Environment
Functions
- Operation of Street Cleaning Services and disposal of Litter.
- Provision and maintenance of litter bins
- Enforcement of the Litter Pollution Act 1997.
- Promote the management of waste through its prevention, minimisation, re-use and recycling.
- Pollution control within the town
- Promotion of energy efficiency in all of the Council’s activities and energy awareness in the town
- Elimination of derelict sites and promote renewal of obsolete areas.
- Provision and upkeep of burial grounds
- Work in partnership with other local authorities in the County to advance common environmental objectives and to ensure a holistic approach to service delivery.
- Promotion of water safety.
Burial Grounds
Thurles Town Council manages and maintains St Patrick’s Cemetery which is located at Loughtagalla. The first burial took place in the cemetery on 1st. August 1927 and there have been 4,860 burials to date. A record of all grave spaces sold together with all burials is maintained by the Council
Digging and filling in of graves is carried out by Town Council personnel
To purchase a grave, to make arrangements for a burial or to obtain information in relation to St. Patrick’s Cemetery contact Thurles Town Council, Slievenamon Road, Thurles (0504/21433)
There are two ‘closed’ burial grounds in Thurles, St Mary’s adjoining St Marys Church and Relic Bride off Abbey Road.
St. Patrick’s Cemetery
Purchase Price Charges
RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN AREA |
€400.00 per Grave |
NON-RESIDENTS OF THE TOWN AREA |
€500.00 per Grave |
Burial Charges
Opening & Closing of Grave (Weekdays) |
€450.00 |
Opening Friday/Closing Saturday |
€550.00 |
Opening Saturday/Closing Sunday/Bank Holiday |
€650.00 |
Opening Sunday/Closing Weekdays |
€600.00 |
Opening Sunday/Closing Bank Holiday |
€700.00 |
Opening Sunday/Closing Weekdays |
€600.00 |
Opening Sunday/Closing Bank Holiday |
€700.00 |
Burial of Infant under 1 Year |
Half Adult Charge |
Burial of Infant under 1 Week |
No Charge |
| Erection of Headstone/Kerb | €70.00 |
Cremation – Burial of Urn |
€150.00
|
Street Cleaning
- Town centre streets are cleaned manually each morning including weekends by Town Council employees.
- A mechanical street sweeper is hired periodically to clean verges between the paths and roadways.
- There are 75 litter bins in the town. These are emptied three times per week.
- The litter and other waste material collected is transported to the landfill at Ballenvehney
- A plan is in place to deal with the clean up after ‘big match’ days and other events in Semple Stadium.
Litter
North Tipperary County Council, Nenagh Town Council, Thurles Town Council and Templemore Town Council adopted a Joint Litter Management Plan in compliance with Section 12 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997. The Plan focuses on the following:-
- Improving the Council’s performance in relation to litter prevention/control including more effective enforcement against offenders.
- Promoting greater public awareness and education about litter
- Developing effective partnerships with business/industry and voluntary interests to combat litter and to create a clean outdoor environment.
The Traffic Wardens are authorised to perform the functions of the Council and of a Litter Warden under the Litter Pollution Act 1997 including the issue of “on-the-spot fines” for breaches of the act. . There are two part time Litter Wardens employed by Thurles Town Council to enforce the litter legislation under the Litter Pollution Act 1997. The on the spot litter fine is €150.00. The Litter Wardens continually monitor the illegal dumping of waste and welcome support from the community in prosecuting offenders.
Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) was established in 1996 and employ An Taisce to independently monitor litter in towns with a population in excess of 6,000, in accordance with European Grading Standards.
57 towns including Thurles are monitored. The IBAL Anti-Litter League which ranks the performance of each town/area in combating litter in a league format is published a number of times each year. Thurles was ranked 44 and described as moderately littered in the august 2005 league table, it improved its ranking to no 16 with litter free status in November 2006 and improved its rankings again in June 2007 to 15, retaining its litter free status.
