We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE NUMBER OF security officers on the Luas has been increased by 30% after a report found that women have serious concerns about safety when travelling on public transport.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), which is responsible for roads, the Luas, and the MetroLink project, is temporarily increasing security presence on trams and at platforms following its “Travelling in a Woman’s Shoes” report.
The number of security staff has temporarily increased by around 30%, but the measure is targeted at worst-affected areas, meaning a “near doubling of presence in areas most affected by anti-social behaviour”, TII told The Journal.
While both men and women experience violence on public transport, current measures are especially seeking to mitigate safety concerns among women – who the report identified as more likely to be negatively affected by the fear of being in an unsafe situation or dissuaded from using public transport as a result of their concerns.
The increase is due to be assessed in August and may continue into September.
The report found that men and women are equally likely to experience violence on public transport, but that sexual harassment and assault are predominantly experienced by women, particularly in Dublin.
It identified that women’s concerns about safety on public transport can lead to anxiety and heightened vigilance, while 55% would not use public transport after dark and 34% have avoided going out altogether on occasion because of safety worries.
TII’s head of financial management Rachel Cahill said that “fortunately for most women, violent and unsafe incidents do not happen everyday, but the impact of such trauma is felt everyday, having a lasting effect on transportation habits and perceptions”.
Several operational measures have been planned or introduced to increase safety since the report, which was a “first step” towards identifying “appropriate solutions including filling the gender data gap, developing inclusive and safe mobility services, empowering women in the transport sector and stiumulating behaviour change”.
The effectiveness of increased security staff on the Luas will be assessed in August and it is “anticipated they will continue into September”.
Technology projects that aim to increase safety are planned for 2022, such as allowing anti-social behaviour to be reported through the Luas real-time app and website, and real-time remote viewing of CCTV footage from trams in a control room.
“It is hoped these projects will facilitate a faster reaction time to anti-social behaviour on the Luas system,” Cahill said.
TII is also seeking to make Luas stops “a brighter, more attractive public transport environment where everyone feels comfortable travelling”, with plans to showcase local artists’ work at stations through a combination of permanent installations and temporary exhibitions.
Women and campaigners say there are significant steps to be taken in Ireland to make public transport safer for women and minority communities.
Women report safety issues both on transport services, such as buses, trains, and trams – and also while cycling – and on the journey to and from them, including waiting at a stop or station.
Dr Hayley Mulligan, Violence Against Women officer at the National Women’s Council of Ireland, said that on public transport, many women “feel unsafe [and] alter or change their behaviour in order to improve their sense of safety or their actual safety, in particular at night or for different cohorts of women”.
“Their experiences can be very hostile on public transport. Particularly for disabled women – outside of the logistical challenges, there is an added risk of being a disabled woman, or a migrant woman or a woman of colour,” Dr Mulligan told The Journal.
There are “triage actions” that can be taken in the short-term to improve women’s safety and their sense of security, such as better lighting, better training for staff, safety protocols, and campaigns to encourage bystander intervention – but a broader societal change in behaviour is the key to women’s safety, Dr Mulligan believes.
“Fundamentally, you have to change societal attitudes and behaviours about making sexual harassment, harassment, and intimidation completely unacceptable and enforce the laws that we have already around this.”
In rural areas, a lack of transport options can be a barrier that prevents women who experience domestic violence from escaping.
Where public transport is available, poor infrastructure at bus stops or train stations can affect women’s sense of safety.
The TII report found that in many cases, the journey to and from a stop or station was a woman’s primary concern or reason for avoiding public transport.
It highlighted that women felt unsafe walking through large open spaces or parks, especially at night or when other people weren’t around, and that unreliable services can leave passengers waiting for long periods of time in poorly lit or isolated areas.
Speaking to The Journal, Ciarán Meers of the Cork Commuter Coalition said that “a lot of stops on bus networks at the moment are just a bus pole in the middle of the [path].”
“There’s no lighting or a shelter around it. People aren’t going to feel very safe if they’re waiting at a stop at 11pm with no lighting around, where there’s no guard up in terms of a shelter,” Meers said.
“That’s going to dramatically affect whether a person feels safe and confident in using the system,” he said.
