E2.50 pints should be outlawed, says FG TD

Fratton Fred

Clever thing for a TD with two wetherspoons in her constituency to say.

gctest50

syklops wrote: »

And they live at home and went with her to the B&B?!?
......

no, no - she walked out on her husband :

Mary was a principal in a small school in Co Meath when she decided to walk away from her husband after 15 years together.

they "looked after her" cos well ..... :

"The five years after that were a complete blank. I can't remember anything from that time except making the boys their dinner.

dunno if she is out of the woods yet though :

I didn't brake, I just drove straight on; I kept going and I didn't stop until I couldn't drive anymore. I just thought 'oh my God'. And then I had to ring my sons and tell them.

but she has managed to get "a whole new life" though :

"A very good friend of mine, a publican in Navan, gave me great advice, he said, 'Do you know what you do Mary, just wipe your feet on that doormat and you walk away and ............ I was very lucky because it gave me a whole new life when I arrived in Dublin."

fair play i suppose for looking out for her good friends now that she has made it

.

Zonda999

HIB wrote: »

I don't really see the supermarkets as a problem, but I think wetherspoons could be a problem for the Ireland tourism 'brand'.

You're right that they are competing in the same space as independently run pubs, and with their large buying power, they are sure to win a lot of these battles. So, we will end up with less independently run pubs and more wetherspoons or chain pubs.

I'd worry that 'chain pubs' aren't very attractive to tourists, in the same way that chain restaurants aren't very attractive. I suppose the cities could safely handle a few wetherspoons, but my fear would be that they will grow and grow, swallowing up the competition until independent pubs are in the minority.

From a purely selfish point of view though, I'm looking forward to the cheap pints!

You're right that that could happen but I don't see it personally. The ball is entirely in the independent/VFI pubs court. For now they are attempting to use their pretty significant political connections.

But theres nothing stopping the thousands of pubs in this country joining together to force better terms from the suppliers. Yes this would be difficult to set up but they can;t just expect to sit there continuning to operate the same way when a far more efficient competitor comes on the the scenes, as is the case here.

I'm looking forward to the Wetherspoons opening in Cork city later this year. Even if I do not end up going there regularly, it will act as regards downward pressure on prices for the other big venues in the city.This can only be a good thing and I think this is the real fear of the VFI.

anncoates

PLL wrote: »

Much like the Wetherspoons in England, I'd say the cheap prices will attract a cheap crowd too.
When the one opens in Cork it will be a rough spot. Nothing against the people of Cork, I love the place, but their strict entry policy is there for a reason.

After living in England I wouldn't set foot in one of these pubs, not even for cheap prices. I hope they do force prices here to reduce slightly as they are ridiculous, but I would still rather pay a bit more and socialise in a friendly Irish pub than a generic franchise.

Judging by the two spoons already open here, it looks like their business model here isn't rough spots at all, just addressing glaring gaps in the Irish pub market : namely competitive prices, music in pubs etc.

There's these things called management and door policy which means you dictate your clientele not the price of your drink.

But do carry on with your vintners propaganda.

darkpagandeath

anncoates wrote: »

Judging by the two spoons already open here, it looks like their business model here isn't rough spots at all, just addressing glaring gaps in the Irish pub market : namely competitive prices, music in pubs etc.

There's these things called management and door policy which means you dictate your clientele not the price of your drink.

But do carry on with your vintners propaganda.

Exactly, Scangers can still afford to go into the trendy clubs in town so the price of drink has 0 impact on the clientele.

Dempsey

Low prices should be outlawed?

This smacks of the vintners looking to maintain the status quo and remove all forms of competition from the drinks industry using public health as the cover story. The politician involved should never get another vote because she is either stupid enough to believe this is in the best interest of public health or happy to drive the vintners agenda. Either way, she is a clown.

darkpagandeath

Dempsey wrote: »

Low prices should be outlawed?

This smacks of the vintners looking to maintain the status quo and remove all forms of competition from the drinks industry using public health as the cover story. The politician involved should never get another vote because she is either stupid enough to believe this is in the best interest of public health or happy to drive the vintners agenda. Either way, she is a clown.

Aye, Low price bad. High price good, Even better if the plebs can't afford it. Luxuries should only be for our betters. :pac:

end of the road

The Backwards Man wrote: »

I think she's wrong, but I also think the sale or consumption of off licence alcohol should be banned, licencing hours should be dramatically reduced and rigidly enforced, and then pubs can charge whatever they want.

Attitudes towards alcohol are increasingly alarming in this country, and I predict a rocky road ahead if something severe isn't done.

most of that has been tried to no effect. bann the off licences, something else will replace them. pointless suggestions that have been proven to fail. all though i suspect you want these to protect the pubs, but try make out its to do with the culture of binge drinking when it isn't. binge drinking is a culture created, or at least helped massively by nanny state nonsense

anncoates

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Clever thing for a TD with two wetherspoons in her constituency to say.

