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DUBLIN CITY CENTRE saw its busiest weekend since March last weekend, according to senior civil servant Liz Canavan, of the Department of the Taoiseach.
Data collected from last weekend shows that the busiest time was between 2pm and 3pm, with 9am to 10am being the quietest time.
Traffic volumes near some of Dublin’s biggest shopping centres saw a 40% increase last weekend, with 8am to 11am being the quietest time on the roads.
Last Saturday night in Dublin city was 80% busier than the previous Saturday night, said Canavan.
Speaking in Government Buildings today, she said if people are shopping this weekend, they should think about the time of day they are going, and they should try and plan their trip earlier or later in the day rather than peak times.
“And as always try to shop local and support those local businesses. Always try and avoid crowds,” she added.
“Think about planning that meal on a weeknight, for example,” she urged.
Increase in numbers was expected
However, she added that the increase in numbers of people shopping and socialising was always to be expected.
“There are no surprises in these increases of people moving around, and nothing we didn’t expect in terms of pent up demand. But it is important to emphasise that compliance within businesses was very good, and everyone is doing their very best to keep us safe,” she said.
Canavan said the government were made aware of capacity concerns on public transport last weekend, but said the National Transport Authority have confirmed “there were no real issues with capacity” and that additional public transport services were being added and are working.
New 24 hour Dublin Bus services are beginning for the 39 bus in the Dublin area, and similarly Bus Eireann have rolled out improved services for Navan, Drogheda, Limerick Cork and Galway.
Iarnroid Eireann have also rolled out some additional services on commuter routes, particularly for the evening peak times. Dart services will remain on a 10 minute frequency during the day, and 15 minute frequency in the evening.
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Good.
We all owe farmers a huge debt of gratitude for working morning, noon and night to feed us.
Farmers own and look after the land. They do it silently and without fanfare.
The Greens know nothing about the land yet they pontificate about it endlessly from their suburban mansions
If the Greens had their way there would be no farming and society would collapse.
Next time a Green politician or an environmentalist tried to spoof you look down and ask them : “Where’s your wellingtons then? Go on with yeh”
@Tommy Haze: Well said spot on
@Tommy Haze: they work for profit and we don’t buy their good with credit, so there’s no debt.
@Tommy Haze: I grew up on a farm. We worked on it to make money. We didn’t do it just to supply food, and I’m fairly certain we wouldn’t have given free food to those who couldn’t afford to pay for it. Farming is a job, just like nursing, carpentry, teaching etc etc.
@Tommy Haze: It’s funny how Aviation and it’s expansion according to the Greens and the government is an economic necessity and is off limits when it comes to carbon emissions, the wealthy airlines benefit from Zero tax on aviation fuel, Zero binding emission target, government subsidised routes and have no realistic way of decoupling growth from emissions. It seems to be one set of rules for the DAA and wealthy airlines and another for the farmers, turf cutters and the rest of us or maybe the DAA a Semi-state company just like RTE has a barter account to compensate the media for greenwashing their industry.
@brian o’leary: If you were to factor in the hours worked, it’s definitely not a profitable business. One of the few industries that don’t get to set their own prices and charge what is fair, or indeed profitable. It’s below minimum wage if you factor in hours worked. More work related deaths than any other job in Ireland. It accounts for approx 7.1% of employment and that doesn’t factor in the jobs in the construction industry related to agriculture. They mind the land, hoping the next generation will do so too. So I think Tommy is spot on when he says we owe them a debt of gratitude. But then again, some people will always have these false and lazy ideas about farmers.
@Helen Murphy: markets don’t deal in “fair”, if the going is too tough, sell up, and let someone else “mind” it.
@brian o’leary: Really? Your grasp of agricultural economics seems to be either poor or purposely biased. Tell nurses, teachers, shop workers that this is what you’re getting, shut up or someone else will do it. If farmers were to charge the cost of production plus a small % for profit, or as you say “not deal in fair” , and charge what the like, you would be moaning your hole off about the price of food. Why doesn’t the EU set the prices for other industries? The grants are a sly way of allowing multinational food processors make huge profits, whilst those with no knowledge of rural Ireland think farmers are coining it.
@Helen Murphy: “it’s definitely not a profitable”
Dairy farms made a record average profit of €148,000 last year.
@Helen Murphy: “it’s definitely not a profitable”
“The CSO’s final estimate of agricultural Operating Surplus for 2022 shows an annual increase of €1.0bn (+28%) to €4.7bn. The value of Agricultural Output at Basic Prices rose by €2.8bn (+28%) to €12.9bn.”
Thus Irish farms made a profit of €4.7 billion last year.
