Councillors clash at meeting over Tipperary Town losing out to Nenagh for funding

Tipperary County Council has been urged to stop submitting simultaneous bids for regeneration funding under two schemes for Nenagh to give more disadvantaged towns in the county a better chance of securing this vital investment.
Tipperary Town Independent Cllr Annemarie Ryan made this blunt appeal at the county council’s monthly meeting last Friday where the political fall-out continued over three Tipperary Town projects being overlooked for a slice of the latest €21m round of Rural Regeneration Development Funds while Nenagh once again secured funding - €1.1m for a digital hub.
Her proposal was greeted with firm opposition from councillors in the north of the county led by Nenagh Municipal District chairman Cllr Michael O’Meara.
Cllr Ryan, a leading member of the March4Tipp group, starkly highlighted the huge disparity in funding Nenagh has received in the past year compared to her hometown in making the case for the practice of submitting simultaneous applications for Nenagh under both the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) and Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) schemes.
The Tipperary Town projects that lost out to Nenagh in the latest round of RRDF allocations were the transformation of Dan Breen House into a youth services and further education and training centre, the upgrading of Canon Hayes Recreation Centre and development of an equine and sporting tourism attraction at Tipperary Racecourse.
Cllr Ryan said last year Nenagh was awarded €9.25m under the URDF along with a further €670,000 under the RRDF. And in the past week Nenagh was allocated a further €1.2m under the RRDF again.
In contrast, Tipperary has received €1.1m RRDF grant aid for the Market Yard Regeneration and River Ara Walkway since 2018.
“Nenagh qualifies for funding under both Rural and Urban Regeneration funding. This allows Nenagh to bid for regeneration funding under two streams while smaller towns like Tipperary Town, Carrick On Suir, Templemore etc are denied that possibility,” the Independent councillor continued.
“One of the objectives of the RRDF fund is to achieve balanced rural development,” she pointed out.
“It would be fairer if Tipperary County Council chose to discontinue the practice of submitting bids for the one town under both streams, and instead look to support an individual town’s application under RRDF based not only on the town’s submission, but also on its socio-economic needs.
“There needs to be a more equitable prioritisation of funding projects throughout the whole of the county.
“Tipperary County Council promotes itself as ‘positioning the county to be open for business, shaping the quality of life and prosperity of local residents’. That doesn’t seem to include Tipperary Town.
“I have calculated that the council match funding required for Nenagh’s RRDF and URDF projects comes to €3.5million. Tipperary Town’s match funding so far for RRDF is approximately €360,000.”
Cllr Ryan said the Tipperary Town Task Force submitted three strong projects for RRDF funding last year, each one addressing rural regeneration issues affecting the town.
“We were ambitious in our application and we took guidance from the department in advance of submitting our application so it came as a complete shock to see that not one project qualified for funding.”
Newcastle Cllr Máirín McGrath supported Cllr Ryan’s stance. She said south Tipperary was not really getting a fair share of the regeneration funding pie and agreed it was unfair that one town could apply for grants under both schemes.
“We need to take a county wide approach to make sure that every town gets a fair share at the application stage.”
Fine Gael councillors Mary Hanna Hourigan and Declan Burgess also voiced their deep disappointment that Tippperary Town’s projects didn’t secure funding.
Cllr Hourigan pointed out that assurances were given by Minister Heather Humphries during her recent visit to Tipperary Town that the projects would be included in the latest round of funding so it was a shock when they were left out. “Morale is low but we need to remain positive and not let this knock us back. We need to tell the Minister and her department we won’t be overlooked again.”
Cllr Siobhán Ambrose, who was also disappointed for Tipperary Town, highlighted that Clonmel could only apply for URDF grants, which she felt was very unfair to the county’s capital town. She reminded the council that Clonmel wasn’t successful in the last URDF round while Nenagh was.
There was consternation among councillors in the north of the county. Nenagh MD chairman Cllr Michael O'Meara said he was concerned about the narrative surrounding Nenagh’s funding applications and called on Cllrs Ryan and McGrath to withdraw the proposal about stopping simultaneous funding applications to the URDF and RRDF for his town.
He had never before witnessed councillors requesting less money come to county Tipperary by asking the council not to apply for regeneration funding for one town. He contended it would be counterproductive for councillors to ask less Nenagh just apply under one funding scheme.
“I think it’s disappointing that you would pit one town against others. I think we should all work together and that we don’t have a them and us attitude,” he complained.
Cllr Noel Coonan from Templemore criticised the “self-centred attitude” of some of his colleagues in the south of the county and argued it was important the county as a whole was looked after.
In response, Cllr Ryan stressed at no stage did they say they didn’t want funding to go to Nenagh and she congratulated the town on its success.
She reiterated that she wanted a “more equitable prioritisation of funding projects throughout the county”. As one of the RRDF’s objectives was to achieve balanced regional development, it would be fairer to discontinue applying under both the RRDF and URDF funding streams for Nenagh and prioritise applications for areas with socio-economic needs.
Cllr McGrath was also not for backing down. She said “more power” to Nenagh for securing this funding but she firmly believed it was wrong for one town to benefit from both funding schemes.
Council chairperson Cllr Marie Murphy pointed out that it was the Department of Rural & Community Development that decided Nenagh could qualify to apply for both funding schemes not the county council.
But Cllr Ryan shot back that it was up to the council to submit applications for Nenagh under both funding schemes.
Cllr Siobhan Ambrose argued the points raised by Cllr Ryan “were fair enough”. She had just stated the position regarding Tipperary. “I don’t know why people are so sensitive,” she added.

