'Premier County has seven,' call for funding for community Tea Rooms in rural Tipperary

Fianna Fáil Councillor Kay Cahill Skeehan has voiced her support for Cynthia Ní Mhurchú’s statement on Community Tea Rooms in Tipperary.

Earlier this week, MEP Ní Mhurchú made the call for new funding after a meeting with the Tipperary Tearooms Action Group. 

Ní Mhurchú has called on the County Council Chief Executive Sinead Carr, and fellow Fianna Fail councillors, to support an appeal for funding from the Tipperary Tearooms Action Group, and also called for a national funding stream for community cafés in the next budget.

Speaking on this, Thurles Cllr Cahill Skehan said: "We have been very fortunate in Tipperary to have The Cottage Loughmore local to us, this social enterprise, a community cooperative, has been at the heart of Loughmore village since 2012.

"At the time of its establishment, Loughmore, like many rural villages had experienced significant population decline and reduced access to amenities aggravating rural isolation and social exclusion.

"Since 2012 over thirty such cafes/ tea-rooms have sprung up nationally, and we’re fortunate to have seven in Tipperary –Loughmore, Moyne, Ballingary, Lorrha, Cloughjordan, Annacarthy and Moneygall. As not-for-profits, these cafes exist through the support of employees and volunteers and provide a service that a privately owned entity could not. With rising costs and no access to regular funding streams, these social enterprises are facing an uncertain future.

"Ní Mhurchú has called on Tipperary County Council to address this issue in the coming weeks and I’m proud to support this at a local and national level. At present, I am trying to arrange a meeting with Tipperary County Council to discuss this further.

"These Community Cafes are providing a much-needed service for all in our local community and are addressing rural challenges by promoting social inclusion and I fully support this funding proposal initiative," concluded Cllr Kay Cahill Skehan.

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