Mustard on the Hedge

I recently met two girls who had moved to Ireland from the States. They were under the misguided impression that Ireland would be cheaper than heading to the UK. This has spurred me to put together some random information that might be of interest to others who are contemplating a move to Ireland.

First the basics…

• In Ireland the spoken language is English. Irish (or Gaelic as it’s also known) is spoken in some areas known as Gaeltacht’s and learned by all children in school.
• The currency is the Euro. One Euro (€1) is equal to 1.57860 US Dollars or 0.79183 GB Pounds. Check out www.xe.com for currency conversions.
• The country is broken up into “counties” similar to the division of states in America. There are 26 counties in Ireland. There are a further 6 counties in Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom).
• The capital city is Dublin. Cork is the largest county.

Cost of living:

• Ireland is one of the most expensive countries to live in in Europe and Dublin is the 16th most expensive city to live in in the World.

• Rent: Expect to pay anywhere between €950 and €1500 per month for a one bed apartment in Dublin. This price falls outside of the capital. Click here for an overview of average rents in Ireland.
• There are several supermarket chains- Dunnes and Tesco (average prices); Superquinn and Marks & Spencers (more expensive); Lidl and Aldi (budget shopping).
• Litre of milk: About €1.45…depending on where you buy and whether low fat, etc
• A music CD: About €15.99. You can of course order cd’s and dvd’s cheaper online from sites such as CD Wow or Amazon.
• Bread: Average €1.24 to €1.64 for white bread.
• Newspaper: €1.60
• Coffee: Around €2.75 for a grande Americano
• Pint of Heineken: Around €5 in Dublin.
• City bus ticket: €1.10 minimum fare in Dublin
• Bar of chocolate: Around 65 cents

How to find a place to live:

• There are listings of accommodation to rent/buy in the various national/local papers. The majority of people use Daft to find a place to live. If you’re considering a move to Ireland then that site would allow you to check out prices and available properties in your selected area and make contact with landlords in advance.
• When you find a property you like you will need to present references i.e. proof of employment, references from previous landlords, etc. You will also need to pay a deposit (usually one months rent) and also pay one months rent in advance.
• As with any country in the World there are parts of every city in Ireland that are less favourable than others. I’d recommend visiting any area you plan to live in both the daytime and night time to get an idea of the locality.

Finding a job:

• Ireland is in the midst of an economic downturn thus many companies have put recruitment freezes in place.
• Check out job sites such as Irish Jobs, Monster or Recruit Ireland.
• Your CV shouldn’t be more than 2 A4 pages. The job sites above all have examples.
• Minimum wage is Ireland is €8.65 per hour.

Making friends:

• A cliche though it is…Irish people love to go their local pub (a bar). Pop into your local and strike up conversation. There is a smoking ban in Ireland in places of work i.e. pubs, restaurants, etc.
• Join a sports team if you’re that way inclined. The most popular sports are soccer (or football), Gaelic football, hurling, rugby and tag rugby. All towns have their own teams, both men’s and women’s (and in the case of tag rugby- mixed teams also). If you check out the local paper there will usually be information on the local team.
• Mingle with people at work- when you start at your new job ask a few people to come for a pint on a Friday evening.
• There are lots of networking groups for business people. Hit google and some will pop up for your area.

The Gay scene:

• Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway all have a gay scene of note, but of varying sizes (that’s not to say there isn’t a scene in other counties). To find out about local events on the scene or to make some friends, check out Gaire (Ireland’s largest gay forum) or QueerID. You’ll find links there to sites in other counties where you’ll find out about events. clubs, etc.
• Jump in at the deep end…go along to one of Gaire’s regular “meets”. If you’re a newbie someone will usually meet you before the meet so you don’t have to go on alone.
• In Dublin the main gay bars are The Front Lounge, The George and The Dragon. Because the scene is quite small, if you’re brave enough and try and get out there and meet people, you could make friends quite quickly.
• There are no all girl bars but there is a monthly lesbian night- KISS. Check out the sites to find out what’s on each weekend. Outhouse has a “womens night” on a Thursday evening where you can meet other people looking to make new friends.
• There are various gay groups and teams. There is a lesbian soccer team- The Phoenix Tigers- which welcomes new members and you don’t have to have played soccer before. The Dublin Devils are the male equivalent. You can see listings for all sports teams and social groups on QueerID.

