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EU says products made in Jewish settlements can no longer have 'Made in Israel' label

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the EU should be ashamed, comparing the move to Nazi-era pratices.

AN EU DECISION to label goods from Jewish settlements is unlikely to damage Israel’s economy, but officials in the country fear that what they call the “anti-Semitic” move will encourage a boycott campaign against the country.

Israel harshly condemned the decision, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comparing it to Nazi-era practices and saying the EU “should be ashamed.”

PM of Israel PM of Israel

“The labelling of products of the Jewish state by the European Union brings back dark memories,” the premier said as he wrapped up a visit to Washington.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, from the right-wing Jewish Home party and known for provocative statements, called the move “anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish,” adding that “European hypocrisy and hate against Israel have surpassed all limits.”

In anticipation of the move on Tuesday, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz called it “disguised anti-Semitism”. The foreign ministry summoned the EU envoy to the country.

The EU has insisted it was only clarifying existing rules on the place of origin for goods that will go on sale in the 28-nation bloc, adding that it had nothing to do with a boycott, which it says it does not support.

Mideast Europe Israel Wine bottles manufactured in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on display at a supermarket in Jerusalem. Ariel Schalit / AP/PA Ariel Schalit / AP/PA / AP/PA

It amounts to a set of guidelines for labelling products from settlements in the Palestinian territories and annexed east Jerusalem as well as the Golan Heights, all occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.

The settlements, deemed illegal under international law, are one of the main stumbling block to peace efforts, as those in the West Bank and east Jerusalem are built on land Palestinians see as part of a future state.

The Palestine Liberation Organisation said the EU decision was a positive step but that it did not go far enough, calling for a ban on such commerce.

Limited economic effect 

It is not the impact on trade that has alarmed Israel, experts say, though the European Union is Israel’s largest trade partner.

The goods in question account for only two to three percent of Israeli exports to the European Union, according to Israel’s ambassador to the EU, David Walzer.

He estimates their value at €187 million per year.

“In fact, it involves only the agricultural products, the wine, the cosmetic products which require an origin label,” said Ohad Cohen, head of external commerce at Israel’s economy ministry.

“Labelling will at most involve $50 million in exports.”

Dan Balilty / AP/PA Dan Balilty / AP/PA / AP/PA

Most manufacturing exports from the settlements involve components or parts later assembled into finished products, making them difficult to trace.

Settlements also export farm goods, including dates, fruit and vegetables, along with wine from the Golan and cosmetics from the Dead Sea.

If required, Israel seems capable of finding new markets.

Dan Catarivas, head of international relations at the Manufacturers Association of Israel, said it was unfortunate that politicians were equating labelling with a boycott.

“We have to distinguish between the labelling that is imposed on us by the European Union and a boycott, which is completely unacceptable,” he said.

Memories of SodaStream 

Israel has been the target of a global boycott campaign aimed at ending its occupation, known as BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions).

According to an Israeli parliamentary report, the campaign has not so far had a noticeable impact. Over the past nine years, exports have risen from $7.8 billion to $15.6 billion.

Associated Press Associated Press

But officials are unnerved by any bid to mount a campaign that they see as attempting to delegitimize the Jewish state.

They saw SodaStream, which manufactures a device for making fizzy drinks at home, become embroiled in boycott calls and close a factory in a West Bank settlement and relocate to Israel.

Beyond that, the differentiation between Israel and its settlements — and its implications for the future — puts Israelis on edge.

“Behind the legal quibbles, there is a willingness on the part of the Brussels bureaucracy to influence the outcome of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which in any case does not fall within its jurisdiction,” foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said.

- © AFP 2015.

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    Mute offtheball
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:09 PM

    Good move!!

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    Mute Lao Tzu
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    Sep 11th 2020, 3:04 AM

    @offtheball: I’ll believe it when I see it – NPHET are running this country; don’t forget that Dublin, Limerick and every other county are under continual threat of lockdown until we learn to ‘behave’ and NPHET takes the shackles off this government.

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    Mute Monster Munch
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:13 PM

    We used to mock the Taliban for banning music

    146
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    Mute Fergus
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:26 PM

    @Monster Munch: I think there is a minor nuance between health reasons versus moral idealogism, maybe, just a smidgin

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    Mute michael
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:27 PM

    @Monster Munch: Why’s there no televisions in Afghanistan?

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    Mute michael
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:28 PM

    @michael: Because of the telly ban…

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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:50 PM

    @michael: They don’t even get to to see The Flintstones. But those in Abu Dhabi do.

