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Here are the Merrill Lynch reports that underestimated the bank bailout by €47bn

These are the full documents prepared for the Department of Finance and the National Treasury Management Agency at the height of the crisis.

THIS WEEK, WE reported on the news that Merrill Lynch underestimated the costs of the bank bailout by €47bn in a 2008 report for the then government.

The documents (links below), released to Sinn Fein finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty under freedom of information, show a presentation and briefing document prepared for the Department of Finance and the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) in October and November 2008.

They show the low estimate itself, as well as various options that were considered to deal with the banking crisis.

Read: Merrill Lynch presentation to Department of Finance November 2008>

Read: Merrill Lynch presentation to National Treasury Management Agency October 2008>

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27 Comments
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    Mute neuromancer
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:25 PM

    It’s an alternative way of saying “stay at home”.

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    Mute Dannys Dentures
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:12 PM

    @neuromancer: except more poignant

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    Mute Football in the Groin
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:50 PM

    @Dannys Dentures: It does bring a tear to one’s eye.

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    Mute Phil West
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    Apr 9th 2020, 11:24 PM

    @neuromancer: Are the Gardaí proposing placards along the lines of “Down with that sort of thing”, “Shop local… in Dublin” or “Pheonix Park open to pedestrians”….
    Nah, I think the local direct language captures both sentiment and tone!

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    Mute Damien Mc Padden
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    Apr 10th 2020, 12:03 AM

    @neuromancer: These lachicos havent changed much since the Spanish Armada.

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    Mute Dave time
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    Apr 10th 2020, 10:17 AM

    @neuromancer: delivered by someone clearly not following their own advice

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    Mute Nick Caffrey
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    Apr 10th 2020, 2:11 PM

    @Damien Mc Padden: LOL. Haven’t seen ‘lachico’ since my schooldays!

    5
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    Mute Padraic O Sullivan
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:42 PM

    So are the Guards investigating how the holiday home owners know about this if they were supposedly at their primary residence or the fact that the holiday home owners felt threatened at their holiday home that they shouldn’t have been in.

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    Mute Fergus
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:10 PM

    @Padraic O Sullivan: what a ridiculous comment.

    Are people in Kilkee not able to dissaprove or be concerned about vigilante behaviour? What about the mobile home park proprietors?

    Do holiday home owners not know anybody in the area where their holiday home is located?

    You didnt really think before you typed. Whats mortifying is the amount of up votes you got as if you had some glorious gotcha moment.

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    Mute Gerrard
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:27 PM

    @Fergus: well he got you

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    Mute maurolee
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:51 PM

    @Padraic O Sullivan: Clown

    40
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    Mute Frank Flanagan
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    Apr 10th 2020, 1:13 AM

    @Fergus: What are you smoking Fegus. The leaflets were dropped in holiday homes. Not local houses. So as was correctly pointed out, if they hadn’t been there in the first place, they wouldn’t have known about the leaflets. Go figure.
    I’m guessing your ANOTHER one who has defied the ban and travelled somewhere you shouldn’t have, and now trying to belittle someone from making a very valid point. You mention the park operator – if he had any respect for the local community and wan’t driven by greed, he would have closed the park and turned off services such as water and ESB, as other parks have done around the country.

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    Mute Niall Mullane
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    Apr 10th 2020, 8:32 AM

    @Frank Flanagan: in fairness these flyers were posted on walls too. Not just in letterbox’s. A picture of it was posted online a few day’s ago obviously by a local resident. They do walk around the area still and can read I believe.

    17
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    Mute kevinhassett
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:30 PM

    And has it stopped them ! no it hasn’t they have arrived all week coming by night . A disgrace

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Apr 10th 2020, 12:39 AM

    @kevinhassett: ah give it a rest – talk about blowing up a storm in a teacup – a tiny % of the country own second homes and the rest of us have to listen to all this nonsense as if theres a zombie apocalypse descending on the country folk – FFS theres nothing open in the town and villages , no pubs , no hotels , no businesses nothing – and everyone is staying 2 metres away – and all this hyperbole about it being a ‘possible cheltenham’ is completely overblown – where exactly are theses thousands of people going to congregate and mass spread like in Cheltenham ? – not to mention that there the full might of the Garda have been deployed 24/7 with fines and prison sentences to ‘concentrate on this’ – you would have to wonder what else they would have been doing on a bank holiday weekend with no pubs and a country in lockdown if they didnt have a national operation on holiday home owners to scaremonger about – tumble weed blowing though rural Ireland – a bit of perspective needed

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    Mute Carpentoza
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    Apr 10th 2020, 12:55 AM

    @Dave Hammond: well said Dave, the holiday home issue seems to have been latched onto by people with little power over their personal lives ( and quite a bit of jealousy of others) who perhaps are gleefully taking pleasure in telling others what to do. A far bigger issue is the number of young professionals and students living in cities who might make their way home for weekend and be in direct contact with family. They can of course just say they are travelling home and very little can be done about it!

