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“NOBODY IS TREATING this like the house is on fire.”
This is how 12-year-old Cara Darmody recently addressed the Oireachtas Committee on Autism, not holding back in her disgust at how her two autistic brothers Neil and John – both non-verbal and in need of constant care – have been “treated disgracefully” by the State.
Alongside her father Mark, Cara is a vocal campaigner, raising awareness through multiple campaigns, speaking at events and meeting some of Ireland’s most senior statespeople.
Despite the pride that his daughter’s campaigning brings, Mark told Noteworthy his family’s attempts to access services for the boys is “horrific, humiliating and inhumane”, with big impacts on their development, especially Neil.
Neil, now 10, was first identified as autistic in 2016. He also has a mild to moderate intellectual disability, but this was not diagnosed until 2018 when he was assessed as part of the entry process for a school that could assist with his needs.
However, it was clear to Mark that his son’s intellectual disability was “far worse” than this assessment determined. It was found in 2020 that Neil needed to be reassessed as a priority as he was deemed to be in the severe range of intellectual disability.
Neil is still waiting for a full reassessment, all the while his quality of life is getting worse – hitting his own head and biting his hands every day. “Due to total incompetence, we have lost almost three years,” Mark told us. “This family is being effectively ignored as if we do not exist.”
The Darmody family is not alone. Over the past month, as part of our ASSESSING AUTISM investigation, more than a dozen families told us about their ongoing struggles to ensure their autistic children, living in the shadow of a dysfunctional State service, receive timely assessments and subsequent services. We found:
You can also explore the key issues by listening to The Explainer x Noteworthy podcast on this project:
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The Department of Education estimates that autistic people make up around 1.5% of the population. However, in reality, this figure is likely much higher, and future estimates should reflect this as understanding of neurodiversity improves.
A 2022 study, for example, found that almost 5% of the school population in Northern Ireland is autistic, with experts who spoke to our team clear that Ireland’s figures are lower, in large part, due to lack of early assessment.
There was no clear consensus on the definition of autism from either autistic people or healthcare professionals who diagnose autism that spoke to Noteworthy. This most likely reflects the diversity of autism itself.
However, most did say that autistic people process sensory input, communication and social interaction in a different way to a more neurotypical person, which can cause issues such as sensory overload, anxiety and emotional overstimulation.
There are various channels available for assessment. The most heavily signposted by the HSE is the primary care-route: getting a referral from a GP or public health nurse which is then screened and processed by one of the 91 Children’s Disability Network Team (CDNTs) across the country.
CDNTs provide specialised support for children with complex needs, including occupational therapy, psychology, physiotherapy as well as speech and language therapy.
Waiting times for a formal diagnostic assessment are lengthy, however, with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism recently hearing from witnesses in over a dozen public sessions who outlined a litany of concerns over delays in assessments, with services lacking or inconsistent standards in service delivery.
This is exactly what happened to Mary’s* son, Noah*, who from an early age had problems with emotional self-regulation, communication and sensory overload that caused him to get upset and lash out, including self harm. “He can get quite violent and aggressive when he can’t self-regulate.”
Mary and her partner sought help when Noah was two but did not receive a diagnosis until he was five, and already in junior infants.
She said that they had to jump through many hurdles along the “cumbersome process”. This involved waiting four months before an initial online session with a trainee psychologist who determined, with no physical observation, that such behaviours are just common for his age.
“When he went to creche, the behaviour started coming out again even worse,” Mary said. Yet, when she tried to get another psychologist appointment, Noah was put back on another waiting list for months.
He was then observed in person and referred to an Early Intervention Team. This is when the “whole wait started” over again, and Noah only received his assessment a year and a half later in October 2022. This was followed by his official diagnosis in November.
Mary is happy to finally have the diagnosis from which she hopes Noah gets specialised support. It also helps her family to respond better to his needs. “We know he’s not having a tantrum. No, this is autism. So I need to be more supportive of him.”
However, she is still frustrated at what the long delay cost both her son and herself. “I didn’t understand why he was behaving this way. And it caused us a lot of stress,” she said. “It takes an emotional toll.”
Early intervention is fantastic “when you can get it,” according to Eleanor McSherry, head of autism studies at University College Cork (UCC). Her interest in autism stemmed from her autistic son, now in his twenties.
While not a prerequisite for a fulfilling life, McSherry said an early diagnosis can be life-changing for an autistic child, helping them to better understand who they are and how their brain works.
It can also help their families better understand their behaviour and needs, and importantly, give access to tailored services depending on need.
