Councillors demand fair play for Clonmel on new job post

Clonmel elected representatives have objected to a new Assistant Arts Officer for Tipperary County Council being located in Nenagh.
They insisted that the officer when appointed should be located in Clonmel and in the south of the county as the Arts Officer Melanie Scott is located in Nenagh.
At a meeting of Clonmel Borough Council councillors said that for balance the assistant Arts Officer when appointed should be located in Clonmel.
Cllr Siobhan Ambrose raised the issue and said she was disappointed to see that the advertisment inviting applications for the post stated that the successful applicant would be based in Nenagh.
Cllr Ambrose said she does not see why a new Assistant Arts Officer should be located in Nenagh.
The Clonmel councillor said the county was 120 miles long.
She told the meeting that there was a lot of artists and a lot of festivals organised in the south of the county. She was very annoyed that the south of the county would have no arts officer and that there would be two located in Nenagh.
“The Assistant Arts Officer should be in the south. We cannot let this go I could not believe it when I saw it, there is no reason why this new appointment could not be placed in Clonmel,” she said.
Cllr John Fitzgerald said it would be appropriate if this new Assistant Arts Officer was based in Clonmel.
Cllr. Fitzgerald said that given all of the festivals and events taking place in the south of the county that the new appointment should be in Clonmel.
Mayor of Clonmel Cllr Michael Murphy said it was about getting the balance right. The Arts Officer was based in Nenagh and “surely common sense would suggest that the Assistant Arts Officer should be located in Clonmel,” said Cllr Murphy.
The mayor said he would appeal to management to intervene in the situation.
Cllr Richie Molloy said there was a perception out there among the general public “that everything was going to Nenagh.”
Cllr Molloy said that this move to appoint the Assistant Arts Officer that would be based in Nenagh fed into that perception.
“There is no logic in having both positions in Nenagh. It is the public perception that all the posts are moving to the north of the county,” said Cllr Molloy.
Sinead Carr, Director of Services said she would raise the mater with management and would bring the concerns highlighted by members to management regarding the new position.