Dumping, drinking and people sleeping rough are becoming issues along the River Suir in Thurles.
That’s according to Councillor Jim Ryan, who has long been pushing for the river’s issues to be remedied.
He brought the matter forward at this month’s meeting of Thurles Municipal District claiming overgrowth on the river has resulted in a lack of respect for the outdoor amenity.
It was confirmed at the meeting that hedge-cutting of the walkway is the responsibility of the OPW.
The Independent councillor says the problems on the River Suir need to be sorted as soon as possible.
“If you walk along the riverwalk, at the back of the shopping centre, because of the overgrowth that’s there, people are dumping rubbish, and there’s actually an alarming case where it’s so overgrown that people are actually sleeping rough down there as well. You know, down a walkway that’s being used by children, it wouldn’t be appropriate to have people living rough down there.
“People use it on a daily basis for walking and cycling. It needs to be sorted out straight away. There’s also a number of people down there continuously drinking, and they’re intimidating people along the walkway.
“It’s solely down to it being completely overgrown, so it needs to be cut back straight away. The responsibility of cutting back the overgrown vegetation is the responsibility of the OPW, not the council. ”
Councillor Ryan also called new safety measures for students travelling to Archer’s Town at this month’s meeting of the Thurles Municipal District.
He says that a footpath or walkway should be put in place from Turtulla Cross to the ETB Training Centre in Archer’s Town as upwards of 500 students are travelling to the area daily.
He told Tipp FM that, at present, the road is not safe for pedestrians.
“There’s no footpath from Turtulla Cross to the training centre and it’s a very busy road with a lot of traffic on it. It’s extremely dangerous for pedestrians as a result. What I’m looking for is something to make it more safe for them, whether that’s putting a footpath in, or some sort of walkway, that will allow them to walk safely to the training centre every day.”
