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LEO VARADKAR SAYS he is not opposed to holding a “referendum day” in a bid to allow the public have their say on all the referendums promised by government.
Issues which are to go to referendum include: the Eighth Amendment; reducing the time in which someone can get a divorce; blasphemy, extending the vote to citizens abroad; the establishment of a unified patent court; the role of women in the home, and changes to how the Ceann Comhairle is elected.
“I am not totally averse to holding a number on the one day. I can see the upsides and the downsides,” said Varadkar.
The possible presidential election due to be held next year, or the local and European elections in 2019 could be two options for such a referendum day, said the Taoiseach.
He said he would like to meet leaders of the other parties to see if a schedule can be agreed upon.
Eighth Amendment
He did not know which issues should be given priority yet, but said he believed the referendum on the Eighth Amendment is the most pressing, as well as the voting rights for those abroad, stating that holding a referendum on the abortion issue in the first half of 2018 “is fine with me”.
The Health Minister Simon Harris has previously said he wants to see a referendum on the Eighth Amendment take place in the summer of 2018.
However, Varadkar said he could not make such a commitment in the Dáil today, for fear he may have to rescind it.
“If it is possible to have it done before the summer of next year, I wouldn’t have a problem with that, but I don’t want to make commitments and say that is possible and then have to come back into the house in March and April and say that it can’t be done because of x y or z,” he said.
He said the first step is allowing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment to get on with their work in assessing the reports and recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly and preparing the wording for any future referendum.
The special committee is expected to hold public hearings in early autumn.
He denied that the process was delaying a referendum, adding that an electoral commission also has to be established.
We have faced complaints from electoral commissions before, telling Government that it was rushing a referendum and that it did not give the electoral commission enough time. We have also had court cases on campaigns and the validity of referenda as a result of that.
The Taoiseach said he has asked Attorney General and the Department of Health to “pay attention” to what Citizens’ Assembly has recommended and the deliberations of the committee.
“So if and when at the end of November a report arrives on the minister’s desk and say what is all this about? So we are ready to have a referendum in 2018,” said Varadkar.
He added that legislation needs to be published before the people vote in a referendum.
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No Tesco won’t put price up of beef because that would be too obvious, instead they will increase the price of everything else. They are so sly and think we are all stupid and don’t notice but most do notice and just shop elsewhere…..
More likely that they will make the suppliers bear the cost of testing and drive their prices down by using the current crisis as a barganing chip.
Yep, Tesco will rob us in any way they can.
They should be forced to publish accounts for Irish stores. We are being screwed by them for groceries.
No real competition, they all just price match not compete.
You have to have your wits about you shopping in tesco , they have a price over a item like say 1 50 for a pizza and you get closer thinking its a good deal and its 1 50 off in very small letters and its so called reduce price is 3 euro which is no great shakes ,and don’t get me started on super value , aldi all the day
Just don’t shop there, vote with your feet
I really hope the slow food movement begins in Ireland
It was the large multiples that demanded the continual cut to beef prices, Tesco led the charge and now they are crying foul. Irish beef producers (farmers) are among the most closely monitored in the world and they are the ones who will suffer if this problem continues to focus on Irish beef. Tesco DO NOT CARE where their beef comes from just so long as its cheap. The mathematics of the 10c burger never stacked up an Tesco where well aware of the filler used to drive down cost but they where still happy to call this junk meat 100% beef. Sorry Tesco but you are liars.
^^^^ agree 100%
Had to laugh at this part…
‘ CHIEF EXECUTIVE of supermarket chain Tesco has commented on the current horsemeat scandal, saying that the company will bring in new tests that won’t cost the customer more.’
Where will the cost go to so???
Probably on the poor bloody farmer. The meat processors have themselves well protected, I’m sure.
Hey Supermarkets, heres my changes.
1) Never eat processed meat, especially from a SM.
2)Always use my local butcher and have him mince meat infront of me.
3) Try avoid All processed food.
True. So true. You don’t save by buying cheap burgers, you just fool yourself and your kids that you’re eating beef. I wouldnt be surprised if there was more meat in those horse burgers than comparable “beef” burgers.
True, the funny thing is that these processed burgers don’t even fill you so you eat more which ends up costing more then eating actual meat.
Now I know why my father was able to buy a new corolla in 1990 from the sale of 7 cull cows because their was no horse meat to be had in the food chain. Today I would bave to sell 28 cull cows to buy a new corolla car. Why you may ask because we all now know the reason the factories would not pay the correct price for the product because the supermarkets and the factories were buying horsemeat at €1000 / ton cow beef is €4000/ton. hense why the farmer was been squeezed all the time while the other two industries were maintaining their profits. Now we all know how they could sell meat products at major discount.
