Leo Varadkar post Taoiseach

McMurphy

Is he eyeing up a job with the Vintners now post election or what?

Hot on the heels of telling us that drink is bad stuff and detrimental to our health, so they'd be wanting to introduce minimum pricing on it (not a tax, so the pubs are fine) he's now focusing his attention on out 'archaic'licensing laws, and hopes to see the law changed so pubs and clubs could stay open 24/7 to sell this product that is harmful to our health, and he wants to look at introducing minimum pricing to try and discourage it's consumption.

I would love that to come up in some electoral debate.

Interviewer - So leo, you want to advocate mup on alcohol sold in shops and supermarkets here, Why?

Leo - Ummm, as a doctor I have seen first hand the harmful effects of alcohol on society and we need to take steps to discourage people from drinking altogether.

Interviewer - ok, moving on...... You want to see a change in the law that would allow pubs and clubs to remain open 24/7, why?

Leo - umm I believe that our licensing laws are archaic, and people should be able to enjoy alcohol at any time of the day or night they so choose because restrictions are so meh, blahdy waffle waffle.

The sooner this boot licking hypocritical wanker disappears from public life the better, what a complete and utter shyte talking bell end he is.:D

Jizique

McMurphy wrote: »

Is he eyeing up a job with the Vintners now post election or what?

Hot on the heels of telling us that drink is bad stuff and detrimental to our health, so they'd be wanting to introduce minimum pricing on it (not a tax, so the pubs are fine) he's now focusing his attention on out 'archaic'licensing laws, and hopes to see the law changed so pubs and clubs could stay open 24/7 to sell this product that is harmful to our health, and he wants to look at introducing minimum pricing to try and discourage it's consumption.

I would love that to come up in some electoral debate.

Interviewer - So leo, you want to advocate mup on alcohol sold in shops and supermarkets here, Why?

Leo - Ummm, as a doctor I have seen first hand the harmful effects of alcohol on society and we need to take steps to discourage people from drinking altogether.

Interviewer - ok, moving on...... You want to see a change in the law that would allow pubs and clubs to remain open 24/7, why?

Leo - umm I believe that our licensing laws are archaic, and people should be able to enjoy alcohol at any time of the day or night they so choose because restrictions are so meh, blahdy waffle waffle.

The sooner this boot licking hypocritical wanker disappears from public life the better, what a complete and utter shyte talking bell end he is.:D

Maybe he visited Berlin and enjoyed a weekend clubbing - the two issues are quite separate, although perhaps not in Ireland

McMurphy

Jizique wrote: »

Maybe he visited Berlin and enjoyed a weekend clubbing - the two issues are quite separate, although perhaps not in Ireland

How much is a bottle of beer from a shop in Berlin?

Don't tell me...... The German shops are a fraction of Dublin's because the German stuff is the type that's not detrimental to one's health.

Eric Cartman

McMurphy wrote: »

Is he eyeing up a job with the Vintners now post election or what?

Hot on the heels of telling us that drink is bad stuff and detrimental to our health, so they'd be wanting to introduce minimum pricing on it (not a tax, so the pubs are fine) he's now focusing his attention on out 'archaic'licensing laws, and hopes to see the law changed so pubs and clubs could stay open 24/7 to sell this product that is harmful to our health, and he wants to look at introducing minimum pricing to try and discourage it's consumption.

I would love that to come up in some electoral debate.

Interviewer - So leo, you want to advocate mup on alcohol sold in shops and supermarkets here, Why?

Leo - Ummm, as a doctor I have seen first hand the harmful effects of alcohol on society and we need to take steps to discourage people from drinking altogether.

Interviewer - ok, moving on...... You want to see a change in the law that would allow pubs and clubs to remain open 24/7, why?

Leo - umm I believe that our licensing laws are archaic, and people should be able to enjoy alcohol at any time of the day or night they so choose because restrictions are so meh, blahdy waffle waffle.

The sooner this boot licking hypocritical wanker disappears from public life the better, what a complete and utter shyte talking bell end he is.:D

You can actually feel the LVA lobbyist wringing his hands in the background of the studio.

ednwireland

McMurphy wrote: »

Is he eyeing up a job with the Vintners now post election or what?

