'You could eat your dinner off the streets in Nenagh' says TD Mattie McGrath in Dáil debate

In a Dáil debate last week, Deputy Mattie McGrath raised concerns over lack of funding for Clonmel town and contrasted its share of funding with that given to the north Tipperary town of Nenagh.

He began: "Clonmel, a once bustling, proud and thriving town - Cluain Meala, the vale of honey - has been left to deteriorate in recent years. Last year, it had the highest vacancy rate in Tipperary at 18.6%. This has deteriorated further in recent weeks and months. The entire area of Market Place is boarded up and there are numerous prime retail units on the main street that have been boarded up and left to decay. Is mór agus uafásach an rud é sin. The town faces major challenges. I have discussed concerns with the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, recently.

"Last week saw the closure of yet another retail outlet, namely New Look, leaving another prime retail unit on the main street vacant. A long-established pub also closed its doors on Monday last. I salute the people running those businesses. Many of them are families and third-generation businesspeople. They are hanging on but getting no supports. All, they are getting are more and more punitive charges. Many of the remaining retailers are struggling to hold on, with reduced footfall, higher rates - these went up again this year by 5% - the highest parking charges in the county, which is totally discriminatory against Clonmel, and huge issues involving antisocial behaviour. The latter have led to many people avoiding the town centre. On a daily basis, one can witness unfortunate souls struggling with drug addiction and hanging around the streets, which has led to a sense of fear and people avoiding the town centre. This is not an easy thing to say because businesses are trying to hold on and in need of support. Urgent action is needed or we will lose even more businesses. They are doing their best to pay the rates, insurance, keep shop fronts nice, have a presence, look after staff and pay VAT, property tax and other taxes. They are not getting support.

"Once the capital town of County Tipperary, Clonmel has struggled since the closure by Phil Hogan, I remind the Minister of State, of the borough council. There is huge employment out of town but the town centre is decaying. When we lost borough status, we lost €20 million per annum. Going back to 2014, we have lost €200 million of investment in the town centre. Borough status will have to be restored. They only have €200,000 this year; last year it was €160,000. It is a pittance for a town the size of Clonmel. The town needs a whole-of-government approach to bring it back to its former glory. It cannot be ignored any longer."

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Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, responded:

"I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this important issue and for giving me, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne, the opportunity to update Members on the issue of vacancy and dereliction in Clonmel town.

"Addressing vacancy and making efficient use of existing housing stock is a key priority for Government. To address this, a number of structures have been established, including a dedicated vacant homes unit in my Department, a full-time vacant homes officer in each local authority and the publication of a vacant homes action plan to draw together a number of vacancy-related measures across relevant Departments. One of the focal points of the action plan relates to the interaction with the Government’s town centre first policy approach, which was launched by my Department and the Department of Rural and Community Development in 2022 and which provides a whole-of-government policy framework to address the decline in the health of towns and support measures to revitalise them. To drive the delivery of town centre first, dedicated town regeneration officers have been appointed within local authorities. Their work is supported by the national town centre first office in the Local Government Management Agency.

"In 2023, the Tipperary town regeneration officer and Clonmel borough district brought together a number of people who represented various interests in Clonmel to form a town team and produced the Clonmel town centre first action plan. My Department is also supporting Tipperary County Council through the URDF, with €15.4 million provided for a new regional sports hub and the transformation of Kickham Barracks from a former inaccessible military site into a new civic, cultural and educational quarter as part of the Clonmel 2030 initiative. The regenerated barracks will have in excess of 1,000 people on site and introduce a third level education campus into the town centre, which will offer new opportunities to businesses and retail.

"Tipperary County Council has also been approved for €6 million in URDF call 3 funding to tackle vacancy and dereliction by acquiring, including through compulsory purchase, vacant and derelict properties for sale or reuse. To date, 77 of the properties submitted by Tipperary County Council across URDF-eligible towns have been approved for acquisition, with 28 located in Clonmel.

"My Department introduced planning and development regulations that provide an exemption from the need to obtain planning permission for change of use in respect of certain vacant commercial buildings to residential use, including above-the-shop living. These exemptions can be combined with other vacant property supports such as the vacant property refurbishment grant under the Croí Cónaithe towns fund and the repair and leasing scheme. As of quarter 4 of 2024, a total of 544 applications under the vacant property refurbishment grant scheme had been received in respect of Tipperary County council. Some 412 of these have been approved and a total of 64 grants to the value of €3.35 million have paid out. Further information on the range of supports is available on my Department’s website."

Deputy McGrath then commented: 

"All the towns are struggling, but Clonmel has been under siege. The then CEO, Joe McGrath from Nenagh, took over when the county was amalgamated. All the directorships of roads, planning and finance went to Nenagh, and all the money collected in Clonmel from the parking goes straight to Nenagh. You could eat your dinner off the streets in Nenagh town centre. The investment there has been unparalleled. I do not begrudge Nenagh, but we want fair play. Fair play is fine play with me, but Clonmel has been blackguarded, downgraded and diminished while this administration with the power base in Nenagh was there. It is shocking. Now Mr. McGrath has gone into retirement. I wish him well, but what happened was not right. We have only one resident living in the main street in Clonmel now. Her name is Mary O'Gorman, cara mór liomsa. Only one person living on the main thoroughfare - that has to be changed."