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EVERY SATURDAY MORNING we like to take a look at all the best comments left on the site by you lot over the past week.
The news over the past seven days has been dominated by one thing: Christmas. From the world not ending (despite what the Mayans said) to pointless Christmas gadgets, it has been a festive week. But aside from that, there’s also been Catholic Bishops speaking out against X Case legislation, the ongoing clashes in Northern Ireland over flags, why Barack Obama is Time Person’s of the Year, and
So here, in no particular order, are the standout comments from the week that was.
Ireland is the most charitable country in Europe, apparently. Nuns on Yokes commented that Irish people were getting their due reward:
There is a concert been held in Africa by pop stars dedicated to Ireland this weekend.
Thanks to Paddy Murphy for this disturbing comment about retro Christmas gifts we all wanted as kids:
I shifted my sisters Girls World head.
Moving swiftly on: is it ok to use your mobile in a restaurant? Readers were divided – and none more so than Aindreas Phelan:
I voted for “put the phone away” yet here I am in a restaurant on my phone, commenting on this article. D’oh.
There were a lot of really excellent comments on this article about unanswered questions from last Sunday’s finale of Love/Hate – particularly an in-depth discussion about the symbolism in the programme. Maura Harkin had this great comment about hair, as well as this one about the meaning of birds (WARNING: spoiler alert):
Lets talk Michael! Birds. Budgies; Aido keeps caged birds just like he himself is caged/trapped in his horrible life as a junkie in a disgusting flat. Swans; in the previous series young Luke loved swans. Swans mate for life and live in family groups. Luke was always lonely and isolated and in a fit of rage killed a swan. Racing Pigeons; live in a group and their owner is like their leader. With Git gone Dano had no choice but to destroy the birds as they could no longer function without their leader. It also perhaps says something about how Dano feels leaderless without his Da. Seagulls; when Darren was lying dead the camera panned up to a shot of a seagull flying above the city, symbolic of Darren’s soul flying free. But a seagull is not a dove, no one was trying to say that Darren was an innocent. A seagull, while it is white, is not pure. They feed on rubbish and are a common sight in Urban areas. I suppose they could have used a white pigeon, but that would be taking things too far, and pigeons are too disgusting!! Thats my thoughts anyway. x
We liked this exchange between Ted Power and Stray Mutt beneath an article about what to do before the world ends er, yesterday:
If I knew for sure that the world was ending on Friday, I would definitely kick my boss up the hole, bishop Brennan style, he’s a dick.
Ted?….the world ain’t going to end on friday.
But consider yourself fired next monday.
Sincerely
Your boss
What was Luke Ming Flanagan getting up to on Grafton Street on Wednesday? We ran a caption competition, and Roy Race‘s suggestion got the most thumbs up:
It was at that moment that Ming realised that the request for a photo shoot with someone wearing pink and long hair didn’t mean Mick Wallace.
A group of golden retrievers have been sent to Newtown in Connecticut to comfort survivors of last week’s school shooting. Phyllis Neiman empathised:
Dogs are such great comforters. The other night a neighbor came to call with news her husband’s Cancer is now in it’s last stages. Her sadness was palpable , so our 4 year old Airedale went to her, put his head in her lap and looked up at her. It changed her demeanor and you could see her relax a bit. Hoping this gestures helps to ease the grief in Newtown.
Mary McCarthy got a lot of thumbs up for this comment about what makes Christmas Day special - and why it’s going to be different for her this year:
Christmas Day is always a magical time for me . There is little to beat the joy of watching the wonder and happiness of your child’s face as they see what Santa has brought them . It always brings back memories of my own childhood when life was much more innocent and less complicated in a way that only a child knows .
It’s the feeling you get from having plenty of food on the table and the company of those you love with you . It’s the one day of the year when put your worries about mortgages , politics and money aside . It’s the warm contented feeling that you get from having your family close and squabbles and fights forgotten even if it just for the day .
My daughter emigrated during the year and its the first time in 25 years she will not be with me . I am hoping that the memories of all those past Christmas ‘s will see me through .
