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Gaffes, faux pas, blunders: Is there a Final Destination curse on this government?

Micheál Martin will be happy to see the back of these last few weeks.

FIVE WEEKS AGO today, the members of this fresh new government had a pep in their step.

Yesterday, the Finance Minster Paschal Donohoe nearly got taken out by a giant speaker falling over at an event.

An “alarmingly accurate visual metaphor” for the coalition so far, as one journalist put it.

It was little over a month ago that the lack-of-government stalemate ended after weeks of talks and negotiations. The new government was eager to get stuck in to the job at hand. 

Most governments get off to a a bumpy start, but no one could have predicted the series of crises and gaffes this government has got caught up in.

Just when one misstep was over there was another cringeworthy moment lying in wait just around the corner. Somewhere you could only imagine that Taoiseach Micheál Martin was holding his head in his hands, rocking back and forth. 

Martin has waited a long time to get his moment in the sun – but these last few weeks could never have been what he envisaged.

Instead of column inches describing this government being a breath of fresh air, they have been filled with comments about a government that needs to get its house in order. 

Cabinet snubs

On 27 June, hopes were high for this government.

A new fresh Cabinet was announced by Martin. What could go wrong? Lots, apparently.

“Bitterly disappointed” and “grossly insulted”. That was how some Fianna Fáil and even some Fine Gael politicians described the ministerial snubs. Highly-paid TDs giving out about not getting the top jobs did not play well to the public mood. 

While people across the country were wondering if they would still have a job next month, listening to politicians complain about not getting the nod was not very palatable. 

Running alongside this controversy was the lack of representation of the west coast of the country. Another Dublin-centric Cabinet was the common viewpoint bellowed out in the Convention Centre, where the Dáil is sitting due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

Nonetheless, Martin tried to smooth over the criticisms from within his own party by telling members he had to make difficult choices when appointing his Cabinet.

At a parliamentary party meeting the Fianna Fáil leader said he understood the anger expressed by some party members. 

He said many had justified expectations given their performance over the last number of years that they would get a seat around the Cabinet table. But there were not enough seats for all the bums vying for a job.

Barry Cowen

Just when Martin thought he had escaped mutiny from his own party, a new controversy surfaced within the first week of the new government – this time with one of his newly appointed ministers.

004 Barry Cowen (1) Barry Cowen apologising n the Dáil. RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

It was the government’s first major test and one that led to the sacking of a minister.

Agriculture Minister Barry Cowen had received a fine and a ban for drink-driving while holding a provisional licence. The story created heightened tensions in the government but there was a view that after his apology, all would settle down.

The following weekend, it emerged that a Garda Pulse record suggested he had tried to avoid the checkpoint.

Cowen strongly denied this, and he showed the Taoiseach the garda record he was disputing. Cowen said that under legal advice, he would not be making any further comment on the matter.

The Taoiseach told him that he would have to face more questions in the Dáil.

Cowen refused. Martin then sacked him.

Losing a minister so early on – nothing could top that. That was the thinking in government circles. But the gaffes just kept on coming.

No fanfare announcement

The Taoiseach might have hoped that he would be able to give the positive press conferences his predecessor did about reopening the country, but Martin had to deliver the bad news to the public.

Ireland would not be progressing to Phase Four and the reopening of the pubs would be pushed back from mid-July until 10 August. 

A series of mixed messages followed this announcement, with even those within Cabinet being critical that the government was not singing off the same hymn sheet when it came to international travel and the green list.

A couple of days later, when ministers were keen to show they were working “flat out”, footage taken from inside the Convention Centre showed Eamon Ryan sleeping as he was called on to vote during a motion on giving lower-paid workers a living wage.

In the video, captured by Oireachtas TV cameras, Ryan’s name is heard being called a number of times, before Fianna Fáil’s chief whip Jack Chambers is seen attempting to get his attention.

The incident went viral, and led to online criticism of Ryan for sleeping on the job. An own goal by Ryan, who was facing into his own leadership contest.

23072020_JB1-63 Rollingnews.ie Rollingnews.ie

No sooner had they moved on from that little incident, the government drove horse and carriage into another one.

This one was on pay rises for politicians. Never a good sell, particularly at a time when thousands of people are out of  work and businesses are struggling to keep their heads above water.

Pay rises in a pandemic

The controversy surrounded the three super junior ministers in government. Under the legislation only two of them were to get paid at a higher rate.

The government pushed out a line about pay equality as a reason to bridge the €16,000 pay gap. This messaging doesn’t fly with the likes of teachers who have been fighting for pay parity for years. 

The move – which was heavily criticised – would have seen all three junior ministers avail of an extra €16,000 a year on top of the minister of state salary of €124,439.

