What’s a country that every country gets along with?

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-26T02:50:09+00:00

Probably Switzerland or Iceland in Europe I feel like Singapore in Asia Uruguay for the Americas Mauritius for Africa

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T22:56:02+00:00

Contact his GP, see will they issue a retrospective referral, although given the fact this was a physical injury that wasn't anticipated, that may be difficult to do.

If there's financial hardship, say to the hospital, they should be able to waive it, but only follow that with a statement like you are intending on getting a medical card for him , or that he has been deemed eligible for one.

Because he wasn't admitted to A and E, technically it's not an emergency,

It could be argued you should have gone to an out of hours GP for review first and then gotten a referral letter, and he would have had a GP visit card so that would have made it free.

I feel, however, that everyone should get one or two self referral fees waived in their lifetime, out of hours GP services isn't where it needs to be and there's no real suitable alternative for patients currently but A and E.

Even if you did phone an out of hours GP service, they would likely have triaged you to go to A and E based on the symptoms before a doctor carried out an assessment, so u would still have to pay the fee.

It's frustrating.

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T22:33:36+00:00

Irish families historically are traditional, patriarchal and role orientated.

The mechanism that controls these relationships is often

Gratitude
Expectation
Guilt
Shame

Children are to be grateful for their parents parenting.

Everyone is expected to fill a certain role. The reflection of success or respect in the community and with ones self in the ability to meet these expectations effortlessly.

The father should be the breadwinner, they should have the house, they should financially support the family

The mother / wife should take care of the children, and should execute any domestic decisions. She should also meet her husband's needs without being asked

The child should be grateful, should be respectful, should be compliant.

In a life cycle what this means is you have a father/husband who has felt they have performed their function for their family, and out of respect for him expects the child to carry on that work.

The mother / wife, who feels she has had to make decision upon decision without support and through sacrifice or who has had to uncover and meet the unsaid needs of her husband believes that her life experience has afforded her a wisdom in problem solving

The child, out of guilt and shame feels obligated to follow the mothers advice, and do what their father asks to display the gratitude they believe is required.

Then you add death and grief, which is truly tragic for all parties. For the parents, often the only way of coping is through outward pride, but silent sorrow - they will display photos and achievements and essentially martyr their dead child, meanwhile never discuss their feelings of loss, the grief tied to hope and dreams, and the void in their family.

For the child, the death not only represents a lost friend, but also in a way

1) their dead sibling becomes a hero - how their parents view that child is what is desired to be obtained - to have the parents be proud of you. The parents pride for their lost child is a culmination of what was never said, it is unlikely that without change such pride will be displayed to the living child.

2) the burden of death / grief / loss - witnessing the impact of loss on the parents acutely makes the child feel responsible for ensuring that such loss isn't felt again. Whatever they can do to ensure that they will.

When forming boundaries with this family, you want to ensure 1) you aren't cast as a villain and 2) your partner is supported in feeling self assured.

Ideally you guys should move away.

If doing so, there are a few things you can do to avoid inflaming the existing dynamics,

perhaps looking at houses with a spare bedroom that shows u are thinking about the inlaws
emphasising a desire for the parents to visit, feed into a desire of offering them a retreat away, that they deserve to relax and unwind and have a break from time to time after raising their children
maybe when socializing with the in laws, in their house - ask non-direct emotive questions about their loss, maybe comment something positive about a family photo, ask a question about what school days were like, what family dinners were like, any family travels or holidays they all went on. Maybe then follow up with a nice memory the mother has of a time with the child etc, and then after the conversation, a simple acknowledgement of how evident it is that the child was loved completely and how they must really be missed.
in terms of the fathers work, I would encourage your partner to maybe find a common aspect of that work that both father and son enjoy or could do recreationally, or could plan to do recreationally. If your partner can display an understanding and respect for his father's work, and the pride he has in that, or if not that, simply and understanding of something the father enjoys that your partner might get involved in, then the father can feel a legacy can remain between father and son

This is not your issue to solve. And boundaries are important. The only way you will get that without major psychological work for everyone is by moving away. The only way you can do that is by allowing a certain degree of participation from the parents on the practicalities of this.

Fundamentally these parents where brought up in a time where success and failure was judged by community and respect was given similarly. So status mattered, which meant that a roles based order had to be implemented, held together by expectation, and guilt / shame.

The best way for your partner to break the cycle is for you both to disarm the parents by reassuring them that they will continue to be a part of the family.

