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Wine for at least €10 a bottle? Here's what we know about new alcohol price laws so far...

The government wants to put a floor on prices to cut down on problem drinking.

Rennett Stowe Rennett Stowe

HEALTH MINISTER LEO Varadkar yesterday announced new laws aimed at tackling alcohol abuse – targeting everything from advertising to health-warning labels.

But one of the most important – and controversial – measures will be the introduction of a new, minimum price on alcohol.

While no official floor price has been put forward, it has been suggested the change could push the minimum cost of a bottle of wine above €10 and a bottle of spirits over €30.

That has led to concerns that responsible drinkers, particularly pensioners and those on low incomes, would suffer alongside those consuming harmful amounts.

Here’s what we know about new alcohol price laws so far:

What are the plans… and why introduce them now?

The basic aim is to help cut alcohol consumption and problem drinking by putting a bottom limit on alcohol prices.

The figure would be set according to a “minimum unit price”, which means the floor cost for any drink would be based on its alcohol content.

Drinks like spirits, which are cheap when measured against their strength, will have a higher minimum sale price than low-alcohol beer, for example.

The government says this will work because heavy drinkers and young people with little disposable income tended to favour alcohol products which were “strong and cheap”.

Its goal is to bring across-the-board alcohol consumption in Ireland down to the OECD average, which would require a cut of about 25% in peoples’ consumption rates.

According to Varadkar, the plan could be before the Dáil in summer – although it was likely to take up to 12 months before the regulations became law.

Community First Response Schemes Health Minister Leo Varadkar Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

He said it was time for action on the issue after four years of debate, although he didn’t elaborate on the reason for the delay.

This morning, former junior health minister Róisín Shortall said politicians had traditionally been slow to address alcohol-related issues because the “alcohol industry is very powerful within this country and has very good access to a lot of senior politicians”.

Any change will mainly affect the supermarket trade as pub and restaurant prices would likely come in above the cap.

The plan has been widely welcomed, including by the pubs lobby, but the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland – which represents producers – has been tight-lipped about its attitude towards the minimum price cap.

Guinness owner's new brewery opened Taoiseach Enda Kenny at the launch of Guinness's new brewery last year Niall Carson Niall Carson

So has anyone else tried this… and does it work?

Canada was the first country to introduce minimum alcohol prices and research there has shown a 10% increase in the floor cost has lead to an overall cut in consumption of 3.4%.

That drop in drinking has led to knock-on reductions in alcohol-related deaths and health problems.

The minimum prices in the country vary from province to province, with some regions regulating only high-alcohol products while others have floor rates for every main category of booze.

In 2012, the Scottish government became the first in Europe to pass comprehensive minimum alcohol pricing laws – which would set a floor sale price of 50p (€0.66) per unit of pure alcohol.

Meanwhile, the UK government has stepped back from plans to set a minimum sale price of 40p (€0.53) per alcohol unit – instead banning the sale of “below-cost” alcoholic drinks.

In announcing the Irish plans yesterday, Varadkar referred to Sheffield University alcohol-policy modelling – which had been used to guide plans for both Scotland and Canada.

Research, based on the model, predicted that introducing a minimum 45p per-unit alcohol price in the UK would lead to 624 fewer deaths and 23,700 fewer hospital admissions every year after the restriction had been in place for a decade.

Wetherspoon lifts ban on Heineken products Brian Lawless / PA Wire/Press Association Images Brian Lawless / PA Wire/Press Association Images / PA Wire/Press Association Images

And can we do this?

The Irish government obviously thinks so, but Varadkar will be sweating on the outcome of a European court case before the laws are set in stone.

The Scottish whisky lobby has been fighting the country’s minimum pricing proposal and the plans have so far been tied up in a series of legal battles.

Most recently the laws were referred to the European Court of Justice for a ruling on whether they breached free-trade regulations, with five major wine-producing nations – France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Bulgaria – all joining the fight against the plans.

A final ruling is due later this year and the Irish proposal, which closely resembles the Scottish regulations, will be put on the skids if the appeal is successful.

shutterstock_115009072 Shutterstock / lenetstan Shutterstock / lenetstan / lenetstan

What does this mean for me?

