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Fianna Fail Senator Averil Power, Fine Gael Regina Doherty TD and Sinn Fein Mary Lou McDonald Photocall Ireland

There are 6 ways to make the Oireachtas more women friendly, says NWCI

Maternity leave, working hours and acceptable behaviours are all things that need to be tackled, finds research.

THE NATIONAL WOMEN’S Council of Ireland has published a report on how to build a “women-friendly” Oireachtas.

The research for this report was conducted as part of NWCI’s ‘Women in Politics and Decision-Making’ project and the primary research for the report was conducted by Eóin Murray.

The report recommends six ways to make the Oireachtas more open for women. Making the day-to-day business in the Oireachtas more “family-friendly” by introducing maternity leave for female politicians and also introducing paternity leave for men.

Working hours

The report found that working late hours and having late night debates hindered women specifically and called for more work to be done within business hours. They also recommended introducing video-conferencing.

Other reccommendations include applying a 40 per cent gender quota for Cabinet appointments, conducting a gender audit in the Oireacthas so as to “establish a clear plan” and also developing a “code of conduct” centered around the “acceptable and respectful” behaviour in the Oireachtas.

It was also suggested that TDs should be given gender-sensitivity training so that they understand why and how to introduce equality and gender analysis in to their daily work, said the report.

It was also suggested that all political groupings should designate a small amount of their funding to the establishment of a women’s caucus with an independent secretariat.

Masculine culture

The report finds that there is a “masculine culture” in government, due to a number of factors such as, there being no work-life balance, business often being done outside the Dáil chamber, “on weekday nights in the pub,” it states.

Many of the people featured in the report asked to remain anonymous. These individuals included both public representatives and researchers from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin; staff from the Houses of the Oireachtas and a number of academic researchers.

A named politician featured in the report in Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald who states that there is no provision for maternity leave for one reason only:

There’s no provision for it because it’s not to be done. That’s the reality of it…

… I remember actually coming back off maternity leave and bumping into a politician, who said to me “where have you been?” Because obviously I had been out of circulation for a couple of months, and I said “I had the baby”, “Oh right, yeah, yeah”; “I took maternity leave”. And I always remember him saying “politicians don’t take maternity leave”. And I said “I tell you what, this politician does, and did, and now I’m back”.

Susan O’Keefe from Labour states:

When kids are brought here we bring them to the bar, we give them a soft drink but it is still the bar. We don’t have a visitor centre.

That is one of the things I would change, there ought to be a room were kids, visitors groups have a room where they can sit comfortably and be given a soft drink.

Fianna Fáil’s Jim Glennon also states that politics is not family-friendly, especially for those in rural areas, stating:

The combination of the time away from family and the need to conduct a lot of work through socialising around the environs of Leinster House can also be problematic.

This can put a significant amount of pressure on members, especially those from rural areas who can be away from their homes and constituencies for extended periods of time.

The report also cites incidents of “sexist behaviour” in the Dáil, citing Tom Barry grabbing Áine Collins during a a late-night debate on abortion and when Taoiseach Brian Cowen ordered Labour Party Leader Eamon Gilmore to “rein in” his deputy Joan Burton.

Read: Less than a quarter of candidates running in the local elections are women>

Read: Senator gathers all the ladies of Leinster House for photo shoot>

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38 Comments
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    Mute Henri Poincaré
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:21 PM

    Do we know if any of these new cases are in the general community or still in particular settings?

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    Mute Mairead Jenkins
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:52 PM

    @Henri Poincaré: Great question. They should give more info on that for sure.

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    Mute Tracktrack
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:02 PM

    @Mairead Jenkins: I wonder would that cause people to let their guard down (if they were informed these cases were not in a particular setting).

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    Mute Mairead Jenkins
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:06 PM

    @Tracktrack: That’s a fair point. You could well be right.

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    Mute 8-Bit-Relic
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:13 PM

    @Tracktrack: Well, they don’t communicate that average age of the deceased anymore either…

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    Mute DeWitt
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    Jun 16th 2020, 7:44 PM

    @8-Bit-Relic: I didn’t ever hear them do an average age.

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    Mute Peter Hughes
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    Jun 16th 2020, 7:52 PM

    @Henri Poincaré: Was in pennies…..the queue inside for the tills snaked around half the shop lol, all that was missing was the tune that was doing the rounds with the guys dancing carrying coffins over in Africa.

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    Mute John Doyle
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    Jun 16th 2020, 8:38 PM

    @Tracktrack: you mean like if it’s not in the community people wouldn’t wear masks they don’t need? Is that it tracktrack?

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    Mute John Doyle
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    Jun 16th 2020, 8:41 PM

    @Henri Poincaré: you can take it that if it’s not reported that there community transmissions, then they are not. They will 100% notify us immediately with a few threats of second wave lockdown.

