Eileen Flynn halting site taxi issue

touts · 04-05-2023 10:31pm

I think the travelling community needs a political representative who is a leader not just a spokesperson. And being a leader means bringing your followers on a journey of change. Leading them to a better place. In this case challenging the simplistic narrative that the helpless travelling community are victims of the racist settled community and cannot change anything for the better themselves. Eileen has failed to provide this much needed leadership.

Dtp1979 · 04-05-2023 10:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120555574#Comment_120555574

Yea. Why are they being described as a different race??

04-05-2023 10:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120556674#Comment_120556674

They're described as a different ethnic group because of customs, language - that kind of thing.

But they aren't a different "race", that's for sure.

But over the past decade or so, we've seen a movement where minorities are empowered to believe they are actually victims - not just victims, but very special people indeed. That gives people power, especially when more people believe it.

And we're seeing that power exercised, especially in cases such as now.

It's all a game of power, and the far-left are getting their way - slowly, but surely - by trying to reshape debate in this country. Part of that involves redefining the Travelling Community as a separate race. It's not the only game they're playing, but it's a part of it.

They've so far succeeded. In the long term, they'll fail.

For Forks Sake · 04-05-2023 10:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120556607#Comment_120556607

But how would you decide on such a representative?

Mrs OBumble · 04-05-2023 11:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120555574#Comment_120555574

Grab a dictionary.

Look up ethnicity, race and nationality. Note the difference.

hotmail.com · 04-05-2023 11:04pm

Should taxi drivers receive extra support and protection for fares into Halting Sites?

Is this what Eileen wants?

hotmail.com · 04-05-2023 11:06pm

On what basis did this anecdote arise in our Upper House?

Are Senators allowed to just waffle off any rubbish they want? I did vote for it to be abolished back a few years ago.

Danzy · 04-05-2023 11:29pm

The Guards are slow to drive in to halting sites.

A taxi driver would be a fool to.

pgj2015 · 05-05-2023 1:33am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120556743#Comment_120556743

It should be tariff 10 on the taxi meter for driving into a halting site.

pgj2015 · 05-05-2023 1:36am

The Travellers are shooting themselves in the foot by always shouting racism. They would get a lot further in life if they just tried to be civilized and live like the rest of us. No one will ever have any respect for them if they keep playing the victim.

Glebee · 05-05-2023 7:58am

Dont blame taxi driver one little bit.

Andrea B. · 05-05-2023 8:11am

All about risk analysis.

The moment we start our day we expose ourselves to risks. Some actions more riskier than others.

If I plan a local drive, I plan with as few crossings of roads as possible, hence left turns etc. Small things.

The taxi driver deemed the risk outweighed the reward for driving in to the site.

A few metres drive to deliver an able bodied individual, versus a perceived increased risk of something crap happening, which could jeopardize their livelihood.

Now, I say perceived, as this is likely the fault of the media for instilling that perception into us.

Too much reporting of travellers stealing, fighting, scamming the weak and elderly, extortion and making (sometimes dubious) insurance claims.

Gusser09 · 05-05-2023 8:12am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557203#Comment_120557203

Wtaf

05-05-2023 8:30am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557203#Comment_120557203

What on Earth is this guff.

Halting sites are frequently dangerous. That's the end of the analysis.

Baba Yaga · 05-05-2023 9:06am

wouldnt blame the taxi man one little bit...drove a taxi for 10+years on nights back in the 90s,there were and still are several areas around the greater dublin area you wouldnt drive into at night and halting sites would be top of the no go list,even the gardai and fire brigade wont go into them without huge back up,why should a lone taxi man go in?

Andrea B. · 05-05-2023 9:13am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557363#Comment_120557363

Yes. I blame the media.

All we read about is the numerous cases of animal neglect, violent weddings and funerals, scams, extortion of the elderly both here and abroad, theft of precious metals, trespass, illegal dumping, squatting of lands, welfare fraud preposterous insurance claims, marching en masse into A&E for a black eyes and intimidating everyone else, etc.

The media don't report on all the benefits they bring to Irish communities.

chooseusername · 05-05-2023 9:20am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557391#Comment_120557391

"The media don't report on all the benefits they bring to Irish communities."

Your list of benefits is very short.

Deeec · 05-05-2023 9:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557391#Comment_120557391

I will tell you the benefits they bought to my community - visiting local shops where 12 of them get out of a van and enter the shop and fill their bags, skirts etc with goods ( this is how they do grocery shopping), robbed my grandparents house of everything - even took the copper water cylinder and ripped out all the pipes, illegal dumping everywhere, fighting in the towns graveyard, wrecked hotels. A great bunch of people altogether.

Andrea B. · 05-05-2023 9:24am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557417#Comment_120557417

Well, there are actually some benefits. I never considered owning a dog until the travellers set up site a few miles away some years back and drove out this road regularly.

Now I have a dog and he is my best mate. Needs his daily walks and keeps me fit. ++ All the way.

...Ghost... · 05-05-2023 9:31am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557203#Comment_120557203

You're perception is nonsense on this matter. It is a FACT that by entering a halting site and not being a known person or resident of same, you are putting yourself in danger and your property at risk of being stolen. The taxi driver had good reason to not want to enter the halting site. He was not committing a hate crime as the lazy senator claimed. The taxi driver was in fear of entering the halting site as there was a reasonable chance he could have been assaulted and robbed. Food delivery drivers also won't go near the halting sites....they won't even drop the food off at the entrance.

