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Bill which aims to force banks to ask for permission before selling mortgages to vulture funds passes in the Dáil

The Bill puts into law what already exists at the moment as a voluntary Central Bank code

LAST UPDATE | 31 Jan 2019

THE DÁIL HAS voted in favour of Sinn Féin’s No Consent, No Sale Bill which aims to give mortgage holders the power to block the sale of their loans to vulture funds.

Pearse Doherty’s Central Bank (Transfer of Mortgages) Bill puts into law what already exists at the moment as a voluntary Central Bank code.

The Dáil voted by 80 votes to 45 to pass the Bill – the government opposed the proposed legislation.

That voluntary code states that lenders looking to offload a mortgage must get the borrower’s permission before selling the loan onto a third party.

The deputy recently highlighted the code of practice with Permanent TSB bankers when they appeared before an Oireachtas Committee. He asked if PTSB would adhere to the code in relation to the transfer of over 6,000 of its customers’ mortgages to another financial entity.

The bank bosses told the committee that they would – however they later rolled back on that response.
https://www.facebook.com/sinnfein/videos/1124545744375853?sfns=0

The Central Bank code of practice does indeed state that “a loan secured by the mortgage of residential property may not be transferred without the written consent of the borrower”.

It goes on to say that if a bank is to transfer a mortgage of one of its customers it must provide a statement containing sufficient information to enable the borrower to make an informed decision and give a clear explanation of the implications of a transfer.

“It must also set out how the transfer might affect the borrower. The borrower must be approached on an individual basis and given reasonable time to give or to decline to give his consent,” it adds. 

Homeowners get letters in the door 

December’s hearing of the Oireachtas Finance Committee also heard evidence that in the majority of cases, homeowners simply receive a letter from their respective bank informing them that their mortgage has already been sold or transferred to a vulture fund, and are given no say as to whether they agree with such a move.

Despite the code of practice being drafted by the Central Bank, the regulator has advised the government to oppose the Sinn Féin Bill.

It has “significant concerns on the terms of the Bill from a consumer protection, prudential supervision and financial stability perspective”, according to a government spokesperson, who added:

The banking industry also believes there would be many adverse outcomes attached to this Bill, including possibly reduced funding availability to banks, higher mortgage costs and a reduction in market attractiveness to potential new and existing participants.

It is argued each of these impacts would increase risks to financial stability and have major negative economic impacts.

The government believes the Bill would have “potential consequences for the mortgage market, financial stability and the economy” stating that they could be “so severe that they cannot be entertained”.

It adds that the likely consequence could be an increase in the number of repossessions by banks, adding that the Bill would also have implications for new mortgages, and “would increase the incentives to strategic default and, by increasing the risk levels of existing mortgages and the costs to the lenders, it would give rise to increased interest rates for those who hold Standard Variable Rate (SVR) mortgages”.

The government said it was opposing the Bill as it would make it almost impossible to facilitate securitisations which are used as a source of bank funding.

Backbenchers ‘squirming in their seats’ during today’s vote

A debate earlier this week heard from a number of politicians who appealed for the government to support the Bill.

Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin raised the personal case of one of his constituents to highlight its importance.

He said Maire and Sean are a married couple in his constituency in Dublin Mid-West.

“They both work, and they have worked their entire adult lives in modest wage jobs,” he told the Dáil.

“They get up early in the morning and they work hard, and they raised their now-adult son exceptionally well. In their entire life they had never missed a mortgage payment until Permanent TSB unreasonably hiked up their interest rates and put them into difficulty.

“What did they do? They did what any responsible mortgage holder would do. They engaged the banks immediately. They sat down with them, went through the mortgage arrears resolution process and came out on the other side of that with a split mortgage.

They have met every single payment under the terms of that agreement since it was reached. Their intention was always to return to full payments and eventually honour the full loan they took out to buy their family home. In November last, they contacted me at the time they were trying to see when they could return to full payments.