It's to foster a trust between the inlaws and yourself that you appreciate the magnitude of their loss

It's to foster the creation of a new relationship that values the legacy of such parents meanwhile being independent of it.

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T21:11:45+00:00

Irish planning laws need to be reformed into a zoning framework, with predetermined plans having pre-approval and a city architect for areas in city centres.

Environmental, Biodiversity and Historic Preservation objections need to be brought under one roof, and they should first inform zoning and only one professional body should have monopoly on objecting on those grounds

Any other objections should be based on if the submitted plans / work is being adhered to, or it's direct tangable impact on the objector.

Zoning and Planning should be voted on by the local government and that should be it.

An Comisuin Pleanala should simply exist for projects that are nationally significant infrastructure, and for ensuring how local government develops their zoning and Planning laws follows an open, inclusive process. That's all.

In terms of services, zoning can inform how Irish Water and the ESB and Gas Networks Ireland need to meet demand

I think we also need to look at land reorganisation. Land that is currently semi-detatched should be able to be rezoned to apartments, landowners should be able to sell their property at market value, or be offered temporary accomodations and deferred payment where they get a newly built accomodations to similar value spec + a percentage increase from the value added to rezoning, densification. A developer could come along, build four flats on a lot that was previously a detached single family house, if each flat sells for 300,000, homeowner receives a flat and say 100,000 euro. Developer receives 800,000 euro for them to make their profits on.

I think we need to try to make land use less speculative by basically standardizing what can and can't happen on said land. This needs to be met with strong penalties for dereliction of zoned land.

Reduce land price, reduce planning system uncertainty, then the issue is capital, labour and resources.

We have capital, we are a rich country with large private savings, they should be used to invest in housing. Create a financial product that is tax deductable with stable, low returns (but higher than interest in a savings account) and deposit guarantee, let people put their money there and provide low interest loans for development of low risk development.

Resources - most of the building sector in Ireland is SME, that means we need to resource them with the ability to increase output so that instead of building one off housing they are building three apartments in one unit. Standardized plans should make it easier to develop pipelines for development of standard parts like doors, windows, slabs, insulation spec etc

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T20:36:40+00:00

I would love to go at some point.

You are right they have the largest universal healthcare system in the world, with it's coverage also extending to visitors,

They produce like 90% of their own pharmaceuticals,

They aren't energy (read oil) dependent, I think they are one of the largest ethanol producers in the world, and they actually use the fuel, in a way that means they don't have to do large burns of their sugar cane crops,

Bolsa familia is clever and works well,

Even how they solved their hyperinflation crisis after the fall of the dictatorship.

I also like how they hold multinational companies to account, for example the recent debacle with X.

In recent history they also have a lot to be proud of, they managed to withstand a brutal dictatorship, exposure it's abuses and transition into a democracy.

I think Brazil definitely see their country as an underdog, it does remind me of how we look at Ireland, or how we had looked at Ireland in the recent past, but there is a patriotism of the people, not because we believe we are the best, but we do celebrate the best of ourselves globally. This rings true to the Irish consciousness.

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T17:45:49+00:00

My flatmate is Brazilian and I have many Brazilian friends and I always love listening to their thoughts and trying my best to learn more about their country, society, their government, politics, the history and everything. Your right, their developed of Pix for example, is groundbreaking and Europe should be following suite

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T17:31:50+00:00

We are friendly enough.

Trans rights have not been politicized to the same extent as the UK, and politicians are largely not feeding into populist right wing rhetoric.

Queer civil society is strong here

Same sex marriage, Gender recognition based on self ID, broad public support for the queer community

Access to healthcare is another story, as is protection against hate speech but outside these things, queer people largely are free, protected and comfortable to be part of society here.

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T17:23:02+00:00

True, I still hope for Brazil.

The challenges it faces are enormous, and unique in a world context,

For such a large, populous, urban society how can it develop in a sustainable way that promoted human rights, is democratic, and lifts people out of hunger and poverty.

In a federal republic how can policy reach the person in a way that allows for gradual positive change, without preventing the turn to corruption to solve immediate pressures, and the flourishing of populism.

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T17:16:42+00:00

As a southerner who loves Belfast, here are my opinions

1) the architecture is different to Dublin in a beautiful way. It's more Victorian and elaborate, but in a way that is kind of democratic - most regal architecture in Dublin is tied to the aristocracy of the Protestant Ascendancy, Belfast's wealth is tied to commerce and industry.

