Ireland plans for Phased re-opening

[EverythingChanges321]

The Taoiseach (Irish PM) has announced tonight a 4 phase period for re-opening the country but has said that schools will remain closed until September.
Must admit, I’m happy about the delay as I was worried about how I’d manage DS attending school with his dad cocooning as DH has a blood cancer.
Also, that small social gatherings of friends can begin on 18th May outdoors, providing still maintaining social distancing rules. That’s really lifted my spirits as I’m missing seeing my friends.
Any other Irish mumsnetters on here?
What are your thoughts about tonight’s announcement?

Can anybody explain what is going through the minds of Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters. I know what their case is, but WHY!?!?!

Attention and/or donations from right wingers in America, imo it's why she hops from cause to cause. She'd only love to be hauled off to prison, it would generate a load of attention and headlines for her. I think the Gardaí are playing it very cleverly right now and not giving her what she wants.

I'm surprised at Waters though. That whole RTE defamation case a few years back must have gotten to him.

@everythingchanges321 you said "in Irish society people genuinely care about each other and support each other".

Bullshit.

I am in a town in Ireland and I walked five minutes to the shop. I didn't go far. On the way I walked past two homeless people. One is in a sleeping bag, sleeping out in the cold.

There is a huge homeless problem in Ireland.

The rich care about the rich in Ireland. Nobody cares about the poor or homeless in Ireland.

Everything I can't believe that someone would make that generalisation about the whole of the UK and then say they lived in Glasgow

I am in Ireland, I definitely don't think that "in Irish society people genuinely care about each other and support each other".

There is huge snobbery in Ireland. If people are poor, or a single mother, those people are not helped. There is huge poverty in Dublin, those families are not cares anout as they are seen as "poor" and "not our problem".

Remember the woman who slept in a police station in Dublin with her children because she was homeless?

I went on an Irish forum after that happened, and all the comments were "slut", "she deserved it" "she shouldn't be allowed to breed" "tramp", "she brought it on herself"

We don't categorise by class in Ireland. We stick to religion and whether your mammy's cousin was next door neighbour to someone's best friends' dog

Gemma O'Doherty is an absolute arse who is trying to convince us all she is speaking up for every citizen and getting freedom for us all. She's managed to prove her support by losing a general election, a European election and a presidential election. She's now quoting John F Kennedy and Padraig Pearce to back herself up.

Not to mention the terrible and uncaring attitudes to women in Ireland, that still exist.

We still have an 80% male government in Ireland. The UK are much more progressive in that area.

Get raped in Ireland? Well you have a snowball's chance in hell of getting the person prosecuted.

There are many uncaring and cruel thinggs happening in Ireland

AnnaMaria I remember that story or one like it, and when I was in Irish forums it was all lambasting govt policy on homelessness and nary a harsh word for the woman who found herself in those circumstances. And a lot of compassion for the kids.

Two different experiences, neither of which generalise wholesale to an entire country. Ireland has both judgmental gobshites and lovely caring people. What a revelation.

@MarDhea okay, what are your thoughts on all the homeless people in Ireland? On all the poverty?

Because I nearly tripped over some one in a sleeping bag, while I just walked to the local shop

Anna I was one of those people lambasting government policy on homelessness. I also donate to the Simon community a lot. What do you think/do?

There's a big difference between ineffective policy on homelessness and people not caring. It's daft to generalise, but I could talk all day on how homelessness in Ireland is multifaceted and there is no one solution. All we can do it try to get some of those solutions implemented.

The number of homeless people reached a record high in Ireland last year.

It just annoyed me when @EverythingChanges321 said that Ireland is a lovely supportive country. No it is not.

We all know how it works. It is a supportive country if you are from the 'right' family. You must be Irish, your family must play GAA, you must have money.

If you are foreign, poor, a single mother, or you have no men with good connections in the family, people in Ireland really treat those people like shit.

I was just talking to a Polish friend of mine in Ireland. She said that the Irish boss, will only talk to the Irish staff, the boss will jot talk to any of the foreigners

*the boas will not talk to any of the foreigners.

I'm sorry you've had those experiences, Anna, I really am, but it sounds like either you live in the weirdest corner of the country imaginable or there's something else going on.