Hot on the heels of telling us that drink is bad stuff and detrimental to our health, so they'd be wanting to introduce minimum pricing on it (not a tax, so the pubs are fine) he's now focusing his attention on out 'archaic'licensing laws, and hopes to see the law changed so pubs and clubs could stay open 24/7 to sell this product that is harmful to our health, and he wants to look at introducing minimum pricing to try and discourage it's consumption.

I would love that to come up in some electoral debate.

Interviewer - So leo, you want to advocate mup on alcohol sold in shops and supermarkets here, Why?

Leo - Ummm, as a doctor I have seen first hand the harmful effects of alcohol on society and we need to take steps to discourage people from drinking altogether.

Interviewer - ok, moving on...... You want to see a change in the law that would allow pubs and clubs to remain open 24/7, why?

Leo - umm I believe that our licensing laws are archaic, and people should be able to enjoy alcohol at any time of the day or night they so choose because restrictions are so meh, blahdy waffle waffle.

The sooner this boot licking hypocritical wanker disappears from public life the better, what a complete and utter shyte talking bell end he is.:D

now hes saying that tourists cant find a drink late enough. absolute rubbish pubs are open plenty late,the problem Europeans have is you go to any cafe for lunch in most European countries and you can have draught beer with your lunch. the licensing laws are archaic in ireland but it's not to do with the opening hours its the vintners desperately trying to force people to drink expensive beer in pubs.

Augme

ednwireland wrote: »

now hes saying that tourists cant find a drink late enough. absolute rubbish pubs are open plenty late,the problem Europeans have is you go to any cafe for lunch in most European countries and you can have draught beer with your lunch. the licensing laws are archaic in ireland but it's not to do with the opening hours its the vintners desperately trying to force people to drink expensive beer in pubs.

The licensing hours in Ireland are a joke, especially for tourists. Sunday to Thursday if you want a drank past 1130 there are very few options that don't involve a nightclub or late bar with very loud music. Even for people who live in Dublin buy mighty have Monday off having every pub closing at 11 on Sunday is ridiculous.

ednwireland

Augme wrote: »

The licensing hours in Ireland are a joke, especially for tourists. Sunday to Thursday if you want a drank past 1130 there are very few options that don't involve a nightclub or late bar with very loud music. Even for people who live in Dublin buy mighty have Monday off having every pub closing at 11 on Sunday is ridiculous.

I can stay in any pub where I live until 5am if I want. believe me there arent too many tourists looking for late bars

MadYaker

ednwireland wrote: »

I can stay in any pub where I live until 5am if I want. believe me there arent too many tourists looking for late bars

The fact that your local has to illegally have a lock in proves the point that you are arguing against. Ireland’s licensing laws are a joke but it won’t change. I’ll admit I’ll miss the lock ins if the laws do get changed.

dd973

I was in a pub in Central London which closed at 10.30 on a Sunday night, groups of Swedes, Yanks, Italians, Germans, Dutch were all turned away by the barstaff, looking at their watches and visibly wondering 'Uh, what's just happened? They're closed for some reason', absolutely ridiculous for a so-called Alpha world city that constantly compares itself to all the others.

If we allowed pubs to open until 1-1.30-2 with staggered closing times (if you forgive the pun) it'd go a long way towards addressing the daft, heroic 'get it down your neck' mentality of Irish drinking.

MadYaker

There'd be way less hassle on the streets as well if everyone filtered out gradually instead of all us drunken louts being dumped out on to the street en masse at 2:30 or 3:00

James Brown

Phoebas wrote: »

This line gets trotted out a lot, completely disregarding that the previous government has us bankrupt, going cap in hand for a bailout.

Short memories are one thing, but these are selective memories.

Quite the opposite. It's those facts that made it possible to 'change the way we do business' which is what Kenny's government was elected to do. They chose, and found the money for, Reillys clinics and jobs for our own with the consultants and the quango
Selective memories indeed.

Leo is cool though he says we should have less restrictive laws for the gargle...

Wilfuler.

I struggle to think of anything significant he's done or said

He handled Brexit well in fairness

MadYaker

Wilfuler. wrote: »

I struggle to think of anything significant he's done or said

He handled Brexit well in fairness

Brexit is pretty much the only thing they have handled well. Maybe some points for the abortion referendum as well but thats about it. Housing was a totally solvable problem and they totally failed there.

charlie14

MadYaker wrote: »

Brexit is pretty much the only thing they have handled well. Maybe some points for the abortion referendum as well but thats about it. Housing was a totally solvable problem and they totally failed there.