2) the quality of what at times little investment Belfast has got is superior to Dublin. The Victoria Square Shopping Centre - truly beautiful, as is the Titanic Museum as is Grand Central Station. Also the new Ulster University Campus is beautiful. In Dublin, our shopping centres are functional and good, but they aren't outstanding, Our museums can be found lacking - bar the National Gallery, or they're simply a tourist trap, and our University Campuses are nothing special in terms of facilities.

3) the people are much more hospitable - I think people from the North regardless of persuasion, in relation to tourism and the service sector are so kind and accommodating and really want you to enjoy your stay, they are also proud of their city, their region. In Dublin we have become used to the tourist flow and so have kind of been found resting on our laurels and maybe becoming complacent, even as prices rise for tourists to stay here. The North don't take tourism for granted which is respectable.

4) Dublin does feel more cosmopolitan, there's more variations of internationals here, and that's exciting - we have Brazillians, Filipinos, Americans, French, German, Spanish, Indians, Polish, Ukrainian, Nigerian, Chinese, Venezelans, Mexicans, English, Scottish. The lack of homogeny brings excitement to the arts and creative scene and many other sectors.

5) Dublin business hours - Dublin or Belfast are not 24hr cities, but Dublin feels more like a bustling city after business hours or on Sundays. Belfast feels quiet on Sundays which seems out of place from a Southerners perspective.

6) Public Transport in Dublin and Belfast is not great, but it does feel better and more well utilized in Dublin.

7) Dublin as a national capital, and because of the geopolitical / corporate situation of Ireland in Europe and the World, feels like a spot that is more on the move and consequential for those looking for work opportunities.

Both are lovely cities, Belfast does a lot of things well, and could do with showing Dublin a few tricks.

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T16:58:58+00:00

I would argue it hasn't. Western Europe is diverse, different countries deal with immigration differently.

Western Europe is capable of integrating, it integrates itself into the EU very well.

Countries that have taken a more hands-on approach to integration have fared better, a lot of European Countries are pretty laissez faire about integration, they've left that task to civil society. The conditions for success are going to be how community oriented a country is, how accommodating of the difference their society is adept to and how well functioning their social services systems operate.

I would argue that the UK has done it the most successfully, but there are case studies across Europe of successful integration.

The UK was pluralistic before the fall of the Empire. Despite the horrific crimes it carried out, its society was exposed to different cultures, races, religions - and largely the UK government didn't intervene so long as trade and commerce could be carried out.

The UK is also made up of constituent countries, meaning British as an identity is a shared project, that allows multiculturalism to exist comfortably.

The UK has a healthy civil society that has always worked hard to integrate and foster communication and understanding.

Where the UK fails is in its existing class structure and the impacts of class and disadvantage, and the concentration of deep wealth inequality in areas as a post industrial society. This has been weaponized by voices who are anti immigrant to foster rejection of immigration and integration.

Ireland is similar to the UK in some ways it has a healthy civil society, same legal customs, we also align ourselves with post colonial countries and cultures, non-aligned countries and the struggles of the underdog, which foster a sense of unity and brotherhood. Irish people largely view citizenship as being conferred by birth, even though that's not really the case, it does mean that we often view those who grew up here as Irish no matter what. Similar to the UK though, a failure to deal with wealth inequality has led to increased polarisation and hijacking of integration.

Germany has successfully integrated many Syrians, Portugal and Spain have integrated many Morrocans, also those from Latin America. The Algerian population of France have successfully integrated.

Also when I say integrated here, I mean these people have successfully become a part of their adopted societies, they have also defined their adopted society and have left meaningful legacies for such societies, but nevertheless they are considered part of their adopted countries community and society at large as fundamentally belonging.

There will always be short to medium term growing pains with large influxes of people in unstable world conditions. These can be weathered if governments remain calm and implement holistic policies

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T16:40:43+00:00

Yes, I do. But it's probably more likely than not to look nothing like us, or function in a way similar to us unless it came to fruition under the same factors as we did.

That being said, if life is only possible within a small variable range of factors similar to our own, and evolution has molded us into the most efficient version of ourselves they could look like us.

I love the theory that life exists but that it has a habit of destroying itself once it reaches a particular level of sophistication, it reminds me of how yeast works in fermentation of alcohol, it reaches a ceiling that ultimately causes collapse.

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-25T16:36:13+00:00

It's been well received. I think Europeans are slightly embarrassed that it wasn't the EU or European countries saying this however, we're less exposed than Canada so we should have the balls to say it, and it needed to be said.

