Cllr. Denis Leahy, who last week raised fears that up to forty Limerick families could take up residence in An Duiche housing estate in the town, came under fire this week from political colleagues for raising the issue.

The independent councillor responded to the criticism by stating that he would not be silenced by anybody and had no regrets about raising an issue in the forum he was elected to on behalf of the people he represented.

This week Cllr. Leahy’s decision to speak out on the re-generation issue was critiscised by members of South Tipperary Council and Cllr. Larry Creamer of Tipperary Town Council.

Cllr. Creamer, without naming Cllr. Leahy, said in a statement ‘that untrue, unfounded and unchecked’ rumours related to Tipperary town should never again appear in the media unless proven to have some basis of truth in them ‘no matter how much publicity an individual or individuals may try to gain from it personally and /or politically’.

Responding to Cllr. Creamer’s comments, Cllr. Leahy said nobody would prevent him from speaking out on an issue that people were concerned about.

“I said what others were afraid to say. Cllr. Creamer went for cover at the same meeting by going off the record in his comments because he lived there. Nobody is going to silence me. I am here to tell people what is happening,” he insisted.

Cllr. Leahy said that he had received a lot of phone calls leading up to last week’s meeting of Tipperary Town Council where he raised the issue.

“People rang me, they rang Cllr. Creamer as well. People were worried that a lot of families from Limerick would be moved to An Duiche. I only asked the manager to check it out, that is all I did and I did it in the forum I was elected to,” said Cllr. Leahy.

“Re-generation has happened nine miles out the road in Emly. It happened because people did not stand up to it in time. I topped the poll in the last two elections, not because I am sitting idly by, but because I am prepared to ask the relevant questions when they should be asked,” he said.

The independent councillor said he would have raised the issue regardless of whatever amount of publicity it generated, none or otherwise, because people had raised concerns with him.

“I asked the manager to check it out. Since the meeting I have had people ringing me, calling to my door saying well done and they were delighted that somebody was prepared to say something,” said Cllr. Leahy.

At the meeting Cllr. Leahy said that Tipperary Town did not want the social problems of Moyross, Southill or Ballinacurragh Weston ‘dumped in our backyard”

He asked the town manager to check out the matter.

Following the meeting, the manager Clare Curley, said she had checked the matter with Limerick City Council and was told that “Limerick City Council had no authority to step outside their own area when it came to housing matters,”

This week the matter was raised by Cllr.