Average Operating profit per farm in 2022 according to Teagasc:
Dairy €151,000 (and 53% higher than 2021)
Cattle rearing farms: €9,400
Cattle finishing farms: €18,800
Sheep: €16,500
Tillage: €77,000
Mixed livestock: €84,340
Average faming family income: €45,800 (increase of 32% from 2021, mostly because of rise in income on dairy and tillage farms).
@David Jordan: There’s no validity to your argument. Dairy farmers start at 6am every morning and don’t finish until late in the evening. Early hours of the morning at certain times of the year. 7 days a week. Might get to take a weeks holiday in the summer if their lucky. Per hour worked its an absolute pittance. Do the maths.
@Helen Murphy: then sell up, move on and let someone else at it.
FFG are destroying our agri sector . We should be pushing for self sufficiency , especially now in the days of supply uncertainty. It would appear though the government are pushing reliability on other countries and being at the mercy of international markets .
Why do we import broccoli, veg etc from Kenya . Potatoes from the uk etc
@BL Music: we import food because it’s cheaper. We produce the best quality beef, with the toughest regulations in place, in terms of antibiotic use, herd health etc. Beef is then imported from Brazil where there are no regulations, because as much as people preach about buying local, it comes down to price.
Same with our barley, wheat etc, certain chemicals/pesticides banned here for use in their production, but not on the cheaper grains that we import.
Green agenda throughout the world is ruining agriculture. Billionaires are buying up land (Dyson is biggest farm owner in UK, bill Gates one of the biggest in USA) solely to use the land to offset carbon credits for their own non agri business, so they can claim they are producing Carbon Zero products
Farming is becoming more industrialised and less family owned or ran. In a few decades, you’ll see managers running about 5 farms and sub contractors doing the ploughing/silage/milking! The family farm, will become rare and die out eventually.
@John John: Why would you want to see it die out?
@John John: over 7% of the population are employed in the agriculture sector and you’d like to see all those people with families and mortgages lose their jobs? What’s your problem with farming? Did a farmer’s son bully you in school or take your place on the football team?
Just teach them not to destroy hedgerows, and stop washing the slurry tanks in the rivers.
@Opinion is free but facts are sacred: washing slurry tanks in the rivers?? Where did you come up with that?
@Opinion is free but facts are sacred: why would a farmer wash a slurry tank? Ireland ranks 1st in Europe on how little nitrogen is in our rivers thanks to our farmers. If you ate today you should thank a farmer for that too.
@Mike Looney 88: maybe their custom could be their thanks?
@Opinion is free but facts are sacred: where are going with absolutely crazy statement! I have never in my life even heard of a farmer washing a slurry tanker in a river. Have you ever been on a farm? The Irony of your made up user name is off the charts.
@Opinion is free but facts are sacred: I agree, and what are they hiding inside those big sheds that no one else is allowed in?
What is the difference between this and the green cert? Or even the farm relief who are finding it hard to source labour?Just looks like people who don’t work on farms looking to get paid to work behind a desk coming up with this idea.
Will Eamon Ryan and his Green Party be doing this course, considering they keep telling farmers they’re farming wrong? So will it be Eamon Ryan Green Party and Rte learning curriculum ?
I want to know because nature has respected farming and horticultural practices for centuries. The infestation of Ash tree die back disease is a notifiable disease yet our local council in Fingal will do nothing .
The muck spreader was often washed in the river, hedges taken out, round up under the electric wire along the drain, wet bales stacked 3high near the drain, old plastic and tyres buried when the digger was in, New weanlings bought in given a shot of antibiotics as a preventative….many of above done by me and my neighbouring farms, and not 20years ago either
@hi from heaven: so tell me about washing the muck spreader in the river..maybe start with why? In all my years on farms, never heard this being done
@Martin Kenny: We would drive into the river and start filling with buckets as quickly as possible, due to leaks.then drive up the Field and empty it out… this was done 2-3 times
@hi from heaven: side muck spreader not back empty one
@hi from heaven: right, learn something new every day. Think you should give up farming, you’re doing it wrong
So some Gombeen wants to create more low paid jobs in the farming industry…. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys…. It’s called Slave Labour
If farmers really cared about the land (and not just income) the IFA would not object to every environmental Idea that is floated
Maybe farmers should pay more if they can’t get workers?
Crikey, so many keyboard warriors leaving comments – most of whom demonstrate their ignorance in a magnificent way. Farming, is hard, dirty, difficult, and underpaid. But its hard with to compete with those “clean boot experts” who know oh so much better.
We would drive into the river and start filling with buckets as quickly as possible, due to leaks.then drive up the Field and empty it out… this was done 2-3 times
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