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    Mute Monster Munch
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    Sep 10th 2020, 6:34 PM

    @Fergus: Ah you’ve had a humour bypass I see. They used to allow encourage face coverings…

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    Mute Monster Munch
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    Sep 10th 2020, 6:34 PM

    @Monster Munch: Also*

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:54 PM

    First song on the play list. “Don’t stand so close to me”……

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    Mute Dave Barrett
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:59 PM

    @Joe Toner: We’ll drink a drink, a drink
    To Lily the Pink, the Pink, the Pink
    The savior of the human race
    For she invented medicinal compound…

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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:01 PM

    @Joe Toner: Second by The Rolling Stones: “Please two metres,hope you guess my name”

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    Mute Thomas Corrigan
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:20 PM

    @Joe Toner: and don’t forget ” I will do anything for love but I won’t do that, No I won’t do that

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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:23 PM

    @Thomas Corrigan: Followed by “From a Distance”

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:24 PM

    @Thomas Corrigan:
    “Your so far away ‘Carol King…..

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:40 PM

    @Joe Toner:
    “Get Back”…

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    Sep 10th 2020, 6:09 PM

    @Joe Toner:
    And when the Gardai raid the place the Grand finale ” Like a bat out of hell”….

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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Sep 10th 2020, 6:34 PM

    @Joe Toner: Something to eat before heading home though. There’s a guy works down the chip shop swears he’s Elvis.

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    Sep 10th 2020, 6:35 PM

    @Larry Betts:
    T
    H

    There was a guy who drank in a pub I worked in and his song was ” You took a fine to leave me loose heel, four hundred children and a fox in the field” I would pIss myself laughing!!

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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Sep 10th 2020, 6:48 PM

    @Joe Toner: What about that song by America? You’d think at some stage across the desert he would have thought about giving that poor horse some sort of a name.

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    Sep 10th 2020, 8:51 PM

    @Larry Betts:
    Probably suffering from dehydration waiting for the pubs to open.

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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Sep 10th 2020, 9:04 PM

    @Joe Toner: Should have headed for Hotel California. You can check out anytime you want but you can never leave.

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    Sep 10th 2020, 11:03 PM

    @Larry Betts:
    Might have tried Alice’s Restaurant where you can get anything you want?

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    Mute Drunk in Dublin
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    Sep 11th 2020, 9:47 PM

    @Larry Betts: excellent

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    Mute Maurice O Neill
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:13 PM

    Its like squealer the pig in Animal Farm when he sticks the new rules to the Barn Door every day. Its just made up as they go along.

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    Mute Sean May
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:25 PM

    @Maurice O Neill: Reminds me of this:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FvoXJCrBhQ

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    Mute Thomas O' Donnell
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    Sep 10th 2020, 7:39 PM

    @Maurice O Neill: what’s wrong with making rules as you go along? Should they have made all the rules back in March and stuck with them regardless?

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    Mute Isabel Oliveira
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:35 PM

    Great news but give me strength : TV not aLOUD and music ( that not live ) kaput. Just please for the love of baby Jesus and the dalai lama start making sense .

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    Mute Sean O'dowd
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:06 PM

    Yehaw….

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    Mute Canyon
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:38 PM

    @Sean O’dowd: bring on the 2nd 3rd and 4th waves….

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    Mute Sal Paradise
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:11 PM

    @Canyon: Bring it on baby….I’ll be waiting with my Guinness in hand ready to knock it back to China.

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    Mute Maalouf
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:39 PM

    But can’t have a tv on loud. Right.

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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:57 PM

    @Maalouf: They may be now allowed to turn the tv up for The Angelus.

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    Mute Maalouf
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    Sep 10th 2020, 10:14 PM

    @Larry Betts: hahaha

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    Mute paul gurney
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:21 PM

    A complete contradiction to the govt message of last night which said “no music and the TV turned down”..typical shambles of a govt.

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    Mute Dean Anderson
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:47 PM

    you can’t sing at mass but you can sing down the pub. .theres no joined up thinking at all

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    Mute John kavanagh
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:17 PM

    Loads of live music down gorey way at the moment

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    Mute alan
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:20 PM

    Thank God. The virus has gone at last.

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    Mute BuffaloSoldiersky
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:17 PM

    Would DJ set be considered as live performance?

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    Mute michael
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:30 PM

    @BuffaloSoldiersky: I’d say Mark McCabe would take issue with that question

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    Mute Tom Bombdadil
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:53 PM

    @BuffaloSoldiersky: yes, I’m
    Back.

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    Mute David O Brien
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:03 PM

    I know this is going to be a stupid statement but I’ll say it anyway. This virus is not going to go away. A vaccine could take a long time to come about. I know a lot of people have died because of it and of course it is tragic but if we keep people away from it for so long nobody will be able to try and build up an immunity to it. We have to try and get back to a level of normality without people thinking they might die if they’re are more people in a single setting there should be.