“A massive expansion of that kind of infrastructure, of lighting, of shelters, would be very important in ensuring that people, especially women, feel safe while using it.”
“Maybe the placement of public transport guards – not on every bus, I don’t think that would be feasible – but certainly on a few buses late at night might be good at making people feel safer while using public transport.”
What passengers say
Researchers at the DIAMOND project, which uses data to find solutions for creating gender-inclusive transport systems, are studying women’s experience of public transport in Ireland.
Technological University Dublin’s Dr Maria Chiara Leva and Ajeni Ari Thimnu spoke to passengers on public transport and in focus groups to ascertain how people view the safety, accessibility, and infrastructure of Ireland’s transport services.
Dr Leva and Thimnu told The Journal that passengers regularly said they prefer when a station has a worker present and that they feel less exposed – but many stations are unstaffed.
Passengers also said that the appearance of a station, particularly whether it seemed littered and rundown or if it had a positive “sense of place” influenced how safe they felt.
During discussions, an idea raised by women to make public transport safer included anonymous emergency alarm systems that would alert staff quickly during altercations.
However, not all women have faith in security personnel, the researchers heard.
Some feel that security would not de-escalate a violent situation, and others, particularly women from minority groups, recalled personal experiences or experiences of friends or family members of complaints being handled poorly in the past.
Satisfaction with being able to relay a complaint and with CCTV and security measures being visible in an emergency were low.
Employees also told the researchers that they are concerned for their safety on occasion, feel exposed to aggression, and that they don’t necessarily have the means to intervene.
Dr Leva and Thimnu said that the findings indicate there is a “need for public transport bodies to put a good focus on safety and security”.
“Having clean, well-lit, manned stations gives people a level of assurance.”
They found that people older than 65, who tend to travel during the day, are more satisfied with public transport than younger people who travel at later times.
In contrast, people who travel with dependents ranked their satisfaction that they could get help or evacuate in an emergency lower than other passengers.
For cyclists’ safety, an important step would be to increase women’s participation at the design and planning stage, says the Irish Cycling Advocacy Network.
Speaking to The Journal, Jo Sachs-Eldrige, a transport planner and ICAN executive member, said that “when there are plans to create a new cycle route, or even with an existing cycle route, often the only people that comment on those schemes are mostly middle-aged men and women don’t feel they have knowledge or expertise or time to have their say”.
“When a scheme for new cycle route might be being consulted on by the local authority, generally – and this is my experience in Wales as well as in Ireland – women don’t tend to comment, they feel it’s not for them,” she said.
“It means their needs, maybe as a mum cycling with kids or as a woman on their own, aren’t necessarily being addressed, so the cycle routes aren’t necessarily being designed to accommodate them.”
The ICAN has developed an assessment checklist called the Crac tool that collects information on cycling routes with a view to amplifying underheard voices in cycle planning.
“It hopefully makes it much easier for [women] to usefully comment on every scheme that’s in their area. It’s also a tool that can be used by designers and engineers to make sure that all the key elements of good cycle infrastructure design – directness, safety, comfort, attractiveness, and coherence – are included,” Sachs-Eldridge said.
“It makes sure that every aspect is included because cycle routes might be designed so that they’re safe, which is great, but they might not be direct, which means people don’t necessarily always use them because they don’t cater for their journeys or they might be designed so that they work only for certain types of cyclists,” she said.
“I think it’s important to get women involved at that stage so that the routes are designed so they accommodate women as well as the men that might be cycling on the routes.”
Across transport modes, Dr Mulligan of the NWCI agrees that a shift in design and planning is important for creating systems that accomodate women as well as men.
I think you really have to go back to basics. You have to recognise that public transport systems were designed by men for men.”
“Even the workers within public transport are disproportionately men, so I think, like all areas, you need to look at gender representation across all levels and structures of the public transport system and then they need to work with women’s groups and women to devise ways of making public transport safer.”
This work is co-funded by Journal Media and a grant programme from the European Parliament. Any opinions or conclusions expressed in this work are the author’s own. The European Parliament has no involvement in nor responsibility for the editorial content published by the project. For more information, see here.
