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Irish Thread

C

Catvoca

Banned
The pound dropping has made ordering from Amazon pretty great. New games for €50 when gamestop or PSN are charging 70+ is sweet.
 
C

chalkitdown1

Member
Catvoca said:
The pound dropping has made ordering from Amazon pretty great. New games for €50 when gamestop or PSN are charging 70+ is sweet.
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Same. I get everything from SimplyGames, now. €20 or more cheaper on every new game. Don't care if sometimes they arrive a day after launch because they're coming from the UK, the saving is more than worth it.

The price of games here is insane.
 
A

acohrs

Member
chalkitdown1 said:
Same. I get everything from SimplyGames, now. €20 or more cheaper on every new game. Don't care if sometimes they arrive a day after launch because they're coming from the UK, the saving is more than worth it.

The price of games here is insane.
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Oh wow, thanks for that heads up. Great prices there!
 
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NateDog

Member
I can't afford much this Christmas (moved into my own place with my GF for the first time in June and finding things a little difficult) but I think practically everything I'll be getting will be from Amazon.
 
A

acohrs

Member
The Irish Times has a really negative view of young people in Ireland, doesn't it? Just read these 2 articles:

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/what-is-to-be-done-with-the-boys-who-retreat-to-their-rooms-1.2868691

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/personal-finance/what-to-do-in-your-20s-30s-if-you-don-t-want-to-be-broke-in-your-60s-1.2875803

Are the IT journos just old stiffs that don't understand it's no longer the Celtic Tiger era and that technology is not the devil?
 
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WolfeTone

Member
acohrs said:
The Irish Times has a really negative view of young people in Ireland, doesn't it? Just read these 2 articles:

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/what-is-to-be-done-with-the-boys-who-retreat-to-their-rooms-1.2868691

http://www.irishtimes.com/business/personal-finance/what-to-do-in-your-20s-30s-if-you-don-t-want-to-be-broke-in-your-60s-1.2875803

Are the IT journos just old stiffs that don't understand it's no longer the Celtic Tiger era and that technology is not the devil?
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I don't really see your point when it comes to the shut in article. It's just describing the problem of social isolation among young men which is definitely a problem in Ireland. The focus on the Hikikomori is a bit odd since it seems to be a uniquely Japanese problem, but you can't tell me that there aren't a bunch of aimless young lads all over Ireland who are struggling to engage meaningfully with society.

The second article seems like it's trying to give general financial advice with a not so subtle "things have always been tough, stop complaining" message.

To be honest, outside of some mild condescension in the second article, I don't think either has a negative view of young people.
 
A

acohrs

Member
WolfeTone said:
I don't really see your point when it comes to the shut in article. It's just describing the problem of social isolation among young men which is definitely a problem in Ireland. The focus on the Hikikomori is a bit odd since it seems to be a uniquely Japanese problem, but you can't tell me that there aren't a bunch of aimless young lads all over Ireland who are struggling to engage meaningfully with society.

The second article seems like it's trying to give general financial advice with a not so subtle "things have always been tough, stop complaining" message.

To be honest, outside of some mild condescension in the second article, I don't think either has a negative view of young people.
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OK fair enough on the first article, I haven't personally experienced such phenomenon and am basing my view on other articles I've read about kids spending too long on computers and inside.

On the second article, I think it is pretty condescending. Firstly, negative interest rates are on the horizon. So, if you save money, you will actually be losing it. Secondly, would love to know of this account with 6% interest rate that she references, I haven't seen such interest rates myself anywhere! It strikes me as an older generation person trying to apply advice that worked for her in an environment that it no longer really works in.
 
W

WolfeTone

Member
acohrs said:
OK fair enough on the first article, I haven't personally experienced such phenomenon and am basing my view on other articles I've read about kids spending too long on computers and inside.

On the second article, I think it is pretty condescending. Firstly, negative interest rates are on the horizon. So, if you save money, you will actually be losing it. Secondly, would love to know of this account with 6% interest rate that she references, I haven't seen such interest rates myself anywhere! It strikes me as an older generation person trying to apply advice that worked for her in an environment that it no longer really works in.
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I can see your point on the second article. Interest rates are pathetically low at the moment in Ireland (and the world in general to be fair). There is still value in saving however. The article definitely overstates the potential returns but encouraging financial prudence is not a bad thing.