It depends on the final price decided, but the laws will probably spell the end of €5 bottles of wine and sub-€2 beer at the big supermarket chains.

The Irish Independent today reported the Health Department was “examining” an alcohol unit price of between 90c and €1.10.

At the high end, the floor price for the average bottle of wine (with an alcohol level of 13%) would be pushed over €10.

A 500ml can of beer (5% alcohol) would cost at least €2.75 and a 700ml bottle of spirits (40% alcohol) over €30 if the unit price came in at the top of the range.

In contrast, the proposed Scottish minimum price would mean an average bottle of wine would cost at least £5 (€6.63), while a standard, 500ml can of beer would have to be sold for at least £1.25 (€1.66).

However a spokesman for the Health Department told TheJournal.ie the figures the Independent quoted were only “speculation” as the plans were in an early stage of being put together.

Yesterday, Varadkar said no prices had been decided but they would “need to be sufficiently high to eliminate very cheap alcohol … but not so high that it affects most consumers”.

Aren’t we already paying a lot for alcohol?

In a word, yes. Alcohol drinks are already more expensive in Ireland, on average, than anywhere else in the EU except Finland, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.

Prices in the Republic are more than double those in Germany and about 86% higher than in France.

A big share of that money flows to the government in taxes – which are worth nearly €5 on a €9 bottle of wine.

READ: Female students are now drinking more than male students >

READ: Will we be able to buy drink on Good Friday this year? Publicans think it’s a possibility… >

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135 Comments
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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 9:59 PM

    ‘He declared “gun free” schools a “magnet” for mass shooters.’

    Not in other countries. Not in this country.

    No assault rifles (or similar) = no mass shooters. It’s quite simple.

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    Mute The Girl
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:20 PM

    @Brendan O’Brien: They do not think…He should really STFU. Moron. How does he think he still has his guns? Politics. That is why. Any other country would have rounded up all those guns by now.

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    Mute Vigo the Carpathian
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:25 PM

    @Brendan O’Brien: Now it turns out the school had an armed security guard who said fu#k that for a bag of chips once a psycho with and AR-15 turned up…

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    Mute domas1507
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 7:11 AM

    @Brendan O’Brien: there is no point in even listening to and trying to rationalise the comments that come from the NRA or the politicians they fund. That’s because they know they are not making a rational argument. It’s a simple money issue. The gun trade is worth a fortune and they don’t want the gravy train to stop. So forget about passing gun control for the time being. It needs to be cut off at the root. Legislation should be passed that no one In public office should be allowed to be funded by the NRA. No politician is funded by cigarette companies or alcohol companies, the NRA should fall into that bracket

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:01 PM

    President Reagan was shot by a gunman even though he was surrounded by trained armed secret service agents..are they saying it wouldnt have happened if they were armed teachers instead. The problem is simple..too many guns out there.

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:05 PM

    @Diaspora’d:

    What if Reagan was surrounded by armed school teachers?

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:06 PM

    @Diaspora’d: Yes. The ‘good guy with a gun’ myth is believed only by those who confuse movies with real life. Experts know better. From an article in the Guardian:

    ‘Jay Kirell, a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan, said it was “extremely difficult” to shoot under stress. “Cops & soldiers literally get paid to do this & most of them can’t shoot accurately under stress,” Kirell tweeted.

    Daniel Riley, an infantryman in the Marines who attended Columbine high school, guessed how many Marines would have been needed to prevent students being killed at his alma mater during the 1999 attack.

    “Using my knowledge of both, my guess on what it would take to prevent kids from being killed on 4/20/99: at least 20 Armed Marines (And it’s still a maybe),” Riley said. “And that’s somehow ‘common sense’?”’

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    Mute Fergal Moore
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:49 PM

    @Brendan O’Brien: true. 18% accuracy for nypd when it comes to hitting targets. 18%. They train and need gun reviews every 6 months. 18%

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    Mute Eleanor of Aquitaine
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:56 PM

    @Diaspora’d:

    When JFK was shot, no one blamed the rifle.
    The problem is that US society changed, it went from a high trust society early last century, to the low trust society of today that glorifies gang culture, money and celebrities, from the 80s to today you can just turn music channel and listen to an up and coming hip hop artist, trying to make his name by rapping about smacking his women up and shooting his rivals up, all the while the youth it was aimed at, all see this as cool.

