Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LONGSTANDING NORTH DUBLIN band Aslan will play the first of two gigs this Friday in the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin.
The band is marking 30 years since the release of their iconic first album Feel No Shame.
Ahead of the gig, Aslan’s frontman Christy Dignam sat down with TheJournal.ie to discuss their music, the highs and lows of the band throughout the years, contemporary pop music, the upcoming gigs, and his own struggles with his health over the years.
While talking, Dignam used some strong language to lay into contemporary Irish society and how it treats addiction, the ongoing homelessness crisis and the widening gap between the rich and the poor.
“I’ve a thing about the whole addiction thing,” said Dignam.
“If we put a quarter of the money into treating addiction that we put into fighting addiction and putting people in prisons and stuff like that.
If we put a quarter of that money into treating addiction we wouldn’t need to be filling our prisons with people that aren’t criminals, that just have some sort of… they have mental illness you know? Treat it as such.
Dignam also took issue with the Welfare Cheats campaign which ran last year while then-Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar was in office.
“For example, Leo Varadkar came out a while ago talking about people on welfare and all ruining the… bleeding the country dry,” he said.
“This country is not bankrupt cos some bloke is claiming a hundred euros or two hundred euro a week.
This country is bankrupt cos the bankers fucking bankrupted us. But they won’t say that, so what they do is they blame this girl who’s claiming unmarried mothers when she’s really living with her fella, they blame her and our attention goes to her.
“And we’re all fighting among ourselves down here while the bankers are still up here making millions.”
And then… we’ve 4000 kids living on the street and in hotel accommodation. It’s outrageous.
You can read and watch our full interview with Christy tomorrow evening on TheJournal.ie.
Aslan play the Iveagh Gardens this Friday 13 July and next Saturday 21 July. Tickets for Saturday’s show are sold out but tickets remain for this Friday’s gig.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The standard of taxi drivers in this country is shocking. Its an occupation filled by people that could not get a job anywhere else and whose only skills are being able to drive (barely) and complain about ‘foreigners’.
Well a friend of mine recently was in Galway with heavy bags, the taxi driver asked her about them as he was loading , when he heard it was a donation for the women’s refuge, he didn’t charge for the journey , a credit to his profession, take a bow sir, he is a Dub, anyone that knows him say well done .
Jesus you are going on like he cured cancer. He helped a person lift their bags into his cab ( this is their job, you are paying them for it) , and he let her off with a few euro.
Whilst I agree with you about the standard it must be said that there is a minority of excellent, non bitter, non disenfranchised, helpful, funny, reliable ones that put up with a lot. One guy was open enough to take me through the business model and how they make money.
Ace by name , Ahole by nature
A Dub that let someone off with a fare!he’ll be easily found Dubs don’t do stuff like that
You still knocking around Alan b ( b for ballbag )
Keith you’re hilarious you’ve been usuing that joke for the last three years
And yet Irish taxi drivers were voted “THIRD BEST” according to a trip advisor survey! Maybe you should look st yourself and how you behave when in a taxi. Or if you don’t use taxis then you have a sad life to be commenting on something of no relevance to you. What about taxi passengers too….vomiting, urinating in cars or constantly looking for discounts?!
You talk utter scutter..i can gurentee ive more brains in the top of my c than you have in your skull.gimp.
@John Rag Scales: Your spelling and grammar tells a different story. Go on out of that.
Yeah and you’re delighted when one of them stops for you at 3 am when you are sloshed and talking bolox to the driver.Its knobends like you that sickens me.
You’re some ass wipe ace.you really are.
Did you tell him how much you make every week Chris? Frankly it’s none of your business mate! Don’t be asking a Taxi driver personal questions about his earnings ok.
Keith Alan b is a big culshie who dislikes dublin people and he has that small town mentality. Down in mucka land they bail into a taxi (6 of them) and throw the driver 2 eu each.the car is covered in muck after them.
@Gerry Fallon: Ah Gerry , come on now. You seem like an unhappy person.
Are you still upset that you failed the junior cert ?
I remember a taxi man refusing to bring me to santry from the airport because he’d been waiting in the kesh for two hours and felt he deserved a better fare. I told him I’d throw him €20 even though it was only a short spin but he was having none of it. Reported him to the taxi regulator and got a letter a few weeks later saying they looked into it and weren’t going to do anything about it. I definitely think the numbers referred for any disciplinary action are only low because the regulator doesn’t go after its own members
Craig…taxi drivers are not “members” of the regulators office. Seriously dobsomevlearning before commenting.
Eh….do some learning
Sounds like your all fella learned you to speak proper
Now now Craig,you are being economical with the truth because he will be put off the rank if he refuses. That is a very strict rule at the Airport Another storyteller.!
Afraid not Gerry! I went and complained to the guy on the rank that radios them up. He was great and professional and sent him off to join the queue again. But that still doesn’t change anything about what I said the regulator did. Didn’t mention either that the taxi man that refused me also told me to go up to departures and get one there. That’s a big no-no as well and I stuck that in my complaint. Nothing done about that either!
Funny you didn’t point that out in your first comment isint it Craig. Only that I brought the rules to your attention. Just get the bus in future because it’s YOU who will create a bad vibe every time you get a Taxi in future.ok. Because you are on standby for a confrontation and that’s wrong,so just find some other way to get around. They don’t need people like you getting into their cabs.
Eh….. No. Kinda seems like your the one looking for a fight. Didn’t think anecdotal evidence in the comments section would work anyone up like this! Unless……. Was it you who kicked me out and got kicked off the rank!? Have you been waiting all these years for your revenge??