There is definitely an issue for young people in Ireland when the annual salary of a university graduate is €25,000 or less combined with taxes and a high cost of living that make it very difficult to move out of your parents' home especially in places like Dublin where rent is high and vacancies are low.

Sadly this is a problem for Millennial generation across most of the world. The idea of a stable job with a modest income is not realistic anymore.
 
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acohrs

Member
WolfeTone said:
I can see your point on the second article. Interest rates are pathetically low at the moment in Ireland (and the world in general to be fair). There is still value in saving however. The article definitely overstates the potential returns but encouraging financial prudence is not a bad thing.

There is definitely an issue for young people in Ireland when the annual salary of a university graduate is €25,000 or less combined with taxes and a high cost of living that make it very difficult to move out of your parents' home especially in places like Dublin where rent is high and vacancies are low.

Sadly this is a problem for Millennial generation across most of the world. The idea of a stable job with a modest income is not realistic anymore.
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How is the housing market still so strong when most first-time buyers cannot afford to purchase any property in the capital? It's worrying to think another bubble might be forming.
 
W

WolfeTone

Member
acohrs said:
How is the housing market still so strong when most first-time buyers cannot afford to purchase any property in the capital? It's worrying to think another bubble might be forming.
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I believe the housing market is strong (read high prices) because of a shortage of supply in the city and its suburbs. Housing construction seems to have stopped since 2008. Just had a quick look at the data and planning permission has nowhere near returned to 2007 levels http://www.cso.ie/multiquicktables/quickTables.aspx?id=bhq03_1 Construction companies are still terrified to invest in new developments after they took a hammering in the crash.

The people still buying the limited housing stock in Dublin are likely the very wealthy. Ireland is still a deeply unequal society when it comes to wealth as this article from last year shows http://www.thejournal.ie/wealth-divide-rte-david-mcwilliams-2339907-Sep2015/

To address high housing costs, Dublin needs what so many other cities across the world do - densification. Dublin has far too many single-family homes. The city could do with a few dozen apartment blocks scattered across various transit hubs and these should be allowed to break the bizarre height restrictions imposed by Dublin City Council. Of course this is not a priority for anyone since people seem more concerned about preserving the Rare Auld' Times aesthetic of the city than in making it an affordable place to live.
 
A

acohrs

Member
WolfeTone said:
I believe the housing market is strong (read high prices) because of a shortage of supply in the city and its suburbs. Housing construction seems to have stopped since 2008. Just had a quick look at the data and planning permission has nowhere near returned to 2007 levels http://www.cso.ie/multiquicktables/quickTables.aspx?id=bhq03_1 Construction companies are still terrified to invest in new developments after they took a hammering in the crash.

The people still buying the limited housing stock in Dublin are likely the very wealthy. Ireland is still a deeply unequal society when it comes to wealth as this article from last year shows http://www.thejournal.ie/wealth-divide-rte-david-mcwilliams-2339907-Sep2015/

To address high housing costs, Dublin needs what so many other cities across the world do - densification. Dublin has far too many single-family homes. The city could do with a few dozen apartment blocks scattered across various transit hubs and these should be allowed to break the bizarre height restrictions imposed by Dublin City Council. Of course this is not a priority for anyone since people seem more concerned about preserving the Rare Auld' Times aesthetic of the city than in making it an affordable place to live.
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Agree with all that you say. The saddest part is our minority government won't get much done when a lot needs to be done.
 
W

WolfeTone

Member
acohrs said:
Agree with all that you say. The saddest part is our minority government won't get much done when a lot needs to be done.
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It's a shame, it doesn't seem to be a priority for any of the main parties. They're all too afraid to try something new due to fear it'll blow up in their faces.

The Green Party have some nice ideas on increasing housing supply but they are not electable.

I'm still saddened that FF and FG didn't enter coalition formally as I think this would have opened up some space for the smaller parties like the Social Democrats and the Greens to grow in the future. Though if they had, SF likely would have become the main opposition so I guess we can be thankful for that.
 
