Gerry Hutch TD?

The report on the news with Paul Reynolds was gas. You're like a dying wasp you are. I'll do whatever the people want me to do. I'm going to an election, go down to the central criminal court then and talk to them about it.😂

Disagree. Some of them are gangsters. McDonald isn't. I wouldn't vote for her though.

I'm sure it's been discussed earlier in the thread, but what on earth was his rationale for standing in the first place? Did he think it would stop the Spanish from re-extraditing him, or keep CAB off his back, or the Kinahans from taking a shot at him? The responses from him to any questions put during the campaign or at the count would make Danny Healy-Rae look eloquent.

I assume he's not actually an idiot given his success in his particular field but he's no politician and it's hard to see what he would gain from being a TD.

Agreed, but it's only a small % of the people that are the problem. Others are unable or unwilling to stand up to them.

I grew up in an area similar to the north inner city but the other side of the Liffey, a stone's throw from St Teresa's Gardens (literally, on many occasions😀) and it was full of decent people. But the row of retail units facing the street were more or less barricaded, and miserable places to visit. The chemist shop effectively had no windows after multiple burglaries - this was 70's/80's. There weren't a lot of facilities in D8 (and recent Pat Kenny programs have confirmed that this is still the case, but some enthusiastic priests managed to fundraise for a youth centre which was built beside the church. It was subject to multiple arson attacks. By the time we left the area in '82 the church was closed outside mass hours - the carpet had been stolen off the alter and the donation boxes were constantly being raided.

I'm no fan of Bertie Ahern but I heard him on Sat annunciating a list of the facilities in Dublin Central - it was a long list.

I disagree that it is a small percentage.

Yes, a small amount may be involved in actual criminal acts, but a lot of the time, these same people are being encouraged, ignored, lied for, hidden, excused etc by a lot more people in these communities. It's like a team effort, and then when society (AGS) intervene they are met with hostility and resistance by plenty of people in these communities

So it's not just the actual people who are committing crime and being anti-social: it's their friends, relatives, acquaintances that really add to, and magnify these issues, and prolong them

Agreed, I was referring to the direct trouble makers. The supporters/enablers are another problem. I do think a lot of the problem is the low-level stuff like minor vandalism not being stamped out, then it escalates, and people lose respect for law and order. But throwing money at facilities on it's own certainly won't improve matters.

Edit: My da taught us our letters, my Ma did the handwriting.

No, I don't think it was normal at all. And, while my mother had finished school, my father left around 13 or 14 and might not have gone much before that. But he was an intelligent man, he worked with educated people and he appreciated the value of education. I don't mean I was reading War and Peace or anything, but I do remember sitting on my father's knee and him getting me to point out the initial letters for me and my siblings. The writing as taught by my mother was probably just being able to write our names, but that was some achievement given she was washing clothes by hand for 10 people and cooking meals in a few shifts (we hadn't space for a table that could fit more than 4 of us, and with a wide range of ages we were coming and going at different times. Christmas Day was the only time we ate together).

I do think though that among the majority of my schoolmates the value of education was appreciated and supported at home. Not so for the residents of St Teresa's Gardens, Fatima Mansions, etc.

could do with serving a few though.

He was discussed on the Last Word tonight and one of the contributors said, when referencing the inner city, that several hundred people die from drug related deaths every year and if that was on the roads there'd be an uproar about it.

Noone said who was a major supplier of the drugs though. Missed opportunity.

Sounds like someone who just got elected across the water…

Conor Lenihan it is. My mistake.

Same thing really I suppose.

Those guys like Hutch should not be given any publicity except when in court. Making celebrities out of criminals is not a good practice.