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Joan Burton Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland

With all this good news, why is Labour so low in the polls? We asked Joan Burton...

The Tánaiste answered questions about Labour’s low poll ratings today.

JOAN BURTON WAS among the ministers to come out hailing the latest positive employment figures today.

The CSO today released its Quarterly National Household survey which found that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has fallen from 11.1 per cent to 10.4 per cent in the year – the tenth successive quarter that unemployment has declined on an annual basis.

The number of people in employment has increased by nearly 30,000 in the last year and Burton declared herself “really pleased” with the latest numbers, specifically citing the fall in long-term unemployment.

In addition, we also learned today that the yield on a 10-year Irish government bond has fallen to below 1 per cent for the first time in the history of the State.

Despite all this good news for the coalition, the weekend’s Red C/Sunday Business Post poll showed how Labour has fallen two points to a low of 7 per cent.

So, four years to the day since the last general election and with all this good economic news, why is Burton’s party struggling in the polls? Here’s what she said:


hughoconnellthejournal.ie / SoundCloud

Later during the same media event in Government Buildings today, Burton was asked whether Labour would be better off with her predecessor Eamon Gilmore still being leader.

“I never thought it was going be a bed of roses,” she joked, before adding: “But what I am very confident about is that the Labour party has a good very story to tell.”

She said that the coalition had addressed a number of social issues in recent years and had also dealt with the “rough hand” it was given in terms of the economy.

Burton said the judgment of some opposition parties that the restructuring of the promissory note arrangement in 2013 would be ‘a disaster’ was incorrect.

“They were so wrong,” she added. 

Read: This is going to be the longest general election campaign in history

Snapshots: Here’s what four years in government does to you…

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    Mute Greg Ward
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    Jul 18th 2015, 3:54 PM

    How about people not leave beaches strewn with half eaten sandwiches and other rubbish for seagulls to feast on. No wonder they think they can get handy grub from people.

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    Mute Fergal Reid
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    Jul 18th 2015, 5:16 PM

    This is it. They’re as smart as a dog an as easily domesticated by free food.

    141
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    Mute David
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    Jul 18th 2015, 7:01 PM

    it wouldn’t take a genius to feed them properly for filling a bin.

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    Mute Terry OCallaghan
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    Jul 18th 2015, 7:23 PM

    Maybe if idiots put there food in a bin ..The poor birds wouldn’t bother them.

    34
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    Mute Robert Madden
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    Jul 18th 2015, 3:58 PM

    I’ve tackled a few aggressive birds in my time.

    373
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    Mute Shite sticks
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    Jul 18th 2015, 3:51 PM

    Horrible little shits are really coming alive the last week or two. The young grey ones with their whistly screech are awful, we are often woken by the tap tap of one pecking on our skylight. Very tempting to get some kind of air rifle at them

    173
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    Mute Ignoreland
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:09 PM

    What they need to do is introduce Anti-Seagull Behaviour Orders, or ASBOs for short.

    155
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    Mute Johnny Joe
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    Jul 18th 2015, 3:51 PM

    Shoot the feckers, there’s way too many of them anyway.

    155
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    Mute Get Lost Eircodes
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    Jul 18th 2015, 5:59 PM

    No there is not too many. Populations declining & actually threatened in Ireland

    33
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    Mute youknowimright
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    Jul 18th 2015, 7:44 PM

    get yourself to howth on a sunny day my man!

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    Mute Get Lost Eircodes
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    Jul 18th 2015, 7:51 PM

    Ah but are the thousands of littering Irish not the problem? Instead of the evolved scavenger doing what it evolved to do?

    33
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    Mute Johnny Joe
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    Jul 19th 2015, 12:46 AM

    Birds of prey are declining rapidly, but seagulls? Come on, seriously, wake up. They’re everywhere.

    13
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    Mute Get Lost Eircodes
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    Jul 19th 2015, 9:38 AM

    This is from UK but relevant here. Simple fact is gulls populations are in serious decline with herring & great black baxked gulls both red listed. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/9533420/Seagulls-invade-cities-because-of-collapse-of-fishing-and-rise-in-recycling-food.html

    3
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    Mute Cupid Stunt
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:22 PM

    all the natural predators of seagulls are gone now thanks to us. look at what happened to the passenger pigeon in the states or myxomatosis with rabbits. when you mess with mother nature it has repercussions.

