Latest news with #LiamBrowne
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Irish Independent
‘Monstrous' headstones being erected in Tipperary cemetery in the middle of the night
That was the claim made by Cashel councillor Liam Browne at the May meeting of the Tipperary-Cahir-Cashel Municipal District, who said that Tipperary County Council were turning a blind eye to the enforcement of by-laws in Cormac's Cemetery in Cashel which governs the height that headstones can be. Responding to Cllr Browne's calls, Cllr Roger Kennedy said that 'it's not fair on the ordinary people, who have a gravestone under four foot six, and the one beside it has an eight foot high monstrosity.' Speaking to the Irish Independent, Cllr Browne said that council by-laws are being ignored not just by people putting in headstones, but by the council as well who should be policing and enforcing the bylaws. "We have Tipperary County Council burial by-laws and to be quite frank, what I said at the meeting was that they're being ignored. "They're not just being ignored by the people putting up the headstones, which are out of size and scale for what they should be, but they're also being ignored by the council who should be policing the headstones that go in, and once they go in, there seems to be an acceptance by the council that there's nothing they can do about it,' Cllr Browne said. Large headstones are being erected at nighttime, Cllr Browne said, with Tipperary County Council officials encountering a contractor who was putting in an 'illegally sized' headstone under the cover of darkness. "The council did come across a contractor putting in an illegally sized headstone a couple of months ago, and they stopped the contractor from putting it in, they told them they were not an authorised contractor, and the contractor left, but they came back two days later at two or three o'clock in the morning and finished off the headstone,' Cllr Browne explained. "They then basically rang the council and said look, it's up now and ye can do what ye like with it, ye can take it down if ye like but as far as he was concerned, he had fulfilled what he was supposed to do, which was put it up,' the Cashel-based councillor added. Calling on the council to enforce the bylaws that are in place, Cllr Browne said that they should go after the contractors who are installing these headstones. "The council know that this is happening and whether they should be going after the contractor, I think they should because the contractor's obviously broken the law, but they don't, and then the families who are putting the headstones up, as sensitive a subject as it is, if you don't address it, I do believe it's going to get worse,' Mr Browne added. ADVERTISEMENT The Tipperary County Council burial ground bylaws state that headstones should be no taller than 4' 11', or 7' in the case of a Celtic Cross, but headstones that far exceed these rules have been installed in Cormac's Cemetery. At the May meeting of the Tipperary-Cahir-Cashel MD, Cathaoirleach of the district Cllr John Crosse said that the council were not ignoring the issue and that a meeting and a site visit would be held to discuss the issue. 'I have to disagree [with Cllr Crosse] on that, we are ignoring it, we have been ignoring it, and we've been ignoring it in more than Cashel, we've been ignoring it in graveyards across the county because Cashel is not the only place that have complained,' Cllr Browne said. Action needs to be taken on these 'illegal' headstones according to the Cashel councillor, saying that people should be made aware that if they erect a headstone that doesn't comply with the burial ground bylaws, it can be taken down. "As much as I hate to think that it would have to be done, there may be a case, it has been done in the past, there is precedent of taking headstones back down again, you cannot just say look, if a headstone's gone up and it's in breach of a law, that it stays up, there's other cases of breaches of planning legislation around the county, you could look at modular homes, you could talk about extensions, but they would be very quick to move on the people involved, and use the law to have them taken back down again,' Cllr Browne said. "I've had conversations with members of the travelling community, and that suggestion has been made to them and some of them are quite happy with the suggestion that yes, they can still put up what they would consider 'fancy' memorials as they put it, but they would still have to remain within the bylaws,' the independent councillor added. "I believe that in too many cases, too many people talk for the traveller community, and not to the traveller community … sometimes if you sit down and have a chat with the local travelling community in the towns who are long-standing members of the town, due to the sensitivity of this, I don't think we chat enough to the travelling community themselves and see what can be accepted,' the Cashel councillor concluded. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Tipperary property will not become IPAS centre despite change of use application
A Section 5 planning exemption has been submitted to Tipperary County Council for a property on the Old Road in Cashel, with rumours spreading on social media that the property is to be used as accommodation for International Protection Applicants. Taking to his own social media page, Cashel councillor Liam Browne has moved to clarify that there are no plans to build or develop an IPAS centre at the Old Road property. "The application is seeking to change the use of an existing residential house, to a residential care facility. Nothing new will be built on the site, without a full planning application,' Cllr Browne outlined. The change of use application states that the applicants are applying for 'a declaration of exempted development … regarding the change of use from residential to provide a residential care facility for children at risk, including those with learning difficulties.' "The number of residents will not exceed six, and the number of carers will not exceed two,' the planning file states. 'The new owners of the building, are a company called Odyssey Social Care. They provide care to children with physical, mental and learning disabilities," Mr Browne added. "The current proposal is to provide such care at the property. The occupants would only be children, ie, under 18, and the maximum number of children would be 6, with 2 carers". Tipperary County Council have written to the applicants to ensure that only children with disabilities will be housed at the site, and not anyone else. Odyssey Social Care do provide care for unaccompanied minors within the International Protection system, but it is not thought that the Cashel site would be used for this purpose, Cllr Browne added.