Hope that info helps any of you considering a move to Ireland. Any questions just drop me a comment.

In a radio interview this morning on Newstalk’s Breakfast Show, a Fianna Fail Senator (name escapes me now) stated that she supported the proposed Bill on Civil Partnership which would give equal rights to gay couples in terms of inheritance tax, taxation, etc. However she stated emphatically that she did not support gay marriage because Ireland wasn’t ready for gay marriage. (!)!)!)

This comes off the back of a report in today’s Irish Times which reveals that a group of Fianna Fail TDs and Senators put forward a motion demanding nothing should be included in the Bill which would in any way lessen the “special status” enjoyed by heterosexual marriage under the Constitution. Apparently 30 individuals have signed this motion which is being spearheaded by Senator Jim Walsh. In typical cowardly worm fashion the Senator was “did not return calls from the Times last night”. Too busy out sharpening his pitchfork. Cretin.

This almost put me off my morning coffee….My problems:

1. If Ireland “isn’t ready” for gay marriage what facts do they have to support this. The majority of our EU counterparts have had civil partnership laws for gay couples for years now. We are behind the times already. How long more must we wait and who decides when we’re ready…Fianna Fail? It’s attitudes like this that gives people outside Ireland the perception that we are all going around saying “top of the morning to ya laddy” and leaving our thatched cottages via horse and cart in the mornings for a hard day toiling in the fields. The Irish Government should be focusing on getting Ireland out of recession mode rather that wasting resources debating and delaying a Bill which should have been passed years ago.
2. If there is any debate around this issue it should be why doesn’t Ireland take a leading stance in Europe on this issue as it did with the Smoking Ban and move to give same sex couples TRULY equal rights and bring in same sex marriage…no doubt Senator Walsh would burst a vessel at the thoughts of such folly!
3. It’s a miracle I got to work unscathed this morning as I was blinded from the light emitted from the halo’s of all the heterosexuals with “special status”. Could a more derogatory phrase have been used? I don’t think so. This demotes same-sex couples to a standing below the general populous and thus is a deeply prejudiced remark. Where are all the other politicians. Why has no-one spoken out against such comments. Surely it would be an ideal opportunity for Opposition Parties to earn some brownie points?

The crew of a police helicopter and military personnel in South Wales claim to have seen thirteen “amazing craft” in the sky. As a result the British Minister of Defence is under increasing pressure to launch a full scale inquiry into the incident.

This makes sense…you’re an alien zig-zagging your way around the Galaxy. You pass over our World. ‘Where will I check out today?’…Paris…the pyramids in Egypt…mmm…I know…Wales. You see whizz over Charlotte Church’s farm and see she’s preggers again. Wow! What spacetastic news…of course you’re going to call your mates to come check this out…???

The Ministry of Defence have confirmed today that a corporal on guard duty at Tern Hill Barracks near Shropshire, captured footage of the alleged UFO’s on his mobile phone on the 7th of June. This footage is now being examined by experts.

There have been claims that what was actually seen were chinese lanterns (???- don’t look like lanterns to me!) but this has been discounted by former UFO expert at the Ministry of Defence, Nick Pope: “If they were balloons or Chinese lanterns, it’s highly unlikely they’d form a shape like that. One option is that we’re actually seeing lights attached to the underside of a vast craft”.

UFO experts believe that the fact that well respected members of the military have reported these latest sightings, will add greater credence to the claims and thus are stating this incident is “particularly significant”. Nick Pope appears to be in agreement as he expressed the belief that “something quite extaordinary does seem to be going on in British airspace at the moment”. He also called on the Government to act saying: “There has got to be an official inquiry into all this and we need a senior air force officer to take personal charge and oversee the inquiry”.

This will no doubt open the floodgates with every Tom, Dick and Harry claiming to have seen alien craft!

Granddad is mad. Very mad. Naomi Campbell was on the list of celebs due to introduce acts at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert but has been dropped following her conviction for air rage.