    112
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    Mute Alan Corlett
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:53 PM

    The COMMON GULL no such thing as a Seagull (although the term is commonly used so it may as well be accepted and only needs to be officially acknowledged, which would save so much grief but I digress) anyway, the gull do have a natural predator and it’s US, but in the UK they are a protected species (I don’t know about here), I think it was because people were eating them to extinction and their eggs make great custard (em allegedly). So it is a problem of their own making……. no pity whatsoever.

    39
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    Mute Susan McLeod
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    Jul 18th 2015, 5:08 PM

    America is the natural predator of the COMMON GULL??

    99
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    Mute Irish Names
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    Jul 18th 2015, 3:56 PM

    I saw a documentary on this in the 60s, think it was called the birds, it didn’t end well, we must round up the trouble makers at once and send them to Greece, as an additional punitive clause in the bailout package.

    112
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    Mute fitzer
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:03 PM

    ALL the sand eels and mackerel sprat are no more due to the pollution of our seas , I noticed that all the seaweed on the east coast is black from pollution. The gulls are starving and taking it out on us dirty humans.

    96
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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:04 PM

    Cull the flying rats!

    71
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    Mute Dessie Curley
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    Jul 18th 2015, 3:53 PM

    Prefer a seagull shitting on me from above and robbing the food from my kids hands than this Cameron chap

    65
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    Mute iDunno
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:33 PM

    Too many Seagulls, and not enough recipes

    64
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    Mute damien o brien
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    Jul 18th 2015, 5:43 PM

    They’ll probably fight them on the beaches…

    53
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    Mute Dan
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    Jul 18th 2015, 3:55 PM

    250000 to research seagulls! What will it possibly tell you that common sense doesn’t.
    Some are cheeky, shoot them.

    51
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    Mute tomeenoldstock
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:05 PM

    Not all seagulls are cheeky. Some are intelligent and friendly.
    http://jrnl.ie/2221490

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    Mute Austin Rock
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    Jul 18th 2015, 3:47 PM

    Rule Brittania

    25
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    Mute Garr
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:20 PM

    It’d be a real quandary for the posters here if this site had a poll: Who would you like to see die more, seagulls or people floating in rafts in the Mediterranean?

    23
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    Mute bings
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:40 PM

    David Cameron best friend is Senator Ted O Sullivan as seagulls have lost the run of themselves

    18
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    Mute Paul Wallace
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    Jul 18th 2015, 9:56 PM

    Gay marriage and now this !!

    18
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    Mute Nicholas J Campbell
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:29 PM

    We should all just pitch fork it up. Grab your torches people were going gill hunting.

    17
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    Mute Smcgovern
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    Jul 18th 2015, 5:09 PM

    Really. seagulls are getting out of hand! Really!

    8
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    Mute Mark Gerard Lochlain
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    Jul 18th 2015, 4:43 PM

    There were seagulls in Yorkshire??? Has Yorkshire a coastline??

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    Mute Rashers Tierney
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    Jul 18th 2015, 5:13 PM

    yes.

    26
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    Mute Mark Gerard Lochlain
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    Jul 18th 2015, 5:27 PM

    Sorry!!! I was thinking of West Yorkshire wedged between Cumbria and North Yorkshire!! Yorkshire is like Tipperary with the different Ridings!! Stunning coastline I might add!!

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    Mute John Handelaar
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    Jul 18th 2015, 5:45 PM

    No part of West Yorkshire is anywhere near Cumbria.

    12
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    Mute Mark Gerard Lochlain
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    Jul 18th 2015, 5:56 PM

    I think you might find the South eastern section of Cumbria is within the Yorkshire Dales National park and borders Yorkshire!! :)

    10
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    Mute David Doyle
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    Jul 18th 2015, 11:57 PM

    pigeons are the real problem, horrible birds

    5
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    Mute James Darcy
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    Jul 18th 2015, 5:18 PM

    You wank them seagulls

    5
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    Mute Minoe
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    Jul 19th 2015, 3:20 AM

    angry birds

    2
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