Dismay at Tipperary Town’s omission from this year's allocation of Active Travel Scheme grants

Tipperary Town is the only large town in the south of the county not to receive funding under the Government’s Active Travel Scheme with local councillors voicing their disappointment at the omission at Tipperary County Council’s February meeting. 

The National Transport Authority has allocated a total of €4.63m to 37 Active Travel projects across the county that will improve pedestrian and cycling infrastructure in towns and villages ranging from footpaths and pedestrian crossings to cycle paths. 

Clonmel has received a total of €740,000 for eight separate projects, the biggest overall allocation in the county. 

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It’s followed by Carrick-on-Suir, which is getting €670,000 Active Travel grant aid while Cashel is allocated a total of €598,400. Cahir, meanwhile, is getting €59, 700. 

Tipperary Town Independent Cllr Annemarie Ryan highlighted at last week’s county council meeting that her hometown was the only town in Tipperary/Cahir/Cashel Municipal District not allocated any Active Travel funding and asked why this was the case.

 She told The Nationalist  she has since learned from the council that many of the projects in other towns that secured Active Travel funding   are  partly constructed and the latest grants  are  to complete them. Several Active Travel projects were completed in Tipperary Town last year. 

 Nevertheless, Cllr Ryan noted  the council has applied for  funding for a number of new Active Travel infrastructure projects  for Tipperary but they weren’t included in the county’s  €4.63m allocation.   

Tipperary Town Sinn Féin councillor Tony Black supported Cllr Ryan’s criticism about his hometown’s omission from the latest Active Travel grants allocation.  

He said a few years ago people were marching in Tipperary about the lack of investment in the town and in fairness the council responded. But being left out of this funding only reinforced the “old mindset” of Tipperary being a “town forgotten”. 

He said for a town of more than 5,000 to be overlooked like this was akin to a “slap in the face” and he really hoped this grant aid will be made available to the town. 

Meanwhile, Cllr Michael Fitzgerald called for roads in rural communities to also benefit from Active Travel investments. 

“Active Travel has done great work in towns and villages, especially in the likes of Cahir and Cashel, which are huge tourist attractions but there are also roads in our municipal district that are not in any three year programme and are just being patched up and potholes being filled. It’s certainly not good enough.”

He urged the council to seek a further allocation of funding before these roads disintegrate into “dirt tracks”. 

He pointed out that he visited a road a few days previously that was in such a terrible state, you would be ashamed.  Director of Roads Marcus O’Connor said the council received €4.6m Active Travel Scheme funding in 2021 and it was one of only three local authorities to spend its full allocation. 

Last year, the council was allocated €6.6m under this scheme and ended up securing more funding, which was also spent. 

  He acknowledged this year’s  “initial” allocation of €4.63m was disappointing but the council has looked for more funding. 

“It’s not the end of the story,” he stressed and explained not all counties take up their full Active Travel allocation. “If they don’t we will have our hands up looking for more money.” 

While Tipperary Town didn’t receive any Active Travel allocation, Mr O’Connor noted that other parts of Tipperary/Cahir/Cashel  Municipal District has received funding under this scheme. He maintained there was a good distribution of the funding from this scheme around the district. 

Cllr Ryan said she couldn’t accept Mr O’Connor’s response that there is a good distribution of Active Travel  funding in the district.  

She pointed out that an allocation of close to €600,000 was going to one town but nothing to another.

 “That to me is not a good distribution in the district. It’s great for the other towns but it’s very difficult to turn around to constituents in Tipperary Town again and say ‘sorry you got nothing’.

The Independent councillor asked how  the Active Travel Scheme allocations were made at Government level? 

Mr O’Connor replied that you can’t have a situation where every single town receives funding every year and countered that every public representative could say their town didn’t get funding in a particular year.

 He reiterated: “We do try to ensure a good distribution of funding and by and large I think we succeed.”