Even more clever thing for a TD with loads of other publicans in her constituency to say.

alan partridge aha

Ah Miss Pi**y, get some driving lessons love.

end of the road

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Whether the pubs closed at 1am, 11pm or 2pm in the afternoon in the afternoon you'll always have the stragglers coming in for the last call. If they close that bit earlier though, you'll have more people in them, both due to the late callers being earlier, and more people going out because they know they will be home earlier and able to get up in the morning. Not to mention it's a lot easier to get a babysitter until midnight rather than who knows what time in the morning.

not the case. closing earlier means less potential customers, as some may not be able to get to the pubs until later. remove the restrictions and let the pubs decide when they close, and how long for each day its cost effective to remain open.

end of the road

The Backwards Man wrote: »

In those places people actually go home without being telt

some of them don't. just like here, where many do and others don't. the current licencing laws restricting opening and closing times are pointless and achieve nothing. remove them and let the pubs decide how long its cost effective to remain open for each day.

syklops

end of the road wrote: »

most of that has been tried to no effect. bann the off licences, something else will replace them. pointless suggestions that have been proven to fail. all though i suspect you want these to protect the pubs, but try make out its to do with the culture of binge drinking when it isn't. binge drinking is a culture created, or at least helped massively by nanny state nonsense

In the Czech Republic there is 24 hour licensing. Going out for the night is great. You can drink beer all night, all night long and wander home at 6,7 or 8 am and go sleep. It is a happy comparison to the "Its last orders, heres 2 pints and a double whiskey because it has to keep you going for the rest of the night"-syndrome we have here due to stringent licensing hours.

One of the arguments against 24 hour licensing in Ireland is, people would go mad, and not turn up for work, and lose their jobs etc etc. If they introduced it tomorrow, that would happen, some people would go mad and some people would lose their jobs. Then those people would grow the fudge up, and go "Its Monday, its half eleven, I need to go home because I am working tomorrow". The change would happen very quickly and we would surprise ourselves.

anncoates

It's incredible how much we actually buy the notion that every social wrong in Ireland can be remedied with prohibition.

Prohibition that invariably benefits monopolistic business interests of course

end of the road

Cienciano wrote: »

The vintners were against the smoking ban

so was i to an extent. i don't buy the nonsense bogus reasons for its introduction, all though for the protection of staff there certainly is a benefit in having it. i do believe it should have been up to the pubs themselves to decide though but with the following. they would have to have a separate smoking area but none of the expensive nonsense, just as long as there is something separating it from the main area. also, a rrule that says non-smoking staff can't be obligated to go into the smoking areas to serve drink if people choose to stay in there.

end of the road

Highflyer13 wrote: »

Its a funny auld attitude we have in this country. Same as public transport really. Keep raising prices year on year while less people use public transport. All these little things contribute to our overly expensive cost of living and I am getting bloody sick of it.

i see your point but unlike drink, most of the public transport has to be subsidized. the government won't pay enough subsidy to allow prices to be brought down, so we pay. it wouldn't change whoever was running it private or state, it would still have to be subsidized and rising fares would be the order of the day.

syklops

end of the road wrote: »

i see your point but unlike drink, most of the public transport has to be subsidized. the government won't pay enough subsidy to allow prices to be brought down, so we pay. it wouldn't change whoever was running it private or state, it would still have to be subsidized and rising fares would be the order of the day.

If it was feckin' reliable more people would use it. Most people subsidise their own public transport. Its called a car.

mikemac1

end of the road wrote: »

also, a rrule that says non-smoking staff can't be obligated to go into the smoking areas to serve drink if people choose to stay in there.

Bar work for many is part time casual.

Refuse to work in the smoking area and you won't be fired, just your hours will be slashed and given to the new hire. You are forced to quit as you get no hours

end of the road

mikemac1 wrote: »

Bar work for many is part time casual.

Refuse to work in the smoking area and you won't be fired, just your hours will be slashed and given to the new hire. You are forced to quit as you get no hours

true i suppose, still i'm sure something can be done to make that difficult to happen.

Beefy78

HIB wrote: »

I don't really see the supermarkets as a problem, but I think wetherspoons could be a problem for the Ireland tourism 'brand'.

You're right that they are competing in the same space as independently run pubs, and with their large buying power, they are sure to win a lot of these battles. So, we will end up with less independently run pubs and more wetherspoons or chain pubs.

I'd worry that 'chain pubs' aren't very attractive to tourists, in the same way that chain restaurants aren't very attractive. I suppose the cities could safely handle a few wetherspoons, but my fear would be that they will grow and grow, swallowing up the competition until independent pubs are in the minority.

From a purely selfish point of view though, I'm looking forward to the cheap pints!

There are 48,000 pubs in the UK. Wetherspoons have 2% of them. They offer an alternative and they're a downwards pressure on price but they're not going to take over.

kelledy

I have to laugh at the way ireland is reacting to these pubs.
So what if they are offering cheap pints at a reasonable price... It's called competition .. Other pubs just have to cut costs , work harder and deal with it. Tough s**t

Anyway weatherspoons will never afford to open in tourist trap areas, the greedy pubs in temple bar will still be able to charge for tap water and €2.50 for a packet of crisps.