A

acohrs

Member
WolfeTone said:
It's a shame, it doesn't seem to be a priority for any of the main parties. They're all too afraid to try something new due to fear it'll blow up in their faces.

The Green Party have some nice ideas on increasing housing supply but they are not electable.

I'm still saddened that FF and FG didn't enter coalition formally as I think this would have opened up some space for the smaller parties like the Social Democrats and the Greens to grow in the future. Though if they had, SF likely would have become the main opposition so I guess we can be thankful for that.
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Would SF being elected be equivalent to brexit in the UK and Trump in Ireland. There seems to be a general malaise to traditional politics, so I'm wondering how such an attitude will affect Irish politics
 
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WolfeTone

Member
acohrs said:
Would SF being elected be equivalent to brexit in the UK and Trump in Ireland. There seems to be a general malaise to traditional politics, so I'm wondering how such an attitude will affect Irish politics
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SF being elected would probably be our closest thing to Brexit/Trump moment yes, thought not nearly as bad. Voters in the UK and US have shown an appetite for changing the status quo and sadly fallen for promises that restricting immigration will increase economic growth. SF are definitely the anti-establishment party in Irish politics.

I feel like Ireland is a bit different in this regard for a number of reasons:
1. None of our major parties campaign on an anti-immigration platform. Even SF.
2. Ireland has unequivocally been a net recipient of EU membership and globalization as a whole so no major party supports reversing this, although SF comes the closest. I believe the UK and US have also benefited from globalization, but it's easier to sell the results in those countries as a mixed bag since they did well economically pre-globalization.
3. Ireland has no major parties that rely on fear mongering in the same way that UKIP and Trump have done.
4. The visible minority population in Ireland is significantly lower than in the US, UK, France etc where anti-immigration is a major political talking point. I'm not saying that Ireland is less racist than these countries, but given the small numbers of immigrants, it's not something that drives politics.

Even if I believe a Sinn Fein election would be bad for the country, I don't think it would be a national embarrassment on the scale of Brexit and Trump.
 
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Podge293

Member
What is with the hatred of Sinn Fein? People beg and moan for change, yet without fail ye elect the same two dumbass parties who do shit for the country, and sell you bullshit each and every time.

Sinn Fein would be something different and most likely better. One of the major parties in the north and doing an alright job up there all things considered.
 
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WolfeTone

Member
Podge293 said:
What is with the hatred of Sinn Fein? People beg and moan for change, yet without fail ye elect the same two dumbass parties who do shit for the country, and sell you bullshit each and every time.

Sinn Fein would be something different and most likely better. One of the major parties in the north and doing an alright job up there all things considered.
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People do want change yes, but that doesn't mean they should jump on the first party promising it. You can't really accuse FF and FG of selling bullshit when you look at the long list of promises that SF had in their election manifesto. http://www.sinnfein.ie/manifesto2016

That's an incredibly long list of promises and spending and there's not a bad word for anyone in there except the top 6% of earners. It's not entirely clear how this increase of tax on earnings over 100,000 EUR would allow a SF government to deliver on all the promises in their manifesto. I imagine the rest is coming from this whole 'burn the bondholders' rhetoric and telling the Trokia that we're not paying back our debts.

I'd imagine that the Irish people, who love a bit of populism, can nevertheless see that the promises Sinn Fein are making are unrealistic.

I've tried to limit my response to just economics and taxation, but there's a large number of people in Ireland who are not willing to vote for a party that has ties to organized crime, torture, murder and the protection of child abusers. Even if the old-IRA wing of SF was booted out, I'd still have a problems with them based on policies.

It's all well and good to ask for change, but I don't think it's reasonable to make the argument that nothing could be worse than FF and FG, to which I'd say, there most certainly are a number of things that could be worse for Ireland than FF and FG. Look at Greece.
 