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    Mute john
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:21 PM

    Three family’s destroyed R.I.P

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    Mute Joe
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:00 PM

    @john: calm down with the over reaction. If the three people were 95 and suffering with dementia it’s hardly 3 families ruined!

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    Mute john
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:03 PM

    @Joe: you need to get a heart

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    Mute john
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:04 PM

    @Joe: I hope it would never happen to your family

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    Mute Ronan Dunne
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:06 PM

    @john: you need to get a life

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:24 PM

    @Joe:
    I sincerely hope you never have to deal with this virus. Your comment shows real disrespect to the people who are suffering loss at this time…. Regardless of their age they have families who still matter and grieve.
    Show them some respect.

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    Mute john
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:32 PM

    @Ronan Dunne: D**khead

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    Mute Brendan Cooney
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:38 PM

    @Joe: well, this shows how low “the journal” will stoop for a few clicks and advertising revenue.

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    Mute Eileen O'Sullivan
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    Jun 16th 2020, 7:38 PM

    @Joe Toner: hear hear. some pretty despicable attitudes coming out during the pandemic.

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    Mute Peter Hughes
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    Jun 16th 2020, 7:54 PM

    @Joe: The grim world of the internet keyboard warrior.

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    Mute Joe Moore
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    Jun 16th 2020, 8:40 PM

    @Joe: well said Joe some drama queens on here ye swear they could prevent death or something.

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    Jun 16th 2020, 8:51 PM

    @Eileen O’Sullivan:
    Eileen… We have become somewhat immune to hard hearted people during this scourge. They think they will never have to deal with trauma in their sad little lives. Time will tell….
    Keep safe and well.

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    Mute Olivia Dunne
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    Jun 16th 2020, 8:52 PM

    @Joe: ya joe hope nothing horrid ever happens to any of your family or that you come to realize how difficult it is to burry a loved one in the current situation!

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    Mute Joe
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    Jun 17th 2020, 12:02 AM

    @Joe Toner: hang on. The OP said three families destroyed. He has no idea of the facts. Two things are certain in life, death and taxes. Of course if the 3 people who died were in the prime of their health with young families or were themselves young I would agree.
    However in all likelihood these were older people not in great health. When your 90 year old parent dies it is of course sad and my condolences go to everyone who lost somebody during this crisis. But older people die all the time and it doesn’t “destroy families”.
    To say 3 families destroyed is a complete over exaggeration and should be called out for what it is. Scaremongering!

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    Mute Joe Toner
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    Jun 17th 2020, 7:26 AM

    @Joe:
    I never made any reference to families being “destroyed” Read the comment and don’t accuse me of scaremongering…. Move into reality and resist the urge to make false assumptions…..

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    Mute Joe
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    Jun 17th 2020, 5:59 PM

    @Joe Toner: the OP, Original Poster FYI

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    Mute Lesidees
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:42 PM

    Yesterday Dr. Holohan announced there had been 8% excess deaths in Ireland.

    In 3 months in Ireland, there are usually about 7500 deaths (source CSO).

    8% of 7500 is 600. The number of Coronavirus deaths is 1700. Does that mean that 1100 of the people who died of Coronavirus would have been expected to die anyway in the last three months? So it’s mostly killing people in their final few weeks of life?

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    Mute Peter Cavey
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:45 PM

    @Lesidees: I think it’s probably people who may have died of pneumonia or the flu but didn’t due to lockdown.

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    Mute Pat Kelly
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:53 PM

    @Lesidees: 8 % is alot of souls lots, just wonder what the percentage is in UK thank God Boris isn’t Irish..

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    Mute John Hazelnut
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:55 PM

    @Lesidees: Go out and catch it. You can form part of our Herd Immunity.

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    Mute Aidan O' Neill
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:59 PM

    @Pat Kelly: yep but he shouldn’t be the yardstick.

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    Mute Joe
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:02 PM

    @Lesidees: yes exactly, so it’s nowhere as big a killer as the numbers suggest. We are doing very well when you look at the numbers on that basis!

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    Mute Lesidees
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:25 PM

    @John Hazelnut: I wasn’t trying to talk it up or down, just trying to understand the figures

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    Mute Lesidees
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:26 PM

    @Peter Cavey: seems a bit unlikely – lockdown only started towards the end of the flu season?

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    Mute Lionheart1
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:29 PM

    @Pat Kelly: Why don’t you thank god your Irish.

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    Mute Aidan O' Neill
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:32 PM

    @Joe: 8th highest COVID deaths per million in the world.