Idbatterim

Clever thing for a TD with two wetherspoons in her constituency to say.

to win a few publican votes? If I was in her constituency, she would never get another vote from me again, absolute clown! This is the same woman that drove down the plinth at Leinster House!

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/td-cringing-over-plinth-mishap-495794.html

The publicans and Diageo should count their blessings that those gouging b**tards have been able to get away with it up to now, spoons were looking at coming in here about a decade ago and chose not to due to the ridiculous cost of purchasing pubs...

http://www.valuewalk.com/2013/09/j-d-wetherspoon-brew-up-storm-ireland/

Tim already has some experience of Ireland. Back in 2004, the J D Wetherspoon plc (LON:JDW) (OTCMKTS:JDWPY) chain attempted to infiltrate the Irish market by buying a warehouse in central Dublin with the aim of converting the building it into a superpub. In the end, they pulled out, selling the £2 million premises at a loss. Chairman and founder, Tim Martin, spoke to Valuewalk regarding that decision, as well as the new venture:

‘As we were going though the transaction, property prices rocketed. It wasn’t worth going into the market with the intent of opening just one pub. It wouldn’t have been economically viable, so we scrapped the idea.’

Fratton Fred

Idbatterim wrote: »

to win a few publican votes? If I was in her constituency, she would never get another vote from me again, absolute clown! This is the same woman that drove down the plinth at Leinster House!

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/td-cringing-over-plinth-mishap-495794.html

The publicans and Diageo should count their blessings that those gouging b**tards have been able to get away with it up to now, spoons were looking at coming in here about a decade ago and chose not to due to the ridiculous cost of purchasing pubs...

Judging by the numbers in the three tun tavern and the forty foot, she may win a few publican votes, but lose hundreds of others who actually quite like €2.50.pints. me included.

CramCycle

BetterThanThou wrote: »

Practically every house party I've ever been at that's more than about 4 or 5 of my close friends has resulted in some kind of dispute, luckily, it's usually verbal and not physical. I've personally never had a night out that ended up in any kind of dispute, and in addition, I could count on one hand the amount of disputes I've witnessed between people I don't know on a night out, and I usually go out in Dublin City. My theory is people are going to behave themselves better in public than in a private home.

I have seen arguments at house parties, usually the larger ones never the small ones but if you honestly believe they come close to the mess that happens in nightclubs regularly then you must not head out in town to much. I would also recommend either getting better friends or splitting up the ones who fight in such small groups.

As for the licensing hours. My own idea would be that on application for licensing renewal any pub or club would have to declare their desired hours but alot like the UK, they must open for the hours on their license. This would mean that customers would have known hours unlike the current idea of bars closing when they don't see the point. It would also stop publicans going for unreasonable hours that they will adapt to suit their needs and give the local super over sight at license appeals so that their is reduced chances of mass exodus es of drunks at 3 am falling on the street and creating disturbances. A few flaws in my plan but a discussion on a suitable system would be interesting.

Highflyer13

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Judging by the numbers in the three tun tavern and the forty foot, she may win a few publican votes, but lose hundreds of others who actually quite like €2.50.pints. me included.

They will lose far more votes than they will win coming out with this anti-consumer nonsense. FG are all about businesses and their buddies.

Cienciano

kelledy wrote: »

I have to laugh at the way ireland is reacting to these pubs.
So what if they are offering cheap pints at a reasonable price... It's called competition .. Other pubs just have to cut costs , work harder and deal with it. Tough s**t

Anyway weatherspoons will never afford to open in tourist trap areas, the greedy pubs in temple bar will still be able to charge for tap water and €2.50 for a packet of crisps.

Hold on here, don't say the way "ireland" is reacting to it. The vast majority of people from what I can see are delighted these pubs are here.

Captain Chaos

To right, more competition here is needed. My local put the price of a pint up 20c on new years day. Making it €5.20 for a pint now, needless to say that was my last time in the place. Boom time prices for property and drink are back. Can't wait for the €5 breakfast rolls to make a return.

pablo128

end of the road wrote: »

so was i to an extent. i don't buy the nonsense bogus reasons for its introduction, all though for the protection of staff there certainly is a benefit in having it. i do believe it should have been up to the pubs themselves to decide though but with the following. they would have to have a separate smoking area but none of the expensive nonsense, just as long as there is something separating it from the main area. also, a rrule that says non-smoking staff can't be obligated to go into the smoking areas to serve drink if people choose to stay in there.

But this very idea or one similar WAS proposed back then. All the publicans were cribbing about how much it would cost them to put in extractor fans for the non smoking parts. Well look at what it cost them in the long run. A shower of hungry b@stards.

roadsmart

Let her know how you feel. I did.

http://www.marymitchelloconnor.ie/contact/

BuilderPlumber

Highflyer13 wrote: »

They will lose far more votes than they will win coming out with this anti-consumer nonsense. FG are all about businesses and their buddies.

And not just FG but all politicians. The vintners have their finger in the pie and they and their government pals want to keep the prices high and keep out pubs selling beer for less than half what they are selling it for.