Considering your party lost more than half their seats in this election clearly shows the people of Ireland don’t want the PBP in government Paul. Your party even lost its Dail speaking rights.
@Ger Whelan: with SF/SocDem/Labour on 60 or more seats, it’s very doable that they can drum up support of another 20 odd seats to get a majority number at the next election.
@Ger Whelan: This plonker, he doesn’t even know what gender his baby is! Woke breeder.
@F1rYnpWc: and then you woke up.
@F1rYnpWc: 20 odd seats. The need 88 to get the smallest majority possible. Bear in mind FF/FG have 86. It’s not very doable in reality
@F1rYnpWc: only if social dems and labour stay out of government this time round. Let those ex ffg so-called independents go in with them.
@Colette Byrne: Labour ready to go into government,they can’t wait to get back to making the big money.
AK dying to be a minister again .
Labour are no more left than FF
@Ger Whelan: we need a steady and experienced hand with Trump in power given how much of our tax comes from US companies.
@FG’s Rental Trap:
Problem for the kids In pbp is the other “left” parties and Sinn Fein are not hard left enough for them.
We have seen recently in the Euro elections we’re a retiring from politics Pbp TD put themselfs up againced left wing national embarrassment Claire Daly which sucked away votes from her. I wonder was it to settle an old score.
@sean weir:
People vote for candidate’s to run the country.
Not sit on the opposition benches windbagging.
@F1rYnpWc: No thanks the people of Ireland don’t want those nonsense partys
@F1rYnpWc: how would u think that would work out Give your head a wabble
Correct Paul.
How many parties have you been a member of in the last ten years?
It’s people like you who are the problem.
@Alan OConnor: You may be conflating some left-wing alliances as party changes over that period. I can’t remember the exact details, but the last three elections have seen some attempt to create a limited left wing umbrella platform.
@Alan OConnor: Exactly, in order to unite you need to be able to compromise.
That is something that the left has always had a lot of trouble with. As Brendan Behan said, the first item on the agenda is the split.
@Alan OConnor: wake up man ffs
@Alan OConnor: The Dublin electorate have an awful lot to answer for vote in these absolute Muppets. The only thing they can engender is anger and resentment.
@Alan OConnor: Not my choice of TD but fair dues Paul got elected despite losing a lot of his voters in the voter boundary chanchangeable with him or not he believes in what he does and says. Better than some of the same old same old FF/FG TD’s there since the year dot !! The left will get there in the end because FF, FG vote is actually dropping from 20 years ago – others like SF are increasing every year !!
From someone who’s swerved Govt at every opportunity and zero intention of ever going in to have his populist positions exposed.
A classic hurler on the ditch
His greatest contribution to politics was leading a mob which trapped and terrorised two women in a car for half a day
‘Will we let them go?’ He asks the mob from his loudspeaker
@James Gorman: That was shameful on his behalf,and not an iota of regret on his behalf,God forbid it was someone belonging to him was treated in that manner,I bet he would of seen it differently.
@James Gorman: When there were people outside his house, he wasn’t too happy, a hypocrite.
@James Gorman: Yep. Organising wasters to harass and intimidate workers installing meters. Screaming ‘peaceful protest’ an inch from someone’s face is not a peaceful protest.
Remember’Je suis Derek’? He was part of that too. These oiks thought they were the same as the people murdered by terrorists in Charlie Hebdo!
Murphy is delusional and an attention seeker. Politics is just his medium.
How this cabbage got reelected I do not know.
@Matt D: apparently he is a very hard working TD for the people he represents
@sean weir: this may be true but a member of the dail should be equally or more concerned about the effect on the whole country as governments are there to try to balance the best by everyone which is often in conflict with local issues. Quite a few Independents also get elected and many are one or local issue candidates which may be the best locally but not nationally. Remember when large party politics involved fixing the pothole and we had very few small parties and independents. Times have changed but it is true that the small parties and independents need to get together to challenge the bigger ones but I think the last independent alliance fell apart while in government. Maybe the people just want the overall status quo to remain.
@sean weir: Is he the same tool who wanted sex education for children?
