Oh cork city, what have you done?????

Ralf and Florian

whisky_galore wrote: »

Who knew begging could be so lucrative so as to set up begging rings?

Like how much could they possibly make?

You'd be surprised.

backspin.

Ralf and Florian wrote: »

You'd be surprised.

For those homeless non Irish people could the government not buy them a flight back to their home country with a grant of a few thousand euro to help them get on their feet in their home countries again.

flaneur

What I'm seeing in Cork is a number of organised beggars, who appear during peak times, but they're not the people sleeping rough and there are also a number of Irish people who are begging and are there full time.

There are a significant and growing number of Irish people sleeping rough in doorways.

Incidentally, despite what's believed (especially in Brexit Britain), the state can legally deport or refuse entry to EU nationals who aren't here for legitimate reasons. The right to freedom of movement is very broad, but it was never absolute.

Zico !

Sit there with a cup and a tin whistle and youll make 100 euro a day -good bobs

cardinal tetra

Zico ! wrote: »

Sit there with a cup and a tin whistle and youll make 100 euro a day -good bobs

A decent beggar can make 100 quid in an hour.

the beer revolu

cardinal tetra wrote: »

A decent beggar can make 100 quid in an hour.

Yes, everyone knows that a good beggar earns over €200K a year (before tax, provided they work a 39 hour week).
It's just a fact.

Then factor in their medical card, rent allowance, free car that all foreigners get, free child's buggy evey week, free food, their houses decorated by the tax payer, the children's allowance for their 28 children sent back to their home county!
An Irish person with an Irish name, paying tax would have to earn at least half a million to be as well off as a foreigner who sleeps in a doorway.

EnzoScifo

cardinal tetra wrote: »

Seriously?

If you camt tell the difference between a romanian person and an irish person then you need you head examined. Passport checling. What the hell are you on about. Im not pandering to stupidity of that nature. Its snowflaking or downright stupidity.
Either which way, this crap is not worth emtertaining.
Get real or get educated.
Christ.

You obviously can't tell the difference between a Romani person and a Romanian, so I wouldn't trust your judgement too much.

j8wk2feszrnpao

cardinal tetra wrote: »

Seriously?

If you camt tell the difference between a romanian person and an irish person then you need you head examined. Passport checling. What the hell are you on about. Im not pandering to stupidity of that nature. Its snowflaking or downright stupidity.
Either which way, this crap is not worth emtertaining.
Get real or get educated.
Christ.

Nothing to do with snowflaking (or maybe I can throw racism back in your face); as I believe that if someone is breaking the law and warrants arrest (or deportation) then that should happen.

I just don’t go around town sticking my nose into people’s faces to determine if they are Irish or Romanian and noting it in my list; I’ve a (real and educated) life. And I leave the stupidity to the stupid.

enricoh

backspin. wrote: »

For those homeless non Irish people could the government not buy them a flight back to their home country with a grant of a few thousand euro to help them get on their feet in their home countries again.

A few thousand euro grant, are u serious? Ryanair will have to put on extra flights from Romania to Ireland to cope with the extra numbers if that comes in!

pwurple

cardinal tetra wrote: »

A decent beggar can make 100 quid in an hour.

You know, i have done the bucket shaking for SHARE, and another few orgs, you would be surprised how generous people are. In areas with high footfall... well, Each bucket shaker generally averaged 250 an hour on patricks street. If you have a choir or something similar, it goes up a bit.

Now, obviously a street beggar won’t pull in what an authorized charity does. But I could see 100 an hour possibly being achieved in a busy spot. Couple of hours a day is all most people could stick though.

The thing is, beggars are funding their minders, maybe an expensive dependency etc.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

I work in the city centre and absolutely over late November/December there was a huge increase in the visibility of people begging and sleeping rough.

I'd always give money to the homeless and when the weather's wet I take the cardboard recycling from work around to see if any of them need it so I'd know faces. I'm probably a bit of a soft touch in fact but even I could see there was something co-ordinated going on. A lot of these new people seemed to know each other, camping out in what looked like newly bought blankets etc, chatting and laughing away with each other and on phones, barely paying attention to the people they were begging from. It just doesn't mesh with my experience of the homeless in this city generally.