“They had received a letter from their lender to say their mortgage was due to be sold. They were not told to who, for how much or the consequences of that. That family have said to me repeatedly that they feel let down by their lender but also by the failure of the Government to protect them. They are now in a position where they simply do not know what will happen. Three months on, they still have not been contacted by their new lender and they are genuinely fearful that they could lose the home for which they worked so hard.”

Ó Broin said he had not heard any argument as to why the minister would not pass this legislation, adding he imagines many government backbenchers would be “squirming in their seats come today’s vote on the Bill. 

‘Vulture lovers’

During the same debate, Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice told the Dáil that Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar are “vulture lovers”, adding:

Let us be very clear: if a bank sells on a mortgage, a vulture will not offer the borrower a split mortgage. That is the bottom line. Let no one cod themselves. They look for demand of money. Yes, a borrower who has one house and who is willing to get the hell out of it will probably get a write-down if the loan was bigger than the house is worth.  

Mattie McGrath also hit out against the government and those in Fine Gael, claiming “the very people the Minister was elected to protect, the families behind these loans, do not feature in Fine Gael land”.

Referencing the PTSB mortgage sale mentioned earlier, he said the State bank (PTSB is 75% owned by the State) sold over 6,000 family home loans to an unknown entity.

“These were loans belonging to families that had been engaging with the bank, some of whom had never missed an agreed payment but again, the government did nothing. It sat there smugly and turned a blind eye. The government continues to sit there while family home loans are being sold of to unaccountable vulture funds, ignoring the suffering of families. Government members ought to be ashamed of themselves. They are not ashamed, but they ought to be.”

Finance minister defends government position

In defending the government’s stance, the Finance Minister said many of mortgage-holders impacted by this issue are in his own constituency.

However, he said mortgage arrears in Ireland have reduced, and also referenced the government’s Abhaile scheme, which aims to help homeowners who find themselves before the court. This week, a report found the scheme was not working as it should.

Mentioning PTSB, he acknowledged that “more could and should have been done for some but after years of effort to try to reduce that level of non-performing loans that is where the bank stood – a multiple of the European average, way ahead of where many other banks in Ireland have stood”.

It has been pointed out that a number of mortgages sold on by PTSB were not ‘non-performing’ yet still found themselves to be sold on with the loan book.

He added that the government’s view that the Bill would likely affect the financial interests of the State, and stated a Money Message would be required – this means that even if the Bill is passed by the majority in the Dáil it would effectively be blocked by government.

Commenting after the government’s defeat today, Doherty said:

Given the amount of banks now seeking to offload their mortgages to vultures it is imperative that this legislation now moves speedily through the remaining legislative stages and I have asked the Finance Committee to facilitate and early meeting to go through the legislative scrutiny.
Despite its opposition to my bill the government must listen to the will of the Dáil and allow this legislation to progress as speedily as possible.

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76 Comments
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    Mute Tommy Roche
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    Oct 1st 2024, 12:28 PM

    Can’t believe they are once again going to reward people for not working. Absolute redesign of unemployment payments are needed. Payable for a maximum of 1 month in a 12 month period. In a time of full employment, long-term jobseekers allowances should be abolished.

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    Mute Sergej Simonov
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:01 PM

    @Tommy Roche: how on earth do you expect travellers to ever work?!!!! How do you expect numerous drug gangs members to work?! How do you expect carrier single mothers to work?! How do you expect people with hundreds criminal convictions to work?!

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    Mute Sergej Simonov
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:41 PM

    @Tommy Roche: Again how do you expect crowd people seat 24/7 outside former Crown Paints in Coolock, commit arsons, criminal damage, acts of intimidation and blocking traffic for people coming from work… without increasing their job seekers allowance?!!! Don’t be so cruel!