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    Mute Sam Greene
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    Apr 10th 2020, 3:23 AM

    @Carpentoza: hopefully the travel ban works both ways and when the country folk want to pop back up to Dublin they’ll be told…. eh sorry, turn back there lad

    36
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    Mute Gerard Heery
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    Apr 10th 2020, 3:50 AM

    @Dave Hammond: the virus travels on their tanted money ,cars ,shoes ,straight into the supermarkets and shops onto the shelve and trolleys and baskets as to where THIS virus can spread itself

    35
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    Mute Joe Davis
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    Apr 10th 2020, 8:46 AM

    @Dave Hammond: have you ever owned a mobile home. Our site has approx 250 mobiles. There is about 10 sites within a 2 mile radius. Kids are not going to stay in a cramped mobile home for a week or two. 8 and 9 year olds are not going to social distance.They will be playing with each other on the sites.They are the silent carriers. Those 10 sites have about 1000 mobiles in the 2 mile radius. How many is that in the country would you say. Cheltenham will be the needle in the haystack. Some hyperbole.

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    Mute Quiggers
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    Apr 10th 2020, 10:27 AM

    @Dave Hammond: the spokesman for the entitled few?
    people are supposed to stay within 2km of their house not travel to the other side of the country. I take my hat off to the people responsible for putting up these signs. make no mistake the entitled few don’t give a second thought to bringing death to your doorstep.
    anybody in a car this weekend that is not for essential item should have a big fine. it will help pay the bill at the end of all this.

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    Mute DerBomber
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    Apr 10th 2020, 12:28 PM

    @Dave Hammond: why on earth would people leave their own homes to visit in a lot of cases , a caravan or mobile home , where there are no pubs , amenities or anything else open . And if you ventured out to be met by the locals with pitchforks and burning torches . I must be losing it cos I just don’t get it.

    9
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    Mute Tinky Freeman
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    Apr 10th 2020, 1:27 PM

    @Dave Hammond: you clearly have little understanding of virology. This virus can live on things people pick up in the supermarket and put down. It can live on door handles etc. Unless people are going to driving back up to Dublin to do their food shopping, of course there is a threat. The virus, in the most has been contained in Dublin. For people to travel from Dublin to holiday homes shows a complete lack of respect to frontline services who are putting their lives on the line and a complete lack of respect to elderly and compromised people in the towns that they are visiting. Every person who has visited a holiday home ignoring government pleas deserves to spend a few hours working in ICU.

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    Mute Nick Caffrey
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    Apr 10th 2020, 2:14 PM

    @Dave Hammond: You obviously live in a large town. Here, in the ‘sticks’, we actually see the visitors!

    2
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    Mute Michael MC Evoy
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    Apr 10th 2020, 2:24 PM

    @Quiggers: so you’re in favour of people taking the law inro their own hands. Why didn’t the people who printed these notices sign them if they’re so brave. Agree that people should stay within 2k of their own homes, but it should also be remembered that when this epidemic ends seaside resorts will be damned glad of visitors to boost the economy.

    3
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    Mute Alan Clarke
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    Apr 11th 2020, 11:34 AM

    @Sam Greene: country folk? I see you have as your avatar a nice pic of one of those country folk jumping with a hurley against the backdrop of the moon. Maybe you should replace it with a picture of a junkie banging up

    1
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    Mute John Murray
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:31 PM

    How do they know the posters went through letterboxes of holiday homes?

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    Mute Karen Ryan
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    Apr 9th 2020, 10:43 PM

    We have a mobile in curricoloe Co. Wexford. As much as we would love to be there now it’s not the right thing to do. Also our mobile park is closed so no one can go down. These people who travelled are so selfish

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    Mute Eamonn Farrell
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    Apr 11th 2020, 8:04 AM

    @Karen Ryan: i have sent you a medal in the post !