In a bid to make some amends, it was announced that the extra €16k was to be waived, instead the three junior ministers would share the existing allowance leaving them with a little over €10,000 extra apiece.

The Taoiseach also announced a pay cut in salary across the board in Cabinet in a bid to draw a line under the debacle, but it later emerged that even with the pay cut, the Taoiseach is still gong to earn more than his predecessor.

NO FEE GIS NORTH SOUTH MINISTERIAL COUNCIL PRESS BRIEFING JB4 (1) Rollingnews.ie Rollingnews.ie

Another blip along the way, was the shock election of Independent Galway TD Catherine Connolly as Leas Ceann Comhairle over Fine Gael candidate Fergus O’Dowd.

Given the government holds the majority in the House, this was seen as a big embarrassment, even as all parties wished Connolly well.

Cutting-off pay

Another own goal for the government was the disastrous handling of changes to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) this week. 

Martin said on Monday that people in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment should be seeking work.

His comments come after Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said earlier that day that “if you find that you’re going to be permanently unemployed because your job isn’t there, then you should be looking for work”. 

The change to the criteria that those in receipt of the PUP should be actively seeking work mysteriously appeared overnight on the department’s website, something the Taoiseach said he would look into.

There was also the issue of travel when on the payment or jobseekers, and the revelation that over 100 people had had their payment cut off due to leaving the country. 

The Taoiseach said a review of the 104 cases involved would be undertaken.

A number of agencies such as FLAC weighed in and questioned the legality of ceasing payments due to travel. After the backlash, the government decided to allow those receiving PUP to go on holidays to green list countries without losing their weekly payment.

A related headache was the use of social welfare inspectors at the airports – something the Taoiseach said has been taking place at ports and airports since 2014. However, again, the legality of such a practice is now being questioned by the Data Protection Commissioner.

Dissent in government ranks

Just when the government thought it could breathe a sigh of relief on the last day of the term before the summer holidays, another unexpected incident happened.  

The Taoiseach and his coalition partners thought they were out the gap, but then Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan voted against a government bill on extending the rent freeze and eviction ban. 

Junior Minister Joe O’Brien abstained. Not exactly the sign of a government that has jelled yet.

Martin will be happy to see the back of the last few weeks, and will hope the autumn term will bring more cohesiveness to his new government.

With the number of gaffes this government has totted up in such a short time, anyone would wonder if there isn’t some sort of Final Destination movie-themed curse trying to end this government.

In the film, a group of teenagers are doomed to die from the very start, after they somehow manage to cheat death. It plays out with the audience bearing witness to a series of gory but inevitable deaths. 

If such faux pas continue, there will be little hope of all three parties signing off on the Budget come October. A suggestion: a team building weekend away for the Cabinet. It couldn’t hurt.

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    Mute Brendan Palmer
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:35 PM

    No money for looking after our broken ones sleeping rough in the city tonight but look at us, we are so cool, we fix the world.

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    Mute Christian Art McCann
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:39 PM

    I was thinking the same …

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    Mute Wesole
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:56 PM

    If we don’t fight Ebola, sleeping rough would be the least of our problems. Ffs.

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    Mute Ciaran O Shea
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:02 PM

    I’m usually no fan of millions going in overseas aid but ebola has no borders and if our couple of million helps stop it then all the better

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    Mute Boganity
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:06 PM

    Pull up the ladder we’re all right jack

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    Mute Gus McIntosh
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:09 PM

    It always amazes me how many people on here don’t understand that it is important that governments act globally. There is no country on this planet that hasn’t got it’s own domestic challenges. That does not mean that all countries should cut themselves off from the rest of the globe. Anyway, if you took the home budget and put it next to the foreign budget for welfare, you’d probably find that 1m is the equivalent of a middle earner throwing ten cents in a homeless person’s cup. People need to get some perspective.

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:14 PM

    I personally would not spend a cent on ODA (because it’s pointless when we have unfair trade deals with them and the fact that they pay 100 times that aid back to our banks in debt), I have huge qualms spending 100s of millions on refugees who evidently are not remotely grateful for it…but lets keep this in proportion. The HSE spends more than this every week just on overtime for staff that don’t even need to be there.

    We spend more than 20billion on a massive welfare budget, bigger than the NASA budget, to give pensions, sick pay, disability pay and jobseekers pay to our own people 37,000 of whom in the latter category have never worked and never paid a red cent in income tax or PRSI and almost all of whoms parents spent their entire lives on welfare. We spend 35m a year just on community based mental health projects. We spend 13billion of healthcare of Irish people, 8.7b to education including providing free secondary, primary and heavily subsidized university to everyone in Ireland who wants it.
    We spent 9million just on the Intreo programme to turn FAS/DSP and all that into a one stop shop…that’s 9million on office space and BRANDING!!!

