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Brendan Howlin (L) and Michael Noonan on RTÉ radio this morning taking questions from the public about Budget 2012. Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland

The Daily Fix: Wednesday

In tonight’s fix: why the government is rowing back on one budget pledge already; toilet-based austerity; and Trapattoni lands another cat in the sack…

EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you a round of all the day’s main news as well as the bits and pieces you may have missed.

  • Just two days after it was announced, the government appears to have rowed back on its proposal to cut disability allowance for young people, saying the measure has been “paused” and will now be reviewed by the Department of Social Protection.
  • If you’re still trying to get your head around what Budget 2012 means for you check out this handy infographic and use our Budget Calculator 2012 to see how your income will be affected.
  • The eurozone is gearing up for a crucial two-days in Brussels which start tomorrow as leaders meet to discuss ways to address the debt crisis. Already, a Franco-German letter is proposing big changes in the single currency area while the Taoiseach has said changes could come into effect without a treaty change which would require a referendum here in Ireland.
  • Bank of Ireland has said it is to make €1.5 billion available for mortgages next year which may come as good news for potential house-buyers after the government announced schemes aimed at getting people back into the housing market yesterday.
  • Students at Trinity College Dublin have banned the Daily Mail from its campus shops after the paper published an inaccurate story about the missing student Caolan Mulrooney whose body has since been found.
  • In Russia, former president Mikhail Gorbachev has called for the weekend’s parliamentary vote to be annulled amid growing protests over the reported election fraud carried out as Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party triumphed in the election, albeit with a reduced majority.
  • To lighten the mood here’s a man with a mullet whistling an old Ray Charles classic:

  • A bullish Bashar Assad has said that Syria does not kill its own people and that he doesn’t feel guilty for the death of a reported 4,000 people since an anti-government uprising got underway earlier this year.
  • A man imprisoned for a number of rapes carried out 27 years ago has been exonerated by a US court. Thomas Haynesworth had already been released on parole but had been pushing for exoneration for the crimes he did not commit.
  • Now that’s what I call austerity: schoolchildren in Spain are being rationed toilet paper as the education ministry makes cuts across the board as part of a drive to reduce Spain’s overall deficit which has led to high unemployment and some fears it could be next for a bailout.
  • An Indonesian police officer who became a viral video sensation has been sacked amid claims he hadn’t shown up for work over the past two months as he tried to turn his success from a video with over three million hits on YouTube into a career.
  • The Ivory Tower in Cork has been ordered to close by the Food Safety Authority. The restaurant of chef Seamus O’Connell is one of six served with a closure order last month.
  • Al Pacino is coming to Dublin next year and its for a totally ‘Wilde’ reason. Find out more here.
  • Finally in sport, Giovanni Trapattoni has been named the Phillips Sports Manager of the Year for 2011 while in rugby Leo Varadkar has floated the possibility of Ireland bidding to host the Rugby World Cup in the future.

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9 Comments
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    Mute Brian Corcoran
    Favourite Brian Corcoran
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:26 PM

    Nobody loves taking the bus. The government has made having a car so damn expensive some people have no other option

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    Mute Play Against Par
    Favourite Play Against Par
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:38 PM

    If “bus” is code for “piss” then I wholeheartedly agree!

    110
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    Mute Zozzy Zozimus
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    Jun 4th 2015, 8:25 PM

    I love my Dublin Bus.

    23
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    Mute Manuel Moreira
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    Jun 4th 2015, 11:57 PM

    @Brian you see amazing things when you take the bus, such as:
    -junkies having sex in the back;
    -someone talking too loud on the phone;
    -oh shit I think I just stepped on poop;
    -how did a begger get in to ask me for money? o.o

    Actually nevermind, point taken o.o

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    Mute Dylan Wadey
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:41 PM

    If you’re using public transport never give up your seat to an old lady…
    That’s how I lost my job as a bus driver.

    235
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    Mute David Hammond
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:43 PM

    Now that passenger numbers have increased will fares be coming down? After all, one of the main reasons for all the increases over the last number of years was falling passenger numbers.

    228
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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Jun 4th 2015, 7:10 PM

    X1,000

    55
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    Mute Stephen
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:31 PM

    I love the bus, you do see all sorts. I once seen two junkies having sex at the back of bus coming home one night. To quote them he said “get your tits out?” She replied “Ah noo not yet, wait” charming experience all together

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    Mute Arthur Callaghan
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:29 PM

    I think we are the only country that say thanks to the bus driver when getting off

    114
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    Mute Barry Davidson
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:46 PM

    We’re the only country that’s passes the bus driver getting off the bloody thing holding up all the boarding passengers.