    1
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    Mute Syl Farrell
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:40 PM

    Sure what’s the problem? It’s official government policy…

    129
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    Mute Syl Farrell
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:44 PM

    @Syl Farrell: the government and gardai are responsible for this. Totally irresponsible to be creating unnecessary fear and as for the Garda commissioner calling on people to snitch on their neighbours…

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    Mute Keith O Hanlon
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:45 PM

    @Syl Farrell: Will you relax it’s not like anyone is going to be executed over it lol

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    Mute Syl Farrell
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:52 PM

    @Keith O Hanlon: thanks that’s very reassuring

    20
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    Mute Keith O Hanlon
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:55 PM

    @Syl Farrell: Your welcome worry guts Lol

    37
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    Mute Syl Farrell
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:03 PM

    @Keith O Hanlon: thanks again. What do I owe you for the consultation? LOL

    12
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    Mute Keith O Hanlon
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:09 PM

    @Syl Farrell: ah sure if you come over bring a gang with you few cans and a party sure why worry we are all gonna die anyway someday PMSL.

    23
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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    Apr 10th 2020, 12:38 AM

    @Syl Farrell:
    it is NOT official government policy to threaten holiday home owners that they might “have no holiday homes to return to when the Covid-19 crisis is over.” It is law that people who break the travel rules can be taken to court and fined and/or jailed as a last resort.

    Prior to that people were advised and requested not to make any non essential journeys – but it only became legally enforceable the other day. The irony is that If holiday home owners had travelled before the ban or to deal with an urgent essential issue (such as a water leak or property damage) then they may well be stuck there or risk a fine driving to their normal residence…. and the idiot that posted these including the veiled threat to the property may actually have given the people who travelled there a legal excuse if they travelled to protect their property…

    I hasten to add that I am absolutely against anyone breaking any of the rules and think that everyone who travelled to their holiday homes should end up in court with a 2,500 fine that could be used to help those affected but covid-19. I also just think – if there are four people in the car – the rules apply to us individually so a car with four people is 10,000 maybe… and taking people to court who fail to abide with instructions is government policy.

    18
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    Mute Richy Fitz
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:47 PM

    It’s a very thoughtful, and well written letter, big bualadh bos for your sir

    84
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    Mute Alan
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    Apr 9th 2020, 10:34 PM

    F off until this is over then we want you back spending money in our town and paying your property tax for our services. Theres ways and means and this comes across as total us and them

    88
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    Mute Peter McGlynn
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:01 PM

    I wouldn’t mind but most of these people I’m sure are not locked up in a studio in Dublin.

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    Mute Daniel Howard
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:31 PM

    @Peter McGlynn: I’m sure these types must have it so hard being stuck in their 4+ bedroom house in nice Dublin suburbs and not being able to stay in their holiday home. Whereas others can’t even afford to buy one home and are stuck in a small flat.

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    Mute Paul Mc
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    Apr 9th 2020, 11:58 PM

    @Daniel Howard: jealous much peasant?

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    Mute Sam Greene
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    Apr 10th 2020, 3:26 AM

    @Daniel Howard: “these types” wtf does that mean? Oh u mean the people who spend alot of money in these coastal towns year after year and keep them going??

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    Mute Michael MC Evoy
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    Apr 10th 2020, 2:26 PM

    @Daniel Howard: what’s the problem. They bought holiday homes with their own money.

    5
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    Mute Keith O Hanlon
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:32 PM

    They should call in the FBI to narrow down the search inside a 2km radius and bring back tHe death penalty for the seriousness of this case LOL

    77
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    Mute Mike Lucey
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    Apr 9th 2020, 11:18 PM

    The final comment is definitely not acceptable but I would have no problem with the first part of the message. The folks that have travelled to their holiday homes should be ashamed of themselves and needed a clear message delivered through their letterbox but not the nasty threat.

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    Mute Mike McGann
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:54 PM

    Dubliners don’t go to Kilkee ‘cos of the Munster fans.

    64
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    Mute biggybald
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    Apr 9th 2020, 10:40 PM

    @Mike McGann: It must be people from different counties who bought their cars in Dublin then.

    57
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    Mute Quentin Tarantino
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    Apr 9th 2020, 10:59 PM

    @Mike McGann: heard they had similar posters up in Wexford . Haha

    26
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    Mute Sean Fahey
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:46 PM

    It was all going so well until the sudden dark turn.

    47
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    Mute Breedge
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    Apr 9th 2020, 11:50 PM

    OK it’s like this for the people who really don’t understand when everything started to happen in Italy schools, businesses closing, lockdowns, people went to places like Lake Garda and other holiday resorts they spread the virus. You might feel by been in your holiday home it’s like been at home well it’s not, few examples when you get there you stop into a local shop no virus there yet, you go to your holiday home no virus there yet , go to the facilities that are at the resort on hand for you no virus there yet . Keep this in mind.