It was noticeable and it was galling, and I'd say for the people who are here sleeping rough year round it was horrendous, but jesus christ acting like town turned into some kind of Bulgarian ghetto and the delicate citizens of Cork fled with their hankies to their mouths is ridiculous.

cardinal tetra

So what's it like this week then?

Lekrub

Was in the kingsley before xmas. Mad to see a handful of tents in Lee fields set up right next to it.

cardinal tetra

Yeah, there has been 3 tents there for a while now with another 2 sleeping rough in by the wall of the sacred heart church just up the road from the kingsley. I saw one of the lads new years eve that is sleeping rough and i wanted to say hello or do something but i really didnt know what to do to help him. Hes a big brut of a lad too. Hopefully by highlighting the crap going on the city center, he can reclaim his spot in town rather than being forced out to the suburbs.

cardinal tetra

Friday 1am. No. Of rough sleepers Patrick st. To grand parade:0 1 guy begging outside costcutter on Washington street. Usual chap. Makes about 400 quid a Friday night.

Saturday 11pm. No. Of rough sleepers Patrick st. To grand parade:0 (remnants of someone staying in doorway for the day at the old chineese beside morhercare/accross from burger king but nobody there)
Sunday 9pm. No. Of rough sleepers Patrick st. To grand parade:0

Is it a miracle that this problem has suddenly gone away?

Zico !

January no one has any dough they may be back for Easter

who_me

cardinal tetra wrote: »

Friday 1am. No. Of rough sleepers Patrick st. To grand parade:0 1 guy begging outside costcutter on Washington street. Usual chap. Makes about 400 quid a Friday night.

Saturday 11pm. No. Of rough sleepers Patrick st. To grand parade:0 (remnants of someone staying in doorway for the day at the old chineese beside morhercare/accross from burger king but nobody there)
Sunday 9pm. No. Of rough sleepers Patrick st. To grand parade:0

Is it a miracle that this problem has suddenly gone away?

Yeah, I noticed the same.

To be honest, even though there had been a sudden surge in the number of people sleeping in doorways on Patrick St., I rarely saw any of them begging even though I walked past them every day. For the most part, they seemed to be sleeping there but not begging. (Different story for those on the bridge / Bridge St. / McCurtain St.)

Last week though, gone.

run_Forrest_run

cardinal tetra wrote: »

Makes about 400 quid a Friday night.

How do you know this? Are you his accountant? :rolleyes:

namloc1980

Was in town on Sunday night. Didn't see a single person in doorways and walked Patrick Street and some of the adjacent streets. Fair play to whoever sorted out the crisis in the last 2-3 weeks!

cardinal tetra

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

How do you know this? Are you his accountant? :rolleyes:

I open my eyes, much like what I am trying to enstill here.

It's funny watching people try give him sandwiches and the faux appreciation he has for it.
The same with do gooders chatting to him. He scowls as they walk off as he has missed another few Bob through your drunk ramblings

the beer revolu

cardinal tetra wrote: »

I open my eyes, much like what I am trying to enstill here.

It's funny watching people try give him sandwiches and the faux appreciation he has for it.
The same with do gooders chatting to him. He scowls as they walk off as he has missed another few Bob through your drunk ramblings

I repeat the question.
How do you know what he earns on a Friday night?

j8wk2feszrnpao

cardinal tetra wrote: »

I open my eyes, much like what I am trying to enstill here.

It's funny watching people try give him sandwiches and the faux appreciation he has for it.
The same with do gooders chatting to him. He scowls as they walk off as he has missed another few Bob through your drunk ramblings

How long are you there stalking this guy?

pwurple

munstermagic11 wrote: »

cardinal tetra wrote: »

I open my eyes, much like what I am trying to enstill here.

It's funny watching people try give him sandwiches and the faux appreciation he has for it.
The same with do gooders chatting to him. He scowls as they walk off as he has missed another few Bob through your drunk ramblings

How long are you there stalking this guy?