@Niall O’Cofaigh: blame the game not the player. In order to be elected in a representative democracy you have to deliver locally. If you want a different system that’s fine, I think we’d probably agree, but you cannot expect TDs to do anything different in the current system.
@sean weir: not all. I’m in his constituency. I have not seen him once in person in the 10 years I’ve lived here. Not once. His posters are everywhere but unlike the majority of the others, he didn’t canvas our area. Maybe he considers us not his demographic but still.
@Matt D: He is smarter than you are. But then, everyone is.
@sean weir: no doesnt do anything that people are entitled too like all them
Paul, Firstly, I don’t understand how you have been re-elected after watching your performance during the last Dail.
Secondly, open your eyes to what’s going on in Ireland, homelessness, health, justice, and illegal immigration. The world you live in is not the world that most irish citizens live in.
The so called Left are not the solution. Too many egos fighting for power.
@Dog Tired: It really bothers the newly infatuated batch of Marxists that we have an amazing 100 years of onward development. Students infatuation with Marxism is understandable fantasy but the real world solves not exploits real needs
@thomas molloy: These Marxists believe housing should be a human right, for the sole reason that they want a free house built off of someone else’s labour.
Lad cant even figure out if his kid is a boy or a girl but wants to lead a government eh no thanks weirdo.
@Trump24: Indeed. A hilarious consequence of going all in, on a ridiculous ideology. Poor kid.
@FlipBip: why is he allowed near a child. This is very worrying.
Irish people prefer right wing parties clearly, none of this left wing socialism madness for the Irish
@Peter Byrne: I agree. We deserve 15,000 homeless people. We deserve a crumbling health service. We deserve to underpay our teachers, our nurses, our soldiers, our firefighters. We deserve everything we get. Because it’s what we vote for. Irish farmers on the radio complaining about the Mercasur deal? Suck it up. You vote FFG, then expect their neoliberal policies.
@Peter Byrne: but they are happy enough when they get free water thanks to same left wing parties. We would be paying thousands a year in charges if ffg had their way.
@Anthony Curran: only right about one thing and thats under paid soldiers, check the facts
@Anthony Curran: 15000 living in free accommodation supported by an industry of 20+ free loading charities, high paid CEO,s and millions circulating in various fiddles all at the taxpayers expense.
@Anthony Curran: What is the option? Vote for worse. The situation in Northern Ireland is worse. A lower cost of living maybe – thanks to Westminster and definitely not SF.
@Anthony Curran: I think you should leave SF, your ideology is more aligned with PBP & Communism. Ironically, as one of the many SF bots on here, the people that were floating voters & looking for an alternative in the Election, were only turned off SF by the likes of yourself & FG’s Rental Trap posts. I was going to vote SF, but the Referendums, Hate Speech & Immigration flip flops were the turning point. The Referendums were an eye opener, flip flopped & backed the wrong horse, Mary Lou doubles down on the fk up by saying she would re run it, then she was reined in by Matt Carthy, who obviously was instructed by HQ in Beal Feiriste. SF or PBP, whichever don’t offer us any hope or alternative to the mess we have.
@Allo Allo: checked the facts. you’re wrong.
@Anthony Curran:
You seem to be a victim of lefty propaganda.
We are one of the top countries in the world to live in.
@Anthony Curran: Telling farmers to suck it up, but then complaining about not getting paid enough. How about you work a bit harder and get your money up. If you can’t build your own shelter, then go buy one off of someone who can. The catch is you will have to give them something in return for their materials and labour. (That something is called money).
@H Woo: Ha ha, and then you look at the facts. Housing is driving companies away from the Republic, turns out right wing propaganda is wrong.
@Colette Byrne: so, who is paying for it?
Remember Paul it’s the People Who decides who they want to Govern Not You
Dry your eyes, Paul.
Nobody wants your communism.
I dont get how this communist won his seat back (barely).ffg are not right wing either which he always says..they have been center left if anything but he wants us to go extreme left.no thanks.
For me, the main problem with the article is its very questionable assumption that SF is left-wing..
@Brendan O’Brien: Chameleon Parties are playing the gullible members of the public but have been caught out.