“I have seen the benefits of it because my son is strong in his identity. He’s a positive person. He’s a happy person within himself,” McSherry said. However, as the co-founder of the Special Needs Parents Association of Ireland, she has also seen children on “the other side” who don’t get help early on.
Children can then have issues with mental health, anxiety, suicide ideation, can be “terrified of school” or self harm, according to McSherry. She knows of children who required treatment in “mental health units at 15 and 16-years-old because they did not get the help and the care that they deserve. So early intervention is vitally important”.
McSherry, herself recently diagnosed as autistic, said she is proof that you can get through life without an official diagnosis. But this was not without its challenges.
“I know I have scars and I know plenty of people who have scars too” from going through most of their life without the understanding of their very own neurodiversity, she added.
According to Adam Harris, the CEO of AsIAm, Ireland’s national autism charity, waiting extensive periods of time to access assessment is “a systemic problem encountered by just about any family that is going through the system”. AsIAm is led, directed and governed by autistic people.
“You’re talking about a multi-year wait for the vast majority of families,” said Harris. A 2021 AsIAm survey found that a staggering 42% of respondents were waiting more than two years for assessment. This, Harris said, makes it “very clear” the current model is “not delivering for families”.
Data released to our team by the HSE from the end of December shows that 9,650 children were also waiting over 12 months for their initial contact with a CDNT, with around 4,000 more waiting between six and 12 months. The HSE could not provide specific data for cases related to autism, so this data relates to all children waiting for contact with a service team.
These long delays have led many families to instead look for an Assessment of Need (AON) through the Disability Act. The HSE is legally obliged to arrange a referral for assessment within three months of receiving a valid AON application, and, if required, carry out a full assessment within a further three months. This should then be followed up with any additional services required.
Yet, despite the clear binding deadlines in the Act, there are also major delays in the AON process. A HSE spokesperson told Noteworthy that, at the end of 2022, there were over 4,600 AON applications overdue for completion, taking an average of 16.5 months to complete reports last year. Again, we requested data on autism cases specifically, but this was not provided to us by the HSE.
The spokesperson said that the Disability Act gives an individual the right to an assessment but “does not give the right to a specific assessment at a particular point in time”. Nor does it, they added, “give a right to access to a diagnosis unless it is required at that time to identify the health needs occasioned by the disability”.
Clare* and Conor* found this out the hard way after they started noticing delays in their daughter’s development at nine months old. Like Mary, they first tried to go down the primary care route, only to be told by their public health nurse that they would need to wait until she was two for a referral from a community doctor.
“We spent nearly a year and a half twiddling our thumbs waiting [when] there were red flags there already,” Conor told us. Further delays led them to seek an AON, which took the family on an emotional and financial rollercoaster over the following years – with their daughter, Emma*, only receiving her diagnosis when she was six.
This included finding out that an administration error meant that Emma wasn’t referred for assessment. This only happened after months of “phone calls, letters and emails begging for help”, according to Clare. During this period, they organised for a private assessment at their own expense, which, following a protracted legal battle, was used by the HSE for completing the AON process.
“When she was two, they knew what was going to happen [with delays] because they see that every day,” said Conor. “That was four or five years for them to take care of something we had been saying when she was nine months old.”
Emma is still waiting to receive one-to-one therapies in line with the recommendations in her support needs file. “They’d always been dangling out this idea that once we get the AON, then the support will be there. But you get it and the support is not there,” Conor said. “It’s like shouting into a black hole.”
The same happened to Mary, who still doesn’t know if her son Noah will qualify for one-to-one therapy. While he does go to group therapy and a Lego club, she said there is no structure. “You just get an email saying ‘we’re running this’, ‘are you free’, or ‘do you want him to join?’ It’s like there’s no plan in place yet. It’s all up in the air,” she said.
Parents and guardians “really believe that this diagnosis is going to open doors, and put that focus on getting this piece of paper”, said Adam Harris of AsIAm, “but then it is slid across the desk and it’s ‘we might see in four or five years’.”
A major cause is the lack of available expertise in the CDNTs. In October 2022, none of the 91 teams were fully staffed, with over 700 vacancies. A HSE review stated that this lack of staff is “impacting our capacity to deliver services”, with an average vacancy rate of 34% across the teams.
“If you look at the number of vacancies, the reality is the system is broken,” said Harris. “We need to be training a lot more occupational therapists, psychologists and speech and language therapists, and that’s just not happening at the pace that it needs to happen.”