    53
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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Jun 4th 2015, 8:09 PM

    Because you’d need two staff per bus to do it the other way. Saying thanks to the bus driver is just polite. You say thanks to a taxi driver so why not a bus driver?

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    Mute ted hagan
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    Jun 5th 2015, 6:26 AM

    We like to think we are. They do it in most countries. It’s just of those ‘aren’t we Irish cute’ things.

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    Mute The Emigrant
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:41 PM

    Do you know what Irish people hate? A lack of proper fücking transport!

    107
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    Mute fiachra29
    Favourite fiachra29
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:52 PM

    I often use the train, Bus Éireann and the luas and I think all those services run quite well although they could do with coming down in price. Dublin Bus on the other hand is the most chaotic, confusing and user unfriendly service out there, it’s as if they don’t want people to use the bus.

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    Mute Jimmy Jim-Jim
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    Jun 4th 2015, 7:39 PM

    Bus Eireann intercity is fine if you want to get from the very start of the route to the very end of it. The timetable is only a vague suggestion for stops in between.

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    Mute Plantation Watch
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    Jun 4th 2015, 8:42 PM

    And make sure you use relieve yourself before hand as if theres a jax its sure to be locked.

    8
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    Mute Colin Moran
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    Jun 4th 2015, 7:03 PM

    Dublin Bus would be brilliant if it wasn’t for the other passengers.

    100
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    Mute Neal Ireland Hello
    Favourite Neal Ireland Hello
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:34 PM

    I urinate several times a day, too. Doesn’t mean I love it.

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    Mute Paul Reid
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:29 PM

    It’s the bus drivers because we are all so sexy!!!

    78
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    Mute Lee Power
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:27 PM

    I love the bus. I bleedin hate the withworth road!

    58
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    Mute Seth Mcguinness
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    Jun 4th 2015, 7:14 PM

    They’re a nightmare, they bring you on safari. I honestly think the number 16 passes through Donegal twice on its route.

    45
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    Mute John Collins
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:50 PM

    I hate taking the bus with a burning passion.

    45
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    Mute Caroline Mantl
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    Jun 4th 2015, 7:04 PM

    Must make it difficult to sit down alright.

    55
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    Mute Ben Redline
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    Jun 4th 2015, 7:08 PM

    Excellent Caroline B-)

    17
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    Mute bandido
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:51 PM

    And yet before September comes they will be given an increase in ticket prices citing “falling passenger number”.
    This will be the third consecutive year.

    36
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    Mute North Korean General
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    Jun 4th 2015, 7:17 PM

    Blame FG/Lab… Maybe they will give Dennis O’Brian favourable loan terms so he can but it. He seems to be buying everything else!!!!

    22
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    Mute Biodiversity Watch On Biology-ie
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    Jun 4th 2015, 7:22 PM

    How come there is no link to the previous story about two people being assaulted on the bus?

    17
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    Mute Integra-Ted
    Favourite Integra-Ted
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    Jun 4th 2015, 7:31 PM

    Irish people love getting the bus without being beaten mercilessly for no good reason by some waster….

    21
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    Mute Drew
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    Jun 4th 2015, 6:44 PM

    Nice phrasing…. They experienced a surplus owing to allocation of additional funding and subsidies.

    So they run an unprofitable constant tax payer subsidised deficit. The deficit was merely less than they expected it to be this year?

    17
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    Mute paul burnett
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    Jun 4th 2015, 9:22 PM

    Said no man ever

    5
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    Mute ted hagan
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    Jun 5th 2015, 6:23 AM

    Just reading this as I wait for the number 44 to arrive. Five minutes to go. I’m all excited now. I’ll let you all know how I got on…. oh, hurry up!

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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Jun 5th 2015, 12:41 AM

    Do you know what Irish people love?
    Gossiping, getting things rear ways and Chinese rumours???
    Whoops…

    2
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    Mute Gillian Kennedy
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    Jun 4th 2015, 10:43 PM

    So you don’t think there are more journeys because more people are in work?

    2
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    Mute Michael Sands
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    Jun 5th 2015, 12:42 AM

    What work, there are more journeys because the pensioners love riding the free travel lol.

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    Mute Mrs Shalakalananaka
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    Jun 5th 2015, 9:03 AM

    “Public transport is for losers” – Homer.

    1
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