here and there's a real concern about the lack of transparency in terms of all these monies going into a centralised pot and how much of it is coming back to Clonmel?
'Parking charges is another example, I think in terms of Tipperary, 50% of all parking charges is raised in Clonmel, and I don't think it's sustainable, so that's why I'll continue to champion independence for Clonmel and the restoration of the borough council,' Deputy Murphy said.
ADVERTISEMENT
'I have faith in Tipperary County Council and I do have confidence, and I'm a strong advocate for local government, and while we can often be critical of Tipperary County Council, at the same time I think they do get an awful lot right,' he explained.
Highlighting the issue of a lack of resources from central Government for local authorities, Deputy Murphy said that's another issue that needs to be addressed.
"I think one of the failings of Tipperary County Council is the extent to which we're resourced at the national level and whatever about the reestablishment of the boroughs, which is basically financial independence for towns like Clonmel, there's a separate issue as well and that's the extent to which local authorities are financed at the national level and that more than anything impacts on Tipperary County Council's ability to do its job,' Deputy Murphy added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Dublin's planned MetroLink will be obsolete because of artificial intelligence, says Dermot Desmond
Artificial intelligence (AI) will make Dublin's planned MetroLink obsolete and the Government should abandon the €10 billion project, according to businessman Dermot Desmond . Instead, Mr Desmond has urged the Government to concentrate on the coming advantages of AI , where autonomously-driven vehicles (AVs) will cut car ownership dramatically in the decades ahead. If approved, construction of the 18.8 km mostly-underground MetroLink should begin between 2028 and 2031, with services between Swords, Dublin Airport, Dublin city centre, and on to Charlemont in south Dublin city opening in early 2035. Equipped with driverless trains running every 3 minutes during peak hours, the MetroLink is proposed to carry 20,000 passengers each hour, each way when it opens. READ MORE Dermot Desmond has said he believes MetroLink will be out of date in 10 or 15 years' time. Photograph: Cyril Byrne However, Mr Desmond is scathing of the plan, believing that public and private transportation is on the cusp globally of the biggest changes for a century or more on the back of the growth of AI. The billionaire said he had believed that the Department of Finance should veto the MetroLink. 'I think it will be useless, out of date in 10 or 15 years' time. This is something that is not going to be required, it shouldn't be planned.' AI and autonomous vehicles will cut the numbers of vehicles on the roads dramatically, he predicted: 'I think you need to look at what's going to happen in the future and then plan backwards.' The billionaire investor has become increasingly interested in the subject of AI, sponsoring a conference in Belfast last month with Queen's University, which heard from major speakers from the United States and elsewhere. 'Where the change that's going to make a big difference to everybody in the world, not alone Ireland. I think that change is going to come out of transport,' Mr Desmond declared then. 'Within 15 to 25 years, I think it will be mandated that there will be autonomous vehicles. People will not be allowed to drive anything,' he said, adding that AI is already cutting travel times and saving energy. 'Public transport systems in the future will become much more efficient. Buses will know what and where the demand is and will organise themselves accordingly,' said Mr Desmond, who urged the Government to plan for wide-scale AV bus services. The changes to come will overturn every conception held today about transport in cities, with faster journeys, less pollution and far less demand for parking because there will be fewer private vehicles, replaced by robotaxis. Most cars today lie idle for 80 per cent of their lives. 'The most optimistic case for Dublin is a reduction of 98% in vehicle numbers,' he said, though he put most realistic reduction between 20% and 60%. 'AV cars will require less space on roads as they will be better able to travel efficiently if the margin for human error is removed,' he said, 'We already live in a world where our phones anticipate when we will leave for work and tell us how long it will take. '
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Letters: Whether it's FaceTime or real time, love is always ready to go the distance