Another issue is a lack of standardised delivery and collation of data, according to Harris. This is needed to inform where resources should be best directed.
“Unfortunately, our experience with nearly everything related to autism in this country [is that] we’re data poor. When you’re data poor, it’s very hard to fix problems,” he said.
Organisations and families have called for an autism database for years. This was echoed in February, when the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child also called on Ireland to “strengthen the collection and analysis of data on children in disadvantaged situations including children with disabilities”.
Minister of State for Disability Anne Rabbitte has also faced difficulties in accessing information from the HSE. She told Noteworthy that the data issue is a key problem, as, at the minute “everything is paper-based” with “different ways of delivery” across the 91 CDNTs.
“I always said when I came into the role, the one thing that frustrated me most was getting different responses from different areas around the country and people working in vacuums.
“We should have live data within a month so we can see what the needs are on the ground, if there’s a change in demographics, how we can find the funding and the investments that need to go in behind it,” she said. “We need to see that, so we can start planning in advance, not this emergency, rapid response.”
A HSE spokesperson told us that a National Information Management System is in development to provide waiting list data. In the interim, manual collection is on-going and “will provide information to the local areas regarding the number of children waiting”. They did not provide a timeframe for when this system will be in place.
In the meantime, families across the country often resort to private services as they wait for State support and can incur considerable expenses. Some, who spoke to Noteworthy, have also lost wages from leaving work in order to look after their children or take them to appointments.
There have been a number of Irish studies which show just how much financial strain families are under.
A 2019 study found the average annual cost per child came to almost €28,500 for private services and lost income. By comparison, annual government expenditure per child on autism-related resources was just over €14,000. A further 2020 study found that families were accruing an average annual debt of €3,250, pointing to a “significant level” of economic hardship and financial vulnerability.
More recently, a 2021 report, commissioned by the government, found that the additional cost of disability for autism was almost €14,450 annually and families of autistic people who require care miss out on around €24,500 in annual income.
“You start to use whatever money is left to try to go privately and you cut out that small cup of coffee in a cafe, [buying] clothes or skip meals because every penny goes towards whatever we can provide,” Clare told us. “We have no joy, no timeout, because we need to pay for the minimum therapy that we can give to her.”
Assessment delays also impact access to school places. While many autistic children can integrate well into mainstream classes, others require extra support.
“Very often the appropriate education for a child may be a special school or a special class and the only means by which you can get that is if that’s recommended in your diagnostic report,” according to AsIAm’s Harris.
Graham Manning, a post-primary autism class teacher in Co Cork, echoed this finding, telling us access to an autism class is not possible without diagnosis. “Unless it’s on black and white paper, you’re not accessing any support whatsoever.
“The earlier you get a diagnosis, the better it is for the person because all the supports are in place, the explanations are in place [and] every educator you’re going to meet is going to know you’re autistic. That itself is an advantage.”
Sinéad* – an “incredibly angry and exhausted” mother “at her wits’ end” – told us that her now-seven year old missed out on exactly this support when he started primary school due to delays with his assessment.
“He’s so clever and bright and sweet,” Sinéad said of her son, James*. He loves dinosaurs, science and drawing and is a very imaginative deep thinker who “can make surprising and insightful mental leaps and connections”, Sinéad added.
Yet, James also comes up against common emotional and sensory challenges faced by autistic people, with concerns first flagged during his 22-month development check in 2017. Sinéad said that the public health nurse told her that his speech and language were “way behind what would be expected for his age”.
Despite an early referral for therapy, James was on a waiting list for 10 months. He was then reviewed but only received support every four to six months over the two years that followed.
According to Sinéad, this was the only care he received, and there were no concerns raised as to autism, until he started playschool when he was 3.5-years-old. She then received “alarming feedback” that he could not handle the environment and was getting very distressed.
The school applied for support and an extra teacher was funded to work one-on-one with James. This created a “knowledgeable, flexible and nurturing environment” in which “he slowly started to blossom”, she said.
Up to this point, Sinéad said she was “clueless” about autism or neurodiversity, and that no one directed her to the AON process. “Only for a friend of mine happened to tell me about it I wouldn’t have had a clue”.
She submitted her AON file a year before James was due to start junior infants, expecting the process to be completed within six months. Sinéad had “hoped to have a special needs assistant [SNA] lined up to facilitate his needs”.
However, she was left in “complete limbo” as “deadline after deadline passed”, until the diagnosis was finally received that James was autistic with sensory processing difficulties.
