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Do other first world countries suffer from "junkie/scumbag" problem that Ireland does

amandafrom97

My American friends who came a week ago say they are a bit disappointed with Dublin only as they say for a capital city, it looks like a "dump".

In b4 "Go to a third world country in Africa and quit complaining". I highly doubt that the slums of SA or Kenya should be the benchmark for Ireland's success. I think we need to get our priorities straight. It's great to have the marriage and abortion referendum, but we need a referendum to kick out the piss poor politicians who tolerate the crap that is the city's abhorrent state and the junkies that walk among us.

Interesting, do you think junkies are the result of our piss poor city or vice versa?

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Autochange

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

You have travelled a bit but if you think Dublin is bad I'd recommend you skip Washington DC, Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, LA, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Portland, Minneapolis, and pretty much any other major city in the US because as bad as heroin use is in Dublin, Crack and Meth are worse there and now you have a creeping fentanyl and heroin issue across massive parts of middle america thanks to an FDA crackdown on prescription opioids like oxycodone which millions of people were self medicating with but can no longer get.

And if you Dublin is bad, take a walk around DTES Vancouver and you'll be very surprised.

Every major city has issues.

In Africa and South America the problem is often kids huffing glue, in the US it's often crack and meth, in parts of eastern Europe it's Desomorphine and meth.

I'd rather take the zombies of Dublin city centre than most of the others.

I agree but their problems go mostly unnoticed in ****ty suburbs. Ours are in the city centre for all to see. It's due to the all size of Dublin.

ArchXStanton

I find the scumbags in Dublin to be a different breed,far more aggressive,I'm guessing its down to alcohol and drug abuse.

Graces7

murpho999 wrote: »

It's amazing how so many people on Boards have friends from abroad who point out Ireland's shortcomings to them.

Dublin's junkie problem is no worse than any other city, especially compared to an American one.

Also, did they not go around the Georgian quarter or hop on a Dart along the coast. Dublin is not just O'Connell Street?

Is that something to be proud of?

MarkY91

My foreign girlfriend can't get over how much homeless people and how much junkies roam our city centre. Sure most cities have the same issues but they're not all in the city centre like in Dublin.

I've seen a passed out junkie in a wheelchair 3 times in about 2 weeks. Why isn't the government doing anything about these vermin?

MarkY91

Pretzeluck wrote: »

Berlin, Paris, Rome. You will not find junkies in the city centre begging for coin. You have military patrolling there and throwing them out.

I don't know about junkies in Paris but I've seen homeless people all over Paris. Although they looked like hipster poets sitting there reading books which I found interesting compared to other cities homeless people

MadDog76

Graces7 wrote: »

Is that something to be proud of?

It's something that should be acknowledged as true ..........

Squatter

Omackeral wrote: »

With convenient stops at the Four Courts and St James's Hospital. God bless the Luas Red Line.

And God help the unsuspecting tourists who decide to use it to visit the National
Museum!

Stephen15

MarkY91 wrote: »

I don't know about junkies in Paris but I've seen homeless people all over Paris. Although they looked like hipster poets sitting there reading books which I found interesting compared to other cities homeless people

Also Paris and Rome has loads of Roma beggars there especially on the Metro

MayoSalmon

MarkY91 wrote:

My foreign girlfriend can't get over how much homeless people and how much junkies roam our city centre. Sure most cities have the same issues but they're not all in the city centre like in Dublin.

You have obviously never been to any large city in the states...homelessness over there is almost a lifestyle choice the set ups some of them have!

asteroids over berlin

nah it is pretty bad in the city centre, about 20 yrs back there were only a few scrouts about and some alcos. In many european cities they are drawn to train stations, i lived in Brussels, prague, Sydney, Amsterdam - amsterdam is pretty ok due to implementation of needle programs/services, Sydney is ok until you get to some suburbs, Brussels can be well ropey, prague too. Dublin just has the scrouts slap bang in the city centre, we need to change this

MarkY91

MayoSalmon wrote: »

You have obviously never been to any large city in the states...homelessness over there is almost a lifestyle choice the set ups some of them have!

