Latest news with #BrianBeck
Irish Independent
19-06-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Plans unveiled for Tipperary's new flagship library
This site on Emmett Street is the main cultural and administrative centre of Clonmel and is situated in the wider town centre area. It is located on the route between Mick Delahunty Square and The Kickham Barracks Quarter. The Council Civic Offices, Tipperary Museum of Hidden History and the Clonmel Swimming Pool are all adjacent to the proposed library site. The current library in Clonmel has served the citizens of Tipperary for nearly four decades. 'However, the building is very dated and presents difficulties in terms of offering a high-quality library service,' said a spokesperson. The new library will be built over three floors. It will be a flexible and adaptable space which will embrace new and emerging technologies. It will be a meeting place for people and will be the flagship branch library for Tipperary County Council. New services and facilities will include a digital room, maker-space, exhibition and performance space, gallery, lecture room, sensory space, a podcasting and creative studio, along with dedicated study spaces. The new library will be over 2,000 sqm, which will be more than four times larger than the current library and will be very similar in scale to the new Central Mayfair Library in Kilkenny and the new Central Library in Ennis. The project has received €3m in grant funding under the Library Capital Programme, Department of Rural and Community Development and Tipperary County Council appointed a design team to complete a full design for this new Library. It is planned to bring this project through the planning process which will include public consultation. Pat English, Mayor of Clonmel Borough, said: 'The benefits of this new landmark library will be felt throughout the region. This new library will be a vital part of the redevelopment of the town centre.' ADVERTISEMENT Brian Beck, director of services, said: 'A new library in Clonmel built in the centre of the town is a vital project for the citizens of Clonmel and the wider region. These development marks an exciting phase in the regeneration of civic spaces of distinction and value within Clonmel.' Tipperary County Council Library Service has a network of 12 branch libraries, a Local History Service (Tipperary Studies) and a Schools Mobile Service. 'We offer a countywide, inclusive service that is accessible by families, students, lifelong learners, older people and people with disabilities,' added a spokesperson. 'From newspapers to author visits, storytime to book clubs, there really is something for everyone. 'For those of you who can't make it to the library, we have an online catalogue which allows members to search, request and renew books and a range of e-services to download at your leisure. 'As well as a huge free range of e-services including e-books, e-magazines, e-courses, e-languages, there is Tipperary Studies for the local history and genealogy enthusiasts. We also have a number of outreach services to schools, pre-schools, nursing homes and day care centres.'
Irish Independent
11-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Calls for ‘student-type' accommodation for apprentices in Tipperary to encourage young people into trades
Councillors at the June meeting of Tipperary County Council were briefed by Brian Beck, Director of Services for Economic, Community Rural Development and representatives from Tipperary's Local Enterprise Office (LEO), gave an update on attracting business to the county, and outlined that serviced sites with water and electricity are what multinational companies who are looking for a base are requiring. The call for accommodation to be provided was made by Cahir councillor Andy Moloney at the meeting, who called for student-like accommodation to be built on sites where new industrial buildings were being developed. Speaking to the Irish Independent after the meeting, Cllr Moloney said that the changes would help to encourage more young people into an apprenticeship and help to stem the flow of young people emigrating to Australia and Canada. "They're saying that power and water are the two main sources, now a lot of these IDA companies are going to be coming in and they're going to be looking for young people to do apprenticeships and all that,' Cllr Moloney said. "But you won't get apprenticeships and young lads unless they have somewhere to stay, and housing is an issue, and affordable accommodation for students. What you're really looking for is student-type accommodation on-site in a portion of these lands so that the people can come in of a Monday or a Sunday evening and they can stay until Friday evening and they can go back home again,' he outlined. The plan would aim to encourage young people to undertake an apprenticeship, which traditionally attracts low pay in the first few years, by taking away the stress of finding and affording accommodation on an apprentice wage. "It would encourage kids to stay at home and do an apprenticeship rather than be getting on a plane and going out foreign,' Cllr Moloney added. "I'm not looking for a satellite town, but I am looking for satellite accommodation on the site'. "Say if the IDA come in with a proposal that they're going to create 200 jobs on a site, 10% of that – 20 student-type accommodation units should be provided with it,' Cllr Moloney said. "It should be the first thing on the site and it could be used by the builders while the project is going ahead, and once it's finished it would be signed back over again and becomes part of the whole thing,' the Cahir councillor explained. According to Cllr Moloney, more forward thinking is needed to address issues of accommodation and low rates of people taking up apprenticeships, and would make Ireland an even more attractive workforce to multinational companies. "Most American companies will tell you that they're here because of our educated workforce and that's plain to be seen, but if you're talking about apprenticeships, you're starting off on a low rate but at least if they had the accommodation at least it's something, it's some little bit of a carrot to keep them there'. The County Tipperary Development Plan or local area plans do not allow for any mixed-use space on lands that are zoned as commercial or industrial which would allow for this type of accommodation to be built. "In a lot of cases, these could be modular homes, and I'm not looking for anything fancy, just a bedsit with a shower, toilet and a small kitchenette, it's only the size of a big bedroom,' he said. "I think it's one way of encouraging business in if you can provide these incentives,' Cllr Moloney added. "County development plans are made five years at a time, but we need to be able to make changes midstream if we see the market moving a bit,' he concluded. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
