EVERY SATURDAY MORNING we take a look at all the best comments left on the site by our readers over the past seven days.
This week there was a lot of talk about gender quotas, the IDA and Labour.
The 5 most popular comments this week
1. Tommy Ryder got 1,673 thumbs up for this comment about the halting site Pat Kenny visited this week.
If I lived there I’d get the other men involved and organize a clean up, get the place spick and span with a proper play area for the kids.
Why don’t the traveller men do the same?
2. Hallowe’en is always a difficult time for emergency services and last weekend was no different. Mel Fitzpatrick got 1,623 thumbs for this comment:
Anyone who attacks the ambulance services should be locked up
3. Colm Byrne‘s opinion on the IDA versus Thomas Reid case earned him 1,589 green thumbs.
If it is for Intel, then they should make him an offer he can’t refuse, instead of the IDA taking it off him for market value with some compensation….seems bullying tactics.
4. Andrea Rock Massey got 1,585 thumbs up for this.
The damp issues are dreadful and I feel sorry for anybody living in those conditions. I don’t really have sympathy for someone who receives a home suitable for her family size, she then decides to increase her family size and then expects the council to give her somewhere bigger. Plenty of families would love to be able to upgrade to a larger hone but their finances mean that is not possible. Not everything is the responsibility of the tax payer. I’m actually sick of this attitude amongst some people.
5. And sneaking into the Top 5 is Daragh8008 with 1,197 green thumbs.
Vote labour and get …errr… Frankfurt’s way?
The top 5 articles which received the most comments this week
1. Crowds turn out to support family of Dublin girl who failed to get place in local school (363 comments)
2. ‘Anti-Traveller sentiment is the last bastion of a backward Ireland’ (294 comments)
3. New religion curriculum to shake up classes at Catholic schools (240 comments)
4. “Vote Sinn Féin, get the Army Council.” – Labour’s new election slogan? (232 comments)
5. Kildare man wins appeal in Supreme Court and won’t be forced to sell his family home to the IDA (216 comments)
Standout comments
Before becoming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised an equal and representative Cabinet. And that’s exactly what he delivered – 15 men and 15 women from all walks of life, including an astronaut (as Transport Minister) and a decorated soldier (commanding the Military). However, not everyone saw merit in the approach. Here is a taste of the debate.
I really wish they’d concentrate on examining and addressing the root cause of women not getting into politics as much as men rather than arbitrarily picking a half female cabinet just for “equality” even if there were better male candidates available. Witnessed it in my office recently where a bog average employee got a promotion ahead of two outstanding male candidates purely on the basis that she was a woman.
Derek Walsh:
Well, one of the root causes is that men often get picked over equally or more capable women because of conscious or unconscious bias. In some circumstances it’s possible to hide gender information so the decision can be made free of bias but usually it’s not, and in that case, one of the best ways to address the problem is to ensure that an equal number of men and women are picked from the pool of qualified candidates. Unless the pool is exceptionally small this will nomally more closely approximate the best possible group than a male-skewed selection.
Sandra Englander Walsh:
you’re mistaken here. These are not “bog average” women, these are bright, accomplished women, smartly chosen for the roles. The fact that they are women adds to sublime nature of the appointments. Look at their credentials and backgrounds before jumping on this wagon. We’ve never seen the likes of a head of gov’t actually appointing appropriate people to roles, so it’s all a bit amazing, really
Anon Ymous:
As a woman, this really annoys me too. Of course nobody should be discriminated against because of their gender, race, ethnicity, etc., but if the right person for the job is turned down because of gender quotes, they’re doing a huge disservice to their country. If a man doesn’t get a job because of gender quotes, surely that’s discrimination as he didn’t get it due to his gender?
Roland Tormey:
The quota he has set for himself means that, as a leader, he has to go out and actively look for well-qualified female candidates rather than simply relying on the same old networks that produce the same old usual suspects as ministers. I doubt any men who were overlooked for ministerial jobs were actually better qualified than the women who got the job (although they might well tell themselves that to give themselves comfort).
John Joe, we hope you have a job on Monday morning.
For anyone who has ever watched Leaders Questions in the Dáil, you’ll enjoy this from Gerry Ryan.
Finally, we’re really sorry if our app has impacted on your love life. Unintentional.
“Whoa!…Whoa! ..Back in a minute love….there’s an interesting article on the Journal about answering phones during sex….keep your motor running while I comment”
That one is from Al Ca.
See any good comments? Send them on to sinead@thejournal.ie
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