Paul you lost the house with your delimit the rights to private property bill
Your “party” got 2% of the vote… you are irrelevant, no one cares what you stand for
@barry fay: that 2% is people with no brain who fully believe that they should be given the human right to housing of if someone else’s labour and materials.
I saw what the left does, and I can tell you that when they ally, they never hold for long and each one wants cake.
@Dominic Leleu: Ty hey got together to stop RN in France, and called it a huge victory although there are now more RN TDs than before, then although having the majority, could not even decide if a first minister.
don’t make me even start on what they stand for… ridiculous
@Dominic Leleu: blah blah blah
@Richard Ryan: great reply numb nuts. The left wing alliance even had to get The Communist party of France into their coalition to get power. As we all know, throughout human history, left wing policies sound amazing to someone with no brain. Free house, free food, free healthcare, free everything. In reality it obviously never works because why would a construction worker work when they can just get everything for free. So they all wait around for the ‘human right to housing’ that they have been ‘given’ by the lefties, but with nobody to actually build the houses, or work in the healthcare, or grow the food.
Strange, Murphy identifying as a left winger. Is he for real? They are the nearest thing to Commies that you’ll get. Look at the disrespect they afforded Zelensky on his visit to the Dail.
It’s only yourself you are fooling!!
It’s about time you got a new job as you are finished in politics the people voted for who they wanted and clearly it’s not you .
Poor Pop up Paul.
The only real communist in the village
How about instead of writing this you take down all your posters considering the election was a week ago. Sick of looking at them every day. All others have taken down theirs in the area.
Hey paul, good of you to let your child choose HIS gender, anyone calling their son Juniper needs a kick in the nads to reassert any confusion over gender.
I think it’s been shown that left unity is virtually impossible with their multiple factions. I’ve friends in that circle and they couldn’t agree on the colour of sh**e. One is labeled as a Trot or Marxist if they vary slightly in their opinions to the other. The same can be said for the fragmented right wing parties and I still maintain that followers of extremes on either side are two cheeks of the same arse.
@Longlin: I’d rather be the cheek than the @rsh0l3
Democracy.
@paulmurphy : Do you not see the irony in calling for left-wing unity in the headline and then only making it to the third paragraph of your piece before attacking Sinn Fein for a lack of ambition? This article is indicative of the exact problem on the left, if you want to be brave and ambitious consider joining Sinn Fein and bringing as many leftists as you can with you.
@Miles Kennedy: why would left wing TDs join Sinn Fein? The party might purport to be of the left, but their rabid ultra-nationalism shows them to be a right wing party.
The Far Left wouldn’t last a week together & Murphy would be the first to bring it down. He can’t agree with anything or anyone, has to shout down everybody & impose his ideologies on everybody. His day is gone, people don’t listen to him anymore, working class Dublin saw through him, he has more time for those arriving weekly in record numbers, than he does in the plight of Irish people in working class communities. Happy to stay shouting on the sidelines while taking a TD’s salary & expenses, waste of a vote & the Far Left coming together will never happen, too many egotistical leaders who are from backgrounds a million miles from those they purport to represent.
Getting the popcorn out for the comments to come here!!
The people don’t want your woke nonesense. Healy Rae was right about you, even if he his a god following air head.
1 thing I am happy about. The greens have been wiped out. Thank you Ireland.
The like of Murphy have to step back for the left to unite. He is toxic.
Any
parliamentary steps that can break up and cut down FFFG one hundred years of control of government in our country I welcome…..
He the guy that held Joan Burton captive
This the man who says his daughter is something other than female and his uncle can tell your future lol
Paul, the well paid “marxist”, who would take us back to the 1950.s.
@Ed Brennan: In terms of housing, no, I ghink you’ll find that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have already down thst, with a worse public health service the ’50′s.
A broad electoral strategy of FF/FG is to take a left party into the tent just so that the left fails to unite for that election cycle.
Plenty of us on the left don’t want to go that “far left”. We’re liberal and want realistic policies that will work.
What does Left mean these days because Sinn Fein are not a party on the left they are whatever you want them to be as people who vote for them vote brand SInn Fein.