Council chiefs pledge to keep fighting for Tipperary Town 

Tipperary County Council senior management promised at the council meeting to keep trying to secure funding for the three Tipperary Town projects that missed out in the latest round of RRDF grant allocations.
Tipperary Cahir Cashel Municipal District director of services Pat Slattery explained the context of the disappointment felt in Tipperary Town went back to the March4Tipp protests in in 2018 and 2019 seeking action to improve the economic fortunes of the town where the unemployment rate was about 40% in parts of the town.
The Tipperary Task Force spent 18 months drawing up an action plan for the town and they had been told that Tipperary would be prioritised but it wasn't.
“We were given guarantees that we would be prioritised and hence the huge disappointment in the town.” He said the three Tipperary Town projects put forward for funding were of a very high standard and he recited a long list of agencies involved in devising the plans for them.
Mr Slattery stressed the council was not giving up on securing funding for these projects and he pledged to give everything he had to ensure they received grant aid and went ahead.
He pointed out the Minister’s officials will be meeting with council representatives in the next few weeks and he promised to raise the issue with them.
Eamon Lonergan, acting director of planning services said this wasn’t the end of the road for any funding application because it was unsuccessful in this RRDF round They weren’t even half way through the 10 year window where applications can be made for grants under these funding schemes. Only one third of the money has been allocated to date.
He said the council was determined to keep going and secure funding for these projects.
Mr Lonergan explained that Nenagh met population and job creation criteria that allowed it to apply for both funding schemes. He pointed out that local authorities in other counties submitted more than one application for funding to maximise their funding opportunities.
Council CEO Joe MacGrath reminded councillors the council has been extremely successful in securing more than €38m funding to date and was very ambitious to get more. “We will use every opportunity to do that where ever money comes from, from whatever source.”
He said he shared the disappointment over Tipperary Town but he rejected the implication that the council didn’t put its best foot forward or make a strong enough case. That was simply not the case, he stressed.
Mr MacGrath echoed Mr Lonergan’s assurance that the council will resubmit the funding applications for Tipperary Town and cited examples of where the council resubmitted applications and was successful. He said he had discussions with Mr Slattery and Mr Lonergan to see if there were other sources of funding the council could apply for to move these projects forward and to look more deeply into the council's own resources.
“No one should ever doubt Tipperary County Council’s commitment to Tipperary Town,” he added.