This wasn’t until almost two years after her AON application. James had gone through an entire year of primary school without any support. He now has a place in an autism class in his mainstream school that Sinéad said has been “transformative for him”.
However, she said, this cannot undo the harm caused by the “disastrous” start to primary school by missing out on SNA support and a place in an autism class as he waited for a formal diagnosis.
“My son now has a lot of trauma from junior infants that continues to impact him, his mental health and his attitude to school – because the government refuses to provide my little boy with adequate help.”
Even with a diagnosis in place, however, Manning told us school places are not guaranteed. There is a lack of autism classes nationally, as well as a need for training for teachers to gain the skills to support autistic children.
“We have [had] dozens of applications for the 16 years I’ve been doing this. Depending on the year, two, three or four [places] will be on average available, regardless of diagnosis, regardless of needs,” the autism teacher said.
This leaves many autistic students having to find another nearby school, with some travelling up to 40 minutes each way to get to school, Manning said.
According to the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman, around 15,500 autistic children are travelling outside of their locality each day. Many others are placed on short school days that can cause significant feelings of exclusion and anxiety.
For Eleanor McSherry, head of autism studies at UCC, there is little excuse anymore for the government as we are now two decades on since the Autism Taskforce. This group of top experts released its thorough 521-page strategy, compiled with input from autism organisations and family support groups.
“This is why it is so soul destroying that I am here, 22 years later, and very little has been done,” McSherry said. “We know where the problems are.
“It’s choosing to actually grasp the nettle and just make a commitment. It will cost us money in the short-term, but the long-term benefits to the whole community, and to the whole island, are just immeasurable.”
Disability Minister Anne Rabbitte told our team that she has a plan to turn the ship around with the Autism Innovation Strategy and also wants to see six regional assessment centres set up “first and foremost to clear that backlog”.
Within these centres, there would be liaison officers to ensure children are redeployed to CDNTs to receive “timely intervention”. She also wants to see teams expanded to include social carers, behavioural and art therapists, more support for equine therapy, and also family support.
“We need the whole gamut. It’s not just a medicalised model, we need that social piece of it as well, which is completely missing.”
Minister Rabbitte pointed to how the State can learn from, and work with, families and “experienced skilled staff” in autism organisations and clubs up and down the country, who she called “leaders in their own right”.
Reducing the backlog is her first priority, with additional funding provided in Budget 2023. The HSE is now contracting private consultants to work through overdue assessments. Last week, the Department of Health launched a Waiting List Action Plan setting out additional funding and priorities to address the backlog.
“We do know the quicker the intervention, the quicker the support, the quicker the understanding and the more relief for the child, but also for the family unit,” Minister Rabbitte said.
While the Minister is saying the right things, UCC’s McSherry won’t be satisfied that meaningful change is coming without a serious shake-up at senior management level across the health service and at a departmental level.
“I’ve been through 10 ministers now, either in disabilities or education, who have shook my hand and are saying the right things. We’ve had three or four strategies [and] a couple of goes at an Autism Bill. So I’m sorry, I’m not really confident. I’ve been here before. I’ve been burned.”
McSherry is pinning her hopes on the “absolutely fantastic” autistic kids now going through education and university. “They will be the changers rather than who’s here now. They’re the people who I have confidence in.”
Many families share a similar hope, and there is a long journey ahead for many to build back up any level of trust that the State is now in their corner.
“For the new families on this journey, we are very sorry to say it but do not count on the public service at all,” said Clare, still waiting for key post-assessment support for her daughter Emma.
“We would encourage people to speak up, go to the media and protest to show how this system is broken and needs serious and responsible attention from authorities to change it urgently.”
Cara Darmody has the same fire in her belly as she continues to campaign for her two brothers and hold policymakers to account.
“It is surely not wrong of me to ask politicians and the HSE to just do your job.”
*Names have been changed
If you need to speak to someone, contact:
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FULL SERIES – OUT NOW
Have a listen to The Explainer x Noteworthy podcast on our findings
By Niall Sargent of Noteworthy
This investigation was proposed and funded by you, our readers, with support from the Noteworthy investigative fund. Noteworthy is the crowdfunded investigative journalism platform from The Journal.
Please support our work by submitting an idea, helping to fund a project or setting up a monthly contribution to our investigative fund HERE>>
Christmas is Christmas – family time & a few days off; think of the unfortunate staff who have to work til 11pm on Christmas Eve to prepare the sale stock & then come in onSt Stephens Day – cant it wait a few more days & let them have a proper Christmas with their families.