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    Mute CP
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:45 PM

    @Sergej Simonov: drug gang members/ people with 100s of convictions , that’s a life choice that can be changed, not easily but it’s no excuse for not being able to work. Being a traveller doesn’t mean you can’t work either,

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    Mute Alan
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:47 PM

    @Tommy Roche: Yes let’s prosecute the minority for the fee that don’t work. Typical right wing conservative sound bite. You’d love a bit of austerity wouldn’t you Tommy. We’re not at full employment, some of those figures are slave Labour CE and TUS schemes where the client has absolutely ZERO prospects of getting a job. We need to clamp down hard on tax avoidance from multinationals. Only difference between a scrote living in Blackrock and a scrote in living in Rossfield in Tallaght is the type of clothes they wear. We all remember the crash and the white collar gangsters who got away with it. Every single year it’s people like you who come out with their right wing agenda

    51
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    Mute Jason Memail
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:53 PM

    @Alan: I think you’ll find the scrote uniform of choice is pretty consistent no matter what town or village they’re from. Canada Goose jacket, North Face tracksuit and some type of electric bike/scooter tells you all you need to know from a mile off.

    56
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    Mute Kevin Kerr
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:04 PM

    @CP: he’s being facetious- ignore him

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    Mute Tommy Roche
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:44 PM

    @Alan: Right wing agenda…lol. Imagine being a taxpayer who’s sick of supporting my neighbour up the road, who’s never paid a cent income tax in his life, was bragging only last week about getting a lump sum fuel payment of over €450 and is at this moment spending it in a Dortmund pub !! He, and thousands of others like him don’t have zero prospects of getting a job. They don’t WANT a job. At the current time, anyone seeking employment should have no trouble finding a job. One huge issue is those deemed within SW as ‘unemployable’. Change the payment name to Unemployable Allowance and maybe the stigma would make them rethink their life choices.

    59
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    Mute Shane O Mac
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:57 PM

    @Sergej Simonov: stop making excuses

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    Mute Gearoid MacEachaidh
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:20 PM

    @Shane O Mac: the thing is they’re not “excuses”, they’re facts. Would you employ any of the people he mentioned? I wouldn’t. Would pay for a fancy meal being served by Anto with multiple convictions, reeking of weed greeting you with a stooorrrry bud? What jobs should they do? And would you be willing to make someone else unemployed to facilitate them? The fact is if you stop their pay they will get their money by illegal means, you could be their victim. I’m all for stopping double payments and Christmas bonuses for long-term unemployed but in the real world you can’t cut them off.

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    Mute Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:35 PM

    @Gearoid MacEachaidh: so pay them not to commit crime, you’re funny.

    9
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    Mute Alan
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    Oct 1st 2024, 5:19 PM

    @Tommy Roche: Very small minority of people that engage in that behaviour. Should we tell John Doe up the road with an intellectual disability to get of his hxxle to and get a job. It is right wing stigmatising, label anyone who hasn’t worked a day In their life as lazy, not bothering to work, maybe turn your attention to the white collar capitalist elite who sold their souls to the IMF and in turn the Irish government at the time absolutely destroyed the economy with massive tax hikes, massive austerity measures, unprecedented reduction of government spending. You might not have being affected but 1000s did and are still suffering. Capitalism is greed. What we need is a social democratic system of socialism. So please get off your high horse

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    Mute Gearoid MacEachaidh
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    Oct 1st 2024, 5:35 PM

    @Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson: thanks for the compliment but I’m not trying to be funny, I’m being factual. You live in this imaginary world where you can cut people off from any source of state help and suddenly they will see the error of their ways and generations of poor role models will count for nothing and Anto will don a 3 piece suit, a D4 accent and start selling mortgages for AIB. I live in the real world where giving people state help keeps them from costing the tax payers more in other ways. Every country on the planet has a portion of their population who unemployable. We’re not North Korea were they’re allowed to die of hunger. Even the USA has a welfare system.

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    Mute S Suilleabhain
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    Oct 2nd 2024, 5:26 PM

    @Sergej Simonov: I met a big group of coloock protesters during the summer a lot of mothers and nearly all of them in employment. Troll

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    Mute Dominic Leleu
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    Oct 1st 2024, 10:27 AM

    @Paul Gorry: watch the smile on pascal face. That grin always show the contempt for the working class people. The biggest the smile the more we will get fecked. I remember how ecstatic he was to present the 5 euros increase a week for pension.
    watch that smile

    258
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    Mute Daniel Skelton
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    Oct 1st 2024, 10:48 AM

    As usual, nothing ever for the working man. Except some pathetic 1% USC cut.