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    Mute Billy-Bob White
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:58 PM

    @Brendan O’Brien: very strange that you would call it a myth. Here the Washington Post highlights multiple times a good guy with a gun has come to the rescue. Facts matter.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/10/03/do-civilians-with-guns-ever-stop-mass-shootings/?utm_term=.e1b7cef0741c

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    Mute Eleanor of Aquitaine
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:59 PM

    @Eleanor of Aquitaine: * turn on to a Radio/TV

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:05 PM

    @Billy-Bob White: Your link itself describes such incidents as ‘rare’. More than 33,000 gun deaths in the United States every year. Get a grip.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:53 PM

    @Eleanor of Aquitaine: he was also surrounded by good guys with guns

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    Mute Shawn Rahoon
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 12:41 AM

    @Brendan O’Brien: Padraig Mally was a good guy with a gun

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    Mute Tweety McTweeter
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:02 PM

    It’s scandalous the amount of power the NRA have on the US political system. The NRA are effectively a lobby group for American gun manufacturers. We had Trump today referring them as ‘great American patriots’ and calling for school teachers to be armed. We complain about our political system but America’s is rotten from the top down

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    Mute Billy-Bob White
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:07 PM

    @Tweety McTweeter: the NRA is to gun rights what planned parenthood is to abortion rights.

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    Mute Tom Doyle
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:13 PM

    @Billy-Bob White: hmmm..got that one badly wrong,lad..

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    Mute psychiatrist
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:23 PM

    @Billy-Bob White: wtf?

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    Mute Tom Doyle
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:23 PM

    @psychiatrist: he’s totally clueless …https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/

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    Mute Billy-Bob White
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:24 PM

    @psychiatrist: the NRA advocates for gun rights. Planned parenthood advocates for abortion rights. At least the right to bear arms is in the constitution.

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    Mute Liberal Larry
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:24 PM

    @Billy-Bob White: that makes absolutely zero sense…

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    Mute Billy-Bob White
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:30 PM

    All I am seeing in response is ad hominem’s.

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    Mute Eleanor of Aquitaine
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:39 PM

    @Billy-Bob White:

    You’ve just triggered the regressives with that little beauty, Bravo sir.

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    Mute Malachi
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:41 PM

    @Billy-Bob White: Planned parenthood doesn’t have anywhere near the financial control over Congress that the NRA does, and abortion has already been pretty much settled by Roe v. Wade for decades anyway (unlike gun control), but in principle you’re not far off.

    It is despicable that any political “advocacy” group just gets to shove millions in legal bribes into the hands of lawmakers in the US to get their way. It’s pay-to-play and it’s a disgraceful system, no matter who is availing of it.

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:49 PM

    @Tweety McTweeter: Trump is owned by the NRA, his presidential campaign was funded by over $31 million!

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    Mute Felicity Hensen
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:52 PM

    @Billy-Bob White: None of the responses to your comment are even close to ad hominem.

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    Mute Brendan O'Brien
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:09 PM

    @Felicity Hensen: He won’t know what ‘ad hominem’ means.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:55 PM

    @Billy-Bob White: so you’re saying the solution is to call school shootings late term abortions?

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    Mute Felicity Hensen
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 1:21 AM

    @Brendan O’Brien: It does appear he does not.

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    Mute Kevin
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:05 PM

    Teachers should not be armed in schools that’s not the way to solve this issue .

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 12:03 AM

    @Kevin: you’re right, that would mean the shooter wouldn’t even have to bring in a gun and risk getting caught with it.