Recycle, Re-Use
Over one third of what we put into our bin is made up of packaging, some of which we can reuse or recycle and some which we have to send to landfill. There are a few good reasons why we should start to think about our shopping habits and try and reduce our packaging:
Time, Money & Petrol
If you don’t buy the packaging in the first place, then you don’t have to reuse, recycle or dispose of it.Resources
The more we waste, the more resources (such as oil, wood, aluminium) that we use up. The less we buy, the longer our resources will last for our future generations and the less environmental damage will be caused by extracting them.Use our Consumer Power
We all have influence as consumers and should use it. Make the most environmentally friendly choice when buying packaged products. If it’s not available, ask for it!
| Shopping List | Buy |
|---|---|
Vegetables/Fruit avoid plastic bags etc. |
Loose avoid plastic bags etc. |
Cereals |
Bulk/Cardboard |
Drinks |
Glass/Bulk/Cans/Cordials |
Water (plastic bottles) |
Install Water Filter Buy in biggest container possible |
Fizzy drinks |
Buy aluminium cans and recycle/buy one large bottle |
Eggs |
Buy Cardboard / Free Range |
Chicken Breasts/Sausages (In Trays) |
Choose a local butcher, avoid trays |
Dog Food (Tins) |
Dry Dog Meal |
Cat Food |
Buy in bulk/dry cat food |
Bread (Plastic wrap) |
Fresh Bread from Baker avoid over packaging |
Biscuits |
Packaged in Cardboard, avoid individually wrapped |
Crisps |
Big packets & split |
Sweets/Chocolate |
Big bars & split (avoid fun size with excess packaging) |
Pasta |
Packaged in cardboard |
Pasta sauces |
Glass jars |
Ketchup/condiments |
Glass bottles |
Yoghurt |
Big pots/in cardboard packaging |
Microwave dinners |
Cook large meals and freeze leftovers in take-away containers |
Rice (boil in bag) |
Packaged in Cardboard |
Chips |
Buy in bulk |
Fish (Frozen) |
Packaged in Cardboard |
Butter/Margarine |
Buy in Bulk (use containers for freezer storage) |
Vegetables (Frozen) |
Buy in Bulk/Buy Cardboard |
Cheese |
Buy in Bulk - Re-sealable avoid excess packaging |
Derelict Sites
There is a duty on all owners and occupiers of lands, including local authorities, under the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and regulations made there under to ensure that their land is not or does not become a derelict site.
A derelict site is any land which detracts or is likely to detract to a material degree from the amenity, character or appearance of land in the neighbourhood of the land in question because of :-
- The existence on the land in question of structures which are in a ruinous, derelict or dangerous condition.
- The neglected, unsightly or objectionable condition of the land or any structures on the land in question.
- The presence, deposit or collection on the land in question of any litter, rubbish, debris or waste, except where the presence, deposit or collection of such litter, rubbish, debris or waste results from the exercise of a right conferred by statute or by common law.
The Council can serve a notice on owners or occupiers of land specifying measures to be taken to prevent land from becoming or continuing to be a derelict site. Owners/occupiers are notified of the intention to enter the property in the Derelict Sites Register and they are given the opportunity to submit observations/representations. Steps can also be taken by the Council to acquire by agreement or compulsorily any derelict site in the town.