Irish Independent
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Control of horses in Tipperary costing significant sums of money each year
The May meeting of the Tipperary-Cahir-Cashel Municipal District was told that in the first five months of this year, over €25,000 has been spent by the council to rehome horses that have been found on public land. The issue arose at the meeting following the circulation of a video showing the shocking treatment of a horse in Clonmel, which happened earlier this month and made national headlines. Gardaí confirmed earlier this month that they are investigating the issue, which saw two to three boys apparently beating or whipping small horses or ponies in what is understood to be the Cashel road area of Clonmel. Councillor Liam Browne raised the issue, wondering if Tipperary County Council employed a horse warden who was responsible for the enforcement of by-laws relating to animal welfare and the mistreatment of horses. Responding to Cllr Browne's query, a representative from Tipperary County Council's environment section told the meeting that the council are only responsible for the control of horses in public places, which has posed a considerable expense to the council. "We don't employ a horse warden, we deal with the control of horses in public places, we get phone calls that go through our complaints system, we follow up then with the districts, we try and locate the horses and if they're there, and we confirm they're there, we arrange for the horse to be collected, and brought down to a horse pound in north Cork,' the meeting was told. "It's quite expensive. So far this year we've spent in the region of €25,000 on it [across the county], we were able to claim back so far just over €4,000 from the Department [of Agriculture]. So it's a costly expense to the council'. 'We only deal with horses in public places, we can't deal with horse welfare issues and we don't deal with horses on private lands'. Independent councillor Liam Browne questioned whether the council have any jurisdiction around horse welfare in the county. "Are you saying then, take a halting site for example, if a horse is brought from outside it, into it, then we don't have any responsibility, or we can't go in there and check on the welfare of the horse?' In response, Mr Browne was told that Tipperary County Council have no authority to check on horse welfare. "Welfare of horses is dealt with by the Department, it's not within our remit, horse welfare is not our issue, that's not what we investigate. 'We have no veterinary officers, we don't have people that would investigate that,' Cllr Browne was told. Last year, none of the horses that were seized by Tipperary County Council were returned to their owners due to people not having the correct paperwork or land to keep the horse on. The council have a budget each year of €70,000 for the control of horses, and this funding is exhausted every year, the meeting was also told. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Irish Independent
14-05-2025
- Irish Independent
‘Heartbroken and horrified' – Garda probe launched as footage emerges of boys beating horses in Tipperary
Gardaí in Clonmel are investigating the footage which has been shared by animal welfare groups and others. It shows two to three boys apparently beating or whipping small horses or ponies in what is understood to be the Cashel road area of Clonmel. The groups have called on members of the public who witness such animal abuse to contact gardaí. Gardaí said they are aware of a video in circulation online and through direct messaging apps that depicts an incident of animal cruelty involving a horse, and which is alleged that it occurred at a location in Clonmel, Co Tipperary on Sunday, May 11. 'Efforts have been made to verify the accuracy of the time and date cited in the video, however, our enquiries remain ongoing,' said a garda spokesperson. Gardaí and Inspectors from the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) visited the location shown in the video on Tuesday afternoon, May 13, to search a number of acres of farmland. The welfare of all the animals present was checked and inspected. No alleged offences under the Animal and Welfare Act were identified during this search and there were no concerns for the welfare of the animals present. Enquiries are ongoing, added the spokesperson. Animal welfare groups have called on members of the public who witness such animal abuse to call local gardaí. On Monday, May 12, My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue said they were 'heartbroken and horrified by the footage of two ponies being viciously whipped in Clonmel just yesterday.' 'No animal should ever endure such cruelty. This is not an isolated case. We now have further witness statements and evidence pointing to ongoing abuse in the area – involving more than just horses. The incident has been reported to the gardaí. But we need your help to strengthen the case and push for real action. 'If you have any footage, photos, or information that can support justice, please send it to us as soon as possible. If you witness cruelty, record it only if safe to do so. Report it to the gardaí immediately. 'We are calling for immediate action. The time for change is now. We are their voices. We will not stop until justice is done,' added a spokesperson. Nearly 2,000 people have commented on the 19-second video clip shared by My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue. ADVERTISEMENT Independent Tipperary Cllr Liam Browne said he has spoken with gardaí, county council representatives and the ISPCA. 'All three agencies are dealing with the contents and I'm happy to allow them continue their investigations and to come to hopefully satisfactory conclusions,' said Cllr Browne. 'From my own point of view, this needs to be dealt with under a number of pieces of legislation, that is the Animal Welfare Act 2013 and the Control of Horses Act 1996. On a broader comment, I would absolutely condemn anyone who harms or abuses an animal in any way. Anyone. And any animal. 'There is no excuse for it, and personally if an investigation concludes an animal has been harmed, it should be taken, and those involved should never be allowed own or have animals again. 'This issue has arisen on a number of occasions both at district and plenary meetings of the council, and each time councillors have expressed the need for increased services to deal with animal welfare. I, and I am sure my fellow councillors, will continue to ask for these services. 'I also believe that national legislation should be changed to restrict the driving of sulkies by children. Currently it's illegal to drive an electric scooter or bike on the roads, by a person under 16 years of age, but we allow children no more than four or five to take charge of horses on busy roads. "This is a danger to the horses, road users and most importantly the children themselves. 'Culture' or 'tradition' or 'entitlement' should have no part in this conversation. It's about safety. 'National legislators need to grasp this nettle once and for all. It's time they did so. As for the current incident, please allow the proper authorities to complete their investigations,' added Cllr Browne.