    If we don’t contain this it will spread, as others have said. I’ll say what I always say to people saying ”f__k um leave them to it”…many of the people infected are children, the virus will destroy their immune system and turn their organs into pulp, with things happening like their entire stomachs disintegrating and dying from internal bleeding….anything we can do to help people suffering from that is a good thing,. You gotta also measure the two things against each other, sleeping rough is hard, but dying of a virus that turns your organs into pulp is far worse, and despite that we spend more than 100 times on homeless services to our own than we do for ebola aid.

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    Mute Eoin Padraig Walsh
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    Oct 4th 2014, 6:02 AM

    Should have been given to Cork penny diners or similar

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    Mute Ben Redline
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:40 PM

    Just send them over some flat 7up.

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    Mute thetruth
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:47 PM

    Don’t forget the dry toast

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    Mute Robin Basstard
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:50 PM

    A good dose of Epsom salt, will sort that out.

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:01 PM

    People take the p1ss out of the old flat 7UP but it is actually a great cure for nausea, even really bad nausea. Take a glass of 7up, a Motilium and stick a hot water bottle on your stomach and it will be gone in 10 minutes. Works for me every time.

    Sadly supportive care is the only thing they can give Ebola patients not directly involved in a clinical drug trial since there is no established cure or treatment. Supportive care being to treat the symptoms and give them pain relief like a morphine line.
    If you take in a low enough number of particles of the virus your own immune system can fight it off.

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    Mute Marc Power
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:35 PM

    How about an extra million to control our borders? …….. Then ebola

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    Mute Boganity
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:13 PM

    Marc as 12 years of education has been demonstrably wasted on a large proportion of the Irish population, particularly the ones posting in Journal stories like this one, there’s billions of savings to be made in not wasting education them.

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:19 PM

    We do, we spent millions upgrading their scanners and computers recently.

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    Mute Sat Singh
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:41 PM

    Why?
    When 7,500 tonnes of bushmeat is sold in the uk
    each year with the government been aware,it’s only
    a matter of time when Ebola hits these shores like the
    USA .
    The money will be needed at home then.
    Prevention is better than cure,exported bushmeat should
    be banned first.

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    Mute Marc Power
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:44 PM

    Well said

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    Mute thetruth
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:48 PM

    Bushmeat really?

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    Mute Mary Kavanagh
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:21 PM

    Yes they think it was crossed into humans from bushmeat. If that’s so, then unless all bushmeat is tested, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 4th 2014, 12:13 AM

    They think bites from bats might have been a factor as well they’re not sure they’re just theorizing. Ebola can’t live very long outside fluids or a human host so unless it’s eaten rare (with blood being present) cooking would destroy the virus. Besides all food sold in the UK with the exception of illegal street vendors is regulated by the FSA, and the people shopping at illegal meat vendors are tiny in number and the ones who eat meat rare are even smaller.

    It’s CRITICAL to keep these threats in PROPORTION and understand whats possible and whats PROBABLE are very different things.

    The number one thing they teach you in disaster preparedness and homeland security is mitigation by probability. We don’t have the resources to fund a plan for every possible contingency, so we gotta match what’s most probable up with those things that, if they happened, would do the most damage.
    For example: A nuclear war, contrary to popular belief, would not cause human extinction unless there were multiple major exchanges of high-yield strategic warheads configured as groundbursts, and with all of the targets being to our east and north, and the prevailing winds in this area blowing north-east, with us having an agricultural surplus, we’d be doing pretty good, even if Dublin was hit we’d still be doing better than anyone else in Europe, so we don’t need to spend millions on Mount Weather/ Raven Rock /Mount Yamantau style underground cities. What’s the two most likely threats for Ireland in terms of homeland security that would do the most damage? Natural disasters and a global pandemic.
    So that’s where most of our disaster planning focuses, it’s why we have a national pandemic plan, it’s why we have stockpiles of the Smallpox Vaccine, H1N1 vaccine, Tamiflu, Pediatric flu drugs, stockpiles of protective suits. If say an airborne strain of ebola hit Europe, we can close our ports and airports, and with health emergencies being an all-Ireland competence the NI executive can do the same, and were all sealed up with our agricultural surplus, with special controls on people importing essentials we don’t produce here on the island. So even in the worst possible scenario were doing better than most.

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    Mute Patrick
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    Oct 4th 2014, 9:30 AM

    SAt , if ebola comes to Ireland. We are in serious trouble. We don’t have any system that could cope with an epidemic.