Travelers haven't earned their reputation by being victimised; they have earned it by being criminals and pariahs to society. Halting sites are filled with traveler folk who have no respect for anyone or any thing. I learned this early on when I was 12 or 13 returning from the cinema in Coolock, Dublin with 2 of my friends. We were passing by the local halting site. 8 or 9 travelers of the same age and older blocked our path looking for trouble under the guise of asking for a smoke. None of us smoked. One friend had slipped through and my other friend and I were held. The lad blocking my way was about 15 and was built like a chicken nugget. He has holding my arm and tried to punch me twice. I got away from him unhurt after twisting out of his hold. My other friend got away with a shiner. They were doing this right outside their homes/caravans and their parents think it's acceptable to attack the local kids in gangs, so yeah...scum. I wouldn't have dropped Eileen off within 100 yards of the gate. I hope that taxi driver comes out and gives his side of the story.

Boggles · 05-05-2023 9:34am

They are on wind up FFS.

chooseusername · 05-05-2023 9:47am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557425#Comment_120557425

Fair play, I missed the sarcasm, you should have emphasised the “BENEFITS”

eggy81 · 05-05-2023 9:50am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557203#Comment_120557203

So you drive around in a circle on a Sunday drive. Literally no one thinks like this.

Gatling · 05-05-2023 10:01am

I can think of three housing estates in tallaght alone that taxi's won't drive into for anyone,

Imagine the idea of having to walk 200 yards, definitely a complete waste to ring the Gardai,was she hoping they would send a car to drive the 200 yards to the door

davetherave · 05-05-2023 10:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120556753#Comment_120556753

In the Order of Business for the day. Where they all basically get some brief airtime to speak about an issue.

https://www.kildarestreet.com/sendebates/?id=2023-05-04a.44#g53

All the clapping on the back and hand-wringing then proceeded

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) - I congratulate Senator Flynn on raising the matter to which she referred. I am delighted that she had a platform to raise it. She is an equal Member of this House.

Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) - I pay tribute to Senator Flynn on her comments here this morning.

Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) - I fully support my Donegal colleague, Senator Flynn. The way she was treated last night was atrocious. I congratulate her for using her power this morning to highlight it. She is absolutely an equal Member of this House.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) - Before I call the Deputy Leader, I would like to express to Senator Flynn that I was disappointed to hear her contribution this morning and of the incident last night. She is an equal, valued Member of this House and accepted by all of us. I am glad Members have expressed their support for her in the Chamber this morning. We will stand with her in the elimination of racism and discrimination, which have no place in our society. I am happy to talk to her further about the matter, if she wants.

Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) - With the indulgence of colleagues, I will start by addressing our colleague and friend, Eileen. I know how difficult it must have been for the Senator to raise this matter this morning. I want to acknowledge her courage and bravery because if we do not call these things out, they keep perpetuating and it becomes nearly a part of accepted society. I am really sorry that she had to deal with this matter last night. She is definitely not the first and unless we do something, she will not be the last. I think she has started us doing something this morning. The thing that probably struck me the most other than the event last night was what the Senator said this morning, that she came from nothing. She absolutely did not come from nothing. Not only is the Senator an equal Member of this House, she has done so much to highlight the issues on behalf of her community that maybe most of us do not even recognise. What she has done is really important. Her star is rising and will continue to rise. I thank the Senator for her contribution this morning. It is incumbent on all of us to make sure that we not only support the Senator but recognise the difficulties experienced by her community and do something about that.

Guildenstern · 05-05-2023 10:17am

The media and the Seanad (some cringe worthy dialogue there, let's give a big Friday choo choo for the gravy train) row in 100% behind Flynn. Is it no wonder that our views of our media and political class are at an all time low?

05-05-2023 10:24am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120555153#Comment_120555153

Just to stand up for the gay "community" here (hate that term), we don't all have a laissez-faire approach to throwing around the term bigot - that tends to be waved around by the tiny minority of activists and extremists (and most often by people who aren't gay themselves, but who are straight and claim to speak on our behalf). Then again, when the media only presents that minority, it's easy to believe that that's what the rest of us are like. Rest assured, we are not.

That aside, has anyone noticed that the usual suspects who throw around terms like bigot, homophobic, misogynistic, animal rights abusers, and all the rest, are completely silent when it comes to the Travelling Community? The rest of society which has done its best to root out the above gets all the abuse, yet the community with one of the highest rates of these abuses never gets criticised - ever.

As I say, when you turn any community into a victim status who are considered Special People, don't be surprised when they weaponize that status against the rest of us.

Because now you can't even criticise halting sites and the risks and abuses therein without being tarred as a racist (by far the stupidest application of that term I've ever come across).

Is it any wonder taxi drivers don't want to go anywhere near the places, especially at night?

Stephen_Maturin · 05-05-2023 10:32am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120555078#Comment_120555078

She does use her role as Senator….to put in a good word for violent criminals

https://www.breakingnews.ie/amp/ireland/man-who-changed-victims-lives-forever-after-dancefloor-attack-avoids-jail-1453495.html

”Three references, one from Ardara GAA Club, one from family friend and Senator Eileen Flynn…were handed into court.”

pgj2015 · 05-05-2023 10:46am

People love to have a go at taxi drivers in this country. even though they are the ones getting you home at 4 am etc

Let them TDs try it out for a while and see if they would drive into a halting site in a taxi.

gmisk · 05-05-2023 10:51am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120557724#Comment_120557724

Ffs....after all that he got....a suspended sentence?!

Eileen Flynn halting site taxi issue

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