Well it doesn’t look that bad. A more accurate headline based on the above photographic evidence would be:
“7 people waited for Brown Thomas to open this morning..”
I think “Slaves to Consumerism” would be a more accurate headline.
Agree totally Helen. It’s total nonsense that the shops couldn’t wait one more day to open.
In New York the shops have been on the go since 5am their time, 10am our time I want even awake!!!!
7 spas wait to buy unwanted and out of seasons shirts
My sister started worked 6am on Christmas day, and got in the door at 7.50pm when we were all merry around the table after dinner. She came in nakered and revealed that she made a meager 15 quid in tips with a 30 minute break for lunch and is back in work today at 6am. Absolute joke to work those hours and it angered me and my family.
They could hold off a few days and let their competition take everyones money instead, I’m sure a short christmas is preferable to January layoffs for most those working in retail. It’s part of the territory in selling when the public are willing to spend, and that happens to be on Stephens Day when everybody is off and has gift money in their pocket.
Why did she come in naked?
The public are still willing to spend on the 28th and handbags, shoes and electronics aren’t exactly essential. It’s simply greed on the part of the owners.
Agree. Give them a few days off.
They do not have to work if they don’t want to so stop with the poor staff malarkey. You lot do realize that people of faith can opt out under law from work on both Christmas day and Stephens day and good Friday etc..
Has anyone noticed majority are not Irish at the sales lol seems to be a trend with foreign nationals. What happened to the days when Ireland actually had January sales in January? Next they will have spring sales at Christmas. Flipping stupid.
Karen that is so not true
Don’t know where you got those “facts” from Karen. Totally untrue.
Exactly which law is that Karen?
Staff don’t have the choice of working on st stephens day. Its not extra pay either, if its your rostered day in, your in. For most people its. The only time of the year you are guarantee d two days together. It should be a time you can spend with family and friends. Not a time to stand on your feet for hours and getting abused and. Accused of making up rules as you go through the day!!!!!
It’s the madey upey Karen law, I think.
You are wrong next staff have to work Stephens day its in their contract. Fired if they don’t do it . they open at 6am on Stephens day
Would love it if BT sale didn’t start until tomorrow!!
So they are queueing for goods that are 50% higher than all the other shops hoping that they get discounted to the same levels of all the other shops
Lol
I love Christmas
Its the perception of a bargain that drives shoppers.
Best one I have experience was an importer who got two designer knock off bags when coming home from China. Took them to Brown Thomas or Arnotts etc and got them gift wrapped. Gave one to his wife and the other to the brother in law to give to his wife. The wives where delighted that they got designer bags from Brown Thomas
All that proves is that his wife couldn’t spot a cheap knock off…
FYI If you take fake LV bags into Brown Thomas they are within their legal right and they have been known to confiscate them.
Snell’s like BS to me. I never knew BT and Arnotts do a gift wrapping service for goods not bought in store, let alone knockoffs of the genuine article that they sell.
Are you sure that he didn’t get a knock off story in china and give it to you….. Bulls**t,
Jeeze, Mr Law ‘n’ order eh. Merry Christmas to you too Scrooge.
Bt in cork do a gift wrapping service for a high price….
Im not going anywhere near the shops, i,ve had enough. Its a day for family and friends for me
Don’t know why they just couldn’t even wait until January or even next week to start the sales… Very unfair on staff getting one day off & having to come back in to yet another manic day of ppl being possessed by shopping… Glad I don’t work in retail anymore…
If you’re making that statement about people working in retail why not about those in health services, airlines and transport companies, emergency services etc all who work incredibly hard in the line up to Christmas and continue to do so throughout and after!!!!
Maybe beacause those in emergency services arent on minimum wage.
Or that those in the emergency services are performing an essential and worthwhile task over Christmas.
Those in retail are pushed in to a rota/shift which the owners could well leave for another day. Nobody NEEDS to buy laptops and cosmetics today.
Some people NEED medical care today.
