First Time Buyers
(House)Grant
·
There is an
expectation that in the Budget first time buyers will get a grant towards
buying a home. Fair enough.
(There are suggestions
that this will just increase the price of houses and will go, by and large, to
the builders, so perhaps the Government should give it directly to the builders!
I’ll park that and get to my annoyance.)
These grants are
proposed to be for newly built houses only.
To whom it concerns
my question is; What about young people/couples who are also first time buyers
but buy secondhand as opposed to new builds? Why the discrimination against
them in this grant allocation?
The authorities may
think well of their proposal but the new builds are not there and will not be
there for a considerable time. So will young people now postpone the prospect
of getting on the property ladder until these ‘new builds’ come on the market
at much higher prices than now? In the meantime they will continue paying
the exorbitant rents prevailing in the hope that the scheme will be beneficial
in 2/3/4 years time. I’d be very sceptical about that. Another angle; There
are a good few houses which were built say seven years ago and have not been
finished or lived in. Do these qualify as ‘new builds?
Anyway my immediate
question is as highlighted.
Mayo Heartbreak Once Again
There is an odd sentiment
expressed by the actor James Caan’s character in the 1974 film ‘The Gambler’
which is;
“I play in order to lose”
He needs to lose, to feel and
enjoy the risk, to place himself in danger.
Perhaps it is the
contradiction present that has made me remember that notion.
When one looks at Mayo’s
record in the semi-final and final stages of All-Ireland football campaigns it
smacks a bit of Caan’s character. They have ‘gifted’ the game to their
opposition in so many different ways; sending offs (McHale v Meath), own goals,
managerial mistakes, penalties etc.
In the finals they have lost
in the last twenty seven years to; Cork ‘89/ Meath ‘96/ Kerry ‘97/ Kerry 2004/
Kerry ‘06/ Donegal ‘12/ Dublin ’13 and ‘16. In the semi-finals of ’14
they lost to Kerry in a replay and similarly to Dublin in ’15. So they
have lost an incredible sequence of 8 finals. No county has lost so many finals
at club (various grades) and county in the last 27 years and then the number of
semi-finals. Perhaps there is a grain of consolation in that they have been so
close, contenders at least.
Last Sunday’s game was a real
battle as I felt it would be and there were heroic performances throughout the
field for both sides. The displays of courage and commitment of the Mayo
defenders such as Keegan, Boyle, Higgins, Durkin and McLoughlin were awesome.
Though I predicted that Lee Keegan was in danger of being sent off I thought he
would not go alone. I have looked at this incident a number of times with the
benefit of the magic rewind button and from Keegan’s point of view it was a
harsh decision by the referee with Connolly potentially being an influential cheerleader. Indeed in a particular period, before half time, the referee
did Mayo no favours such as when McCarthy ploughed into Vaughan on 28 minutes
and about three other questionable refereeing decisions that went in Dublin’s
favour. 31 minutes Boyle fouled by Fenton (and others) yellow could have been
‘black’. 32 minutes O’Sullivan dumps O’Shea nil. Keegan off 34 minutes. 39
minutes Small a swing on O’Connor in a tangle on the ground which if
interpreted as an attempt to strike was a red card offence.
While the decision of the
Mayo management to change the goalie for this game has been given plenty of
coverage the hurt to the individual should be considered in a set of
circumstances that will become part of Mayo folklore and which will stay with
him possibly for life. His initial kick was directed towards a Mayo player in
space but took a curve towards the side-line which was contested by Harrison
and I presume Andrews with a contested ball crossing towards the incoming
Connolly. Keegan’s tangle with Connolly resulting in the Mayo star’s exit via
Black Card.
All players make mistakes but
it is the mistakes of goalkeepers which really stick in the minds. These are
regular enough in soccer, Pakie Bonner v Holland in the U.S. World Cup ’94,
Peter Bonetti substituting for Gordon Banks in Mexico v Germany in 1970 not
having played a big game for two months, Joe Harte for England and Manchester
City whenever.
Coming on as last man in
goals for a replayed All-Ireland before over 80 thousand people in situ and millions
watching has to be the most intimidating thing. The role of the goalkeeper has
now expanded to precision-passing of a ball sometimes forty or fifty yards. The
requisite run-up can be easily interpreted by opposition. A mistake though can
be fatal. And so it was with the concession of the penalty.
In the player by player
analysis on the Sunday Independent the total for the players were; Dublin 109
Mayo 108 but for the first three substitutes it was Dublin 22 Mayo 18. Again
the Dublin bench proved decisive and the Mayo ‘House of Pain’ has another
chapter.
Road Safety Week October 3rd
to 9th
T.V. ads. Tell it as it is
This year, Irish Road Safety
Week (IRSW) will be taking place from Monday 3 October to Sunday October 9.
The two major issues which
have traditionally been involved in road deaths are Speed and Drink. A
significant third is now coming into the equation i.e. mobile phone
distraction.
Down the years I have seen
major television advertisement campaigns which have been direct and make the
points very tellingly.
A current TV ad involves
two cars coming in opposite directions one with a family and the second with a
male driver who is engaged with his mobile phone. The result is a horrific
crash.
A second involves a lady
driver with a child in the back and she also is distracted by answering her
mobile phone.
A third from some time ago
involved a true story of a young man who had been in an accident and was giving
an account of how it came about and of his clearly very constrained life
changed due to one ‘silly mistake’. He says
“I made a stupid mistake that
night. I had been drinking and then I drove. If you think drinking and driving
is cool, just think of me. Never risk it.”
Apart from harming oneself
the unforgivable consequence of ‘drink driving’ can be the devastation it can
cause to other innocent road users.
