Clonmel politician vows to continue fight to overturn amalgamation of Tipp councils

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A Clonmel councillor has again called for the reinstatement of separate North and South Tipperary County Councils.

In December 2021, Minister Peter Burke said there was no plan to reinstate town councils or to repeal the Local Government Act which saw Tipperary amalgamate into one council and instead said the focus was on strengthening the existing 95 municipal districts, including the renamed Clonmel Borough District.

However, Independent Niall Dennehy has long rejected this change stating the amalgamation was done before legislation was voted on and believes it to be the root cause of economic and social depression in Clonmel and elsewhere.

He told Tipp FM that his passion lies in supporting the people and community of Clonmel only.

He feels that presenting the North and South sides of Tipp all as “one county, one council and one community” in his opinion is “propaganda”.

“I’ve been pursuing corporate governance and executive appointment matters at Tipperary County Council for years, and as I said at the meeting, my contract with the people is to support Clonmel, not Nenagh. That’s what I’m passionate about. There’s an almighty divide between North and South Tipperary, geographically and historically. North Tipperary is in the Mid-west and we’re in the South-east, and to be presenting it as “One County, One Council and One Community” is propaganda, to me.”