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    Mute John Hazelnut
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:36 PM

    @Lesidees: OK, my apologies. I know the virus kills mainly older people with underlying health conditions, but who is to say that it kills 94 year olds and cut short their lives by 3 days rather than 69 year olds who might have lived to 83 without SARS-CoV-2. The virus is very clearly far worse than any normal flu; it has grossly overwhelmed hospitals in Wuhan and Italy. Statistics, FWIW:
    https://covid19info.live/

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    Mute John Hazelnut
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    Jun 16th 2020, 6:56 PM

    @Lesidees: While lockdown only started towards the end of the flu season, Nursing Homes generally appear to have become aware and alarmed about the outbreak early on, and tried to take precautions which is liable to have dramatically reduced potential deaths. Maybe check out a dispute between Tadgh Daly and the HSE.

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    Mute Lesidees
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    Jun 16th 2020, 7:25 PM

    @John Hazelnut: that’s interesting – but care homes still account for about half of deaths, don’t they?

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    Mute Steve
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    Jun 16th 2020, 8:20 PM

    @Aidan O’ Neill: That’s incorrect. Actually 11th on worldometers which isn’t worth a w$nk due to the way countries report on deaths and the fact that it relies on countries telling the truth on numbers. It also doesn’t take into account excess death rates which is huge. Look at the number of new daily cases on that site for each country and you’ll see we have the lowest number of new cases from the top 65 countries in the world and have had low numbers now for the last 2 weeks.

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    Mute John Hazelnut
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    Jun 16th 2020, 8:30 PM

    @Lesidees: Yes, Nursing Homes did suffer a major hit nevertheless, but it could have been far worse. I suspect that it needs to be taken into consideration that they are a bit like meat factories insofar as there are a lot of people in a building, in common areas. Also, many staff would have been living in shared accommodation. It is my understanding that some staff brought the virus in, other transmissions were via untested patients being dumped back in from hospital. I compare the situation of an elderly person living on their own at home.

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    Mute Mary Oliver
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    Jun 16th 2020, 8:36 PM

    @John Hazelnut: very insensitive comment

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    Mute Joe Moore
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    Jun 16th 2020, 8:36 PM

    @Lesidees: it absolutely is only killing people that are gravely ill! Most of the people dying aren’t dying directly from Covid they are dying anyway.

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    Mute Joe Moore
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    Jun 16th 2020, 8:38 PM

    @John Hazelnut: well that’s the only thing we can do John my god. What’s your plan stay in bubble wrap for another 10 years

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    Mute John Doyle
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    Jun 16th 2020, 9:06 PM

    @Lesidees: and no excess mortality in the last month.

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    Jun 16th 2020, 9:24 PM

    @Lesidees: assuming the number are correct we have to be careful as the WHO are looking for stats of people who die “with” covid-19 (an active infection) so it would include those who die directly and indirectly – so it is possible that that 1100 people died with covid-19 that may have died anyway.

    There has been debate over this issue but the WHO guidelines are clear and there is an article here https://www.thejournal.ie/how-are-covid-19-probable-deaths-counted-5102540-May2020/

    I think you will find that most people die of heart failure or pneumonia or blood clot or other cause and not directly from covid-19 damage, but indirectly. The question has to be asked is it better to record or ignore the cases where people die with covid-19 but not from covid-19? I think it might be impossible to distinguish cases where the trigger is covid-19.

    One can ask the same question of the flu where people die during the flu season and die while they have the flu even if they die of heart failure or even “natural causes” if they die and have the flu I guess they are counted.

    But the point I suppose is that at least 600 extra people died who would be expected to be alive without covid-19 being around.

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    Mute John Hazelnut
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    Jun 16th 2020, 11:36 PM

    @Joe Moore: Yet another “downplayer”. Go and catch it yourself, and become part of the Herd Immunity Guard, thanks.

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    Mute OhToBeARossie
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:22 PM

    Steady at the moment with the cases.
    RIP the deceased.

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    Mute Daniel
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:22 PM

    Waiting for the people complaining about the doom and gloomers

    43
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    Mute The Shape
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    Jun 16th 2020, 5:26 PM

    @Daniel: it’s almost as predictable as the comments waiting for the people complaining about the doom and gloom.

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    Mute Peter Fernie
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    Jun 16th 2020, 7:01 PM

    You need to exhibit CV symptoms before getting a test yet 99.2 % test negative. What are the negatives suffering from or are they all hypochondriacs?

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    Mute jackamy
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    Jun 16th 2020, 7:12 PM

    @Peter Fernie: hayfever

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    Mute Helen Brothers
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    Jun 16th 2020, 7:24 PM

    @Peter Fernie: I had high temp, dry cough and felt like I had been hit by bus lol, when I was tested still turned out to be negative.

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    Mute Eileen O'Sullivan
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    Jun 16th 2020, 7:39 PM

    @Helen Brothers: good news.

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    Mute the-baldie-lad
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    Jun 17th 2020, 12:37 AM

    Anyone else getting a bit fed up of tony holohan?

    6
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