Cause them jobs serve a very important purpose… retail staff don’t… its all money and greed… I work in retail an I had A DAY OFF… They shouldn’t call it the holiday season cause it certainly doesn’t feel like that anymore.. Two women have an actual fight over sale garments today were I was working I was actually embarrassed for them… its only gonna get worse and I blame arnotts for starting this stupid trend a few years back.. fair play to Dunnes Stores never open on Stephens day.. might go der for a job!!! My mother worked nights in a maternity hospital this week but that’s the line of work she’s in and she loves her job.. However way too much unnecessary greed about these sales!! Trust me if they closed tat extra day the shops wud still cut a fine profit…
These people are staff that are needed to work it’s completely different in retail just another way of squeezing money from people… They could easily stay closed an extra day and open tomorrow morning
My heart goes out to you christine, it’s not fair on staff in retail getting one day off, as you said its supposed to be holiday time but shopsvr always looking to make an extra buck… I can imagine ppl fighting over a bag alright madness… My friend went to bt sale in cork & she took pictures of empty shelves where the bags were!!! And ppl fighting who picked it up first etc… No bloody thanks I’d rather be at home. The best wishes to you for the new year hope your not to stressed after ur manic day
The thing is I know staff working in retail who’s families live the other side of the country. They get one day off which means they spend Christmas on their own, with no family around them, simply to satisfy consumerism. Imagine having to have Christmas dinner on your own so you can work a till the following day serving some ungrateful so and so!
They can say no. If sacked they can sue then for unfair-dismissal . Are the guys at top in work on thse days or working from home? If my job had of asked me i would have said no thanks. Even more so when they only give us 35 cent extra an hour for bank holidays etc..
They don’t wait because customers drive the demand. Businesses wouldn’t open if people didn’t shop. It’s as simple as that. Customers have the power, not the businesses. It’s not possible for the shops not to open anymore because they will never come to an agreement with their competition to stay closed . The only way that works is that all shops stay closed and as soon as one greedy one opens, they all have to open as long as there is customer demand.
Fools and their money are easily parted
You have plenty of it to be parting with anyway
Ah be jeysus, soon as I speak of fools one appears
Tis great. , wife gone shopping for the day me at home with the kids playing PS4
A man after my own heart!
All fun and games now but wait till the credit card bill arrives..
Yesterday my 7 year old son couldn’t believe all the shops were shut. It made me think is this the commercial world he growing up in. Sadly I came to the conclusion it was. I though to my self in 20-30 years time he likely not be tellin his children all the shops are shut on Christmas day.
There were shops open here in Sweden yesterday at 8 or 9 in the morning to start the sales, mostly furniture (not IKEA) and electronics shops. Not sure about other shops, but I just saw the advertising. The supermarket down the street from me was open 9am-7pm too, and it’s Swedish-owned and Swedish-staffed before anyone thinks it has an owner who would not be used to celebrating Christmas.
Granted, the evening of Christmas Eve is more important for Swedes than Christmas Day. But until about 2pm, Christmas Eve is treated as a normal day. So there was no day off for a lot of staff in this country over Christmas. Really sad. I’d already started to feel that Sweden was a quite soulless place, but this Christmas just takes the biscuit.
Father in Law said the exact same thing this morning that within 20 years time shops will be opened Christmas Day like a Sunday.
Quinns in Carrickmacross opens for an hour or two on Christmas Day morning. For a couple of hours you wonder wants the point in opening at all.
There’s always one local shop that opened Christmas day for a couple of hours. I’m sure they sold a lot of milk, icecream and batteries.
They celebrate julafton on the 24th in sweden, all the shops open on the 25th.
You couldn’t pay me to stand in the cold on Xmas night.
I bet it’s all the good gear that’s being sold off. /s
There is six people outside BT’s – hardly a reason to condemn us all as slaves to capatilism
All the more reason BT should have remained shut until tomorrow
I worked yesterday morning in a well known service station. The amount of stupid things people were coming in for was unreal. A tin of peas, packs of Benson, a sliced pan. I understand if u might need fuel on Christmas morning but do people really not understand the need to get food items or cigs on Christmas Eve? People in retail work their asses off all through Christmas,only to have the demand there to open Christmas Day. It looked like people were just looking to spend money yesterday.
The only reason a service station should open yesterday would be for the emergency services.
They were probably just looking to get out of the house!
I hope the staff are getting at least treble time!!!
Double at best Id say
Retail trade unuin mandate only tequires retailers to pay 1.25 time and thats what most are paying
Mandate – the most useless shower of trade unionists in the world.
They sit at their expenses-paid top restaurant meals while retail workers are mandated to work unsociable hours
Nope treble only on Xmas day but should be on double
I bought things in Harrods for half price on the 22nd that BT were still charging full price for on xmas eve. They put everything on full sale straight away and sometimes add more stock…. don’t do progressive reductions.
BT sale is pretty rubbish.
A sad sign of the consumerism and pure greed that has taken over Christmas! And of course it’s the people in the offices who have two weeks off for Christmas telling the shop workers that they have to work first thing Stephens day. Very glad I no longer work in retail, but thinking of those who do this time of year!
