Tipperary TDs to fight move to make Clonmel stand-alone council in next election

Two South Tipperary based TDs have vowed to continue to challenge a government decision to separate public representatives elected in Clonmel and  Cahir and make them  sit on different local authorities after the next local elections.

Junior Minister for Local Government John Paul Phelan met TDs and Clonmel and Cahir councillors who have sat together on Clonmel Borough District for the last five years        in Clonmel on Monday  and told them that he was "not for turning" on the decision.

The plan will see Cahir councillors elected in May sitting on a local authority with Cashel and Tipperary councillors while six Clonmel councillors will sit on their own separate body.

Following the meeting, Deputy Mattie McGrath and Deputy Seamus Healy said they would continue to challenge Minister Phelan and said they intended to confront him in Dail Eireann on the matter and would continue to oppose the move as it was not in Clonmel's best interests.

Clonmel Mayor Cllr. Richie Molloy has also come out against the plan which he said made no sense.

Mayor Molloy  said he did not agree with the Minister's view that Clonmel would be better off as a six seater in its own right .

The meeting on Monday in Clonmel was arranged by Deputy  McGrath  as there was anger in the locality that the proposal by Minister Phelan went against a recommendation of the Independent Boundaries Commission.

 Deputy McGrath, Mayor Molloy and Cllr. Martin Lonergan  in a statement issued after the meeting said the proposal   was another deal drawn up by the Fianna Fail and Fine Gael  confidence and supply agreement.

"The facts remain, the Borough District of Clonmel is not  a restoration of the Borough Council, it will not have autonomy as the former Corporation had, it will have less of an area, there are no guarantees that a block grant will be restored and if it will, the funding will be taken out of the county budget.

“While we all would like to see a return of the Borough Councils, the decision to make Clonmel a separate borough district is merely a gesture and without its own autonomy, we believe it is a downgrading of the town. 

“Let’s be clear, this is not a return to the borough council as we knew it prior to 2014.” went the statement.

Deputy Seamus Healy said he would continue to oppose the plan as it amounted to a downgrading of the town of Clonmel.

"Clonmel will be less rather than more, it will have serious implications  for the town and the surrounding area, there will be no additional funding, there will be no additional powers" said Deputy Healy who said Minister Phelan gave them no hope that he would reverse his decision.

Cllr. Pat English said he was also against Minister Phelan's plan  as it would involve a downgrading of the town .

"Clonmel will have less of a say after this is implemented" warned Cllr.  English.

Following the meeting Fine Gael general election candidate Garret Ahearn   called on Minister Phelan to allocate extra funding for the newly formed six seater Clonmel Municipal District following recent changes made to its local electoral boundaries.

 “While I welcome the decision by Minister Phelan of a standalone Clonmel Municipal District it is extremely important that funding and resources are not affected by these changes.

“ There is a fear that because the population of the district is reducing from 36,000 to 24,000 then funding will also reduce. 

“I will be putting pressure on Minister Phelan to make sure enough funding is allocated to Clonmel” he said.

Mr Ahearn said  - “Minister Phelan gave very clear reasons this morning on why the decision was made to move the Cahir district into Cashel.

“ The terms of reference put forward last year by the government stated that all five previous borough councils and any other town with a population over 30,000 would have its own municipal district.  

“This in effect meant Clonmel must be a separate Municipal district.  

“No Oireachtas member voiced their concerns at that time when they had the opportunity to put forward submissions.”

Cllr. Andy Moloney  said that this was a blatant case of where everyone knows the move is wrong but the department is driving on regardless with no extra funding for a Clonmel Borough. 

"An area of 700km will now move from the Clonmel District to Tipperary/ Cashel and the  funding to meet the demand of servicing this area will move with it.

“It  leaves our local electoral area in a very vulnerable place. 

“We will now have Rosgreen as part of Clonmel and Ballyporeen as part of Cashel. The mind boggles," he said.