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    Mute Alex
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    Oct 1st 2024, 11:20 AM

    @Daniel Skelton: Better than no cut but could be way better than 1% indeed.

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    Mute Pat Hazzard
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    Oct 1st 2024, 11:26 AM

    @Daniel Skelton: wrong, working person will be better off by over 1000, those with children even more so

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    Mute Jack Cass
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    Oct 1st 2024, 11:34 AM

    @Pat Hazzard: and the working person will also be worse off by 1000 euro’s because of levy’s etc; typical Leprechaun economics.

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    Mute Pat Barry
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    Oct 1st 2024, 12:33 PM

    @Pat Hazzard: Here, have a read of this from the Independent, and how any benefits we get in the budget will be negated for the most part by taxes and levies. The only one I actually agree with is what is being proposed for vapes and cigarettes, after all, it took me long enough to give them up, but the rest of the increases are going to hit families that are already hard pressed to make ends meet as it is.

    https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/never-mind-budget-giveaways-here-are-five-hits-to-peoples-finances-also-being-delivered-today/a500170312.html

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    Mute Dermot Blaine
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:24 PM

    @Jack Cass: the levys add up to about 200 pa

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    Mute paul dutton
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:32 PM

    @Pat Hazzard: yes divide that 1000 by 12, then divide that by 4, its less than 20 euros so no were are not better off, being on the dole is better off. The working man always gets shafted

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    Mute M To The B
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:09 PM

    @paul dutton: wait until you see what happens in the UK. Things could be worse

    11
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    Mute Alan
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    Oct 1st 2024, 5:21 PM

    @Daniel Skelton: the majority of the WORKING man is doing other jobs and cash in hand. So stop making up excuses

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    Mute Sean Parker
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    Oct 1st 2024, 5:32 PM

    @paul dutton: or just divide by 52. Unless you’re living in a 48 week year.

    2
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    Mute Eileen Kelly
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    Oct 1st 2024, 11:48 AM

    The budget will not deliver anything to one section of society, the pensioners affected by the 2012 legislation which denied them a pension if they did not have 520 credits. People who took the time out to raise families, look after elderly, infirm and incapacitated relatives in a time when there was no carers allowance or childcare provision. The only thing they are entitled to this week is a free flu shot.

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    Mute 087 bed
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    Oct 1st 2024, 12:26 PM

    I predict a huge nothing burger from paschal the globalist for those of us that work, scrap carbon taxes and save the people.

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    Mute Jason Memail
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:56 PM

    @087 bed: Pachal isn’t actually the minister for Finance, but glad to see your consistency with just the one type of tax that you have an issue with.

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    Mute Martin Bishop
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    Oct 1st 2024, 3:04 PM

    @087 bed: I work, I’m benefitting so is my other half.

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    Mute S Suilleabhain
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    Oct 2nd 2024, 5:24 PM

    @Jason Memail: well he did an enormous amount of damage to the country in past budgets as minister for finance, so. This is what they really on our wonderful Fg, Irish who have amnesia

    1
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    Mute S Suilleabhain
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    Oct 2nd 2024, 5:30 PM

    @Jason Memail: Donohue is a piece of work, he sent me a vicious email once upon a time after i addressed his intimidation and propaganda when the chamber was talking marijuana use. He’s a belligerent Tory who did a lot of harm when given the finance role.

    1
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    Mute kevin rock
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    Oct 1st 2024, 12:35 PM

    I always seem to fall into the category that literally gets noting back !
    Hashtag: sick of it !

    105
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    Mute Kevin Kerr
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:29 PM

    @kevin rock: are you between a rock and a hard place?