A

acohrs

Member
WolfeTone said:
People do want change yes, but that doesn't mean they should jump on the first party promising it. You can't really accuse FF and FG of selling bullshit when you look at the long list of promises that SF had in their election manifesto. http://www.sinnfein.ie/manifesto2016

That's an incredibly long list of promises and spending and there's not a bad word for anyone in there except the top 6% of earners. It's not entirely clear how this increase of tax on earnings over 100,000 EUR would allow a SF government to deliver on all the promises in their manifesto. I imagine the rest is coming from this whole 'burn the bondholders' rhetoric and telling the Trokia that we're not paying back our debts.

I'd imagine that the Irish people, who love a bit of populism, can nevertheless see that the promises Sinn Fein are making are unrealistic.

I've tried to limit my response to just economics and taxation, but there's a large number of people in Ireland who are not willing to vote for a party that has ties to organized crime, torture, murder and the protection of child abusers. Even if the old-IRA wing of SF was booted out, I'd still have a problems with them based on policies.

It's all well and good to ask for change, but I don't think it's reasonable to make the argument that nothing could be worse than FF and FG, to which I'd say, there most certainly are a number of things that could be worse for Ireland than FF and FG. Look at Greece.
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Agree that SF aren't the answer, although I'm not sure FG or FF are either. They're too similar in their political leanings, in any other country they would probably be the same political party.
 
W

WolfeTone

Member
acohrs said:
Agree that SF aren't the answer, although I'm not sure FG or FF are either. They're too similar in their political leanings, in any other country they would probably be the same political party.
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Yes agreed. I said as much in an earlier post. They're a remnant of civil war politics that need to merge and form a real identity. Ireland doesn't really experience a political shift from right to left and viceversa like most other countries do, we simply cycle between two highly centrist parties which is why it can feel like nothing changes.
 
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Podge293

Member
WolfeTone said:
People do want change yes, but that doesn't mean they should jump on the first party promising it. You can't really accuse FF and FG of selling bullshit when you look at the long list of promises that SF had in their election manifesto. http://www.sinnfein.ie/manifesto2016

That's an incredibly long list of promises and spending and there's not a bad word for anyone in there except the top 6% of earners. It's not entirely clear how this increase of tax on earnings over 100,000 EUR would allow a SF government to deliver on all the promises in their manifesto. I imagine the rest is coming from this whole 'burn the bondholders' rhetoric and telling the Trokia that we're not paying back our debts.

I'd imagine that the Irish people, who love a bit of populism, can nevertheless see that the promises Sinn Fein are making are unrealistic.

I've tried to limit my response to just economics and taxation, but there's a large number of people in Ireland who are not willing to vote for a party that has ties to organized crime, torture, murder and the protection of child abusers. Even if the old-IRA wing of SF was booted out, I'd still have a problems with them based on policies.

It's all well and good to ask for change, but I don't think it's reasonable to make the argument that nothing could be worse than FF and FG, to which I'd say, there most certainly are a number of things that could be worse for Ireland than FF and FG. Look at Greece.
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There policies aren't exactly insane. 7% tax on over 100k earnings isn't insane. Assuming they just earn on average 50k more, there's an estimated 125k people on more than 100k. That alone brings in nearly half a billion. And I'm sure those lads hire better economists then I make.

It's not any more ludicarious than the waffle FF/FG spout out. FF/FG are reluctant to pull the trigger on high earners yet come election time (well in 2008/2012) they had no problem blaming the same high earners for all our problems.

All I'm saying is if you look back at FF/FG over the past 2 elections they've spouted the same shite and failed to deliver on a lot of it.

SF being the third biggest party of the island are the only realistic alternative.
 
A

acohrs

Member
Podge293 said:
There policies aren't exactly insane. 7% tax on over 100k earnings isn't insane. Assuming they just earn on average 50k more, there's an estimated 125k people on more than 100k. That alone brings in nearly half a billion. And I'm sure those lads hire better economists then I make.

It's not any more ludicarious than the waffle FF/FG spout out. FF/FG are reluctant to pull the trigger on high earners yet come election time (well in 2008/2012) they had no problem blaming the same high earners for all our problems.

All I'm saying is if you look back at FF/FG over the past 2 elections they've spouted the same shite and failed to deliver on a lot of it.