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 9:58 PM

    The NRA must be feeling the heat…

    81
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    Mute Boyne Sharky
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:32 PM

    @Diaspora’d: It’s absurd that the NRA can “donate” to everyone, Democrats, Republicans and anyone else in positions of influence, it’s not even hidden anymore, they just shrug their shoulders as if ‘well everyone does it’.
    Their ridiculous excuse for this is like when told of a ferocious wild animal loose in a school which has killed and injured students, release an even more ferocious wild animal into the school. And these people are supposed to be among the best and brightest diplomats. The mind boggles.
    They seem incapable of realising the simplest logic that pouring more of the risk into a confined space will not and cannot reduce it, nowhere has this ever happened. Instead it’s taken those who have repeatedly been placed in harms way, the students, to stand up and make some of the finest speeches I’ve heard, to say they’re calling this behaviour BS. These kids have given interviews saying CNN have asked them to be interviewed but they refused when expected to ask scripted questions. They may be able to do what no adult has, they seem to be going to try at an rate and it’s worth remembering that in a year or two they’ll be eligible to vote. The NRA can’t bribe these kids so it’ll be interesting to see just what they’ll do to try and stop them, they’ll no doubt try something.

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    Mute Martin Lintzgy
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:30 PM

    I am in the USA right now.
    Americans are very safety conscious.. you see the evidence everywhere.. a minibus carrying children, mind steps, safety warning signs,
    It makes no sense that nutters can get hold of guns so easily, and the USA govt is impotent to do anything about it.
    Simply put, Americans love their guns more than their children.

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    Mute Felicity Hensen
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:56 PM

    @Martin Lintzgy: Agreed. One of the best tweets I’ve seen was the suggestion to say children were going to be in utero rather than in school, then maybe certain politicians would change policy and legislation to keep them safe.

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    Mute William Ruane
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:00 PM

    Kinder eggs are banned in the US, assault weapons are welcome. The mind boggles

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    Mute Niall Mac Giolla Phádraig
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:14 PM

    So his argument is Americans are the first line of defence from Americans. Where does that end, suburban civil war?

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    Mute hard yaka
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:26 PM

    Just let what trump said sink in. Just think about it. Give teachers guns. Now once that has sunk in that the president of the United States is leaning this way thank every lucky star not to be living in that despicable country.

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    Mute Anne Marie Devlin
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:31 PM

    @hard yaka: He’s now proposed to offer bonuses to teachers who agree to be armed

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    Mute EdmundOrlando
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:37 PM

    @hard yaka: I hear you.

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    Mute Malachi
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:52 PM

    @hard yaka: It’s not a despicable country by any stretch.

    It’s a country of permanent contradictions. A country obsessed with law & order, yet determined to deregulate access to military weaponry. A country obsessed with democracy abroad yet unable to identify the glaring flaws in their own system.

    A country founded on admirable freedoms and a booming slave trade. America is a really bizarre country, but it’s certainly not a hellhole like you imply. It’s a really mixed up place.

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:56 PM

    @hard yaka: “despicable” country. Quit the hyperbole! I live in the US its far from perfect but it wasn’t too long ago that I was defending Ireland’s reputation among Americans here who claimed Ireland was a despicable country based on how it had treated kids in orphanges, Magdelene laundries and babies being thrown in septic tanks. I agree that the gun problem is ridiculous here and I hope like a lot of other likeminded people here it begins to change for the better…but don’t stereotypically write a place off.

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:59 PM

    @Diaspora’d: exactly, it’s also worth keeping it in context, the NRA only has 5 million members. Which means their influence is staggeringly disproportionate.

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    Mute EillieEs
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 3:47 AM

    @Dave O Keeffe: the majority of whom favour background checks!

    https://www.vox.com/2016/5/25/11767402/nra-guns-daily-show

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    Mute hard yaka
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 8:21 AM

    @Malachi: Sorry Malachi it’s a hell hole. A place where children’s lives are traded for political favours. Why is there still a conversation 17 kids are dead. It’s crazy. A crazy hell hole.

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    Mute hard yaka
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 8:27 AM

    @Diaspora’d: All in our history which thankfully we are eventually addressing. No worse than the kkk or the way the natives were treated in north America. Half the people you explain yourself to their grandparents would have agreed with segregation. People in glass houses and all that.
    If a kid walks into a school in Dublin and kills 17 kids our government would act.
    Look at the state of the place over there. Rich get a lot richer a president who has affairs with pornstars schools just get randomly shot up. Imo it’s a despicable country.

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    Mute Malachi
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:23 PM

    Hypocrisy is an amazing thing. When an Islamic terrorist slaughtered people in New York with a truck last year – Republicans (such as Trump) immediately politicised the tragedy and (correctly) highlighted the stupidity of a visa lottery system for immigration.