They’re probably my dyslexic cousins who went into town early for the
Thomas Brown sale…..
Getting up at 6am Stephen’s Day wouldn’t be for me but sure if they are happy at it leave them at it.
Wow, epic fail, even the dotdotdot at the end doesn’t rescue it, it just serves to drive home how truly brutal that was as an attempt at a funny comment.. Again, just wow, SHOCKING
If you’re out shopping today you’re probably a massive bell end.
I’ve friends doing it today….been lining up a few hours. All Chinese all did not have a drink yesterday and all went to BTs…if you gonna save 30/40% on a few thousand shopping then good luck to them. I’ll be having pints today.
Total madness! Feel sorry for retail staff having to go to work today!
Saps
Wife left the house at 4 for the next sale in cork. Does it every year now since we had kids!
Well I’m just delighted that you’ve been overcome by such festive spirit and joy
Happy Christmas all of you!
Simon
If it wasn’t for people like Brendan’s wife spending money in the shop the people that work in retail wouldn’t have a job
Thats a crap statement.
There are 361 shopping days a year.
Retailers survived for decades without following the british high streets lead of boxing day sales.
Most stotes now open as they are either legally obliged by lease agreements in shiping centres or on high streets just so as not to give market share to others on the street.
The majority of stores just abiut break even on such days and actually squeeze staff costs to counteract these extra days.
Same as when in 2000 most departments stores opened the first time on good friday by highering cheaper non unionised staff to work around excisting agreements for bank holidays amd sundays and late nightsif your going to comment at least have some idea what you are commenting about from the inside.
You should have told her that you can shop online now. Save her the trip
Then he wouldn’t have a morning of peace with her at home
I actively try not to advise my wife on ways to spend money!! I find that she has proved herself more than adequate at doing it all by herself
Mostly there is nothing but cr@p and old stock (dating a couple of years to summer stuff) in the sale. None of the new stuff brought in for winter is on sale.
The best sale Next ever had was in July 9 years ago. My baby was born 5 weeks premature and none of the 10lb clothes fitted him as he was only 7lb 6oz so I had to run into Next the day I was released from hospital to pick up all newborn clothes. I got loads of outfits for 100 quid. However since then I’ve never really bought anything in the sales due to the above.
What absolute s**t Thomas Maher, I work in crappy retail, have little or no holidays over Xmas. My Family are home from abroad with God children that I miss out on, because people can’t wait an extra day or two to shop.
Your comment insulted me so much, as if we are only lowly retail workers here to serve – your comment really boiled my blood.
It’s not Thomas’ fault you work in retail,give the chap a break,Christ
Martina……..get back to work
Hi martina
Apologys didn’t mean to offend, I worked in retail for long enough myself and I’m well aware of the hassle but I’m afraid it’s not my fault you work there, go get yourself a new job if you don’t like working Christmas
Simon
I think someone maybe misleading you or you are simply mis informed.
The facet is the majority of retailers make a significant amount of their turnover in the 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after Christmas.
Some baby if he weighed 7lbs 6ozs at 5 weeks premature! That’s the average weight of a full term baby!
My first (a girl) was 9lb 1oz and a week early. His scans said he was big so I bought no newborn clothes as my first was too big for newborn clothes.
Life really is that simple isn’t it! I have 7 yrs in college done. Took a job in retail to relocate to be with my husband, just as a temporary measure, a few months later the economy was on its arse and I got stuck with retail! I accept your comment but I don’t think it’s fair! My qualification was in engineering and design – not too much call for it these days! That’s not for the want of trying.
Materialism has driven people to the brink of non humanity, Xmas time is about spending quality time with loved ones, not running around sheeping centres for stuff you don’t need at a price discount that’s irrelevant and picking up some item for a family member thinking you are contributing to your family in the best way… Idiots
Today’s the biggest drinking day of the year…even bigger than paddies day. Loads of old friends home so hit the bar stool and place a few bets….lovely jubbley
But give a thought for the poor bar staff – at least give them a generous tip, given the day that’s in it
Mad………
Getting up at 6am Stephen’s Day wouldn’t be for me but sure if they are happy at it leave them at it.
(Dam double post)
They might be happy but I bet most of the staff aren’t.
Haha you wrote Dam Double Post before you posted it again. Looking for your comment to get to the top?:)
Non sense
If only the had a more compact version of those 2 words…
Wouldn’t buy anything on St Stephens day, don’t encourage them. People in retail can’t even let their hair down on Christmas day now because of this. Shopaholics can’t go without for two day in a row, sad really.