What is going to happen now is the price of cull cows at the mart will raise because their is at least a 25% vacuum to fill the supermarket’s can’t raise their price because tbey are now sell a 100% beef products
Very good point Pat.
A corolla? Avensis is better.
I’m sorry, this is just not stacking up for me. Are you telling me that there are more horses in the fields than there are cows? Also, please explain how it would be more economically viable for an Irish farmer to raise horses rather than cows. Are they cheaper to raise for slaughter? What is the viable meat yield per tonne of live animal? Is it more with horses?
What worries me is that when a cow is killed at home the taste difference is massive. What exactly are we buying in the supermarkets?
@ ian … the horsemeat market excludes Ireland and Britain ..60 million consumers !
Horses are generally owned by people who don’t own land …many of them don’t own the house they are living in…therefore any thing they get for a horse tax -free is a bonus ! …no accounts …no bank accounts ! no tax !
…many people who own horses are not now able to afford to keep them because those who supply livery do so at a far more expensive rate than it is to keep a cow … there are also tax breaks with stallions and stud farms not enjoyed by the farmers who sell Beef! those who cannot afford to keep a horse usually had or have a job and the horse was a good idea before the crash …now they are selling them at a discount or in some cases giving them away for free ! …
Beef meaning beef would be a good change
Don’t bother Mr Clarke.
The Irish people could be unknowingly eating Horse S**t an our government wouldn’t care.
In fact the Irish government have fed the Irish people on Horse S**t for decades.
Agreed, but better label and supply chain transparency would not have prevented the type of fraud that was committed in this case. A swift prosecution of the crooks that contaminated the food chain and hefty fines would discourage future occurrences.
It’s thanks to a subsidiary of Irish govt that this whole European scandal came to light., actually. Because our food standards are higher than most countries we tested for something that no other govt tested for and while govt response here could have been better we irish deserve a pat on the back for exposing this. Biggest blame in my opinion lies with the supermarkets like tesco who claim to be innocent victims but in fact helped cause the problem by squeezing their suppliers too hard on price
What a load of spin from Tesco. The fact is they were instrumental in bringing the horsemeat scandal about – by cutting prices to suppliers to rock bottom levels some suppliers then cut corners by using the cheaper horsemeat. Personally, I will never buy meat of any description from Tesco ever again.
One of the reasons the beef scandal happened is the pressure that tesco and all the other supermarkets put on their suppliers to produce food at ever cheaper prices. Tesco and the like, screw suppliers big time . When you see discounts and two for one offers the shops aren’t themselves taking the hit, it’s the farmers and producers. The beef crises was inevitable really: we need to go back to local butchers, co-ops etc. there is a reason cheap food is cheap . If you must have burgers make your own it’s not hard to do.
eat real food, and forget about the processed crap. end of. looking for trouble otherwise…
Sounds like they’re closing the stable door after the…well you know the rest…sorry, couldn’t resist.
Try harder.
Never shop in tesco’s. it’s too expensive. Aldi, my local butchers and occasionally dunnes for extra’s. Can’t understand how anyone with a family could afford to shop in tesco’s every week but I know plenty that do.
Tesco sell barely edible processed garbage with their logo slapped on it, I’d trust Aldi any day!
Prices have been squeezed so much by big retailers that U am not in the least surprised by the horse scandal. Burgers for eleven cents had to be dodgy. Lasagne for a euro had to be dodgy. Does not however excuse fraud. People should be jailed.
Thanks to this horse meat scandal my 12 year old refuses to eat meat. I am fed up trying to think of dinners for her!
Maybe some of our commenters might suggest meat-free meals for her? Here’s one of my faves: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2391636/channa-masala-made-easy
I really should make the effort to walk the extra ten minutes to Lidl instead.
Tesco and other multiples are a factor on the scandal. They force suppliers to provide products at unrealistic prices and this leads to the type of scam involving horse meat. Tesco, Dunnes, Aldi etc need to provide a proper structure for the buying and sourcing of food products. They need to pay a fair price that they give to producers. They make millions of profit in Ireland.