We still do not know what way Brexit will pan out, but when all the opposition is singing off the same hymn sheet as the government, then like referendums, it is difficult to see how it will transfer to votes in a general election even if it does work out well.
The same sex marriage referendum of May 2015 passed with a majority of 2 to 1 got great kudos for FG but just a year later it didn`t give them any boost in the general election.


Getting a referendum wrong may damage a government party, but getting it right does not appear to transfer to a general election.
I would not see there is anything to suggest Brexit will be any different.

Millicently

dd973 wrote: »

I was in a pub in Central London which closed at 10.30 on a Sunday night, groups of Swedes, Yanks, Italians, Germans, Dutch were all turned away by the barstaff, looking at their watches and visibly wondering 'Uh, what's just happened? They're closed for some reason', absolutely ridiculous for a so-called Alpha world city that constantly compares itself to all the others.

If we allowed pubs to open until 1-1.30-2 with staggered closing times (if you forgive the pun) it'd go a long way towards addressing the daft, heroic 'get it down your neck' mentality of Irish drinking.

I'm not sure it would change the mentality until the way Irish people's attitudes to drinking change and I don't mean all Irish people. If you look at some Eastern European countries there's a huge binge drinking culture that rivals the Irish but if you go to the Mediterranean drinking is something do with dinner and they eat much later than us.


If you want a late drink you have to go to an Irish bar there or a nightclub. Some Irish people have a very immature attitude to drinking and they'll never grow out of it. Staggering the drunks out on the street might help with the numbers but all it means is that the mess will go on longer into the early hours. Fast food outlets will complain because they aren't going to want to pay staff to work until the early hours.

LuckyLloyd

Newuseruntaken wrote: »

He is lazy and has no leadership qualities at all. He hasn’t come up with a single decent idea in his time as Taoiseach. He was a complete failure as minister for health, and his time as Taoiseach has been spent repeating phrases like ‘ I have no responsibility for that area’ or ‘I can’t get involved in that’. There’s street sweepers who accept more responsibility than him.

The one time he actually took some responsibility for something, during brexit negotiations, he caused irreparable damage to Ireland by spending years saying we must have a backstop, then weeks before Johnston would have come away with no deal and lost all credibility, Leo folds and gets rid of the backstop, a classic case of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

The backstop is now a front stop and essentially resolved on January 31st when the WA becomes law. I think Varadkar and Coveney unambiguously achieved a great result for Ireland from the Brexit negotiations. We have also been given the key commissioner portfolio for the next phase of the process.

Criticising him on Brexit as you do above displays a lack of knowledge on the subject.

IAMAMORON

Keeping the border in the Irish Sea has been a massive victory for Varadkar. He played it sublimely. Coveney was excellent also and has a great future as Tanaiste and minister for Foreign affairs.

Hopefully this is the year that we can finally put the effeff ghost to bed, it needs its' place in history now. I shudder to think of the shambles they would have made of Brexit. They really are useless.

McMurphy

IAMAMORON wrote: »

Keeping the border in the Irish Sea has been a massive victory for Varadkar. He played it sublimely. Coveney was excellent also and has a great future as Tanaiste and minister for Foreign affairs.

Hopefully this is the year that we can finally put the effeff ghost to bed, it needs its' place in history now. I shudder to think of the shambles they would have made of Brexit. They really are useless.

You're deluded if you think FF are going anywhere, my guess is they'll be in govt after the next election, possibly without fg being needed to prop them up.

charlie14

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

The backstop is now a front stop and essentially resolved on January 31st when the WA becomes law. I think Varadkar and Coveney unambiguously achieved a great result for Ireland from the Brexit negotiations. We have also been given the key commissioner portfolio for the next phase of the process.

Criticising him on Brexit as you do above displays a lack of knowledge on the subject.

The backstop was not something FG championed on their own.
Every party, north or south bar the DUP did, but we still do not know what it will entail or who will patrol it.

With Hogan`s backing for the EU-Mercoser free trade agreement when Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development where Brexit is going to cause so much difficulty for Irish farmers, I would not hold my breath on him doing us any favours as Commissioner for Trade tbh.

Millicently

IAMAMORON wrote: »

Keeping the border in the Irish Sea has been a massive victory for Varadkar. He played it sublimely. Coveney was excellent also and has a great future as Tanaiste and minister for Foreign affairs.