My family is from a rural area, with zero interest in GAA, and a long way from rich, and have never encountered anything like you describe. I just don't recognise it at all.

Some of my in laws are from outside Ireland and again, have not encountered the hostility you mention. They're happy and well-integrated in their communities, training local football teams, that kind of thing. The local cafe where one family member lives is run by a young Polish couple with a baby, and half the village dropped groceries round to them when they were in quarantine with symptoms.

I'm not saying what you describe didn't happen, but to think the whole country is like that is just... ludicrous.

Anna, the social welfare benefits are about three or four times the amount it is in the UK. This is available to all, everyone gets child benefit for every child always. I returned after 20 years in the UK. I live rirally, hardly rich as a teacher. No interest in GAA.

There are 56 nationalities in the school I work in, there are innovative integration and intercultural programmes in most schools with governmental funding.

I do not think the poor in Ireland are forgotten.

@MarDhea you just sound like a person living in their own little bubble. Not all of those things have happened to me, but I talk to alot of people around the country, and I am well aware of the huge amount of racism in Ireland.

There is loads of racism, tragedy, poverty, and cruelty happening in Ireland.
Do you really think that foreigners are treated well in Ireland? I attended a presentation given by a black woman in Dublin, and she said that the first thing some one said to her when she arrived in ireland was "fuck off back to Nigeria". And that she gets racist insults every week:

Also if you go on glassdoor.ie ( a job review site) and look at any of the big companies in Ireland, there are loads of people leaving reviews saying "the bosses treat foreigners like shit"

I am disgusted at alot of what goes on in Ireland to be honest. White superiority, racism etc

Anna I had to conduct nationwide surveys on racism as a project I was involved in. It was no worse than any other Europen country.
And the government provides one of the best welfare systems in Europe for EVERYONE.

The only real victims in Irush society IMO are people stuck in Direct Provision.

@shalom23 are you telling me that you don't see attitudes in Ireland everywhere of

"Irish people are the best" and foreigners are worth less. Because I see so much of it.

My friend came back to Ireland from abroad. She stayed a short while and then she told me that she couldn't stand the white, racist attitudes in Ireland, and that she felt much happier living in a multicultural city abroad. And she left Ireland again.

I agree with her, There is way too much racism and nastiness going on here, I will leave Ireland after lock down too

@Annamaria14 You’re talking primarily about experiences in Dublin. To be fair, that will be replicated in most metropolitan European cities.

www.google.ie/amp/s/www.thejournal.ie/couple-in-lidl-ad-online-abuse-4827414-Sep2019/%3famp=1

Just one example.

An Irish woman, married to a Brazilian man, appeared in an advert for Lidl in Ireland.

The couple received such severe abuse, (just becaue Lidl showed an advert were the couple were not both white and Irish) that they are considering leaving Ireland.

@EverythingChanges321 I am not talking primarily about Dublin.

I know people in Dublin,

But I live in a different town in the republic of Ireland, I am very far from Dublin , and I see all the same problems here too. People have cried to me about being racially abused.

@EverythingChanges321 I just disagree with your statement that Ireland is more caring than the UK. I have seen and heard about ALOT of cruelty in Ireland

The lady who was pictured in the police station in Dublin with her kids because of homelessness was found out to be a thief. Has lots of prior also.

Her income is tax free and is better than those working because of child allowance and dole. She also has a big inheritance on the way from her late mother. RIP.

Her story has been rubbished and will never be spoken of again.

@ohmargo what about the children? Why do they have to suffer because of what their mother does. Why were the children let sleep in a police station over night?

It is all the homeless mother's fault of course.

No I honestly dont. Of course I see some racism as I did in London where I lived for decades.

I'm in a small village. Its multi cultural and I have not seen what you are describing.

I have many friends who are not from Ireland and they dont experience it.

You can pick out individual stories from any country it diesnt mean that all of that country is racist.

Shalom but that's what started it. Op basically said Ireland was wonderful and all of the UK was unfriendly.

But that's OK - its the UK. Its clear that the same can not be said for Ireland. Everyone out defending.

I would actually think Ireland would be a lovely and friendly place to live.

Just like my home city. Which Op has supposedly lived in.

Please can we have yours instead of Boris?

Also cocooning is so much nicer than shielding