If everyone wanted to live in Dublin.
You cant bring equality into any conversation on here or you are called a head banger, lefty loony or a layabout … The likes of @TheUlteriorMotive probably had a solid upbringing, studied / worked hard and has done well for himself … and that’s to be commended — but putting down everyone who hasn’t had the same chances in life is such an irish thing to do … fuck em, get up off their hole etc. etc … it’s an awful attitude truth be told and totally misses the point of the damage of living in poverty, or just above it, does to people. Your outlook, beliefs, confidence, psychological traits etc. etc are vastly different … their opportunities are vastly different… you are shamed by society because of where you live, how you talk, what you wear. The must have society is also constantly reminding you of your irrelevance - bombarding you with iphones and commodities that if you cant get your hands on them then you dont exist.
You have a large section of society that are fighting to basically exist and then wankers like @TheUlteriorMotive come along and spit on them and shout ‘full employment’
8 Likes
Neither do I but dont tell him I said that.
There were two down and outs on the Luas earlier.
Poor fitting clothes and shoes probably from Vincent De Paul.
A can of low budget beer for each.
And extremely mannerly gentlemen.
People looking down their nose in their direction. I did so also from time to time I am sad to say.
we’re all guilty of it …it’s ingrained in Irish society as a consequence of O’Connell, the church and colonialism
That’s a tremendous post.
You’d be the very cunt ranting about huge unemployment.
I’m on record as being a supporter and advocate of pre school education to change lives. Equalises outcomes more than any other intervention.
But beggar my Neighbour policies espoused by you don’t work.
A lot of homelessness is structural due to mental health and abuse issues. It has always and will always exist unfortunately. We live in a time of plenty and nobody should go hungry tonight. I posted a photo from not so long ago of a school of young boys without shoes. We’re a long way from that due to education and rewarding hard work.
1 Like
Move along nothing to see here we don’t have a homelessness problem at all 
Ireland has pluses and some minuses, like everywhere else is the world, we are fortunate to have a lot more pluses.
Are you running for election?
We don’t by any comparative indicator.
You won’t accept that. You won’t accept a lot of homelessness is due to mental health and abuse issues.
Carry on
What are you trying to say here?
It’s grand because the other crowd have more homeless people?
Sure they’d all be homeless anyway because they have mental health issues?
Sure it’s their own fault they’re homeless because abuse issues?
Don’t mind the children that have been evicted and are living in hotels because people would be homeless anyway?
He can’t see the wood for the trees.
It’s either a very unusual viewpoint or perhaps he’s just having trouble communicating it.
Actually Chocco and your shite is the kind of electioneering language you’d expect from a politician. Feelings over facts. The kind of bluster that promotes Twee nationalism.
You saw a couple of down and outs. Well down to you, that’s some cutting insight.
What are the positives about Ireland for the lower paid worker and others?
- a minimum wage
- full employment
- one of the most progressive income tax systems in the world
- affordable third level education and numerous back to college grants for working people
- opportunities to live and work across the EU, including the Erasmus programme
- solid social welfare system which offers oppprtunities for people to get out of poverty
- a temperate livable climate with few disasters
- relatively low violent crime
- a far more pluralist and inclusive country than 2 years ago
A lot of those things are down to the direct actions of our previous governments.
They have fucked up numerous times too, but so has everywhere.
Of course we have negatives. The housing situation is not fantastic, but this is actually a western problem. Our infrastructure needs upgrading.
I would have my own opinions on things I’d prefer and others disagree, but when it comes down to it I imagine there is an awful lot more we agree on that disagree on what makes better lives.
But you would swear we live in some 3rd world shithole the way lads go on. It also shows a distinct insularity in terms of how aware of the world you are around you. Every single country has problems, go to some and live there and you’ll see. Ireland is not a bad place at all.
4 Likes
Good post, but the question is what to do about poverty in any meaningful sense. Leaving to one side for the moment the mentally ill and addicts, who need treatment and not free needles and turning a blind eye to heroin dealing as happens here.
There are four rules to follow to get out of poverty, stay in school until you do your leaving cert, get a full time job, stay away from drug and alcohol abuse, and don’t have children until you are mature enough and financially secure enough to raise them. That’s actually what most people do in this day and age as real poverty as we formally knew it has been largely eliminated. So, the question is how can these values be instilled in the minority who live in poverty and depend on welfare, a lot of whom are raised with the opposite values (education is a load of shite, working is overrated, the easiest way to get money from the government is to have kids).
Education is realistically the only possible solution. You have to try and reach people at a young age and instill those values in them, so I would say an overhaul of the primary school curriculum to help those falling behind, emphasize self worth and the value of education and pursuing a career. Throwing money at people as a solution is about as effective as free needles for junkies, it’s been tried for decades with minimal results. We need a different approach and one that has been proven to work elsewhere. Chicago public schools for example launched an initiative in 2007 which has resulted in the number of kids staying in school from 57% to 82%.
3 Likes
Nobody is saying it’s “grand”.
People are asking for some perspective though.