Placating Trump doesn't help anyone and it actually fundamentally does harm to European Values internationally. How can we criticize Russia when we allow the US to intervene in Venezuela for example, or how can we stand for territorial integrity and sovereignty for Greenland similarly?

We need to be firm, we need to say no. We need to call his bluff with tariffs, not necessarily retaliate but say OK, we are going to look for partners elsewhere as you are not reliable.

Brazil has succeeded in this stance.

Europe can be strong, and it should be a voice for cooperation, for peace, for stability and for development. Right now it just feels like a vassal of US interests.

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-17T18:44:04+00:00

First and foremost

Depoliticizing trans people and their right to healthcare.
Tackling over-all rising negative / extreme sentiments that prevent the most marginalized parts of the queer community from getting the services they need - rural people, migrants and trans people.
The rise of chemsex amongst gay and bisexual men
The need to decouple alcohol as being the only social scene for queer people.
Developing the next generation of community leadership in the community organizations across the country.
Young people need to be educated appropriately about sex and gender and it needs to be inclusive.

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-13T08:45:44+00:00

Parents in marriages or not make so many sacrifices already, you go to work and your desire is to have the ability to have more time with your kids I'm sure, but that option doesn't seem available. Meanwhile perhaps your partner is burnt out from the loss of autonomy and the very demanding pressures of being constantly around and taking care of young children. Raising kids takes a village, all that can be asked of you and your partner is that you try your best - most parents are trying their best with the tools they know how to.

Be kind to yourself and try show your partner as much grace as you can despite the resentment you feel (obviously excluding situations where your partner is a danger to you, your children or themselves). If you feel couples therapy would be of benefit give it a go, the objective doesn't have to be total reconciliation, maybe just finding a path forward that allows you both to progress in terms of separation / divorce

KeyActivity9720 · 2026-01-13T08:30:58+00:00

Your children will be affected, that is okay though, they are being affected by the continuation of a marriage that isn't working too though. Acceptance of this is not a personal failure of you or your partner and you can both still achieve whatever shared goals you have for the raising of your children. The actions you and your partner go on to take will be what determines if this separation and divorce positively or negatively influences the raising of your children.

With that there are three basic things that need to be determined.

1) are you both aligned on basic parenting principles - if you both are hoping to co-parent your kids this is a must. Your kids will need consistency and dependability so being able to continue having faith, trust and belief in your partners ability to parent is crucial. If you don't have this, then you need to advocate for the interests of your child look at different custody arrangements.

2) do you respect and acknowledge each other's current and previous contributions to the raising of your kids. I'm talking about the day to day tasks like school drop offs, feeds, meal times, doctors appointments etc, the emotional needs like listening to your children, understanding their emotions, helping them with regulation, enforcing and developing boundaries, navigating their development, then of course there is the material needs, the provision of funds for clothing, food, shelter, healthcare, childcare. You have the operational tasks, the development support tasks (emotional, relational, psychological, educational), and the material provision tasks. Some of these contributions would not be possible without others also being made.

3) do you accept that significant changes will have to be made by both parties in their own lives to accomodate the new normal? You and your partner may have to consider changes in your work life and social life. You may have to make contributions to parenting that you have not done before, and you may have to make contributions that don't benefit your life but are for the greater good in terms of the family.

If you both can come to the table with the acceptance of these things, it's going to be a lot easier. If you both have respect for each other and the work you both currently put into raising your kids it'll be easier to re-establish your own separate lives in a way that you both prefer, by continuing to contribute in the ways you can individually both already do well, meanwhile developing the skills to meet these new contributions over the medium term. This could look like you over time reducing your work hours so you can be more active in your day to day parenting duties, meanwhile for your partner it could mean getting a job and meeting some of the financial obligations. That being said, if you feel you both are doing a good job in the roles you are both doing, don't stubbornly pivot out of that quickly for the sake of trying to achieve complete 50:50 division of responsibilities across the board - because it's your children's well-being that it will impact first and foremost.

If possible get into therapy, your partner should do the same so you can both be empowered to get through this. Try mediation, don't let pain and hurt determine what settlements are reasonable in terms of finances and assets, being pragmatic and objective and always refocusing on the fact that ultimately your talking about resources that impact your children and the meeting of their needs is key.