People in retail signed up for the job
You give out if they’re on the dole. Then you give out if they take up a job that requires them to stay away from their families over what’s supposed to be a time for family. I’m beginning to think you’re a mean-spirited, cold-hearted, and soulless individual, Thierry.
Thierry I have no problem working at Christmas time at all,I have worked the last 12 Christmas Eves because I’ve always sorted out my presents before then. Once I have time to spend with my own family and friends I don’t mind. But this opening on Christmas Day craic is atrocious. Retail is NOT a life or death industry like a hospital or emergency services.Going into a shop on Christmas Day to buy a pack of cigarettes meaning SOMEBODY doesn’t get to spend the day with their family is ridiculous In all fairness.
Pack of losers.
48 hours is more than enough time with the family,I’m off to buy some music
Did loads of sale shopping online last night from the comfort of my couch!
The Stuffnes season continues. Stuffnes Day yesterday and now we enter the two weeks of Silly Stuffmas.
Gets less Christian and more pagan every year.
It’s getting back to what it was originally then
I thought the pics were in Hong Kong for a second, there was close to not an irish person in sight.. I think it was true for the guy from the infamous ‘house of prayer’ on achill Island when he said the Chinese are coming.. Ps not even remotely racist before some idiot says so, just observant
I work in security and we had people queueing from 1am. By the time the shop they were queueing to get into opened there was 400 in the queue.
Why not drop the prices of all these goods on Christmas Eve to help people out? But no, ‘drop’ the prices on these highly sought after products the day after they were needed. Most of the ‘sale’ products are just gone back down to original price anyway.
Sados.
The government is selling the people of Ireland a lie . For anyone working in retail , they will tell you the truth it was a tough Christmas . People want value all year round and even more so at Christmas well before a official sale . Most retailers jumped on board . The economy will never be the same again , people are price savvy .
For the most part sales in retail stores are just not worth it compared to going online in the comfort of your own home, getting exactly what you want and having it delivered to your front door. Most of the time for cheaper too.
Sad sad people
The scene of 7 eejits outside a closed shop is likely to be repeated up and down the country!
What sad, miserable, lonely, unsatisfying lives these people must lead if they have to Q outside shops from Christmas night to St Stephens day to get a “bargain”. I have worked in retail for years and don’t have to work either of these day’s but as someone mentioned earlier it is a “Religious right to refuse” sadly those day’s are long gone you would be told on Sundays to either attend Saturday night mass or be given an hour to go to nearest church to where you work, but now it’s written into contracts that people have to be “fully flexible” which covers working these day’s. Most of us also had to make allowances in our contracts in order to keep our job’s Also the rates of pay for these day’s were mentioned. Since the JLC’s were done away with by John Bruton Sunday’s and Bank Holidays are now payed at 1.3 for new contracts at most some companies only pay flat rate. If anyone else says “it’s your choice to work retail” eh have you forgotten about the recession and people took any job that was going to feed and cloth themselves and their family as well as put a roof over their head. What a luxury it is to tell someone to find a more suitable job that gives them more time with their family. Also what a luxury for you to be in a job that gives you these days off so that you can go shopping forgetting that because you make this choice other peoples Christmas is ruined because they can’t have a few drinks with their family on Christmas night because they have to make their way into work for 6am with no public transport to take them.
Like the poor:
For ye have the morons always with you!
No right to complain about no time off over Christmas so Thierry no?
Jus like a casino the house always wins, if you realy want to save just buy what you like and need and to be happy spent it with those who you care and love.
Do people not realise that they look like cretins with them stupid bags. Its beyond repulsive and seems to be the main goal in life for the bottom feeding freaks in society.
You would never see me queuing or actually even going to the sales on Stephens day. Not something I approve of.
However, this is a good indicator of the economic state of the country. So in an odd way it is great to see.
Is that a baby or a turkey?
Does anyone remember when some shops would close early on Wednesdays?
Humans are pretty silly.
I can remember vividly the first time I saw advertising in St. Stephen’s Green to the fact that the shops were going to be open of a Sunday. I remember feeling innately peculiar about the notion. Sunday for me up until then (mid nineties) was a day of rest, a day for family borne out of a church going society.
Fast forward to 2014 and rampant consumerism has taken over the retail sector, to the extent that even Christmas Day itself could be coming under threat. And all for what… Instant gratification? The buzz of a bargain?
I knew it back then and I know it now. Retail therapy is nothing but a sham masquerading itself as the essence of inner fulfilment…
have your say