To be fair, I had to go all the way to San Francisco to meet my wife, but at least it was face to face. I'd love to say we met in a chapel, but it was a pub. There was no FaceTime, just eye contact across a bar and the faint hope you hadn't said something daft. It's a different world now. Romance is less a lightning bolt and more a wifi signal. And while I wouldn't call daily FaceTiming foreplay, it does seem to work. If nothing else, it proves that love – like a flight from Dallas – is willing to go the distance. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Co Armagh RTÉ is failing in its duties – no wonder the public has no confidence in it RTÉ appears to not be living up to its function as a public-service broadcaster in its omission of newsworthy items, particularly those of a religious nature portraying a positive message. The annual climb of Croagh Patrick on the last Sunday in July was not covered on any of the news bulletins that weekend, while there was reporting of other annual events such as Belfast Pride. Fast forward to Sunday past and there was no reporting on the over one million young people who attended mass outside Rome for the World youth gathering. I cannot think of any other event taking place with over one million attendees that would not receive media coverage. The BBC news to its credit – and to RTÉ's shame – covered the papal mass. Survey after survey has highlighted the lack of trust that the public has in relation to RTÉ and its governance. The Government has committed to giving taxpayers' money to the tune of over €700m to RTÉ over the next three years to fulfil its public-service obligations. The organisation could start to improve its reputation with the public by acting in a fair and impartial fashion by reporting on all newsworthy events and not just the stories that portray certain viewpoints. In other words, report the news. Eamonn O'Hara, Manorcunningham, Co Donegal Spate of racist attacks has skilled Indian workers looking to leave Ireland Mark Hogan raised a point ('Disgusting racist attacks on Indian community do not represent real Ireland', Irish Independent, August 4) that the Indian community in Ireland is currently struggling with. I have an extended family in Ireland. I have started to hear ripples of unhappiness in my family over the way some of them are being treated here in recent years. I must point out that each one of them is highly educated and they are all professionals. They do the jobs that are highly skilled. I work in an area that no one in Ireland works in. The job I have does not exist in Ireland. I have created it myself. Now I am in a position to train many others to bring high-quality service that currently does not exist in Ireland to the country. But these recent happenings have shaken my belief in the system that allows this racism with impunity. I am considering taking these skills elsewhere. So are many other Indians who are here. Overall, Ireland is a beautiful country to live in. Irish people are welcoming to Indians. But if these incidents of racism are not brought under control, people are going to lose faith in the system. Pradeep K Chadha, Castleknock, Dublin 15 The woke left really should have just zipped it when it came to Sydney Sweeney I have to confess to never having heard of Sydney Sweeney until this week. At first I assumed it was a male, and given the media coverage, that he had committed some heinous crime. It defies belief that the furore was caused by a jeans/genes advertisement that the 'woke left' managed to interpret as a ghastly racist statement. Now, Ms Sweeney has compounded the crime due to the revelation that she is a Republican party supporter – the ultimate sin as far as the liberal-left is concerned. Many on the liberal-left spectrum are not exactly blessed with a sense of humour and tend to take life very seriously. But this is taking things to ridiculous levels. First, we had the farcical furore over Donald Trump's suit at Pope Francis's funeral, and now they are getting all hot and bothered over Sydney's jeans. Priceless stuff. Eric Conway, Navan, Co Meath There's a staggering lack of interest in the fact that democracy is under threat Fionnán Sheahan's article ('Vote early, vote often saga in Kerry shows serious lack of concern about democracy', Irish Independent, August 4) is a reminder of the old Fianna Fáil ideology, 'We are a slightly constitutional party'. Irrespective of reports of wrongdoing published by journalists, what has changed in Irish politics since independence? Toothless commissions overseeing politics and voting will not work until the electorate demand absolute independent oversight and reporting. The ultimate definition of the Republic has rarely been taken seriously by a great number of the citizenry. Sadly, like Australia, Ireland still suffers the after-effects of colonisation. Until such time as Ireland enforces the obligation of every citizen to place their ballot paper, even if spoiled, into a ballot box, nothing will change. The mute acceptance of the disgraceful destruction of democracy in local government shows an apathy to Irish politics in general. The bigger question, though, is: Will people ever take life seriously? Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia We need our Government to protect us from Trump's nuclear submarine games The president of the United States decided to move two naval vessels into 'regions' after some tittle-tattle with a former president of Russia. These vessels have enough nuclear warheads to kill us all. As an Irish citizen I expect my government to do its utmost to protect me and my fellow citizens. This step by a narcissist president of the US is not acceptable and should be condemned by all of us. Enough is enough. Paul Doran, Monastery Walk, Dublin 22
