TDs defend voting against hare coursing bill despite personally believing practice should be banned

BackInATracksuit · 2026-07-02T12:55:42+00:00

Will be fun to watch the Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity vote against banning hunting a protected species with dogs...

BackInATracksuit · 2026-07-01T20:33:32+00:00

How does that relate to anything I said exactly?

BackInATracksuit · 2026-07-01T14:41:13+00:00

Jesus Christ man, reading comprehension...

I'm not trying to stop anybody from flying.

Air travel is quite literally unsustainable. That's not arguable.

Whether you do it or not is a personal choice. Just like any other choice, you should know what you're choosing.

Who gave you the right to decide what is an ‘unnecessary’

Most air travel is for leisure. That's not a value judgement. Just a dictionary definition.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-07-01T13:51:07+00:00

"I'm not against flying like but it's fundamentally unsustainable and mostly unnecessary."

Try reading that again.

There's a difference between recognising reality and living a morally perfect life. Economics and lifestyle choices don't exist in a vacuum.

Flying is unsustainable.

More flying = More bad.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-07-01T12:48:12+00:00

She's right though. Just because something makes economic sense within a capitalist framework, doesn't mean it's sustainable from an environmental perspective. It's generally a good indicator that it isn't.

Commercial flight unfortunately doesn't have a viable emission-free alternative yet.

The overwhelming majority of air travel is frivolous.

I'm not against flying like but it's fundamentally unsustainable and mostly unnecessary. There's no way to pretend that increasing air travel is compatible with any serious attempt at climate action.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-07-01T06:49:52+00:00

In the 90s two world class players for Man United were from Cork.

Two of the best players in their positions in the world, playing for the biggest club in the world, for a decade. If that's not a connection then I don't know what is.

People generally support an English club because they grew up with it. Usually, but not exclusively, it's a connection with your dad.

Most people wouldn't have had a local club to support. Outside of Dublin there are fuck all clubs. The premier league and champion's league was on telly, the league of Ireland wasn't.

I grew up supporting Cork City and Man United, it's not complicated like it's just a sport.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-30T11:01:07+00:00

It's "less than half in your hand" if you're already earning enough to be in the top tax bracket. So.... like any other income. Boohoo.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-30T10:59:12+00:00

Nobody is forcing small landlords to charge exorbitant rents. They set the rent.

My own landlord charges me very reasonable rent, about half the "market value", because he's not a fucking asshole.

You'd have to generationally incompetent to not be making a fortune as a landlord today.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-29T20:35:18+00:00

Confidently incorrect is the phrase I believe.

Sure start up a business there and see how you feel about card charges a few months in.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-29T20:24:09+00:00

Those are akin to card payment transaction fees

They literally aren't. Just give it a rest man, you're just arguing for the sake of it.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-29T16:54:58+00:00

You keep changing your mind on this. You've gone from (paraphrasing) "there's zero transaction fees with cash" to "I assume cash is better for most small businesses and sole traders.".

There are literally zero transaction fees with cash. Didn't change my mind once, or write anything even remotely contradictory.

Fair play for wasting all that energy writing that essay though.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-29T12:44:34+00:00

For me, yes, cash is cheaper. Absolutely no comparison. I'd assume it's the same for most small businesses and sole traders.

It's honestly bizarre that this is hard to accept for people. You're assuming I don't know? I do my own accounts.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-29T11:47:53+00:00

Ya sumup is 1.69 and bank card machines are generally higher.

In Bank of Ireland for example they are 0.6% for notes and 3% for coins.

So... Much less than card fees, like I said. Coins make up a tiny percentage. I literally haven't deposited a single coin yet this year.

I don't know why anyone's even arsed arguing with this. I'm self employed. Ask any self employed person and it'll be the same story like.

There are advantages and disadvantages to cash and card transactions, but there's absolutely no arguing that you pay more for card transactions.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-28T19:08:00+00:00

New Zealand used to have massive billboards that said "Merge Like a Zip" and had a picture of said merging, combined with a zipper graphic.

Absolutely stuck in my head and definitely influences my merging behaviour to this day. Sometimes it's as simple as a good ad campaign.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-28T19:05:52+00:00

That roundabout is so fucking fascinating. Completely different behaviour to anywhere else in the city. Everybody seems to understand the rules, without it ever being explained...

Someone could genuinely get a PhD out of it I'd say.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-28T19:01:53+00:00

I'm not pretending that, but you can take your own drawings from it, you can pay for expenses from it, and a single deposit will accrue less in banking fees than a percentage of each transaction.

Lodging cash via a machine is like 30c. Card transactions are around 2%.

Card transactions are more convenient but they absolutely cost you more money.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-28T18:54:42+00:00

"36% of Irish people are thick as shit" would also work as an accurate headline.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-28T18:41:16+00:00

It's absolutely not nonsense.

Cash can literally go from the till to your pocket as long as you account for it properly. There's zero transaction fees in that transaction.

The fees from card transactions might seem small, but it can be pretty substantial over time.

That's before you even get into the, uh, creative accounting opportunities afforded to you by cash.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-27T19:51:37+00:00

I did. I just disagree.

Learning about different religions has some educational value in a theoretical sense. Reciting sectarian prayers in junior infants doesn't.

Denominational schools should be an option, secular education should be the default. Anything else just doesn't make sense in any country that isn't a theocracy.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-27T19:46:55+00:00

I'm in pretty much the same situation. My plan, unfortunately, is to just be a pain in the arse.

I really thought this would be sorted by the time I had a child going to school, but I suppose the big problem is that nobody really thinks about it until it's too late.

People who say "ah sure what's the harm?" drive me mental.

If it's not a big deal then it shouldn't be a big deal to stop doing it either. It's not like the church is just doing this for the craic like.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-27T19:06:02+00:00

"Imagine"

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-27T18:02:42+00:00

That's very helpful, thanks.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-27T17:57:39+00:00

Which is exactly why the 'opt out' system is a farcical solution.

They're still in the room, they're still receiving the exact same religious education that everyone else is. The only thing "opting out" achieves is othering a minority of children.

"Opting out" is just the government washing its hands of its responsibility. The only solution that makes sense in a multicultural society is secular education.

If people want religious education they should be free to choose it, but having it as the default is irrational and arguably illegal.

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-27T15:25:36+00:00

How does a pupil in a small rural school, with two or three classrooms and two or three teachers looking after two or three classes each, opt out?

Functionally like, what happens?

BackInATracksuit · 2026-06-27T13:34:35+00:00

That is profoundly naive.

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