ireland

Police in Ireland are cracking down on certain businesses and they’re using teenagers to do it.

Faced with one of Europe’s worst binge drinking cases police in Ireland plan to send test teenagers from pub to pub to see if landlords sell alcohol to minors. In Ireland the legal drinking age is 18 but pubs are neglecting the ID check in favor of the extra business. So starting October 1st police will be able to train teenagers between the ages of 15-17 and send them to licensed pubs. If any alcohol is sold to these undercover minors the establishment will be prosecuted, face fines and could be temporarily closed.  read more »

The recession might be hitting all of us hard here at home. But at least we’re not alone in our struggles.

On a recent trip to Ireland I had a chance to talk with David Daly, a well known Dublin Developer for Albany Homes. Real estate values in Ireland have taken as big a hit as in the U.S. And just as here, the economic collapse has forced Ireland to dramatically cut public spending and raise taxes. Banks are under water. Unemployment is above 13% and there is no rapid turnaround in sight. Daly says they have only themselves to blame for overbuilding. Daly says the money was spent as fast as it was coming in but the boom is over. And Daly says we have yet to learn, in Ireland and in America.  read more »

World Cup fans are furious over controversial calls made on the field. And with the whole world watching, FIFA should take a second look at second looks.

I spent the Fourth of July weekend on holiday in Ireland and had a chance to talk to David Daly, a successful developer and avid World Cup fan. Last year Ireland made sports headlines when it was knocked out of the World Cup by France, following a controversial handball by Thierry Henry.

With other bad calls made by referees during the games, many fans are screaming for FIFA to use American style instant replays after disputed calls. Daly says until FIFA adopts camera technology, not every game will be played fair.  read more »

You would think that the poor economy and rising unemployment would drive people to drink. But pubs in Ireland are facing a sobering reality to go with their empty bar stools.

A report published earlier this week found that Ireland’s per capita alcohol consumption fell by 9.6% last year and is now 21% below their all time peak. Kieran Tobin, Chairman of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland says pubs have been closing at the rate of around one a day and 15,000 jobs have been lost in the last 18 months. And people don’t seem to be knocking back a few anytime soon.  read more »