    5
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    Mute RIP
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    Oct 1st 2024, 10:28 AM

    Opportunity to tackle the
    HOUSING CRISIS

    73
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    Mute Mick Joe
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    Oct 1st 2024, 10:42 AM

    @RIP: Whilst simultaneously tackling net immigration

    113
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    Mute Dermot Blaine
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:24 PM

    @Mick Joe: we’ll need immigrants to build the houses

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    Mute Mick Joe
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:12 PM

    @Dermot Blaine: They’re one of the primary reasons we have a housing crisis.

    52
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    Mute James Smith
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    Oct 1st 2024, 3:21 PM

    @Dermot Blaine: please explain. The import of cheap foreign labour has resulted in the exodus of Irish high skilled workers that we’re building 70,000 houses per year 15 years ago . The rates of pay have only increased slightly from the crash, hence now we have a very large shortage of plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, carpenters etc. There isn’t the capacity to build more homes, hence the government trying to entice Irish skilled construction workers back, which has failed miserably.

    18
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    Mute Charles Mc Carthy
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    Oct 1st 2024, 3:51 PM

    @Dermot Blaine: So they are no longer Doctors and Dentists but in actual fact plumbers, and brickies?
    Hard to keep up these days.

    19
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    Mute Niall Murphy
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:46 PM

    The USC should be gone completely at this stage.

    Considering the money available now to this government, the budget is falling short of what could comfortably be delivered.

    There’s a little being offered but there could and should be a lot more.

    68
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    Mute Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:07 PM

    A government that has no excuses relating to lack of money ,yet absolutely no creativity or inventiveness to serve the citizens of the country. God love us all when the economy takes a turn, the government will feed us to the wolves.

    59
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    Mute sakk sa
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    Oct 1st 2024, 11:30 AM

    Pribe the voters
    Win …..
    Collapse
    Repeat …..

    56
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    Mute John Flanagan
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    Oct 1st 2024, 11:57 AM

    Can some one clarify please. What a out a single pension with no children. Just on there own. What will the budget do for them. Besides extra 12 € a week. Do they not get any double payment except x ma’s

    48
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    Mute Pat Hazzard
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:14 PM

    @John Flanagan: increase in pension, increase in fuel allowance, increase in living alone allowance, double pension payment

    20
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    Mute Meh Meh
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:16 PM

    @John Flanagan: You get a double payment if you can prove you can use the correct version of there, their or they’re.

    10
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    Mute Terry Molloy
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:12 PM

    National children hosp, security hut, bike shed, millions to IPAS business…just think while they give away money coming up to an election!

    45
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    Mute Fergus O'Donnell
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:59 PM

    Buying votes.
    Nothing done to alleviate housing, in fact the very opposite.
    Failure from FFG as usual.

    46
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    Mute hans vos
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:47 PM

    Give away budget before elections. But realise they give back our own payed tax money but pretend that it’s theirs.

    40
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    Mute Eoin Jackson
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:02 PM

    @hans vos: this isn’t a giveaway budget. Majority of people getting little to sweet FA from this budget. Give away budget my hole.

    41
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    Mute thomas molloy
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:05 PM

    @hans vos: SF supporters must be very confused as the government has stole their thunder and even outdid them.

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    Mute Gearoid MacEachaidh
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:31 PM

    @hans vos: they’re giving away less than in previous years. Was the last 3 budgets to get votes too? Answer is yes. That’s literally the whole point

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    Mute Tricia G28
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:39 PM

    @hans vos: “but pretend that it’s theirs”? Eh, how is it you think societies are funded? Everyone KNOWS it’s by the tax take, be it Corporate, VAT, Income etc.

    So, no, no one, including those is Govt is pretending it’s anything other then the Tax take being distributed.

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    Mute hans vos
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:46 PM

    @thomas molloy: it’s not the first time that they have a budget before elections and than go back on their words after.

    5
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    Mute hans vos
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    Oct 1st 2024, 6:11 PM

    @Tricia G28: Societies are funded with tax money payed by company’s and public. Spending by government is taxpayers money. They know of cause but still pretend that they do us a favor when the spent it.

    1
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    Mute Áine G
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:01 PM

    Not for the ordinary people.

