Clonmel Borough Council is to be no more!

Xenophile

Saw Seamus Healy T.D. on the news this evening bemoaning the fact that local councils are to be abolished.

Good to see Clonmel Borough Council abolished, it was a complete waste of tax payers money over the last few years. Healy's party WUAG always managed to have their 5 candidates elected but never achieved anything except resignations from their own party. They were the party ( as the party is it now finished) who said no to everthing................Just look at their legacy part of which is the terrible job that was done on flood defenses that ruined a beautiful scenic view when the same result if not better could have been achieved with some more intelligent engineering.

How I miss Charles Bianconi as Mayor of Clonmel, back in the day when entrepreneurship was appreciated. What we had from WUAG in the last few years was an effort to convince us that we were all victims, say no to everthing as we were all entitled to live off the State.

A word of gratitude and appreciation to all the people elected who served us with such integrity over so many years especially so to those who served before it was a paid job.

The Woodcock

While you might disagree with and criticise WUAG and their politics, I think it is important not to lose sight of the bigger picture. The abolition of town councils is a mistake in my view. Yes they cost money and yes they are parochial in nature, but they bring democracy right down to local level and give people some direct, albeit limited, input into decision-making for their areas. One of the big political problems in the world today is that decision-making power is too centralised and far-removed from ordinary people. We have surrendered power to Dublin, to unaccountable and unelected bureaucrats in the European Commission and most recently to the EU/ECB/IMF troika. Decisions about jobs and investment in small Irish towns are made in corporate boardrooms thousands of miles away. Town Councils are important as they give local areas a democratic voice to represent themselves to the wider world. Clonmel Corporation has been in existence for 500 years and is being abolished due to short-sighted cost saving measures.

Vizzy

To Xenophile
For somebody who has been is business for 40 years you are really not seeing the bigger picture at all.
I like you don't agree with Seamus Healy's politics but I can tell you from personal experience that he is the most principalled and honest politicians in the County or Country.
However what you are really missing, is the fact that not only is Clonmel Borough Council being abolished(as well as the other town councils in the county)but South Tipp Co Co is being amalgamated with North Tipp.
So if,for instance,you have a query about your water charges or you rates in Clonmel,best of luck to you hoping to meet somebody in Nenagh.
Or if you have a query on Planning or want to complain about the condition of the roads- yeah,you guessed it,head for Nenagh.
To The Woodcock
You are dead right in relation to your observation on local democracy.
Once we lose local representation it is gone forever.
The abolition of the Borough will save a few euro over the next few years but as an initial step the amalgamation with the South Tipp Co Co will cost a fortune in new IT compatabilityand harmonising local practices.
Now add merging with North Tipp in to the mix.
Nightmare waiting to happen TBH.

One simple question,will the business people and the general citizens of Clonmel be better or worse off once Clonmel Borough Council is abolished ?