Beggers

BraziliaNZ

cosmic wrote: »

As an aside, there's a woman who's been begging around Dublin for years and years now and she does my head in.

She normally sticks to Grafton St/Duke St/Dawson St areas. She stands there (with her buggy) crying out "Won't somebody please help me" like someone's just stabbed her and ran off with her shoes. She looks so pitiful, especially with the constant crying and wailing, that people constantly hand over notes to her.

This woman, though, has a nice house and her husband owns and drives a nice van. They live (or at least used to) near a friend of mine in Newbridge.

She's an utter disgrace. I hate her for so many reasons, the fact that she cons people into giving her money, the fact that there are people who need the money more than she does, but mostly the fact that she keeps a child with her at all times. When I worked in town, around the three streets I named above, I reported her, numerous times, to foot patrol Gardai for having a child with her while begging but she never went away.

I think I know this one. She sounds like a traveller. I used to work on Nassau st and she'd be outside that tacky record shop beside Setanta House all the time with a child. Absolutely disgraceful, called the garda twice but nothing was done. That poor child.

cosmic

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

That poor child.

She has a few of them. She pops out a new one every few years. Some people shouldn't be allowed to have kids

gurramok

Awful_Bliss wrote: »

What kind of person gives them money and the housing?

HSE I suspect. A load of them live in a house Mountjoy Sq and do their 'work' on Dorset st every day. As far as i'm concerned, you paid for a long flight to this country without a legal right to work so you are not a genuine case at all.

Under A Funeral Moon

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

What would you like the Gardai to do and where would you like them to be moved to? If you don't like it then ignore them. I've been to plenty of cities and I wouldn't base my experience on seeing a few beggers.

It's not always that simple. Any time I've been around the Grafton Street area on a Saturday night, the place is crowed with beggars, the majority of whom are Roma. From my own experiences, I've found the majority of them to be pig ignorant. I even had one of them spit in my face because I refused to give her money. Classy, huh? I have absolutely no sympathy for them. How they're still getting away with their aggressive behaviour is beyond me. :mad:

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

gurramok

The rampant begging in the city centre is a disincentive to shop there. I have never ever seen a single beggar in Blanchardstown centre once in all my years regularly shopping there hence my incentive to spend my cash there instead of town.

Private security guards are probably the reason why the inside of suburban shopping centres are free from beggars.

dfx-

I think it's the intimidating - or perhaps desperate - nature of the begging that's most noticeable here rather than the begging.

All over Central London last week, I was in depressing places, the West End, grime-y Tube stations, but I don't recall coming across a single beggar. Once, a friend was asked for a cigarette around Piccadilly Circus, that's it. Living in Munich a few months ago, I remember seeing one beggar (and strictly speaking, he was in Stuttgart train station).

But it's lot more noticeable and sustained in Dublin.

John_Rambo

gurramok wrote: »

I have never ever seen a single beggar in Blanchardstown centre once in all my years regularly shopping there hence my incentive to spend my cash there instead of town.

Right... I'd take beggars any day before becoming a mall rat! As for no beggars in Berlin? Bullsheet, mate lives there, I visit him often enough to see them. Google Beggars in Berlin. Google Beggars in London. The same threads as this one almost!!

gurramok

John_Rambo wrote: »

Right... I'd take beggars any day before becoming a mall rat!

Safety is paramount. To get away from the aggression of beggars, a shopping centre is far more preferable.

Coriolanus

Earphones in, sunglasses on (weather permitting, a brisk walking pace and a steely gaze deters any I encounter.

Degsy

Nevore wrote: »

Earphones in, sunglasses on (weather permitting, a brisk walking pace and a steely gaze deters any I encounter.

How can they see your "steely gaze" if you have your sunglasses on?

John_Rambo

gurramok wrote: »

Safety is paramount. To get away from the aggression of beggars, a shopping centre is far more preferable.

Ah, come on, they are not tyrannosaurs rex's. If you are afraid to go in to your own city because of beggars you might as well wrap yourself up in cotton wool. They are harmless. Annoying, but harmless.

koHd

Mall rat? haha

Are you 15?

Some people go to shopping centres to buy stuff.

Coriolanus

Psh, weather permitting.

Stop poking holes damnit!

gurramok

John_Rambo wrote: »

Ah, come on, they are not tyrannosaurs rex's. If you are afraid to go in to your own city because of beggars you might as well wrap yourself up in cotton wool. They are harmless. Annoying, but harmless.

Menacing and aggressive, don't need that when I shop.

Degsy

John_Rambo wrote: »

They are harmless.

Not always..junkies can turn on you very easily if they think they can get away with mugging you and Roma gypsies can be violent if provoked..especially the teenage males(easily spotted by the bumfluff beard,tracksuit bottoms and rucksack)

I dont think people should be afraid of them as such but they can be dangerous and i think they are going to become increasingly aggresive in thier begging as they get more confident and pickings become slimmer.

Anyway people shouldnt have to run a gauntlet of beggars everytime they go out..the cops should clean the city up,its a disgrace.

George83

Tbf I've always found the beggars in London more intimidating & higher in number than in Dublin, but, in Dublin there always seems to be more foreign beggars.

Bronaaagh

RMD wrote: »

Really wish we could take France's approach and just round up everyone one of them and ship them home.

Before people start shouting "OMG Xenophobe" and such crap, I'm extremely open to immigration occurring as long as the immigrant is a benefit to the country, Ie working and paying taxes. If they want to come here to beg, take welfare payments, run organized petty crime rings etc then round them up, ship them off. That goes for everyone, regardless of ethnic background.