@Tim Brennan: Ha ha, policies make a party left wing. Ignore that aspect though as it seems to insult you.
He is not a real socialist
Socialists are for property taxes and water charges broaden the tax base and make it more sustainable
@padraig godley: I think you’ll find that they believe that the biggest poolluters should pay water charges, not the ordinary person. Ironic as it is tye water infrastructure that is wasting water. Property tax, I think you’ll find that the Socialist belief set does not encompass a property tax, it actually believes that the state should pay for housing with the pccupany paying rent, a scheme actually used throughout Europe while countries aren’t Socialist. You seem to be making up Socialist beliefs as you go along, tends to happen when conservatives speak for Socialists. You buy a house and then the state says ‘You don’t own that land, you still have to pay us a property tax’ so tyerefore you never really own it, at least Socialists are honest in their beliefs, unlike conservatives.
Proletarians of all nations – unite! (Karl Marx)
Why is the Journal giving this clown any sort of attention? He is the most embarrassing and most clueless member of the entire Dáil and that’s saying something with the current crop that we have in there.
@Frank O’Hara: For the clicks of course! Lunatics & headbangers like Paul Murphy drive traffic allowing the Journal to show brightly coloured charts from Google Analytics to their advertisers & charge them more – capitalism at its finest!
I think it’s great so many Na Zis are here doing their performative jeering. It means less out burning down IP centres and threatening librarians.
@Franno: I wouldn’t burn down an IP centre, and I love our local librarian. You do illustrate what turns most people off of headbangers like Murphy, though. The instant extreme accusations are a little silly.
I will, however, continue to laugh at Murphy.
@honey badger:
You have pontificated on a few extreme positions yourself, your support for Israel for instance.
@P. J.: Supporting the world’s only Jewish state isn’t an extreme position, PJ. I would, however, be interested in some evidence of “a few extreme positions” I’ve pontificated on…
@honey badger: Supporting the perpetrators of genocide and war crimes is the definition of extreme. You refused even to condemn sickening settler violence towards Palestinian children. Will you finally rid yourself of this odious position and condemn Israeli atrocities? Go on… Prove you’re not an extremist. It’s easy!
@Darth O’Leary: Of course he won’t. Israel could wipe out the entire Palestinian people and he still wouldn’t condemn its actions.
If a red line hasn’t been crossed already, it doesn’t exist.
@Darth O’Leary: Throw up your evidence of this “refusal” there, Darth! You headbangers, like the op, are heavy on accusations but vanish when asked to support them.
@Brendan O’Brien: More hysterical hyperbole! Is “Israel could blow up the universe” your next hot take? Ffs
@honey badger: Seriously, what would be a red line that, if crossed, would prompt you to condemn Israel’s actions?
Bernie Sanders wrote in October: Israel ‘did not have the right to wage an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people. It did not have the right to kill 42,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom were children, women and the elderly, or injure over 100,000 people in Gaza. It did not have the right to destroy Gaza’s infrastructure and housing and healthcare systems. It did not have the right to bomb every one of Gaza’s 12 universities. It did not have the right to block humanitarian aid, causing massive malnutrition in children and, in fact, starvation.’
Clearly none of those actions has affected your unconditional support for Israel. What would?
@honey badger: There was an article ages ago about settler violence. You brought me around and around in circles but refused to condemn any settlers’ actions. Do you condemn Israeli settlers’ attacks on Palestinian civilians? A simple yes would clear everything up
@Darth O’Leary: Link please!
@Brendan O’Brien: I’m sorry, Brendan, you’re a joke. You’ve said moments ago that I’d support the annihilation of all Palestinians. This is hyperbolic evidence-free nonsense. I’ve answered these questions several times on the few relevant articles where comments are allowed. Yourself (and darth) don’t like those answers and persist in repeating yourselves. It’s really boring.
@honey badger: You need a link to remember if you condemn settler violence towards Palestinian civilians? Most people would just outright condemn that but not you. If I’m wrong you won’t have a problem condemning it now, will you? So on you go…!
@Darth O’Leary: No. I’d like you to produce the evidence of your claim, that’s all. Like all the other times you said this and vanished. We both know I’ve already answered this, you didn’t like the reply, so persist with this drivel. Show your evidence, please.