This column by an ex-bully about why he did what he did generated a lot of discussion. Orela Krawczyk explained her own experience:
Well done on such an honest article. My secondary school years were made a misery by a gang of lads, funny thing was the gang leader left in 3rd yr but I was a pariah at that point and the bullying continued. I honestly think the people who did it didn’t even know ” why” they were doing it. It took many years to realise that it was nothing to do with me. I’ve since met the bullies out and about as adults and one lad apologised I just smiled and nodded and the other lad actually turned to him and said what are you saying sorry for sure it was only craic. Shoes you some people don’t change. Good to see you did
What exactly was this er, crime-fighting vehicle doing parked outside Pearse Street Garda Station in Dublin on Thursday? No idea – but readers had lots of suggestions. Here’s Cornelius Crow, Tom Leddy, Chris Massey and Mike Clinton:
Maybe we’re all just far away
Maybe President Micheal D wanted to play guard for a day?
In fairness they should never have got rid of the height!
It’s the new training vehicle for the latest recruits…. Kindergarden cops.
(Photo: Pat Reilly)
Spot any good comments? Let us know! Mail christine@thejournal.ie with any suggestions for Comments of the Week
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Surely this is condidential contractual information between a renter and landlord?
…And revenue.ie?
in large areas this info is not so useful, finding an average rent for Dublin 2 two bed apartments is fairly meaningless, no distinction of brand new vs 30 years old, more expensive parts of post code vs less expensive. could be extremely misleading if at too broad a level, possibly worse than no info
I agree 100% unless they post prices with pictures together and also some detailed info of features and square size of living area, then it makes more sense and only then gives you fair idea. Usually the golden rule works in real estate: you get what you pay for..
no more misleading than the constant claims from daft that rents are rising (lies) this survey shows rents are actually falling in Dublin, and is certainly more trustworthy.
It certainly seems that rents are rising. Was away for 6 months and struggled to find apartment. Third less apartments on market now than a year ago.
This is a great step in the right direction . If ur in a block of apartments built at the same time this is very useful!
This information is key as it ensures transparency which prevent bubbles, speculation and the best value for all. It’s also not private information as all income is taxable and some people also receive state supports with their rent. All in all this is a good development.
Zegakly! Openness and transparency is for the good of all.
More snooping by government agencies I would imagine to try to get more money from people rather then trying to apply Amy real rules to the sector
I don’t think this is snooping. I’d say this has more to do with Rent Allowance being paid out by the state. It’ll give the government an idea on rents in a certain area and see if money can be saved.
This is confidential information.
Unless it’s in some way anonymized or averaged over an area it’s a violation of personal financial information.
This is a good thing. The private rented sector is the wild west of the property market. Half the landlords out there are either reluctant buy-to-let types without a clue of even the basics of business or fast buck merchants with a devil-may-care attitude to Residential Tenancies Act. The fact the the majority of cases in front of the PRTB are for illegally held deposits, 92% of flats in a recent investigation failed to meet even minimum legal standards (which are pretty damn low) and the fact that a sizable chunk of landlords out there that seem to think that because the are renting out property the laws of the land do not apply to them means that any move to regulate this sector is welcome.
The sector is unprofessional, legal standards are not enforced, prices vary widely (and are usually down to an individual’s negotiating skills or lack thereof) and the end product is both bad and overpriced. This is a disincentive to living and working in Dublin and needs to be addressed. Possibly the only worthwhile thing Labour have done in government so far.
I support this. It provides for greater transparency all around. Let’s not hope the data gets manipulated…
I know people who because of rent changes have now made agreement with their landlord to say the rent is a certain amount ( allowed for ur family size by the rent section) and then pay extra cash in hand to the landlord , so they don’t have to move yet again as its so hard to find houses within ur allowance and area u want to be in . I think the rent section and the councils should work together and buy property’s and rent them to tenants so in the long run the money goes into housing which the councils and sate own instead of paying landlords forever more ..
Not sure about the accuracy of this… No data for 1 bedroom apartments in Rathmines or Ranelagh (I thought there would be lots of those type of places there) yet the average rent of a 1 bedroom apartment in Wellington Dublin 6W is 1188.89 per month??!!
It seems like this might be a good idea. If they did a survey of asked for rents and paid rents, they could a: get a better idea of how much people are able to pay, and b: give rental property owners a better idea of what rents they should be asking for. I’ve always thought it was odd that rents aren’t based on what people, individually, pay but rather, are based on the average rents paid over large areas.
Have you tried to use the system? Not very easy to use……..
This is a serious breach of privacy. I don’t want people knowing how much rent I pay. It’s none of their business. What if an employer found out someone was paying very little rent and decided to deny a pay increase?
I think this is just another way of exposing people to the Revenue.
have your say