The Pat Kenny Show Thread

touts

I swear Guard I'm just interviewing them for RTE.

Lapin

The prostitutes approached Paddy ?

Not the other way round no ?

neris

paddy having fun on the job

touts

Pat: "I grew up around there"
Paddy: "I always wondered is that the Monto area in the song about prostitution?"
Pat (in a panic): "No NO NO When I grew up there it was a NICE surburban area"

JonathanAnon

touts wrote: »

Pat: "I grew up around there"
Paddy: "I always wondered is that the Monto area in the song about prostitution?"
Pat (in a panic): "No NO NO When I grew up there it was a NICE surburban area"

I liked the inference that it went to the dogs as soon as Pat left the area..

spank_inferno

Dublin accent = sexy


But its still so sad.
A truely tragic figure.

Lapin

I don't know about you lot but she sounds absolutely nothing like I remembered this one when speaking.





More like this one

washiskin

Jesus, this poor girl When you think of the previous item & then listen to this poor girl..... how can this be a life?

Normally I think O'Goman is a bit of a crank but this is where he shows his slot is worth keeping....

snubbleste

What did she mean she'll get paid on wednesday?

Lapin

I was shopping in Brown Thomas and the girl behind the counter asked me for money.

So I automatically thought to myself, "could she be a prostitute" ?

Bellerstring

washiskin wrote: »

Jesus, this poor girl When you think of the previous item & then listen to this poor girl..... how can this be a life?

Normally I think O'Goman is a bit of a crank but this is where he shows his slot is worth keeping....

Paddy's a top man. Best slot on the radio. Period.

Happyman42

Easy on the make-up girls! Paddy knows does Paddy. :rolleyes:

Lapin

Bellerstring wrote: »

Paddy's a top man. Best slot on the radio. Period.

Is that you Snoop ?

neris

Pat getting a dig in at Miriam there??

Lapin

That was a very good response by PK to the idiotic muppet from Fine Gael at the very end.

What a stupid petty thing to contact the show about.

To think that some feckin eejit is actually sitting there listening to the programme in order text in to complain about a very minor quoting of unemployment figures.

If that spokesperson is getting paid to do that, its an insult to both taxpayers and the unemployed.

Yakuza

Pure pedanty from some anal-retentive civil servant or PR nutjob - if they spent more time trying to create jobs rather than media monitoring, we might be in better shape as a country. Those figures are massaged to hell anyway, with seasonal adjustments being made to account for temporary workers etc, what the hell difference does it make if it's 14.8% or 15%. Spurious accuracy at its worst.

P. Breathnach

Yakuza wrote: »

Pure pedanty from some anal-retentive civil servant or PR nutjob - if they spent more time trying to create jobs rather than media monitoring, we might be in better shape as a country. Those figures are massaged to hell anyway, with seasonal adjustments being made to account for temporary workers etc, what the hell difference does it make if it's 14.8% or 15%. Spurious accuracy at its worst.

So a programme that focuses on current affairs should not be concerned with accuracy about an important matter like the unemployment rate? I care whether it is 14.2% or 15%, and so do 0.8% of the workforce and their nearest and dearest.

It's also good that the rate has fallen from 15% to 14.2%. It's a modest improvement, but it is an improvement.

Adjusting the figures for seasonal variation is proper procedure.

Infoanon

P. Breathnach wrote: »

It's also good that the rate has fallen from 15% to 14.2%. It's a modest improvement, but it is an improvement.

Adjusting the figures for seasonal variation is proper procedure.

14.8% / 15% makes no difference - alas the true rate is a lot higher.

If you are going to make 'seasonal' adjustments should you not also have a true comparative ie take into account emigration ?

P. Breathnach

Infoanon wrote: »

14.8% / 15% makes no difference

What's with the 14.8%? The figures mentioned in the programme were 15% and "just over 14%". I used 14.2% after googling to check for myself whether the figure given by the unnamed FG spokesman was right.

And it does make a difference.

- alas the true rate is a lot higher.

Really? Source?

If you are going to make 'seasonal' adjustments should you not also have a true comparative ie take into account emigration ?

The unemployment rate is what it is; the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is what it is, and is a valid metric.

There is a point in taking account of net migration in looking at the state of the economy and how it is changing - but you don't do it by redefining unemployment.

Lapin

P. Breathnach wrote: »

So a programme that focuses on current affairs should not be concerned with accuracy about an important matter like the unemployment rate.