    45
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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    Apr 10th 2020, 12:44 AM

    @Breedge: some people never learn and jail is the best place for them … and 2,500 fine per person per offence to help to seriously affected and, as they all own holiday homes, they can afford a fine of 10,000 for a family of four (see I have thrown the cat among the pigeons by suggesting the all the occupants of a vehicle are breaking the law and all individually liable to the fine).

    36
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    Mute Mike McGann
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:53 PM

    Case closed, I did it. I meant it. I’m here get me.

    30
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    Mute John Keane
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    Apr 10th 2020, 8:02 PM

    @Mike McGann: Do I detect a note of about 7 cans of Heino there Mike.

    2
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    Mute Peter Leonard
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:17 PM

    Why don’t they F off somewhere else?

    30
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    Mute Keith O Hanlon
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:20 PM

    @Peter Leonard: back to your GAFF

    23
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    Mute John Smith
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    Apr 9th 2020, 8:32 PM

    Pitchs at the ready…

    24
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    Mute Steph Ní Dufaigh
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    Apr 10th 2020, 12:52 PM

    @John Smith: Pitchforks even. They don’t want them using the pitches.

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    Mute Sam Greene
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    Apr 10th 2020, 3:31 AM

    Honestly, you’d think city people were all sitting at traffic lights , revving their engines to go to the country. . Well sorry but we’re not, and the travel ban works both ways, all the country folk that have gone home for the weekend? Youll be getting stopped on the way back to Dub and told stay away… cheek of you having a home in Dublin too ! How dare u. (Thats sarcasm for those who need it explsining)

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    Mute Fr Romeo sensini.
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    Apr 10th 2020, 7:39 AM

    @Sam Greene: triffic.

    4
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    Mute Morning Gus
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    Apr 9th 2020, 10:28 PM

    Somebody seems enthusiastic about social distancing.

    19
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    Mute Yolita Ferue
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    Apr 10th 2020, 5:19 AM

    Welcome to Ireland 2020, a country where a trip to a holiday home is at your own risk and met with suspicion from locals, reports to the police as well as intimidation and menace with the repetitive mantra “STAY HOME, SAVE LIVES.”

    15
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    Mute Yurty Tim
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    Apr 10th 2020, 12:28 AM

    No government or virus shall deny me my right to sand, ocean, sun and ice cream.

    14
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    Mute Fr Romeo sensini.
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    Apr 10th 2020, 7:41 AM

    @Yurty Tim:where are you off ta? The canarys!bar the cone yer in the wrong country.

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    Mute pablo
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    Apr 10th 2020, 12:01 AM

    Bit aggressive lads

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    Mute Sue Kelly
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    Apr 9th 2020, 11:52 PM

    Leave them there

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    Mute Stan Papusa
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    Apr 10th 2020, 9:51 AM

    Ireland being turned into a police state, even though Harris says it isn’t… that’s still not enough for some.
    Neighbors now encouraged to snitch on each other, even though Harris says that’s not what is is… still not enough.
    (You might want to check “I’m not a crook” series by Richard Nixon by the way)
    Going a step further now, people taking matters into their own hands and issue threats to one another. Not even the kind of “don’t park in front of my house, I have you on video” kind of threats but “you might not have a home when you return” threats… still not enough.

    People here still shamelessly laughing it off or implying the get what they deserve.
    When will it be enough, when they do actually start burning down houses or resort to lynching?

    And I’m the negative one, the toxic one, one of those who should go away and not shatter anyone’s illusion that the govt is doing a fantastic job, that everything is grand (tests, PPE, you name it) and the only real problem here is the few that “still don’t get the message”…

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    Mute dave mc nevin
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    Apr 10th 2020, 2:39 PM

    Government letting British tourists to flock in through the ports

    3
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    Mute Brendan Boland
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    Apr 10th 2020, 8:19 PM

    Small minded approach to this problem. Obviously people should not be travelling to Holliday homes, but really whoever came up with this must be as thick as two planks the place will be forever associated with it. Every tourist s review will include it their appraisal. Perhaps the people responsible can show it to their children if they ask what they contributed to the crises

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    Mute Decko49
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:33 PM

    @John O Chrualaoich: Why are they taking down all the comments people make????

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    Mute John O Chrualaoich
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    Apr 9th 2020, 9:38 PM

    @Decko49: dont really know, personal attacks all over the place, the journal ignores then they take the hump with a popular comment, think I will leave them off go back to twitter where they leave you alone

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