    Now, when a tragedy happens and Democrats use it to make a serious point about gun control, that’s ‘unacceptable’ and ‘tasteless’ to these same people described above.

    Politics in the US is based on hypocrisy. It’s based on partisan uselessness. The fact is – politics is MEANT to address things like jihadist murder and school shootings. There’s nothing wrong with “politicising” an issue that actually impacts lives. That’s the entire point of politics (or it should be).

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    Mute Malachi
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:25 PM

    @Malachi: An excellent video on this subject demonstrates the obvious hypocrisy from both sides on the issue of “politicisation”.

    https://youtu.be/OeD4FuWkL80

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 12:07 AM

    @Malachi: and something to lighten the mood while also making the NRA look ridiculous https://youtu.be/usgOsNhkKVE

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    Mute Dean Anderson
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:23 PM

    guns, God & gays. the three G’s to get the religious right in America into a tizzy but not affordable healthcare, education or world peace

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    Mute Declan Moran
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:01 PM

    Just as big a tosser as trump

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    Mute Brian O'Loughlin
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:21 PM

    We keep being told that the majority of gun owners in the US would be happy to see tighter gun controls yet the NRA which represents these people are against it..so which is it ?

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    Mute William Ruane
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:06 PM

    The NRA has approximately 6 million members, which seems like a lot, but it’s not compared to the population’s size. The problem is the power the NRA have over elected officials.

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    Mute EillieEs
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 3:49 AM

    @Brian O’Loughlin: it represents the gun manufacturers and their profits

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 4:43 AM

    @EillieEs: Foreign (non-US) gun manufacturers from Italy, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Croatia contribute more to the NRA than US gun manufacturers do. A lot of the guns in America are Glocks, Berettas, Sig-Sauer made by foreign manufacturers

    https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/charts-foreign-gun-companies-laws-nra/

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    Mute Martin Lintzgy
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:25 PM

    Surely, the safety of a countries’ citizens *IS* a political issue!

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    Mute Vinny
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:31 PM

    Why not get their teachers to give lessons on firearms to the kids while their at it? Honestly thought I misheard trumps view, nuts, what happens when a staff member becomes the shooter? How can knowone see bringing more guns on campus makes it a higher risk? USA USA USA

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    Mute domas1507
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:13 PM

    Wonder do the sit around in a circle and tell their stories about their addiction to guns at Neanderthal Redneck Anonymous

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    Mute Mick Tobin
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:26 PM

    Nonsensical Rifle Addiction: https://youtu.be/a-o9pwWUzz0?t=13s

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    Mute Daniel Patrick Carry
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:21 PM

    A pure evil (four letter word that begins with c and ends with a t and has u and n in it )

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    Mute Shaun Gallagher
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 9:59 PM

    Heartless B**tard

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    Mute psychiatrist
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:21 PM

    If I was to support the NRA I’d argue that if pupils are targeted then pupils should be armed in order to eliminate a threat. Why waiting for a teacher to be around.

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    Mute Ron North
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:10 PM

    @psychiatrist: He really needs to think about lowering the age that you can buy guns so that they can arm themselves.

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    Mute Paddy O Rourke
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:30 PM

    Teacher shòots teenager for having hand below belt.

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    Mute Anne
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:31 PM

    On a completely seperate story…the journal wrote about Joanne Lee before she was sadly discovered. There was a few articles here and her siblings were asking people for help to find her. Now there is no news from the Journal at all, but yesterday other papers had updates, so Journal where is your follow up on this story?

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 12:07 AM

    @Anne: depends on what happened and the wishes of the family I guess. I have no idea of any details but it could be that the family want it to be private.

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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Feb 24th 2018, 7:03 PM

    @Anne: Anne there is a big difference in printing ‘updates’ in a paper and putting stuff up on digital publiblication with comment forums – there are a lot of restrictions once there are investigations or an active criminal investigation as I think there is in this case. There is not a lot to say when you have to close the comment section and the case is ongoing. such is the way of liberal laws and legal advice to media publishers like the journal. There likely nothing more to it than that to be honest.