I've only been to last Vegas there which was infested by homelessness. I don't think kit matters though as I was just commenting on our problem and not America's problem.

Although I know quite well from movies and documentaries etc a out their issues. Skidrow is like the 3rd world as are parts of Detroit and many, many other places there.

Every country has junkies, but not every country allows them to hang around the city centre where tourists are. Why are we an exception? The tourists are obviously going home and passing remarks on how dodgy Dublin is just like we all know how Amsterdam, Paris, San Fransisco etc are full of homeless and junkies. It's such a Shame that they're allowed to give our capital city a bad look. I was in Vienna a few months ago, I seen 2 dodgy looking junkies at the train station. They were the first and last junkies I've seen the whole weekend. They're doing something over there that our retarded police force clearly aren't doing.

Hitman3000

Pretzeluck wrote:

Berlin, Paris, Rome. You will not find junkies in the city centre begging for coin. You have military patrolling there and throwing them out.

I was in Berlin two years ago, had a beer at a restaurant near the Brandenburg gate. Saw several beggars, same thing at the Spanish steps in Rome when I was there last year. Where are these areas you go to with no beggars/junkies?

Sofiztikated

Pretzeluck wrote: »

Berlin, Paris, Rome. You will not find junkies in the city centre begging for coin. You have military patrolling there and throwing them out.

Well that's just bollix.

I've seen people sleeping/goofing on the Pantheon, you can't go 5 steps around the Colloseum without getting hassled to buy some trinket, and Berlin has full blown squats.

Mike Hoch

techdiver wrote: »

I think a point is spectacularly missed by many posters on here. Yes we know many countries and cities have their anti-social/crime issues etc and that Ireland is by far an away one of the safest countries in the world, but, I have yet to travel to countries where the main thoroughfare is infested with drug addicts and scumbags/dealers the way Dublin is.

I've been to London, New York, Chicago, Vegas, Rome, Boston, Miami, etc etc and I have not seen such obvious social decay in the main tourist spots in those cities.

.

George's St in Sydney is the main business thoroughfare of the city. It's thronged with loud, aggressive crystal meth addicts. Police foot patrols don't exist. Nor do security on the doors of takeaways- it's fairly standard practice to be sitting in McDonalds and have some junkball come up to you looking for money unchallenged by staff, or to see one passed out in the jacks on heroin. It's the main street of a major city and it's standard to see screaming meth heads roaring about. The media here have been predicting the impending meth and crack epidemic for about 20 years now and it by and large hasn't materialised.

Last time I was in Prague, while I wouldn't say the main strip had many visible junkies, what it did have was black lads mixing club promotions with offers of drugs, Granted, their market was the stag do crowd but for those who say open air drug dealing on the main throughfare* is a uniquely Dublin thing, I'd tend to disagree. Not to mention I've seen open drug pedalling in nearly every resort type place I've been. All throughout SE Asia, Spain. Offered a coke connect the second I got into an Amsterdam taxi, the streets there used to be awash with street dealers (they seem to be gone now). This simply doesn't happen in Dublin for whatever reason.

I'd tend to even disagree that dealing is done on O'Connell St with any degree of regularity. There are swaps on the adjoining areas granted, the Boardwalk and Talbot and such, but OC itself? Gerrup the yard. My whole life I've been offered drugs by strangers on the main streets of Dublin a grand total of twice (excluding inside clubs, raves, festivals). Even the rickshaw drivers only talk if you talk first, and even plenty of them refuse to have anything to do with it. I've walked up and down Moore St a thousand times and I'm yet to encounter the street corner black dealers so many on social media are adamant are making a fortune there. I don't disbelieve that some on Moore St who operate in the drug trade operate front businesses, but as for street level I've never seen a shot of it.