One different ad from a
quite a while ago dealt with ‘accident blame’. Two cars have fairly slight
crash. One of the drivers gets out and begins to take the blame being in the
wrong but then senses that the driver of the other car has alcohol consumed and
the whole story of blame is changed.
‘The Siege of Jadotville-
The Congo 1961’
The most remarkable feature
of the battle of Jadotville is that no Irish soldier was actually killed there.
I attended the film this week and if this was a reasonably accurate account of
the tumult of the battle it was incredible that the Irish Company of soldiers
escaped with their lives. The commanding officer Quinlan is portrayed as a
heroic figure with his soldiers performing with courage and ability. There are
elements of the classic British film ‘Zulu’ in this film in terms of a small
garrison holding out against the odds. In a sense it is an action picture with
a very thin sketch as to how they were left in this isolated position. I have
read reviews suggesting that Irishman Conor Cruise O’Brien, who was the
United Nations civilian in charge, was treated unfairly in his portrayal in the
film. His portrayal as a colonial figure, which he was not, being shown as his
shoes are shone by a coloured youngster. The film required a ‘bad guy’ and
Conor was nominated.
The Irish general Sean
McKeown is given the name McEntee (Conor Cruise O’Brien was married to the
distinguished Irish poet Maire McEntee and they adopted two coloured children)
and though regarded highly then gets a poor showing in the film. It is
interesting for us in this area as we know people such as Georgie Tiernan who
actually participated in the action. It is available for viewing on Netflix.
St. Brigid’s defeat Boyle
As feared by some, St.
Brigid’s proved much too strong for Boyle in the county semi-final at Strokestown
last Sunday. The physicality of St. Brigid’s as exemplified by Ian and Senan
Kilbride in different sectors of the field were decisive. Boyle never got going
in the first half and at half time St. Brigid’s led by 1.6 to 0.2. In the
opening minutes of the second half a Senan Kilbride goal sealed the deal. It
was only in the last ten minutes or so that Boyle, continuing to play with
heart, managed to improve the look of the scoreboard with goals from Cian
McKeon and Roch Hanmore. There were two stand-out players for Boyle they being
Sean Purcell and the emerging young player Cian McKeon. So Boyle will start
again next year, this time in the second division league but in Group One of
the championship. While it is difficult to see where the necessary strength in
depth will come from the three fine championship wins of the last month or so
will be encouraging.
Errata
·
I see that
Ireland's latest restaurant to be awarded a Michelin Star is, ‘Heron and
Grey’ in Blackrock, Dublin. It can cater for just 18 customers at a sitting. It
works from a tiny kitchen and I am reliably informed that it actually has no
toilet! How that could be with all the rules and regulations as voiced by
people in the restaurant industry is hard to believe.
·
In the constant
coverage of the Donald Trump campaign in the United States one comes across
sound ‘bites’ like; ‘His rallies are not like political rallies but like sports
events’ and ‘Mister Trump does not have ‘supporters’ he has ‘fans’. Not too
much wrong with that I imagine.
·
’The Great
British Bake Off’ has been a big story in the U.K. with characters like Mary
Berry and Paul Hollywood. Apparently it is transferring to Channel 4 to the
dismay of its huge fan base. While I have no interest in the programme it is
the phenomena of a TV programme consuming the emotional attachment of so many
that makes me take notice.
Karl Marx once said that ‘Religion is the opium of the masses/people’.
Recently I met a couple of young Americans and after talking of the U.S. election one of them commented that while the election is ‘hot’ at the moment it will not be long post-election that the people will leave it behind and return to the Kardashians! Apparently their reality television documented lives are ‘huge’ there, perhaps even greater than ‘The Great British Bake off’. I know that sections of people are kind of addicted to say ‘Coronation Street’, ‘East Enders’, Football, ‘Mrs. Brown’s Boys’(!), ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ (A programme has really made it when its name can be identified by its tag such as ‘Strictly’), ‘Operation Transformation’, ‘Reality This and That’, and so on. Sad really. I watch too much television myself but a few of the above would make me hit the zapper hard and fast.
Karl Marx once said that ‘Religion is the opium of the masses/people’.
Recently I met a couple of young Americans and after talking of the U.S. election one of them commented that while the election is ‘hot’ at the moment it will not be long post-election that the people will leave it behind and return to the Kardashians! Apparently their reality television documented lives are ‘huge’ there, perhaps even greater than ‘The Great British Bake off’. I know that sections of people are kind of addicted to say ‘Coronation Street’, ‘East Enders’, Football, ‘Mrs. Brown’s Boys’(!), ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ (A programme has really made it when its name can be identified by its tag such as ‘Strictly’), ‘Operation Transformation’, ‘Reality This and That’, and so on. Sad really. I watch too much television myself but a few of the above would make me hit the zapper hard and fast.
· I notice on the
front page of The Roscommon Herald that the humble Roscommon County Hospital
has been elevated to the title of ‘Roscommon University Hospital’. Apparently it is part of the Saolta University Health Care Group. This
includes the seven public hospitals in the West and North West.
· Ireland’s car
Insurance costs four times the EU average according to radio commentary today.
Pat Kenny returned last night to Irish television on TV3 with an outline of how
expensive this country is and why it is so. Apparently ‘if you drill down’ into
the causes ‘economy of scale’ is very important.
· • What’s in a name?
A good deal obviously, as in; ‘The Department of Communications, Climate Action
and Environment’, ‘The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and
Local Government’, ‘The Department of Arts, Heritage,
Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs’. I remember Ray Burke having a group of
these departments. But then Ray was no ordinary……Ray.
· • I heard a Garda
representative claiming on a Sunday morning radio programme that ‘Garda cars
were being held together with pieces of wire’. Is that legal? I remember baling
twine being used decades ago for that purpose.
I hope to return to
philosophy next week.
Sin e
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