Campbell calls Mandela her “grandfather” and has done significant work for his charity 46664. As a result the decision to banish Naomi to the grandstand is likely to embarrass and shame Campbell given that it’s been said he was involved in the move to distance her from the charity. He was hardly thrilled with the brand association derived from the model being arrested wearing a cap with the charity’s logo!

The supermodel batted her eye lids and avoided jail time, being sentenced to 200 hours of community service after pleaded guilty to assaulting two police officers following an “air rage” incident at London’s Heathrow Airport. Apparently she kicked and spat at police, used abusive language and accused airline staff of racism when she was told that one of her bags had not been placed on the British Airways flight to Los Angeles on 3 April.

This is just another in a string of incidences surrounding the fiery singer. She’s been charged with assault several times since 2000 for abusive acts such an attack on an assistant with a deadly jewel encrusted mobile phone and leaving an Italian actress Yvonne Sciò with a bloody nose because they wore the same dress.

Will a snub from grandad calm Campbell…mmm…unlikely since anger management classes and fines haven’t done so in the past!

Will we soon see posters for the McMarriage burger? Only £1.99 at a store near you? Probably given the latest news that a couple from Cornwall in England went straight from their wedding ceremony to a McDonalds before heading on to the wedding reception. WTF?

Apparently the bride disliked buffet food but surely given that it was her wedding she could have arranged food that she actually liked!?

The response from McDonalds was hilarious. Check it out: “We all know that weddings can be stressful and we’re glad that the simple good value and great taste of our food can take some of the hassle out of the special day.” Mmm…yes perhaps the next generation of fast food addicts will make a stop at Maccy D’s on the church. I mean on your wedding day you dress up, surround yourself by your nearest and dearest and then what….cheapen the experience by a trip to a burger joint? Someone should have given the bride a good breakfast!

Amazingly this is not the first bridal party tucking into a Big Mac! A Welsh couple in 2002 had their wedding reception at McDonalds to save money, spending only £136.87 for the food and drinks for 33 guests! As Ireland is apparently heading into a recession should we expect to see bridal parties ahead of us in the drive thru’s? How far is too far when it comes to saving a few pennies and surely there are some days that should be special (i.e. not a McFlurry is sight!), regardless of budget.

Same sex couples in Ireland have been waiting years for action from the Government on legislation in relation to civil partnerships. The first hint at positive action came today when the Government today approved the Heads of a Civil Partnership bill which, according to Dermot Ahern (Justice Minister) shows that the Government recognises the ‘‘many forms of relationships in modern society”. The Bill provides “for Civil Partnership Registration for same-sex couples, it will also provide certainty as to the status of cohabitation agreements, and a legal safety-net to people living in long term relationships who may otherwise be very vulnerable at the end of a relationship, whether through break-up or through bereavement.”

Driven by Senator David Norris (the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Ireland), this Bill has been stalled since 2005. At that time the Government was criticised for attempting to kick the Civil Partnership Bill to the curb. They moved at a late stage to publish an ammendemnt to the Bill, thus grinding the process to a near halt. Senator Sheila Terry of the Fine Gael party stated that “It was clear that the Government wanted to stymie debate and delay the move towards equality.”

The Irish Government have been painfully slow to act on this issue leaving Ireland trailing the rest of Europe in terms of rights of legally recognising the relationships of same-sex couples. Other counties have had civil partnership legislation with several years, for example France (since 1999), Germany (since 2001) and even our nearest neighbour, the UK (since 2005). Despite the fact that this Bill is a step in the right direction it cannot be considered “equality” as under this bill same-sex couples won’t have the full right to marry due to the fact such rights “wouldn’t pass muster” under the Constitution according to Ahern.

The Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) welcomed the Bill but highlighted the fact that it does not provide legal protection for same-sex couples and their children. In a press release today Kieran Rose of GLEN stated “The proposals in the Heads of Bill however, do not provide for legal recognition of the many same-sex couples, particularly women, who are parenting children together, leaving these parents and their children outside the protection of the State”

This “Heads of Bill” is essentially an outline of what the government proposes to bring forward and in the coming months the Government will engage in consultation with other groups on this issue. It is hoped that a bill will go through the Dail (the Irish parliament) later this year.

Progress…but the wheels of Government are turning as if powered by a geriatric homophobic hamster.