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    Mute Jim Lingk
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    Sep 10th 2020, 7:04 PM

    @David O Brien: not stupid at all

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    Mute Thomas O' Donnell
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    Sep 10th 2020, 7:41 PM

    @David O Brien: Build up immunity? There’s no evidence yet of any long lasting immunity.

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    Mute John Doyle
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    Sep 10th 2020, 11:13 PM

    @Thomas O’ Donnell: and no evidence there is not

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    Mute Mac Dara Powell
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:19 PM

    Great won’t have to worry about turning the television down.

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    Mute Paul O Neill
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:02 PM

    @Mac Dara Powell: now that was the most ridiculous one of them all, even the Taliban wouldn’t come out with that, NPHET need to be kicked to touch, the mess that is the Health budget shows us what happens when you let doctors have an influence on financial and economic decisions

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    Mute Paul O Neill
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:02 PM

    @Mac Dara Powell: now that was the most ridiculous one of them all, even the Taliban wouldn’t come out with that, the mess that is the Health budget shows us what happens when you let doctors have an influence on financial and economic decisions

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    Mute Thomas O' Donnell
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    Sep 10th 2020, 7:46 PM

    @Paul O Neill: what was their reasoning?

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    Mute Paul O Neill
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    Sep 10th 2020, 8:02 PM

    @Thomas O’ Donnell: they said if the tv is too loud people might have to raise their voices, and this spreads the virus more, you couldn’t make this stuff up

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    Mute Thomas O' Donnell
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    Sep 10th 2020, 8:33 PM

    @Paul O Neill: No you couldn’t make it up. You would have to employ experts in the field to study whether talking louder increased the likelihood of spreading the virus. And it does.

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    Mute Paul O Neill
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    Sep 10th 2020, 11:23 PM

    @Thomas O’ Donnell: if your in a pub and you have the virus, if your close enough to people your gonna spread it anyway, so a loud tv won’t matter

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Sep 11th 2020, 5:24 PM

    @Paul O Neill: It’s only the truth. Remember that choir in America?

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    Mute Philip Martin
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:23 PM

    Can the publicains TURN the volume up on their televisions now when they open.

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    Mute Fon_Ellard
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:42 PM

    @Philip Martin: What’s the deal with mute TV? Supermacs have them as well in their restaurants, have never been able to figure out why they bother.

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    Mute Philip Martin
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:52 PM

    @Fon_Ellard:. That’s probably because Supermacs don’t sell substantial meals costing
    a minimum of € 9 each …..

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    Mute Mark
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:55 PM

    No Ed Sheehan or oasis covers under penalty of exile

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Sep 11th 2020, 5:25 PM

    Reasonable.

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    Mute Fon_Ellard
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:40 PM

    In some of the smaller pubs it will definitely have to be a one-man-band kind of job.

    Plenty entertainment in the pubs opened in my village – fighting mostly, what can you do when there’s no music to dance to but beat the head off each other? Do people not go to the pub for a conversation anymore? Packed in like sardines too, no Gardai in rural areas to police the rules.

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    Mute EillieEs
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    Sep 10th 2020, 10:45 PM

    @Fon_Ellard: adults cannot do that for themselves?

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    Mute Conor Nolan
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    Sep 10th 2020, 7:06 PM

    While it’s great that its allowed – unless there is extra funding for it – you would have to be a pretty generous publican to employ musicians when you would be stretched to cover staff wages. You could save €5K by not renewing the commercial Sky Sport subscription.

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    Mute fergal o connor
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    Sep 10th 2020, 7:43 PM

    @Conor Nolan: A sports bar without sport would be pretty pointless though to be fair

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    Mute Conor Nolan
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    Sep 11th 2020, 7:40 PM

    @fergal o connor: I think TV is banned from Bars under the Covid rules – Someone above mentioned that.

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    Mute pkunzip doom2.zip
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:06 PM

    Pubs I. Swords have had live music since they’ve been allowed open as Restaurants

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    Mute ed w
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    Sep 10th 2020, 5:44 PM

    guessing a punk concert complete with gobbling is out though ?

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    Mute Larry Betts
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    Sep 10th 2020, 6:26 PM

    @ed w: only if you’re gobbling a nine euro meal

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    Mute Charles Shelly
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    Sep 10th 2020, 7:32 PM

    Your are joking

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    Mute Thos Pollard
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    Sep 10th 2020, 4:54 PM

    For how long? With recent spikes I notice construction workers sharing transport & no face coverings worn. When sites close and they are out of pocket, they might cop on. See it every day in garages when they go for breakfast.

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