Irish Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'My electricity bill is like a heart attack - the government's done nothing'
I don't know about you but I feel I am going to have a heart attack every time my electricity bill comes through the door. I am with the ESB for my sins - I just couldn't be bothered moving to another supplier - and am sick and tired of being ripped off every two months. My electricity bill has doubled in the last two years and no matter how many lights we stitch off or dishes we hand wash instead of using the dishwasher, we can't seem to get it down. But if you think things are bad for us, what about small businesses? If you speak to the owners of these little shops, cafes, and small manufacturers all over the country, they will tell you that the soaring energy costs are the biggest single threat to their survival. One man told me how his electricity costs effectively doubled from €10,000 to €20,000 a month and he had no idea how he was going to survive. It is the same story the length and breadth of this land and the Government is all talk and no action, and is doing absolutely nothing about it. Minister and after Minister blame the war in Ukraine for the soaring cost of gas and this in turn increases our electricity costs. But what these useless politicians forget is that we the people own the ESB and the Minister responsible and the Government has the power to interfere and force ESB management to cut prices if they so wish. They could start by cutting all VAT on electricity indefinitely and this would make a huge difference. The faceless mandarins in the Department of Finance would try to stop it but should be slapped down. The country is awash with money and can well afford it. The anger and outrage over electricity prices have also now spread to the multi-nationals and big business in Ireland. Yesterday it was revealed that Intel, which employs over 5,000 people in this country, met with the Taoiseach Micheal Martin and a number of ministers warning about increasing energy costs. The Government promised to sort it out but so far has done nothing. The alarm bells should be ringing because why would these companies stay here if they can't afford to run their businesses in Ireland because of runaway, uncontrollable costs. The fact is that Ireland has the highest electricity prices in the whole of Europe. Yet the irony is you would expect this if the main market supplier was a privately owned utility company like they have in the UK. However we are talking about the ESB here which 100pc owned by you and me the Irish taxpayer, so something can be done to stop the constant rip up but it is not happening. And then to make things worse the Government decides to let the ESB increase prices even further to pay for future capital investment to improve the electricity grid down the road. The energy regulator agreed to it when they know that the people and employers are pinned to their collar trying to pay their bloody bill every month or two. It came as no surprise to me or anyone else except the Government perhaps that a record 300,000 people are now in arrears on their electricity and gas bills. Well what the hell does the Government expect with the prices we are being asked to pay. The figures were obtained by the Sinn Fein MEP Lynn Boylan and the party is doing excellent work highlighting this issue. The Government rather than forcing the ESB to slash prices dealt with the problem in the run up to the General Election last year by giving families energy credits to offset the rising electricity costs. It gave ordinary people some relief but now they are refusing to do it again in the run up to this year's budget. Both Micheal Martin and Paschal Donohue are using Trump's trade tariffs as a pathetic excuse not to do it. Yet the same politicians have no problem spending up to one billion quid cutting the VAT rate in the hospitality sector. Would it not be better spending this cash helping working class people who really need it? The ESB say they don't cut people off who can't pay their bills - but trust me in the end they do. That little electricity bill coming through the door is now the biggest worry for most people every night. It's time to bloody do something and cut the rates once and for all. For more of the latest breaking news from the Irish Mirror check out our homepage by clicking here