Eh no Craig! I wouldn’t let you I to my cab in the first place. And I’m not worked up at all. I just cannot stand fools making stupid comments and telling porkies ok.
Look at ya, after all these years and still refusing me. Old habits die hard. Your some man for one man Gerry. Single handedly defending the honor of an entire industry with just the threats you can make in a comments section . A true warrior of the keyboard.
Got into a taxi yesterday in cork.. The smell the dirt of the car interior. . The driver looked like he had never seen soap and water in 12 months. The car clearly was not in roadworthy condition as it rattled over every bump it hit.. I would be embarrassed if it were mine.
Why didn’t you just get out instead of bitching now about it? More bull.
Taxi business is a jungle…welcome to the jungle baby
Don’t worry the digital economy is sending them the way of the dinosaurs, in ten years they won’t exist
Yeah and at 3 in the morning you’ll have to walk home
I’m going make it clear what actually happens based on my experience and I’ll simplify.
I hailo’d and was in a glass lift above him when he arrived I said I’d see him in 30 seconds. Meaning total wait time for him was 30-60. He drives off with other customer as I’m on phone and hangs up. Phone him loads of lies and excuses.
With a complaint you’ve two options. Court for fine or just a simple complaint where it’s on your record. I complained and was pressured not to take it to court by the NTA. Significant noticeable pressure saying there’s no witnesses.
So when you peel it all away the body that protects us is a laughing stock because in a lot of cases they encourage no court saying there is no evidence and thus no fine and thus no accountability and thus they are weak individually at their jobs for having that strategy and accepting it. It became clear that court was a hindrance against them and didn’t want to pursue and instead said “hey look we’ll give out to them internally and keep it in their record”.
Also while on the phone I told them about another guy with his taxi savailability lights on in a taxi queue who wouldn’t take me from o Connell street to Bally bough. He refused.
NTA said look we rang him he said he was in his lunch not much we can do.
Maybe you could not spend the next 15 mins on YouTube and make a rule that if lights on you have to bring a customer and if not taxis will be penalised.
Instead they specifically said. We’re going to do nothing
Chris
So you wanted to take a taxi driver to court because he left with a different passenger. I mean really??
You weren’t robbed,attacked,or run over.
But you wanted to take him to court??
Get a grip.
Chris
You really need to get a life.
Just mutter to youself what a kant, and go about you’re business , not worth the effort pal. Sounds exhausting
Why don’t you just buy your own car and stop moaning. You seem to have a chip on your shoulder over Taxi drivers. Get over it Nancy.
Racism. Disguising how common it is within the taxi community.
Also if you were wondering about the delays in Hailo of late it’s because of the below from a very open frank and honest taxi driver who told me the truth
- taxi drivers declare their income.
- by virtue of working on Hailo it makes their work be transparent and be a true reflection (or at least mostly true if mixed with street work)
- he said underdeclaring was rampant and Hailo doesn’t allow you get away with it thus they are scrutinised with hailo.
- whilst cab drivers are willing to put up with that in the quieter months why would they go on hailo when in December there’s a load of under the counter work everywhere.
- he said though taxi drivers don’t appreciate the full power hailo has given to them. By that he meant, by paying a 20% fee per job he gets an unlimited supply of work. 20 jobs on a Monday in a row in nearly most months i.e. No more driving around searching for work and hoping while petrol is going up.
- also separately at Xmas he said there’s a another antagonising factor. Most months are fine but at Xmas nights supply of taxis falls far short of demand thus incredible delays.
all obvious stuff but Interesting to hear it from horses mouth.
Chris
The above is utter rubbish and simply not true.
A load of bull.
Some horse. Dosent know what he’s talking about. Hailo take 12% not 20%. There is no call out fee and upto 5 mins free waiting time. All in driver can lose 50% on some fares. Supply is not the problem. Traffic delays, customers messing drivers around and 50% loss on jobs are the problems.
There are approx 26,400 licenced taxis in Ireland and the amount of complaints is less than 800???
Its nothing, why make an issue of it.
@Les J Matt: What we do not know is ho many people had a bad experience and did not make a complaint, and who could blame them with the regulator as ineffective as they are.
Ace….the phrase “caveat emptor” comes to mind. There are p%^cks in every industry. A bit of intelligent thinking and balance would go some way to making your comments relevant.
Uber can’t come fast enough to Dublin…
The ones that feel the need to fill every moment with inane opinions on society, politics and racist statements will very soon find themselves out of work.
could someone explain why they switch of their lights when clearly they are looking for fairs, also most dont go to taxi rank especially late in the evening, and up to xamas they where driving up and asking where people where going, maybe they didnt want to go to far as they would lose out on money, all the taxis need to get a grip you work for the public not the other way around!
So who do taxi drivers complain to about the actions of the public?
Orla Ryan,And decent journalist would have also asked the Taxi driver for his views on the abusive behaviour of passengers and the smell off their breaths,either from alcohol or otherwise.their body odour and continuous nattering on wrecking the drivers head.”HEWYA Mr taxidriver”, Are ye busy tonight? Are ye out long? How much would ye earn each night? Can you give me the fare for a tenner instead of 13eu? Would they ask the barman for discount on a pint?I know what they would be told! So Orla,do your your job properly and stop stirring it. I bet you’re real nice to the Taxi driver when he’s bringing you home safe. I think it’s called being two-faced.
Ahh sure there’s no money it anyways
Yeah those making the complaint were too pissed to remember the exact details.
Also typo in post above was meant to read this is a thread about taxis not guards
Not to mention rogue taxi drivers with nothing better to do than to drive up and down Killiney Hill Road and roar abuse at unsuspecting gardeners.
have your say