Mike Hoch

Deleted User wrote: »

Scumbags have been phased out gradually since the early 2010s and they are almost extinct now as far as I can see. People are much more conscious of their own behaviour and how they appear than they were before smartphones made everyone feel they have to put their highest-status-appearance-self out to the world. You rarely see anti-social behaviour in broad daylight nowadays or even on nights out. You no longer see groups of scary young men in hoods and tracksuits, lads who grew up in actual deprivation, lads always a few years behind in fashion. The same guys and girls whose older relatives were happy to go on the dole now feel socially compelled to have a “career” and access to third level for all has laid the blame at the feet of individuals for not having a high status job, impelling everyone to work harder on average. Teenagers engage in less drug taking, drinking, underage sex etc than before apparently. People in general drink less. There has been a middle-class-isation of irish society in the last decade, having the effect of making the society appear more socioeconomically homogenous, and this was caused my many factors in combination.

I'd agree with a lot of this. I don't know if the crime stats would tell the same, but anecdotally I think yungfellas these days seem to be less scobie than the generations that preceded them. There's still scumbags out there, but teenage lads these days seem more obsessed with the gym than causing hassle in their community.

For whatever reason, Irish society is getting better looking. The teenage girls of my day were, judging on photos and old films, better looking than those of the 80s. The young ones today are better looking than in my day. 20 years ago it was almost unheard of to see a woman in her 40's that was in any way shape or form attractive, now they take care of themselves. 12 years ago you could tell what we used to refer to as "a Sharon" compared to the more demure looking respectable types. The trackies, the big hoops, the sovereigns. The 18 year old Sharon still exists attitude wise, but these days she doesn't look as far away from Sorcha from Castleknock as she did 15 years ago.

AllForIt

I was sitting by the window seat in McDonalds on O'Connel street once and I saw a guy standing outside the window pass pills to another guy right there in front of me. In the middle of the day say 3pm ish in broad daylight. I worked in the west end of London for years and all I saw there was the odd homeless person. Really freaky ones that had wore plastic bags tied around themselves as clothes. Didn't see any obvious drug dealing going on. The point is I didn't see it whether it goes on there or not.

4068ac1elhodqr

Begging in Dublin has become so common that its the biggest complaint tourists have about visiting the city.
It says here, also that in 2017 aggressive begging was up 200 percent.

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/dublin-city-begging-pubs-atms-12991199

Mutant z

Yes the UK for one go to any inner city area over there and you will see the exact same problems as here.

[Deleted User]

Mike Hoch wrote: »

.
12 years ago you could tell what we used to refer to as "a Sharon" compared to the more demure looking respectable types. The trackies, the big hoops, the sovereigns. The 18 year old Sharon still exists attitude wise, but these days she doesn't look as far away from Sorcha from Castleknock as she did 15 years ago.

Universal access to unlimited information has eroded the fashion treadmill that always existed until then. For example, in 2006 rich south dublin kids wore Abercrombie, by 2009 it was commonly worn by lower middle class college students and by about 2011 it has trickled down to working class kids, with upper middle class kids no longer wearing it. Nowadays a working class kid knows as much about fashions that come out as the upper middle class kid so can look the same as them. Same goes for haircuts, attitudes etc. The internet has led to social homogeneity. People who used to be recognised as “scumbags” used to just be acting naturally, un-self-consciously by looking and acting the way they were. Since social media and internet access for all led to a self-awareness revolution, nobody wants to appear to be a scumbag because it means they are low status and so they have modified their behaviour.

Mike Hoch

Deleted User wrote: »

Universal access to unlimited information has eroded the fashion treadmill that always existed until then. For example, in 2006 rich south dublin kids wore Abercrombie, by 2009 it was commonly worn by lower middle class college students and by about 2011 it has trickled down to working class kids, with upper middle class kids no longer wearing it. Nowadays a working class kid knows as much about fashions that come out as the upper middle class kid so can look the same as them. Same goes for haircuts, attitudes etc. The internet has led to social homogeneity. People who used to be recognised as “scumbags” used to just be acting naturally, un-self-consciously by looking and acting the way they were. Since social media and internet access for all led to a self-awareness revolution, nobody wants to appear to be a scumbag because it means they are low status and so they have modified their behaviour.

