Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
The Daily PollTHE OSCARS IS TAKING place tomorrow tonight, with Cillian Murphy a heavy favourite to be named best actor for his role in Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer leads the way with 13 nominations at the Oscars.
Poor Things, starring Emma Stone as a young woman in Victorian London who is resurrected through a brain transplant, ranks second in terms of Oscar nominations and is up for 11 Academy Awards.
The award show kicks off at 10.15pm tomorrow night (Irish time).
So, today we want to know… Will you watch the Oscars?
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
And within the last 12 months our Government gave themselves 4 pay increases . While Pepole are Struggling to pay household bills let alone anything else.
@Derek Moean: lol
And since the end of the first lockdown the level of incompetence from the government has been staggering to put it mildly
@John O: they have done many things right. So many would have been lost without the PUP for example. And it appears that most countries have had problems and were writing the procedures manual as the pandemic evoked. So give it a rest you complete moaner.
@John O: I’m sure you’ll get plenty thumbs up.
Give it a rest will you.
@Paul Furey: is this your 365th whiz in bed, Paul
MAMA
@Paul Furey: nice & comfy there Paul getting your pup and listening to garbage from M-hole. What about the self employed n the Hospitality area over 65′s Nothing for 12 months
Without the pup there would of been major protests and riots as there is only so much people would take.
@Paul Furey: the biggest losers witout the pup would have wothout a doubt been the banks, imagine if a nation in lockdown with massive unemployment couldn’t pay their mortgage. I would argue that the pup was increased to 350 at the beginning from the planned 202 as everyone clearly pointed out we could not provide for our family AND pay a mortgage on 202 a week. Since the introduction of pup payments and the onset of covid closures none of our expenses as a family have decreased, the only decrease is our ability to earn. Mortgage / rent/ car insurance/ car tax. The only reduction I’ve seen is diesel bills which are balanced by the increased home electricity and heating as we are now in the house 24 hours a day
@Eugene Walsh: how path etic! Like everyone else I want to be working as the PUP does not cover all my monthly expenses, so I’m in trouble. Im at an age that no one wants to employ and I’ve tried. You’re actually a horr ible person. Defining everyone by your own twisted standards.
@Paul Furey: It was Mary Lou Mc Donald that insisted that we all got the PUP. The Government wanted to put everyone on €203, but she insisted that people should get paid their dues. I am not advocating for her, I am just stating a fact.
@Paul Furey: Actually a list was published during the week. It was of all European countries listing the grants and assistance that was given to businesses closed due to Covid. Ireland was last!! It made for pretty abysmal reading.
Dear God, what has happened us all? Squabbling who’s right and who’s wrong. I won’t mention who’s right or who’s wrong because my head is fried. I am going to use a new approach from here on and that is “sleep, work, and never read the paper, watch the news, and walk away when there is discussions on this covid.. Toodle- ooohh
@Jackie Reilly: Good idea, Jackie …. Bury your head in the sand and it’ll all go away …. I said it from the start that some tough decisions need to be made here, regarding risk of catching the disease, and the consequences of shutting everything down. Lockdowns are OTT & everything needs to re-open now.
Fantastic pub, the toasties, the creamy pint, permanent stained glass art work and the temporary artworks passing through, as well as those on the walls ;) always a great boozer to catch up with people you randomly met in town or just randomers you never met before. Something special about Grogans.
@SPQH: there really is. My last night out in town was in here. And as soon as it opens its doors I’ll be back in. A seat in Grogans on a Friday evening is the most valuable piece of real estate in Dublin. I remember they chose to close this weekend last year before they had to, because they said they couldn’t guarantee safe social distance. Meanwhile the temple bar leeches were cramming them in – hands touching hands – without a care. I presume Grogans aren’t paying rent and will be ok. But remember that so many pubs and restaurants may reopen but with different business owners and that there may be many stories of hardship behind the scenes…
@David Clements: it’s a great refuge from the hustle and bustle and yeah a seat on a Friday evening is gold dust. But I also miss McDaids, The Palace and the Long Hall. The sooner we get back the better. I’m getting sick of these widget cans.
@GrumpyAulFella: McDaids Guinness is unreal. I’d like to throw the Stags in there too as one of the Dublin classics, that snug, could spend a whole lockdown in there in comfort
Imagine this day last year our government were strong enough to take action that would have resulted in a completely different outcome. Like not letting 5000 Italian rugby fans land here for the weekend for starters. Like not allowing thousands to land in our airports every weekend while we are all forced to stay within our 5k limit.