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    Mute Pat Hazzard
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:15 PM

    @Áine G: wrong, budget will benefit everyone

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    Mute Sian O Sullivan
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:25 PM

    @Áine G: what do you consider ‘ordinary people’ I genuinely can’t see any cohort that has been left out if leaks are to be believed.

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    Mute u6ZzANzx
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    Oct 1st 2024, 10:35 AM

    Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
    New car, caviar, four-star daydream

    40
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    Mute Lee Casey
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    Oct 1st 2024, 12:39 PM

    @u6ZzANzx: think ill me a football team

    5
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    Mute J B
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    Oct 1st 2024, 12:37 PM

    Paddy power and Boyle sports licking lips. Great unwashed will be droving in.

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    Mute S Suilleabhain
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    Oct 2nd 2024, 5:30 PM

    @J B: wow you stay classy now

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    Mute Modern Irish Dad
    Favourite Modern Irish Dad
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    Oct 1st 2024, 10:27 AM

    Money don’t get everything it’s true
    What it don’t get, I can’t use
    Now gimme money, that’s what I want

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    Mute peter willekens
    Favourite peter willekens
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:30 PM

    @Modern Irish Dad: the best things in life are free..

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    Mute Modern Irish Dad
    Favourite Modern Irish Dad
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    Oct 1st 2024, 5:20 PM

    @peter willekens: Mr Willekens you can keep ‘em for the birds and bees.

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    Mute Hugo Omar Martinez
    Favourite Hugo Omar Martinez
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    Oct 1st 2024, 12:32 PM

    Before the election the government throw bones to the dog
    To make happy the dog

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    Mute Ian McDonald
    Favourite Ian McDonald
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    Oct 1st 2024, 7:01 PM

    @Hugo Omar Martinez: you’re right. It would be better if they threw no bones, isn’t that right?. Then you can moan about them doing nuttin”

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    Mute Chris Lane
    Favourite Chris Lane
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:02 PM

    USC was brought in as a temporary measure they should have abolished it

    23
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    Mute Chris Lane
    Favourite Chris Lane
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:01 PM

    Buying the vote. They are just giving us our own money back, and if it wasn’t an election year, this budget would be very different. The only people that should be benefiting is the people going out to work and the vulnerable people in society. We have full employment people shouldn’t be paid to stay at home.

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    Mute Tricia G28
    Favourite Tricia G28
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:40 PM

    @Chris Lane: The people going out to work just got a tax cut or did you miss that part?

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    Mute Jack Cass
    Favourite Jack Cass
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    Oct 1st 2024, 5:03 PM

    @Chris Lane: Which, for the average paid worker, is less than the increase of those that don’t work got.

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    Mute Gavin Smartr
    Favourite Gavin Smartr
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    Oct 1st 2024, 6:18 PM

    @Tricia G28: so they aren’t giving anything but they will expect ye to be happy that they are not going to take quite as much in this one area were they are riding us workers raw. As for energy credits ye can stick them up your holes. Just stop the cartels gouging us left right and centre and we wouldn’t need it. All its doing is transferring our money to there mates and prolonging the gouging.

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    Mute Chris Lane
    Favourite Chris Lane
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    Oct 1st 2024, 6:58 PM

    @Tricia G28: a pathetic cut that won’t make a difference.

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    Mute Rach
    Favourite Rach
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:14 PM

    I wonder what’s been done for the early years sector, it’s on the brink of total collapse.

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    Mute Anthony Curran
    Favourite Anthony Curran
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:38 PM

    @Rach: Here here.

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    Mute David Hughes
    Favourite David Hughes
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:28 PM

    @Anthony Curran: ss’zzz

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    Mute Vince Cable
    Favourite Vince Cable
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:35 PM

    Going to get a new Ouija board with the extra dole money. Thanks to all the workers!

    13
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    Mute Tezmond McVicar
    Favourite Tezmond McVicar
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    Oct 1st 2024, 1:47 PM

    …must be funny in a rich man’s world.