Water Quality
The Environment Section has a responsibility to control pollution of waters and to take steps to improve surface water quality and achieve the targets set out under the Water Framework Directive.Pollution Investigations
The Town Council is required to investigate any reports or complaints of water pollution from the public. Staff will carry out a site investigation to identify the nature and source of the pollution. The person responsible will then be required to stop the pollution and may be liable for the cost of clean up and may be prosecuted under the Water Pollution Act 1977 and 1990.Monitoring
Monitoring of surface waters (rivers and lakes) is carried out by the EPA Laboratory. The EPA reports its results in an annual report. They reported last year on the results for 2005: - “Seriously polluted waters in the county have continued to decrease with the historic trend to 8.1% in 2002 from 12.1% in 1980 however the number of monitoring stations where slight/moderate pollution has been detected has increased to 24.4% from 13.1% over the same period. Unpolluted stations have decreased from 74.8% to 67.7%. The increase in moderately polluted waters is attributable to eutrophication resulting from excess phosphorus. The report identifies that the overall conditions in Lough Derg are reasonably satisfactory”.Legislation
Statutory responsibility for water management and protection rests primarily with local authorities. The Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts 1977 and 1990 and regulations made thereunder, including regulations giving effect to EU Directive, constitute the main national legislation in this regard.The Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts 1977 and 1990 enable local authorities to:
- prosecute for water pollution offences;
- attach appropriate pollution control conditions in the licensing of effluent discharges from industry, etc., made to waters or to sewers;
- issue notices ("section 12 notices") to farmers, etc., specifying measures to be taken within a prescribed period to prevent water pollution.
- issue notices requiring a person to cease the pollution of waters and requiring the mitigation or remedying of any effects of the pollution in the manner and within the period specified in such notices;
- seek court orders, including High Court injunctions, to prevent, terminate, mitigate or remedy pollution/its effects;
- prepare water quality management plans for any waters in or adjoining their functional areas;
- make bye-laws regulating certain agricultural activities where the local authority considers this to be necessary so as to prevent or eliminate pollution of waters,
- issue notices requiring farmers to prepare nutrient management plans with the aim of ensuring that nutrients applied to land from chemical fertilisers and organic farm wastes, e.g. slurries, take account of nutrients already available in the soil and are consistent with recommended application rates, crop requirement and the need to avoid water pollution.
Noise Quality
The Environmental Protection Agency (Noise) Regulations 1994 enable any person to make a complaint to the District Court regarding noise pollution, which can be defined as noise, which gives reasonable cause for annoyance. Complaints may also be made by the Environmental Protection Agency or by the local authority.
Firstly a complainant must give notice to the person making the noise of the intention to make a formal complaint to the District Court and then he/she must serve a notice on the alleged offender that a complaint is being made at least 7 day in advance of the complaint being made to the Court. The District Court will hear both sides of a complaint and where it finds in favour of the complainant it can order the person or body making the noise to reduce it to a specific level, to limit it e.g. to specified times, or to stop it altogether.
The EPA website has comprehensive information on Noise issues and how to deal with various noise related problems. See Section on Noise Nuisance in particular if intending to take a noise complaint to the District Court: EPA website.
Air Quality
Role and Legislation
The principal national legislation for the prevention and control of air pollution is the Air Pollution Act, 1987 (No. 6 of 1987). This act provides a comprehensive statutory framework for the control of air quality.
The text of Irish Legislation can be viewed online in the Irish Statute Book available on the Attorney Generals website @ http://www.irlgov.ie
Air Pollution Licences
Local Authorities are empowered under this legislation to licence certain classes of activities. Activities qualifying for an Air Pollution Licence are as listed in Schedule 3 of the 1987 Air Pollution Act.
Statutory Notices
Section 26 of the Air Pollution Act 1987, allows Local Authorities to issue statutory Notices requiring “measures to be taken to prevent or limit air pollution”.
Duty not to cause an air pollution nuisance
Section 24 (2) of the 1987 Air Pollution Act states “The occupier of any premises shall not cause or permit an emission from such premises in such a quantity, or in such a manner, as to be a nuisance”.
Air Complaints
Air complaints reported to Thurles Town Council tend to be related to the nuisance value of odours, whether from commercial properties or smoke from the open burning of wastes (i.e. backyard burning of wastes).
Burning of Wastes
Thurles Town Council expressly prohibits the open burning of commercial / domestic waste, and will act to prevent this occurrence when reported. Proper refuse disposal is via appropriate recycling, composting or refuse collection service, or other licensed / permitted waste disposal facility.