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    Mute Fergal Moore
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:50 PM

    Another mad logic. It would like saying the only way to stop pollution is by creating more pollution.

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    Mute Philip G Roark
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 1:27 AM

    @Fergal Moore: Or the only treatment for alcoholism is more gargle.

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    Mute Billy-Bob White
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:21 PM

    Wow looks like Democrats have realised gun control (confiscation) is a big political loser.

    More here: “Dems want gun control, but worry it could cost them midterms”

    http://thehill.com/homenews/house/374961-dems-want-gun-control-but-worry-it-could-cost-them-midterms?amp&__twitter_impression=true

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    Mute Malachi
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:57 PM

    @Billy-Bob White: How in the world have you conflated gun control with confiscation?

    Do you understand what the word ‘confiscation’ means? How is strengthening background checks, or banning purchases of assault weapons ‘confiscation’?

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    Mute Billy-Bob White
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:02 PM

    @Malachi: just from watching the townhall last night it was clear that they want to seize all semi-automatic weapons.

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    Mute Malachi
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:26 PM

    @Billy-Bob White: The only suggestion of weapons seizure in that meeting was the one Rubio himself made about a programme that would allow police to *temporarily* take away weapons from a person who is reported by their immediate family, which they can get back.

    Are you telling me that’s an extremist policy (so extreme that the NRA-funded Rubio is fully supporting it)?

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    Mute Anne
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:24 PM

    America is such a messed up country. Messed up….it’s baffling how much love they have for their guns. Guns kill people…daaaa….simple as…

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    Mute Sinead Hanley
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 12:03 AM

    @Anne: I agree. I have plenty of Catholic cousins in America. And non believing cousins too. They are all armed and “protected”. I dont understand it. I would compare it to the Irish obsession with alcohol. Its part of life and we wont give it up, no matter what damage is done.

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    Mute Rob Cahill
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 4:31 PM

    @Sinead Hanley: What does them being Catholic have to do with it??

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    Mute Malachi Shanks
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:59 PM

    They’re “d”ucking lunatics, Trump supporters and the NRA that is …

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    Mute Butch Francis
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:04 PM

    Why are the FBI and local law enforcement being let off the hook for this colossal fcuk up?

    29
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    Mute David Sinclair
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:13 PM

    @Butch Francis:
    The Democrat press don’t want any negative light shining on the agency until Mueller has done their bidding.

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    Mute Tom Doyle
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:14 PM

    @David Sinclair: one would swear that one guy runs 70% of the accounts on here…would you agree ?

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    Mute Billy-Bob White
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:15 PM

    @David Sinclair: they seem to be the only ones above citicism.

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    Mute David Sinclair
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:21 PM

    @Tom Doyle:
    Haven’t a clue Tom though I must admit there is an inordinate amount of Deomcrats/liberals regularly commenting here on a daily basis who never comment on other articles.

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    Mute Malachi
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 10:34 PM

    @Butch Francis: Here’s a question for ye.

    If Obama was responsible for not addressing Russian election meddling because he oversees the FBI (as head of the executive), as Trump claimed he was…

    Then isn’t Trump responsible for not addressing the negligence of the FBI on this school shooting, since he’s now head of the executive?

    Or am I missing something?

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    Mute Larissa Caroline Nikolaus
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    Feb 22nd 2018, 11:10 PM

    @Malachi: Yes, you are missing something, Obama’s skin colour, and party affiliation, that’s what matters to the likes of Butch, and David

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    Mute Nigel Griffin
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 9:21 AM

    @David Sinclair: The issue is the availability of military grade weapons for dumbass american rednecks yet somehow obama was behind this as well. top trolling sir!

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    Mute Róisín Daly
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 12:42 AM

    Its like looking at a drug pusher when you look at him with way way he goes on! More drugs to fix the other drugs. Weird.

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    Mute JJ Ryan
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 12:00 AM

    Trump has a serious mental illness. He ought to be locked away for the rest of his life. A complete and utter clown. the NRA must have something big on him.

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    Mute EillieEs
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 3:57 AM

    @JJ Ryan: yes, they have the $30million they spent on getting him elected

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    Mute Dave Moran
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    Feb 23rd 2018, 7:51 PM

    What a self serving AH!

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