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    Mute Patrick
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    Oct 4th 2014, 9:32 AM

    Ryan , ebola cultures are in universities all over the world not excluding Ireland.

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    Mute Ann Glasgow
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:49 PM

    if the government have money to give away, come down to the so called UNIVERSITY hospital in limerick, 47 people on trolleys!
    as mentioned already lets look after our own first

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:16 PM

    1m euro would not put even a tiny dent in that. Just to maintain the services we have at their current pathetic level the HSE is 500m short because the HSE has 1/3 more staff than it actually needs to operate because instead of replacing the health boards with the HSE board they merged all the health boards leading to massive staff duplication and triplication.

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    Mute Boganity
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:27 PM

    If Ebola gets out of Africa they won’t need trolleys they’ll need coffins, as will you and I

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    Mute Ablitive
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:48 PM

    Boganity .. America is well prepared for this.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fixYoQqQg3w

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    Oct 4th 2014, 12:27 AM

    For those of you unaware, in conspiracy theorist lore, a particularly off the edge brand of conspiracy theorists think the Federal Emergency Management Agency, are the waiting in the wings shadow US govt who will take over after a series of executive orders by the dictator in waiting President dissolve the other branches of govt (who will, along with their individual armed services like the Federal Marshals Service and US Capitol Police, just go quietly and not resist in any way, apparently)

    The camps will be used to detain and dispose of any REAL PATRIOTS GRRRR YEHHHHH (by real patriots they mean people like themselves, who tend to be either skinny teenagers in their mothers 3bedroom semi-D or basement who have seen one too many Alex Jones DVDs OR deranged loners who live in cabins away from cities with their own stockpile of weapons to fight the feds. The North American Union comes into it at some point too, and the plastic pez despenser coffins are to bury them with.

    When you collect, as one person did, a full supposed list of these camps, there are more than 800 of them..and somehow nobody but REAL PATRIOTS YEHHHHH GRRRRRRRR have noticed them. The reason nobody have noticed them is because they are not camps but ordinary buildings and things like military bases that can look spooky on a google earth God-Shot (esp if you add some creative photo shopping). Some of the more realistic ones are actual camp shots taken from a commonly available MOD of google earth which gives you a google earth tour of north kroea

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    Mute funkytown
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    Oct 4th 2014, 2:28 AM

    don’t forget lime.

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    Mute Donna L Tier
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:40 PM

    Some country for squandering money!!

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    Mute thetruth
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:47 PM

    Im wondering will one of Endas mate be charged with overseeing the campaign

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    Mute Wesole
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:59 PM

    Helping the poorest in the world, the sickest, the weakest. Helping children and mothers. Don’t be so judgemental and uncharitable. If Ebola hits these Shores I’m sure people like you would be the first complaining that the world didn’t do enough.

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    Mute Donna L Tier
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:03 PM

    People like me?
    As in… concerned for the people on my own door step in my own country who are sleeping rough tonight or in desperate situations and not getting the help they need due to greed of the powers that be. Ah yes people like me what a selfish individual I am.

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    Mute Leviathan
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:29 PM

    Why not both? Boost the spending on borders and give Irish scientists the funding to research a cure for it.

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    Mute James Kiernan
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:52 PM

    Did you watch the news this evening about st.christophers in longford?……but then helping our own disadvantaged or disabled in an unco county like longford doesnt matter….

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    Mute James Kiernan
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:52 PM

    Did you watch the news this evening about st.christophers in longford?……but then helping our own disadvantaged or disabled in an uncool county like longford doesnt matter….

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    Mute Boganity
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:19 PM

    Sleeping rough, bad as it is, bears no comparison to trying to stop an epidemic that’s already killed thousands or will kill millions worldwide if it’s allowed to spread is a no-brainer…Oops ! on second thoughts why an I wasting my time responding to people who have no brains ?

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    Mute Ronan Sexton
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    Oct 4th 2014, 12:53 AM

    Is that a trick question?

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    Mute Simon Gaites
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    Oct 4th 2014, 1:02 AM

    Have you offered any overnight accommodation in your home to the homeless in your area?

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    Mute Donna L Tier
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    Oct 4th 2014, 9:36 AM

    @simon gaites: no but did however find a old man living in an outhouse shed after his house had burnt down, everyone thought he had moved on to a different area as he was a loner and spoke to nobody, so I rang around for two days solid and got him emergency accommodation in Thurles.
    So don’t question me on my charity doings I very much do all I can to help within my means for both man and animal. Good day to you.
    Let me guess what type of charity you partake in: throw €2 in a bucket and think that’s your bit done for society.