Its well known that successive governments mask the true unemployment figures to suit their own purposes and the 15% PK initially quoted is actually closer to the number of those out of work.

For example, someone on the dole getting an extra €20 per week for doing a one year Tús programme is not considered to be on the live register for stastical enumerations, but it would be very far fetched to suggest that they are in full time gainful employment.

Furthermore, why aren't these government spokespeople so quick to contact the programme when PK is looking for someone to discuss the issue of TD's expenses or waste in public spending ?

touts

Infoanon wrote: »

14.8% / 15% makes no difference - alas the true rate is a lot higher.

If you are going to make 'seasonal' adjustments should you not also have a true comparative ie take into account emigration ?

But as Pat pointed out when you add back in the unemployed on FAS courses and in various other categories the government decided to drop to make the figures look not so bad the number rises to over 23%. International experts like the OECD have pulled them up on it but spotty FG propaganda students on work experience just ignore it.

Perhaps if the 23% number was displayed on a HUGE neon sign on the back of the Fine Gael HQ front door under the words "Percentage of the population you failed today" then gobsh!tes like that PR spin doctor would hang their head in shame at the end of the day instead of heading to the Dail bar for a few subsidised scoops.

P. Breathnach

Lapin wrote: »

Its well known that successive governments mask the true unemployment figures to suit their own purposes and the 15% PK initially quoted is actually closer to the number of those out of work....

The method by which the rate is calculated has been consistent for a number of years, so a change in the rate is significant.

Lapin

P. Breathnach wrote: »

The method by which the rate is calculated has been consistent for a number of years.....

No it hasn't.

As recently as the last budget those on back to education allowance will no longer be considered in unemployment statistics during the summer months despite receiving identical weekly payments as those on the dole.

And, as I mentioned above, those on the Tús programme aren't considered unemployed either because they are now doing up 19 hours per week in their local communities for an extra €20 per week on top of their dole.

The methods in which unemployment figures are calculated is constantly amended.

I actually hope the PK show picks up the baton from where it left off today. I'd really love to see if the same spokesperson who contacted the programme today would be willing to come on the air and take questions from Pat and the listeners.

spank_inferno

Your dead right, the amount of "schemes" like Tus has greatly expanded the numbers hidden from the real 'jobless' figure.

Progress, as interpreted by the government is as much about confusing the numbers as it is real job creation.

P. Breathnach

Lapin wrote: »

No it hasn't.

As recently as the last budget those on back to education allowance will no longer be considered in unemployment statistics during the summer months despite receiving identical weekly payments as those on the dole.

I missed that, and have not been able to find anything about it. But it's not relevant to the latest figures, because we are not in the summer months.

And, as I mentioned above, those on the Tús programme aren't considered unemployed either because they are now doing up 19 hours per week in their local communities for an extra €20 per week on top of their dole.

As was the case for Community Employment schemes and other "Activation Programmes". The Back to Education Allowance counts as one of those Programmes.

How many people are in activation programmes? The most recent figures I can find are for February: 83,481. This compares with 80,327 one year earlier. The increase of just over 3,000 is relatively small.

The methods in which unemployment figures are calculated is constantly amended.

Source?

I see no difference in the method of calculation between March 2012 and March 2013. The headline rate in March 2012 was 14.9%; that in March 2013 was 14%. That difference means quite a lot to about 9,000 people.

I actually hope the PK show picks up the baton from where it left off today. I'd really love to see if the same spokesperson who contacted the programme today would be willing to come on the air and take questions from Pat and the listeners.

What questions?

Edit: I overlooked linking my main resource: http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/latestheadlinefigures/lreg_mar2013.pdf

P. Breathnach

I note that today Pat referred to "over 14%" unemployment.

JonathanAnon

"Unite Economist Michael Taft"..

What a load of nonsense... The unions never cared about the economy, only their members and themselves.. Unions simply hire economist to give credence to their self serving spin..

spank_inferno

Why is Pat indulging this trade union fantasist?

hardly a fair and balanced discussion.

artful_codger

Innovation in the publoc sector lol. He's some waffler.

P. Breathnach

spank_inferno wrote: »

Why is Pat indulging this trade union fantasist?

hardly a fair and balanced discussion.

One representative of a left-wing point of view; one representative of a right-wing point of view: sounds to me like a good formula for a fair and balanced discussion.