Obviously asylum seekers are a different case, but time and time again I've read stories about Romas who have no cause for asylum at all.

Agreed. But, in regard to what the thread-starter first said in regards to a friend from London...have you been to London yourself? There are thousands and thousands of people begging on the street there. Any major city will have them.

BraziliaNZ

George83 wrote: »

Tbf I've always found the beggars in London more intimidating & higher in number than in Dublin, but, in Dublin there always seems to be more foreign beggars.

I'm there every few weeks and I have yet to see a begger since I've been going in July. East, West, Central... None! I'm sure they're out there but nowhere near the scale of here it seems.

George83

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

I'm there every few weeks and I have yet to see a begger since I've been going in July. East, West, Central... None! I'm sure they're out there but nowhere near the scale of here it seems.

Really? I was there last week around Oxford St & I got the tube from East Finchley with a couple of stop offs on the way through - loads of beggars in the tube stations & Camden Town in particular.

BraziliaNZ

George83 wrote: »

Really? I was there last week around Oxford St & I got the tube from East Finchley with a couple of stop offs on the way through - loads of beggars in the tube stations & Camden Town in particular.

I never saw a begger in a tube station, or in Camden. Once some Roma came up to me in Hyde park, that's all.

Boom__Boom

Given there will be elections coming up soon enough everyone should start bugging the various candidates about this along with other important issues.

I think that this is mainly a Dublin issue - some begging in Galway and Cork but havent experienced it to the same degree. I doubt there is much begging in the rural constituencies.

A law against begging/public disturbance should be brought in as soon as possible. Perhaps anyone found begging in public should be subject to on the spot confiscation of all monies on their person maybe subject to a minimum of say €20.

Someone mentioned about begging near ATMs being illegal. I think this was a proposal put forward by someone but not passed into law.

If people want to give to a charity they should give direct to the Dublin Simon community who will use the money properly.

A law won't solve the anti-social behaviour on it's own but at the very least it would be a step in the right direction.

John_Rambo

koHd wrote: »

people go to shopping centres to buy stuff.

I am aware of that, I just find them a bit sterile. Giant air conditioned, polished places with no pulse. I like the city, the smells, the traders, the Asian markets, the cafes, the sounds, the hundreds of different types of food, the sights, the characters, my friends, the weirdos, the pubs, the shops, everything a poxy moll can't offer!

And, if you think a Roma gypsy or a junkie is going to lord it over me in my city, they will (and one had) a rude of awakening. Whilst I have every bit of respect to any visitor in our city and I will never look for trouble or be in any way rude, I refuse to be bullied on my turf.

mikemac

Galway has it's own issues. Fairgreen Hostel is just off Eyre Sq

Sit down for a few minutes in the square and you may well get approached for money.
But it's not agressive, they just hang around drinking cans all day.

Feel sorry for them tbh.

The beggars in Dublin seem a lot more aggressive and in your face

threeleggedhors

Ask them to perform a light jig, make them earn their few bob and before you know it we'll have Riverdance daily shows on the streets of Dublin, tourists will lap it up, everyone's a winner

penana

[SIZE=+1][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]"I was hungry and you gave Me to eat;
I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink;
I was a stranger and you took Me in;
Naked and you covered Me;
Sick and you visited Me;
I was in prison and you came to Me."

"... and, God bless us, everyone."


[/FONT][/SIZE]

face1990

penana wrote: »

[SIZE=+1][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]"I was hungry and you gave Me to eat;
I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink;
I was a stranger and you took Me in;
Naked and you covered Me;
Sick and you visited Me;
I was in prison and you came to Me."

"... and, God bless us, everyone."


[/FONT][/SIZE]

I'm not sure what side of the argument you're on, but that's what the existing charities are for; to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. And by all accounts they do quite a good job of it.
At the end of the day, nobody is going to starve to death on the streets of Dublin.
While I think giving to these charities is a worthwhile cause, I am not my brother's keeper and I don't owe it to beggars to give them money.
At least with a charity you know the money is being spent properly for benefit of poorer people.

Also, they're getting free EU cheese!

Shield

penana wrote: »

[SIZE=+1][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]"I was hungry and you gave Me to eat;
I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink;
I was a stranger and you took Me in;
Naked and you covered Me;
Sick and you visited Me;
I was in prison and you came to Me."

"... and, God bless us, everyone."


[/FONT][/SIZE]

You forgot:

"...and yet I still went out and got a bad name for myself despite being given all of the above benefits for free from the Irish Government".

Zulu

penana wrote: »

[SIZE=+1][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]"I was hungry and you gave Me to eat;
I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink;
I was a stranger and you took Me in;
Naked and you covered Me;
Sick and you visited Me;
I was in prison and you came to Me."

"... and, God bless us, everyone."


[/FONT][/SIZE]

So how many Romas & Junkies are you putting up in your house this christmas? - It's what baby jeasus would have wanted at christmas...

John_Rambo

penana wrote: »

[SIZE=+1]I was hungry and you gave Me to eat....[/SIZE]

I don't think bible quotes will help the situation. Actual physical help and action is what's needed if people fee that strongly about it. As you can see people are keen to differentiate between the ones that actually need help and those that don't.

Personally, as discussed earlier I reckon a law against giving money to beggars would work. Giving food and clothing would be fine.

That would shut up the whingers that feel the beggars are genuine (some are) and it would shut up the whingers that want them "cleared off".

Your outdated book quote mentions clothing, drink, eat, shelter and company in a roundabout way. It doesn't mention cash.