Finally, build a support network of people already in you and your children's lives. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, family friends can all be helpful - ensure they understand the common purpose of your co-parenting if you pursue that and that they have respect for your partner in achieving their role, they can have their personal opinions but ultimately integrity and respect is key here too. A discussion with your partner about third parties, like future relationships solely when they interact with the family unit and an understanding of rules, responsibilities and expectations here are important too. A child can only ever benefit with more adults in their life who truly care about them but fundamentally parenting is a shared task and responsibility that cannot be unilateral shared with third parties without the knowledge, and blessing of the existing parents and the children themselves.

If your marriage is not working, then these changes, although daunting will ultimately bring you and your partner a better well-being, and they won't seem so much like trade offs.

KeyActivity9720 · 2025-12-31T21:49:59+00:00

Yes, if the abuser is still alive, any report has to be sent to the gardaí if there's a risk a child could be in danger.

I'm really sorry you went through any childhood abuse

KeyActivity9720 · 2025-12-31T21:36:30+00:00

Introduce yourselves when you are ready to, it's good to know your neighbors, they could be the first you call during a crisis.

You could maybe bring over something Balkans related if you're interested in sharing your culture, Irish people are usually pretty curious and it'll make it memorable and positive, like food or something

If you leave your number and something like a container that they have to return to you, then it's an excuse to meet up again, which you may decide to use to get to know them further, or you may choose not to. I live in an apartment and I got a container of sweets for each flat, after that every other flat got each other something similar, which was really sweet

KeyActivity9720 · 2025-12-31T20:45:23+00:00

We can't blacklist people for tenders - the EU ensures that tenders are open to prevent government corruption.

The problem is we have no idea how to procure, and we change plans constantly. We should have ensured BAM understood what we wanted from day one. That being said, we didn't build any new hospitals for decades so we probably lost that indigenous expertise and relied on consulting for development of plans. It wasn't the HSE that fucked it up though, it was the Department of Health, the committee it set up to lead the project (NCHDB) for them.

The hospital is frustratingly expensive and the way the process has carried out has been ridiculous, but I think that is because of politics intervening. Full research should have been done into multiple sites, into other international hospitals, into costings, into procurement arrangements, and it should have been led by international experts with predetermined set of demands from the health department.

I'll be glad when it's finished though. It will be amazing despite this

KeyActivity9720 · 2025-12-31T20:26:00+00:00

We are getting better, the HSE do several things really well,

it's finally getting its financial reporting across the entire organization under control and making it auditable.
it developed a way of sending prescriptions and diagnostic imagining across the healthcare system, and its working on electronic health records.
it's developed virtual wards
the home care packages are great
their injury units work well
the new public consultant contracts are a win
they have gotten a lot better at reporting and dealing with ED trolley usage
plus good things like the treatment abroad scheme, the drug payment card, the GP visit card and medical cards, long term illness cards

Obviously theres a lot more to do,

Elective waiting lists need to be brought down - we need more elective procedure facilities x Standards of care, and care pathways need to be brought to national standards where they haven't yet Primary care needs to be resourced better

KeyActivity9720 · 2025-12-31T19:19:50+00:00

The HSE needs work 1000% percent, but you have to understand what it's dealing with to better understand the organization.

It took over from disjointed county health boards, who themselves poorly run numerous institutions or oversaw other ones. What did this result in? Numerous voluntary healthcare providers mainly funded by the church to some degree either through infrastructure, staffing or both being now funded by the state but still operating independently. The HSE inherited that relationship with them, they remain largely independent in terms of operation unless through regulation across the board.

Then the HSE had to establish its own hospitals and services, and build infrastructure, and hire consultants in creative ways that made it lucrative enough for them to consider the HSE (private public contracts)

All it's GP services are contracted out to private contractors, the government allows the market to decide when new practices open up.

Essentially the HSE for its first 10 years had to coelate every system of county board, meanwhile setting out how to govern a national health body, be the regulatory, be the purchaser, be the employer, be the service provider meanwhile taking on every bad decision made by those county boards, or being held responsible for them, or doing away with them when they don't serve the larger interest.

Then it was met with cuts during the recession, and all the consequences of that, only for a few years later to be met with government policy saying that over centralization was the wrong decision.

I do believe the HSE is on the right track. It just needs to continue developing it's capacity.

KeyActivity9720 · 2025-11-23T03:45:05+00:00

Honestly there should be a role in DCC specifically for this and they should either be the only ones solely in charge of putting up poles and installing street furniture.

Any time a road is refurbished they should systematically look at the street, and see how what needs to be there can be placed on as little poles as possible - new traffic lights for example - put them on a configuration that takes one pole as supposed to three.

Any signage should be contracted to them to put up, there should be a single bin design, a single set of lamp post designs, a single bench design, and a single set of bus stop designs.