Hopefully this is the year that we can finally put the effeff ghost to bed, it needs its' place in history now. I shudder to think of the shambles they would have made of Brexit. They really are useless.

Given that 11 illegal migrants were able to walk out of Direct Provision hours after they arrived and presumably cross the border illegally to the UK will mean that the British government will be keeping on eye on that. If the Irish government continue to allow illegal economic migrants to come and go as they please and to use the porous border as a back door to Britain it won't be long before the hard border is back.

corcaigh1

Weepsie wrote: »

As politicians go, hes a terrible orator. I've never, ever thought hes ever sounded remotely sincere. It's a bit what will make me sound like I care, and very forced.

I'm sure he's an intelligent man, you don't qualify as a doctor without that and hard work, but that he chose politics instead kind of shows that he's a bit vaccuous. That comes across to me when he speaks, and the few times I've met him (used to live in his constituency) I don't know what he'd bring at all to any board of to an EU job, other than a name and no more. Hes so managed, that I'm not sure how much is him anymore, and how much is what a PR / media person is advising him will look cool.

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Uneducated? you can't accuse him of that......

Yurt! wrote: »

I'm not a fan of his at all, but he would have had to complete a fairly exhaustive medical traineeship, and I believe he practiced also for a while before becoming a TD. That's fairly real world to me.

Do we want our TDs to be a minimum of 50 years old and to produce a checklsit resume or what?

Meh...

https://twitter.com/LeoVaradkar/status/1210164955959480320

charlie14

IAMAMORON wrote: »

Keeping the border in the Irish Sea has been a massive victory for Varadkar. He played it sublimely. Coveney was excellent also and has a great future as Tanaiste and minister for Foreign affairs.

Hopefully this is the year that we can finally put the effeff ghost to bed, it needs its' place in history now. I shudder to think of the shambles they would have made of Brexit. They really are useless.

I don`t know if the backstop will get FG that many votes in a GE.We had referendums that they championed that were passed by large majorities that did not result in GE increases in their vote.

Campaigning on Brexit could be tricky at the best of times as all parties supported the backstop and FF can always point to the Good Friday Agreement as being their doing.
Without the Good Friday Agreement there was no basis for the Ireland or the EU to insist on a backstop.

IAMAMORON

charlie14 wrote: »

I don`t know if the backstop will get FG that many votes in a GE.We had referendums that they championed that were passed by large majorities that did not result in GE increases in their vote.

Campaigning on Brexit could be tricky at the best of times as all parties supported the backstop and FF can always point to the Good Friday Agreement as being their doing.
Without the Good Friday Agreement there was no basis for the Ireland or the EU to insist on a backstop.

Cheap enough claiming credit for an agreement signed by people in a completely different state. If it wasn't for Sinn Féin and John Hume the Belfast agreement would have been confetti, that is before unionist cooperation, which only came about because of John Bruton's involvement.

The most disconcerting aspect of the effeffers support base is the constant ability to believe their own shight. Hopefully they never get the opportunity to bankrupt this country again, what a gang of imbeciles, it is hardly even funny at this point.

How can they possibly envisage getting into government again, who do they think is going to vote for them? How deluded can they be?

For a laugh I would love to read an eff eff strategy document, just to see what garbage it contains and how they plan delivering it. What a gang off daydreamers, laughable really.

IAMAMORON

McMurphy wrote: »

You're deluded if you think FF are going anywhere, my guess is they'll be in govt after the next election, possibly without fg being needed to prop them up.

I thought under Bunracht na hEireann that you actually need an overall majority to form a government?

Who is ever going to form a government with the effeffers ever again? Really, who is ?

I can't see them winning more than 30 seats, I mean that. Who is going to vote for you? All you have done for the last 3 and a half years is sit back and do nothing, whilst in the meantime supporting a government who you are now hoping on defeating in a general election?

Voters have finally realised that the best way to get Gay marriage, Abortion and a borderless island is to keep the country out of Fianna Fáils hands. They have too much of a track record on not delivering on any of these items. They should stick to bankrupting countries, it is the only achievement they ever managed.

Beechwoodspark

That Christmas swim carry on is one of the most cringe worthy Media appearances I’ve ever seen

Eww.

Millicently

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

That Christmas swim carry on is one of the most cringe worthy Media appearances I’ve ever seen

Eww.