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    Mute Bills n Stuff
    Favourite Bills n Stuff
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:26 PM

    Serves majority of hospitality sector right. You reap what you sow hotels. Triple price hotels when concerts on. Hahaha. Wouldn’t stay in a hotel in rep of Ireland ever again, North of Ireland place to go, Belfast is the spot. From a southerner BTW.

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    Mute Renars Pundurs
    Favourite Renars Pundurs
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:44 PM

    @Bills n Stuff: don’t put highly funded hotels in same boat as small cafes and restaurants

    2
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    Mute Fintan Stack
    Favourite Fintan Stack
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    Oct 1st 2024, 3:03 PM

    I’m reducing my active contribution to the economy. They’re a bunch of tight fisted criminals. Taxpayer screwed again.

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    Mute Vince Cable
    Favourite Vince Cable
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    Oct 1st 2024, 3:07 PM

    @Fintan Stack: Cry some more

    4
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    Mute Fintan Stack
    Favourite Fintan Stack
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    Oct 1st 2024, 3:35 PM

    @Vince Cable: get back out canvassing

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    Mute Tricia G28
    Favourite Tricia G28
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:37 PM

    @Fintan Stack: I’m a taxpayer, and I’ve done just fine.

    4
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    Mute rory Mcgovern
    Favourite rory Mcgovern
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    Oct 1st 2024, 6:44 PM

    2.1 billion for foreigners to settle in Ireland . The politicans are very generous with tax payers money. All people who have a vote in the upcoming general election use it.

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    Mute Shane O Mac
    Favourite Shane O Mac
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:58 PM

    Another sh itsh ow

    12
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    Mute Toca Stories
    Favourite Toca Stories
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    Oct 1st 2024, 6:25 PM

    A few good initiatives that will make a difference like school books, college reg fee reduction. These are things that two income middle class families will see a benefit of. I didnt expect much and we got a little. It could have been better but could also have been worse. People with young families seem to have gotten some good news and that’s important and also the companion travel I think is really good.

    6
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    Mute martin finnegan
    Favourite martin finnegan
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    Oct 1st 2024, 6:24 PM

    I won’t be voting for this government didn’t buy my vote

    7
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    Mute Notty Tee
    Favourite Notty Tee
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:08 PM

    Hands up if you are currently working on the Sinn Fein Troll Factory?

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    Mute Ronan Mc
    Favourite Ronan Mc
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    Oct 1st 2024, 5:22 PM

    Finally free of the Quinn levy. How much did he cost us in the end?

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    Mute David Hughes
    Favourite David Hughes
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    Oct 1st 2024, 2:16 PM

    I’m

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    Mute Pat Barry
    Favourite Pat Barry
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    Oct 1st 2024, 5:43 PM

    @David Hughes: lost for words?

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    Mute Charles Mc Carthy
    Favourite Charles Mc Carthy
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    Oct 1st 2024, 3:55 PM

    We are not poor, we just suck at being poor, and I’m not referring to the Irish citizens.

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    Mute Renars Pundurs
    Favourite Renars Pundurs
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    Oct 1st 2024, 4:43 PM

    Failte Ireland we can take off on the entrance to cafe

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    Mute Pat Barry
    Favourite Pat Barry
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    Oct 1st 2024, 6:28 PM

    @Renars Pundurs: Interesting, although I don’t think they’re in cafes? Could be wrong, they are however in hotels, guest houses, hostels,
    bed and breakfasts, self catering, caravan and camping and holiday camps.

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    Mute Tommy445
    Favourite Tommy445
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    Oct 1st 2024, 7:12 PM

    Save Lebanese children from israeli terrorists

    1
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    Mute S Suilleabhain
    Favourite S Suilleabhain
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    Oct 2nd 2024, 6:23 PM

    There are three dentists in the greater Dublin area I’m aware of that are still in the psri/medical card scheme for teeth – is fine Gael going to do anything about that ? cocked Up just like most healthcare!!

    1
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    Mute S Suilleabhain
    Favourite S Suilleabhain
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    Oct 2nd 2024, 5:35 PM

    @Modern Irish Dad: but love dont give no compensation, love don’t pay no bills… Love kills.

    1
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