Perhaps you could enjoy a pint in a brilliant pub like the one in this article.
@Batster: 5k was a luxury, they started us off at 2k.
@Batster: We still have an open border in the North that we cannot close, it is also debatable whether it is Constitutional to prevent Irish citizens from travelling also. To myself at least it is quite obvious why they did not do what you suggest, half of the issue with Brexit for the last 5 years was keeping the border opened after all.
Anyway, the vast majority of the deaths from covid were in the over 65′s, with a sizeable chunk (62% in total), particularly since January have been in nursing homes. Heads should roll over that, this is where they dropped the ball.
We have a CMO who would have the harshest level 5 restrictions apply to everyone possible as the singular method of virus prevention. We also have a head of modelling in NPHET who could not model a hat.
@Batster: Do you honestly believe if the Italian fans didn’t come over that the situation would have been much different? This is a transmissible virus in a globalised 21st century. It was always going to get here irrespective of decisions 12 months ago
@Bobby: Yes I do, northern Italy was the epicentre for Covid this tim last year
@Quia Timet: Hopefully heads will roll. Relatives of these poor people are taking a case. I sincerely hope they make them pay and pay dearly. One thing that will be remembered from this horrible time is how H.S.E and NPHET literally culled our elderly.
@Bobby: Dont forget same week we had 1000 arrive in the country for a conference on Alcohol. Coming from countries that already had high rates of covid . A conference organised, allowed and opened by Harris and Holohan.
People please feel some solidarity towards the people that will make your experience on getting a, meal, a pint, a gig popcorn at the cinema ,a taxi in the future a nice experience iam sure you will.
A year later and things are worse
Government will not be happy till no cases and that going to happen
We’re stuck with the virus and the weakest government ever
It also marks 5 months of fighting for a resolution with my local council over the ReStart Grant.
My premises (shut to customers since 12 March 2020) is in a council owned & operated building. My lease says rates are incl in my rent (which I’ve continued to pay all throughout).
Turns out the council were claiming the building as rates exempt as an art gallery so my application for funding was denied despite the incorrect lease, as was the appeal. I offered to register for rates for my premises individually which was denied.
It took an FOI request to find out that upon referral to the Dept Enterprise the council were advised they were in the wrong, the premises should be rated and to pay the grant to my business.
The council ignored this advice, seemingly as the Dept advice also stated that the council would be on the hook for the rates due to the clause in my lease, and would require a whole review of the building. Thus with the council potentially being on the hook for a lot of backdated rates for the building for the 15 odd other units within, they took the option of denying my application as approving same would have acknowledged the issue and forced the review. The cheaper option that was also in the council’s best interest was to deny my application to the detriment of my business.
Dept Enterprise don’t want to know and send me to the council. The council state they’ve nothing more to do with it and send me back to the Dept. No one wants to take responsibility. Along with issues experienced with DEASP last July that took almost 2 months to resolve what little faith I had in public institutions, or being “in this together” is completely gone. My wife is still working so money is ok-ish but I’m hanging on by a thread and ended up being prescribed anti depressants by my GP after digging myself into a hole thinking that a business I fought so hard to build up while still working full time to a point where I could take the plunge & be self employed in the best interest of my family was failing due to my own faults. I was blaming myself for things outside of my control and being treated like a nuisance by the powers that be didn’t help.
This has been my COVID-19 lockdown journey. I have no faith in any politician stating platitudes at press conferences. They’re unaffected and got pay rises to boot. I understand the need for lockdowns, I understand why my industry is one of the most affected. I just want a little fairness and not be made feel like I’m trying to scam funds I don’t believe I’m entitled to, which have been denied through no fault of my own (I could totally accept if the grant application was denied due to my error, but it was the council’s error they don’t want to own).
@Josephus Miller: I know that its a long shot but that sounds like something you should bring to your local TD
@John Kelly: Any that have replied are getting no joy from either the council or dept either.
@Josephus Miller: Sorry to hear this, under the Restart Grant scheme the premises doesn’t have to be rated but just rateable (which it would be if it wasn’t listed as rate exempt as a gallery, I presume you aren’t operating a gallery or other rate exempt business) so your premises would qualify. I was processing these grants last year and would have paid out going on the infomation you supplied, our view was we wanted these businesses to survive rather than close permanently, funding supplied was 100% from the dept. so it wasn’t costing the councils anything from their own resources. Keep fighting and maybe stop paying your rent until the matter is resolved.
“what’s another year” it looks like !!!
Reeling in the years is going start getting boring with nothing but Covid for 2 or 3 years…
have your say