Here’s one change TESCO ; PUBLISH YOUR ACCOUNTS AND LET US SEE HOW MUCH OF THE MONEY THAT OUR GOVERNMENTS ARE PREPARED TO BORROW YOU STUFF DOWN YOUR POCKETS …. AND THEN WE CAN SEE IF YOU HAVE PAID ENOUGH TAX ! Like the rest of us …… any comment on the reports that for every job created by a multinational supermarket 9 jobs are lost in the local economy …..
No?…….. didn’t think so !
bord bia approved products all the way for this family. Beef containing horsemeat and chickens imported from holland or thailand loaded with antibiotics is in no way appealing. If nothing else comes from this fiasco, I for one will be making a conscious effort to buy locally and go the extra step for healthier traceable food for our kitchen table.
Bord bia ??? ….. I don’t know which is a bigger joke bord bia or the I.F.A. ………….
Bord Bia come out to a farmers farm and Check to see if they have a medicene cabinet and have a look around the farm ..check your paperwork…that’s it ………and then you are Bord Bia approved and you get one euro per lamb more than you would get if you ….actually you get no more than if you bargained …. I refused to let them inside my gate …and I feed my meat to my children so I know it’s 100% …. Bord Bia ? …. I’d sooner ring Anglo for shares TOMORROW!..
.THE FARMERS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM ..THE PROBLEM WAS POINTED OUT YEARS AGO DURING A LATE NIGHT SITTING OF THE DAIL AND THE GLOVE ON THE HAND HAS BEEN POINTED OUT BY FARMERS FOR YEARS ….YOU DON’T LISTEN AND NOW WE DON’T CARE !
Why is everyone so fixated on taxes, taxes, taxes?
Pure straw man argument.
As for Tesco, just dont shop there, vote with your feet
Hopefully the increase in popularity with butchers meat will increase competition in effect lowering prices and contributing to our economy, local all the way! But it isn’t just imported meat we should look at, the importation of coffee beans and coco beans to make chocolate have far more controversy with pest infestation, slave labour and forest destruction even fare trade has its controversy.
many local butchers have stopped killing their own meat ……….. they just buy it cheaper of the Meat processors …. or of importers ….. at least they buy it in carcass form …..don’t buy mince though …unless you see the beef being minced in front of your eyes !
It’s going to go the other way, meat will get more expensive but you’ll know what you are getting at least
We are used to bullshit from the government ,that,s what I think
What’s that got to do with this discussion?
Lidl Aldi and Tesco employ don’t to employ many Irish staff and the profits they make go to owners and shareholders in UK and Germany so I shop at my local butchers and Irish owns chains
Actually Susanna I have to disagree slightly with you there. The majority of the staff in my local Aldi are Irish and they do a lot of work with St Vincent de Paul and other Irish charities.
@ dermot ………..everything !
Ill never buy meat in tescos again … I don’t hear anything about Aldi in the news as I think they hold them selves to a higher standard in production! I buy all my meet from the local butcher but Aldi is next in line
Part of the new tests being introduced, is an Animal recognition course, all of the Tesco’s workers involved in sourcing meat will be brought to kids corner in Dublin zoo, there they will be shown farm animals, common animals such as piggys moo cows and sheep that should make an apperance on your plate when you order meat. Then they will jump on a courtesy bus at no expence to the Tesco shopper i might add and be whisked away to Fairy house and shown animals that should not appear on your plate……
yes they will make sure its 100% instead of the odd % !! :)))
I understand that the main point of everyone being so angry about this is because many stores lied about their “100% beef products”. However, if you go to places such as Lanzarote, they don’t have the terrain or money to import beef. So what do you think you’re eating when you order a cheeseburger? Horse meat. Does this mean Canary Island restaurants should be closed because they don’t say beef burger or ham burger, it’s mostly just cheeseburger, with no fine print saying this is horse meat. I admit there is a difference between beef and horse but food is food, however neanderthal that sounds!
Tesco should be ashamed of themselves. Come on, are we totally stupid, or do Tesco think we’re stupid. They have led the need for cheap meat – hence why horses were used because they couldn’t squeeze the farmers quick enough for super cheap unsustainable beef.
Everybody, just go to your local butcher. That’s the proper stuff. Not that minced up crap.
Tesco should be ashamed of themselves. Come on, are we totally stupid, or do Tesco think we’re stupid. They have led the need for cheap meat – hence why horses were used because they couldn’t squeeze the farmers quick enough for super cheap unsustainable beef.
Tesco should be ashamed of themselves. Come on, are we totally stupid, or do Tesco think we’re stupid. They have led the need for cheap meat – hence why horses were used because they couldn’t squeeze the farmers quick enough.
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