I'd still say Nike etc tops and trackies are far more likely to be worn as daily wear by working class people than upper class, but Adidas seem to have reinvented themselves as a label for all, a lot of celebrities get pictured wearing their gear, they use attractive models on their promo stuff etc. I'd agree with the haircut point mind- half the young lads these days have boyband haircuts. It wouldn't have been seen 10 years ago.

The funny thing with fashion, I was watching The Van a few months ago, Sharon is wearing a black Adidas shirt that 5 years ago you'd have called late 80s early 90s but which is back on sale today, same shirt. It's mad how these things go in cycles.

On the topic, what's the story with these black jackets that look like heavy padded jackets but are light as feck and have no arms on them. Every lad under about 22 seems to wear one, even in the summer. What's the point in them?

Star Bingo

Mike Hoch wrote: »

I'd agree with a lot of this. I don't know if the crime stats would tell the same, but anecdotally I think yungfellas these days seem to be less scobie than the generations that preceded them. There's still scumbags out there, but teenage lads these days seem more obsessed with the gym than causing hassle in their community.

Many still don’t make it out of the sports wear they’re practically born into these days but if putting it to correct use then it’s understandable.

However if still wearing that getup whilst on the gear then there’s no hope really...double whammy! Only ones I know are a bit more cultured / casual. Which helps detract from the fact their faces are caving in but yes its a more wholesome teen all in all I suppose you might say

elperello

Tourism is a big earner for Ireland.
Those Americans in the OP paid a lot of money to come to Dublin.
No point in telling them that other places are as bad or worse.
They have just spent their vacation money for the year to come here.
Their feedback is useful and should be listened to and acted on.

Hitman3000

elperello wrote:

Tourism is a big earner for Ireland. Those Americans in the OP paid a lot of money to come to Dublin. No point in telling them that other places are as bad or worse. They have just spent their vacation money for the year to come here. Their feedback is useful and should be listened to and acted on.

I went to the States and I saw junkies and homeless aswell. Part of life.

4068ac1elhodqr

All very well comparing to other capital cities (some better/worse), but one article says

“The facts and figures show that in 2017 aggressive begging was up 200 percent.
https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/dublin-city-begging-pubs-atms-12991199
(not exactly sure where the figures come from, Failte Ireland perhaps).

Is that acceptable if it's true?
Twice as many aggressive beggers in just 1yr.

MadDog76

AllForIt wrote: »

I was sitting by the window seat in McDonalds on O'Connel street once and I saw a guy standing outside the window pass pills to another guy right there in front of me. In the middle of the day say 3pm ish in broad daylight. I worked in the west end of London for years and all I saw there was the odd homeless person. Really freaky ones that had wore plastic bags tied around themselves as clothes. Didn't see any obvious drug dealing going on. The point is I didn't see it whether it goes on there or not.

That is absolutely shocking........ eating McDonald's in the middle of the day!!?!!!

MadDog76

elperello wrote: »

Tourism is a big earner for Ireland.
Those Americans in the OP paid a lot of money to come to Dublin.
No point in telling them that other places are as bad or worse.
They have just spent their vacation money for the year to come here.
Their feedback is useful and should be listened to and acted on.

I've spent literally 10's of thousands of euros, and dollars, in and travelling to the US and the things I've seen there would make a billy goat puke....... am I entitled to some kind of refund or compensation?

fritzelly

Big difference between here and many other cities is that the "homeless" get paid quite well for their lifestyle without having to beg.

corner of hells

MadDog76 wrote: »

That is absolutely shocking........ eating McDonald's in the middle of the day!!?!!!

It'd be pretty impressive if we got the likes of McDonald's out of o connell at.

gormdubhgorm

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

There’s junkies in most cities. Our junkies look hideous though. Irish people tend to be grotesquely ugly, and injecting heroin doesn’t help either.

corner of hells

fritzelly wrote: »

Big difference between here and many other cities is that the "homeless" get paid quite well for their lifestyle without having to beg.

Here ?