He's probably just people watching, or works on the street at that time too so knows the local characters.  

I was waiting for a shop to open one morning up on bridge street, I was about 40 mins early, so I leaned on a window and watched people go by rather than sticking my nose in my phone. (I know, what a weirdo am I)

There was a guy in a doorway about 10 ft away begging on his blanket. Money was landing in the blanket in front of him. Usually a euro or two every drop . This very kind-hearted woman came over, bent down and asked him if he wanted a coffee, he said yes please, one sugar... no milk. and she very determinedly walked into the coffee shop, got the posh coffee in paper cup and benevolently handed it over with a kind hand on his shoulder. Many thanks were exchanged, hands warmed around it etc. With her head held high, charitable act performed, and a smile at me to make sure I saw her helping her fellow man. Off she goes. 

30 seconds later, not so much as a sip taken, he pours the lot down the drain, gives the cup a little bash to dent it out of shape, and taa-daa, new bucket. About ten minutes later, another kind hearted soul comes around and offers another coffee. Oh no thanks, but I'd take a biscuit or something. Scone delivered.
He was pocketing the money as it came in, never looked like there was more than a euro in change in front of him, but he put away 50 euro while I was there. 

Like I said above, I can easily see the money flow. I wouldn't do it myself, bloody miserable existence, but don't underestimate people's generosity.

Farmer Bob

cardinal tetra wrote: »

The landscape of cork, its quaint side streets, its crown jewel of patrick street, the whole city, it has been over run by degenerate begfars amd thieves on the street. The homeless problem is a problem but rhese are not homeless. These are con men, they are thieves, they are extortionate filth of the highest order. The city is ruined and we need to act as one to push this filth out. No more giving money to them.

I totally agree with you, Cork has gone to the dogs. It's a quality of life thing - I know people who would go to Mahon Point rather than go near the city centre.

Some homeless people beg on the streets, but a lot of well-intentioned people fail to realise that not all those who beg are homeless.

The largest single group, from what I've seen myself, is the Roma gypsies - organised gangs who are dropped off and picked up at the back of the old FAS office every day. They usually hang out on the bridges - Patricks Bridge, Brian Boru Bridge, Nano Nagle bridge although strangely not on Parnell Bridge (must be too close to Anglesea Street Garda station...). I've even seen them 'moving on' other people begging in their regular spots. They've started sitting on matresses in doorways on Patrick Street recently, specially near Abrakebabra.

Next would be the junkies and the older "Got a spare Euro for a can?" crowd. Paul Street, Bridge Street and the Grand Parade near the library and the public toilet that only gets used for shooting up.

I'd guess that in terms of numbers, the genuinely homeless would be at the bottom of the list.

I suppose all the above feel emboldened because there are never any Gardai around the city centre. Just look at the pubs around Daunt Square that had to hire private security to deal with the harassment customers were getting...

The only way anything would ever be done to deal with the begging mess is to organise a group to attend the next city council meeting and let their feelings be known. :rolleyes:

Farmer Bob

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

How do you know this? Are you his accountant? :rolleyes:

Irish Times: Traders in Cork raise concerns about organised begging

One trader in the English Market describes guys coming to him to change their coins:

“They could be coming into us with €120 to €150 and they could be into two or three times a day and they’re five or six of them doing the exchange so it obviously is proving lucrative for them and it looks to be very organised with one set begging and then others collecting from them,” he said.

yenom

Go down to the foot bridge tomorrow night by grand parade, one on either side and the boss woman watching them. It's the same three every weekend.

Zico !

Zico ! wrote: »

January no one has any dough they may be back for Easter

Hmm I got this spot on

cardinal tetra

Zico ! wrote: »

Hmm I got this spot on

You did too. Was back in city last week and the same felas are back. Not seen in 3 months. Did the get enough at Xmas and only back now for a top up?

Is it a dole thing?

smurgen

Seen the begging today first hand and it can only be described as industrial.how in gods name this is allowed to happen is beyond me.

The_Kew_Tour

I'm afraid people better get used to it. It's only going get more common.