SF being the third biggest party of the island are the only realistic alternative.
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The sad thing is that what you say is the truth. Atm, they are probably the only party to challenge FF/FG centrist stranglehold of this country. However, SF will be unelectable whilst Gerry Adams is still in charge. Now, if Adams retired and Mary Lou McDonald stepped up, it is imaginable that there would be a slight surge in popularity for SF. She doesn't have any links to SF's past criminal activities and would represent a, relatively, cleanbreak for them. It's the only hope really for a true opposition party at present, but I doubt will occur.
 
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SomedayTheFire

Member
I'd faster vote for a SF candidate than anyone from FF/FG but I don't think they're the party Ireland needs. We need a proper opposition, a proper non status quo party.

Took the day off to play pokemon tbh
 
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acohrs

Member
SomedayTheFire said:
I'd faster vote for a SF candidate than anyone from FF/FG but I don't think they're the party Ireland needs. We need a proper opposition, a proper non status quo party.

Took the day off to play pokemon tbh
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How is it?? Waiting until my salary comes in Friday to purchase.
 
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NateDog

Member
Podge293 said:
First timers no longer need to get 20% of deposits. Just a flat 10%.

I missed out on all these incentives. I feel upset.
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This is good news for me personally but I wonder how long it'll last, I feel like it'll be a 2-3/4 year thing and then we'll revert. It could be so helpful but at the same time I have no savings and with renting there's no room for making it.
 
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acohrs

Member
NateDog said:
This is good news for me personally but I wonder how long it'll last, I feel like it'll be a 2-3/4 year thing and then we'll revert. It could be so helpful but at the same time I have no savings and with renting there's no room for making it.
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Not sure how useful it will be. The average salary is still too small for the majority of people in Dublin at least to get a big enough mortgage to afford anywhere in the city. Great news for commuter towns but I feel most young people are skeptical about moving out of the city due to the commuter nightmare atm. And with the rent situation out of control, well, not a good time to not own a property...
 
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acohrs

Member
Nerdkiller said:
So much stupid Black Friday crap everywhere. Why did we have to import this US thing?
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Was in a cab yesterday and the cabbie was listening to Joe Duffy. Should have heard all the old wans moaning about black friday deals and only saving 20 yoyos.

On another note, Joe Duffy is a national hero. If he didn't listen to all these people complain and get stuff off their chests, the rest of us would have to hear it. Thank you Joe!
 
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SomedayTheFire

Member
i do wish we got actual black friday deals tbf. my god everything on sale is awful. was thinking if xbox one was cheap enough

PhillipCostigan said:
Anyone know of any shops breaking the FFXV street date in Dublin? Don't think my ultimate collector's edition will arrive on time.
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haven't heard of a shop in dublin breaking street date in a long long time. hmv and xtra vision used to be good bets.
 
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PhillipCostigan

Member
aye, thought there might have been a CEX or something. the lack of indie shops here makes it really unlikely. Gamestop definitely won't and I doubt Smyths will.
 
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SomedayTheFire

Member
best xbox one deal i've found is €249 with fifa 17 i think. littlewoods have the 1tb gears 4 bundle with forza horizon 3 pack in for €315. if i got paid tomorrow i'd probably get one but i'm not being paid till monday :(
 
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danthefan

Member
Gentlemen of the Irish thread, where do you go to buy your clothes? I'm working in a business casual sort of office at the moment (slacks, shirt, jumper) but I don't really have enough of any of these. Shoes too.

I really don't want to break the bank. Looking for decent value and quality if such a thing exists.

Also in Dublin.
 
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WolfeTone

Member
danthefan said:
Gentlemen of the Irish thread, where do you go to buy your clothes? I'm working in a business casual sort of office at the moment (slacks, shirt, jumper) but I don't really have enough of any of these. Shoes too.

I really don't want to break the bank. Looking for decent value and quality if such a thing exists.

Also in Dublin.
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H&M always had some nice affordable button up shirts back in my day. If you're looking for a simple pair of black slacks you can get decent pairs in Dunnes or Pennys. Nicer pairs can be got in Topman. TK Max has some good stuff sometimes but it's always a gamble going in there.
 
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acohrs

Member
I go for GAP, they usually have a deal for online or instore if you sign up to their emails, like 30 or 40 percent off each item.
 
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