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    Mute George Grey
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:49 PM

    Welcome to the dark ages and the red thumb brigade who think Ireland should exist in a bubble and not get involved with the rest of the world. Epidemics of this nature is a global problem! Those people that begrudge what little aid we offer obviously cannot see beyond their noses.

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    Mute Wesole
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:00 PM

    Thank god that the thick racists on the journal is not fully reflective of society overall.

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    Mute Art Vandelay
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:12 PM

    Yes,let’s strive to live forever!! We can do it!! We will laugh in the face of evolution!

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    Mute James Kiernan
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:59 PM

    Look at us….arent we great little fellas donating millions all the time. We’re a great bunch o lads……..did anyone watch the news tonight about disability care in longford? Nah….cos its not cool man…..i cant post that on the internet cos people in peru who might read it wont care….

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    Mute Boganity
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:26 PM

    That’s the third time you posted that, we heard you the first time.

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    Mute James Kiernan
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    Oct 4th 2014, 8:43 AM

    Thanks bog aunty….

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    Mute John Jones
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:45 PM

    I’d rather see our money go to an international regulated charity than any unregulated irish charity where we don’t know where de fupp our donations our government contributions go…

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    Mute Jason Bourne
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:16 PM

    Why do countries pledge money instead of the Fed or ECB? After all, we are borrowing this money at interest and then donating it. If those ‘banks’ just donated the money, it would make sense as it is in there ‘interest’ to keep us alive so we can pay the other interest based debts that exist. Without us, no debts will be paid.

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    Mute Boganity
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:07 PM

    Because it’s the same difference

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    Mute Stephen Kearon
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    Oct 4th 2014, 1:09 AM

    Good news our tax payers money going to help fellow human beings

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    Mute Tom Dallas
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:54 PM

    On another note i heard from a fella who knows a bloke that drinks with a man that knows a fella that played five aside with a friend of Enda Kenny, by all accounts Kenny has a cure but won’t release it until Mcnulty gets his seat.

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    Mute Edward Malone
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    Oct 4th 2014, 12:01 AM

    I find people, pretty much most that have posted here, to be so stuck in a bubble of us and them…
    We all live on this planet TOGETHER to put someone being uncomfortable on a trolley in Limerick above a victim of ebola is beyond all reason, really pops my toaster

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    Mute James Kiernan
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    Oct 4th 2014, 8:46 AM

    And we should all live on snowdrop road and skip through fields of buttercups on our way to work in the chocolate factory…….get real…..it is us and them…….how do you think we got lumbered with billions of debt!

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    Mute Alan O'connor
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:46 PM

    And the racists/neo fascists rear their ugly heads again.

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    Mute Eugene Walsh
    Favourite Eugene Walsh
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:10 PM

    How bout fighting the E Kenny outbreak first…YO!

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    Mute John Jones
    Favourite John Jones
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:48 PM

    I’d rather see our money go to an international regulated charity than any unregulated irish charity where we don’t know where de fupp our donations our government contributions (basically our money) goes…

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    Mute Tom Dallas
    Favourite Tom Dallas
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 9:51 PM

    I do believe Boiled 7-up is the solution, failing that Semolina and Jam should suffice.(Latter only to be used in extreme cases)

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    Mute Iain Murray
    Favourite Iain Murray
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    Oct 4th 2014, 10:22 AM

    Maybe spend that million at the airport and ports to stop it coming here. There is significant travel between here and Africa and with Ebola having been transmitted to the US, it is certainly cause for concern here in my opinion. Are there any control measures at airports here?

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    Mute Ablitive
    Favourite Ablitive
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 10:13 PM

    The best and only solution to lesson the grip of fear from Ebola.

    http://s30.postimg.org/wumf1l469/CAR204.jpg

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    Mute Boganity
    Favourite Boganity
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    Oct 3rd 2014, 11:29 PM

    Frank I hate it when you make a very valid point..you’re spot on

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    Mute HARRY MARKOPOLOS
    Favourite HARRY MARKOPOLOS
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    Oct 4th 2014, 12:00 PM

    Big Pharma Ireland putting the thumb down eh?

    Just watch big pharma milk billions out of this.

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    Mute Patrick
    Favourite Patrick
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    Oct 4th 2014, 9:39 AM

    Flahavans porridge with homemade brown bread and clonakilty pudding.

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    Mute Aaron Lozano
    Favourite Aaron Lozano
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    Oct 7th 2014, 5:37 PM

    this is way more serious than we thought it to be. First case in Spain and there are 22 people already isolated and searching for more contact suspects. From Spain to Ireland there are just 2 hours of flight.

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