There's an election on the way, he's trying to be all things to all people. He hacked off the elderly working class women over their bingo so now he's trying to pretend he's an ordinary working class pleb slumming it down at the 40 foot with the other working class plebs. A few months ago they wanted to increase the price of alcohol and do away with deals in supermarkets and stop supermarkets offering loyalty card points, now he's talking about having 24 hour licencing hours. Expect a lot more vote seeking stunts.

Loafing Oaf

IAMAMORON wrote: »

Voters have finally realised that the best way to get Gay marriage, Abortion is to keep the country out of Fianna Fáils hands. They have too much of a track record on not delivering on any of these items.

In fairness, Fianna Fail was also the party to decrimialise gay sex, and the first to legalise contraception in any form. Most significant elements of the 'liberal agenda' have been achieved, and afaik FF in government have never tried to 'roll back' any of it. There may be many good reasons not to vote for FF at the next GE, but IMO a fear that they will be pursuing some 'Catholic Right' agenda is not one of them...

charlie14

IAMAMORON wrote: »

Cheap enough claiming credit for an agreement signed by people in a completely different state. If it wasn't for Sinn Féin and John Hume the Belfast agreement would have been confetti, that is before unionist cooperation, which only came about because of John Bruton's involvement.

The most disconcerting aspect of the effeffers support base is the constant ability to believe their own shight. Hopefully they never get the opportunity to bankrupt this country again, what a gang of imbeciles, it is hardly even funny at this point.

How can they possibly envisage getting into government again, who do they think is going to vote for them? How deluded can they be?

For a laugh I would love to read an eff eff strategy document, just to see what garbage it contains and how they plan delivering it. What a gang off daydreamers, laughable really.

What exactly do you think John Bruton`s involvement was in the Good Friday Agreement.?
In 1995 when Taoiseach his response to a Cork journalist was "I am sick of answering questions about the ****ing peace process".

He was friendly with unionists alright.
In Tim Pat Coogan`s book The Troubles : Ireland`s Ordeal and the Search for Peace, one Tory minister told Coogan Bruton was a bigger unionist than even him.
Not that it did much good. The DUP didn`t sign the Good Friday Agreement.

2011 FG got 36.1% of the vote. In 2016 they got 25.5%. A drop of of 10.6%
2011 FF got 17.4% of the vote. In 2016 they got 24.4%. an increase of 7%
FG had the opportunity to kill them off in those 5 years but made a total fcuk up of that opportunity.

With how FG have performed over the past 4 years on the estimated cost of the Children`s Hospital being so wildly inaccurate with still no end figure in sight, the Rural Broadband scheme even further off, plus the housing and homeless crisis, a health service falling apart, and now with the two Murphy`s, Bailey and Farrell on the run-in to a GE, if they could not kill off FF in 2016 then I do not see them having any better luck now.

IAMAMORON

It just gets more laughable when they start clinging on to some sort of statistical achievement from the past?

I would have thought after you bankrupted the country you may have wanted to leave the past well behind you at this point?

Do you really think the new electorate gives 2 hoots what you did or did not deliver in the last century?

The country is moving on, it is shocking that you cannot realise this, get a grip.

IAMAMORON

charlie14 wrote: »

What exactly do you think John Bruton`s involvement was in the Good Friday Agreement.?
In 1995 when Taoiseach his response to a Cork journalist was "I am sick of answering questions about the ****ing peace process".

He was friendly with unionists alright.
In Tim Pat Coogan`s book The Troubles : Ireland`s Ordeal and the Search for Peace, one Tory minister told Coogan Bruton was a bigger unionist than even him.
Not that it did much good. The DUP didn`t sign the Good Friday Agreement.

2011 FG got 36.1% of the vote. In 2016 they got 25.5%. A drop of of 10.6%
2011 FF got 17.4% of the vote. In 2016 they got 24.4%. an increase of 7%
FG had the opportunity to kill them off in those 5 years but made a total fcuk up of that opportunity.

With how FG have performed over the past 4 years on the estimated cost of the Children`s Hospital being so wildly inaccurate with still no end figure in sight, the Rural Broadband scheme even further off, plus the housing and homeless crisis, a health service falling apart, and now with the two Murphy`s, Bailey and Farrell on the run-in to a GE, if they could not kill off FF in 2016 then I do not see them having any better luck now.

The only people killing off Fianna Fáil are the effeffers themselves. It is very sad to watch.

Leave the stats to the number crunchers, I can count eff eff support in this country on one hand.

It is over people, you need to start putting the country first for a change.