@honey badger: Why not answer the question(s) here? It would have taken no more time than the reply you just wrote refusing to answer.
Clearly as far as you’re concerned Israel is right by definition and therefore can do no wrong. Human rights, human lives, human dignity mean nothing to you if the humans in question happen to be Palestinian. Yet you are coy about explicitly stating this. You want to have it both ways: to appear to be a relatively reasonable person while tacitly endorsing extreme breaches of human rights and international law, right up to the level of genocide.
Don’t expect not to be called out on this.
@Brendan O’Brien: Again. Hyperbole, projection, and bluster. I’ve answered all these questions several times. That you didn’t like those answers is not my concern. I want peace, two states, and prosperity for all. It’s that simple.
@honey badger: My evidence is right here in this thread. You were given many opportunities to condemn extremist violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers in this thread, today! You consistently refused. Why not just condemn the violence? Oh yeah, because you have no problems with extremist views that you happen to share but you have the audacity to call Paul Murphy an extremist. Your hypocrisy is glaring
@Darth O’Leary: I’ve only asked you to produce evidence, Darth. I’ve already answered these questions several times – you didn’t like those answers. If you want to read/hear things you like, grab a book or a parrot. I’ll take it that you can’t produce a link. Again. PFO now.
@honey badger: No hyperbole, no projection, no bluster. Just facts that you don’t like.
I hope you won’t be pretending that your support for Ukraine is based on any kind of attachment to human rights. Clearly it isn’t.
@honey badger: What would be a red line that, if crossed, would prompt you to condemn Israel’s actions?
A sentence or two will suffice.
@honey badger: you have never once answered these questions. You are a liar as well as a hypocrite and an extremist bigot. Nice combo. Getting profane now as well!! I(or someone else) will always be here to remind you of your lowly moral standing in this regard. That’s how consequences work little man
@honey badger: Amnesty International’s research has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, the organization said in a landmark new report published today.
The report, ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, documents how, during its military offensive launched in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity.
“Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now.”
@Darth O’Leary:
Genacide going on in Syria for a while now.
But that’s OK, it’s not the Jew doing it.
@H Woo: Absolute rubbish from you as usual. My objection to Israeli war crimes has nothing to do with religion. What genocide in Syria? Do you mean the Christian enclaves in Syria being attacked by Western backed malitias and defended by Syrian government troops? As usual your Israeli propaganda falls flat.
@honey badger: Your still not answering the Question
@Darth O’Leary:
Genocide denier.
(Always wanted to say that)
@Sheila McNulty: He won’t
What we need is to keep the likes of this lefty looney out of government
I’m not a Sinn Féin supporter, but it’s ironic that the far-right attacked a left-wing party that wasn’t in government and helped hand the keys back to Fine Gael & Fianna Fáil for another 5 years. Turkeys.
@Jacintha Dumbrell:
Sinn Fein left wing????
@H Woo: yep. Commies.
@Jacintha Dumbrell: please explain ‘left wing’.
Very difficult to envision this when the left itself is so splintered and diverse.
Punch and Judy politics. Left and Right are redundant terms, there is just an oppressive establishment that there’s no getting away from. Ireland needs to dump the wokism, reduce taxes and build houses. Otherwise nobody with any sense will stay there.
@Carl Valderrama: Wow, what a politically naive statement.
A joke if a man. A joke of a party. And as for the Left Alliance I would give Monty Pythons People’s Party a way better chance of Governing Ireland! Good Luck!!!
The Lefty liberals like yourself are a dyeing breed. Europe is tending to the center or center right parties due to left wing policies that are destroying Ireland.
Did P B P GET ANY TDs elected
Not a bad idea to have someone challenge the ffgs alright
We are a centrist country.
Imagine champayne socialists like this lad and boyd barret with any kind of power!?.That is scary.
FFFG are golidlocks party..not too hot..not too cold.
That is who we are.
Tax us all you want ,give us 150 free esb??
We are happy!
Strong leftover lot
Definitely love see government that didn’t have a fg or fg td in it
@martin finnegan: not in your lifetime
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say