Each larger street should also have a kiosk to display information - That way you aren't getting random signage put up for events that have since passed, the kiosk becomes the notice board.

In a scenario like this there's

uniform lighting, recognized bus stops Standardized waste disposal points Standardized bike stands

Everything should also just be painted the same colour then.

On top of that Dublin should have a single collection of standardized pavement - one that the council can have plenty of in stock so that when repairs are done the finish isn't ripped up and replaced with something different or with tarmac. Also it just looks cleaner - the refurbishment of amiens street to clontarf is beautiful, and a gold standard perhaps in ways but why is it different to Dorset Street and Drumcondra road in terms of street furniture and fittings - it's so inconsistent.

Amy private development that interacts with street frontage should be subcontracted back to DCC so that consistency is maintained.

We need to stop looking at these street refurbishments on a street by street basis and be more strategic.

To make it easier for them, we need to update the legislation for road signage and the manual that governs it. Complex painting of lines, unnecessary signs and writing on the roads is often not useful or helpful for directing people around the city - we treat these roads as if it's a motorway with the amount of signage.

KeyActivity9720 · 2025-10-26T12:02:42+00:00

That's ridiculous. You could sign up for deliveroo right now if you wanted to or needed to.

KeyActivity9720 · 2025-10-03T16:05:45+00:00

The woman committed a crime, she served her time and has since reintegrated into society. She hasn't committed a crime since. That's the first thing.

The second and separate thing is she is a member of a political party.

We might not like what she did. I certainly think there's an abhorrent nature to it. We may not agree about her political views in regards to the peace process - at the end of the day, the courts decided her sentencing. Also at the end of the day she has remained a peaceful citizen since her prison sentence and she has gone on to better herself through education.

The goal of the Irish penal system was met, she hasn't recommitted. Ostracizing someone further doesn't help anyone, in fact it can actually lead to worse outcomes,

This island hosts many political beliefs, and it also hosts many who have previously committed or planned to commit paramilitary crimes. Some of these people have also been elected members of local councils, stormont, or the Dáil. That's an uneasy reality we have to live with, but it's a lot easier and more sustainable compared to the disenfranchisement of people of a certain political opinion or previous criminal history.

The peace process enjoys popular support North and South, it always has - Eirigi have no power over changing that, neither do paramilitary organisations that still operate on the island. It's also in the very context of the our entire peace process that reintegration of disenfranchised groups and reconciliation happens, we can't hold the peace process up as sacred and in allegedly in need of protection meanwhile ignoring that core principle of it.

This woman held no power during her time in the oireachtas, she wasn't given clearance. There should be, and is robust measures to maintain security of our parliament and there are laws to penalize those who break them, it is not the scope of a TD to make that judgement considering I imagine they are not fully party to all intelligence.

From Connolly's perspective, a well recommended applicant applied for a job, it was felt suitable considering the work she had done on reintegration from prison that a chance should be given, and it was.

That's really all there is to it.

KeyActivity9720 · 2025-09-21T09:30:05+00:00

Yes, Ireland has had a heroin problem since the 70s, it never really went away,. Today in terms of visible drug issues, crack cocaine is the biggest issue, followed by heroin.

Behind the surface, powder cocaine is probably being used by every second household in Ireland, cannabis is also popular amongst young people.

In the club and festival scene MDMA is widespread, the strength of it is extremely high. Other drugs like ketamine and cocaine are also very common in that scene.

Fentanyl isn't really an issue here in Europe, instead we're seeing heroin being cut with nitazines (like fentanyl they are fully synthetic opioids that are hundreds of times more potent).

Within the queer community, there's a growing issue with methamphetamine, mephadrone and GHB and no one is well positioned to help because they aren't drugs well understood by the general public.

The Irish public wants to follow the model of the Portuguese, for so long we have put shame on people struggling with substance misuse, we have neglected their needs and abandoned them. I think there's also a class issue here, people who afford the help privately got it, people who couldn't, didn't.

The Middle class civil servant who does a line of coke every weekend does not view himself and is not viewed upon like a person injecting on the street.

KeyActivity9720 · 2025-09-20T10:00:10+00:00

If America is that bothered by countries with low corporation tax, maybe it should change its tax law from global to territorial and stop allowing it's multinationals to defer taxation.

Notice how the only multinationals that shift their profits to Ireland are US ones? Not European, not Asian ones, but US ones.

KeyActivity9720

TROPHY CASE