Recent posts

#1

General discussion / Re: The far right

Last post by Dag Dog - Today at 04:21:19 PM

But who should be most annoyed by migrants (or locals) scamming welfare?
a) #CoolockIsFull Anto who lives off state handouts and doesn't pay tax...apart from the tax on cigarettes, booze, betting tax etc.
b) The squeezed middle person who gets up early in the morning, is lumped with big bills like mortgages/childcare and pays a punitive tax rate to fund the state.

It's quite a reach to suggest that the protestors are conscientious citizens upset at wastage of public funds.

#2

General discussion / Re: The far right

Last post by Deerstalker - Today at 03:55:53 PM

Immigrants not in the jurisdiction and still receiving their benefits is an issue with certain Eastern European migrants.

#3

GAA Discussion / Re: Casement Park in line for ...

Last post by seafoid - Today at 03:55:26 PM

Some info from last year's financial accounts regarding Croke Park.

Contribution from our match day activities was disappointing. Total contribution at €1.69m in 2024 was down €140K on 2023 at €1.83m. We hosted 31 match days in 2024, compared to 36 in 2023, with match day attendances falling from 948,000 in 2023 to 865,000 in 2024

So basically Croke Park made a profit of €1.69m in terms of its core business of hosting GAA games in 2024 off the back of 31 match days with a total attendance at those matches of 865,000.

When you compare the attendances of those games at Croke Park versus the absolute best case scenario for annual match attendances at Casement [The attendances for the whole of the Ulster Championship has been around the 100k for a good few years] the capacity for the core operations to turn a profit look severly challenging.

As referenced at the outset, our non-core activities, generated a contribution of €8.3m in 2024. In comparison we had no non-core events in 2023. In May we hosted the legendary Bruce Springsteen and in August, Coldplay delivered one of the great series of evenings held in the stadium, a concert sequence, that put us in the Top 10 worldwide stadium venues in 2024, as listed by Polestar. Not to disappoint, Leinster brought a full house to the stadium for their Champions Cup semi-final

The difference between the two years is obviously stark - 2024 was probably cost to a perfect year for non-core activites compared to 2023 which was a complete zero - the issue is that none of these activites are in any way reliable. I'm convinced that Casement would be a lot closer to Pairc Ui Chaoimh compared to Croke Park in terms of attracting events.

I only took a fairly quick look at the accounts and I definitely don't feel like I have a full handle on the exact nature of the business of Croke Park. Frankly this would take more time that I'm willing to spend looking at previous years' financial reports and looking at the various subsidary companies that make up the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies.

These are all the companies that make up the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies

- Páirc an Chrócaigh CTR. The principal stadium trading company. PCT posted an operating surplus before interest,
distributions, and exceptional items, at €15.1m for the period 2024 an increase of €3.3m on 2023 at €11.8m, a
27.9% improvement.
- Brindare Ltd. This company is responsible for income and expenditure associated with our meeting and events
business. The business recorded a 77.8% improvement in room hire and food and beverage revenues.
- Gambetto / Mercury Investments/ Croke Park Motors – are vehicles we use to hold our property assets. As
expected, rental income for the 12-month period 2024 is largely unchanged on prior year.
- Lauris Ltd. This entity accounts for our pitch farm which is located in North County Dublin.
- Clonliffe Property Investments – this company holds our new hotel which is currently under construction.
- National Handball and Croke Park Community Centre CLG – we hold a 50% interest in this JV in respect of the
handball centre to the East of the stadium. During the period, PCT's share of the of the joint venture, NHCPCC,
losses for the year were €124K.
- For completeness two other companies Le Cheile Promotions Ltd and Musaem CLG CTR, are related by common
directors but do not form part of the consolidated figures.

I'm not really sure how that Brindare in particular fits into things.

Also I'm a bit suspicious when I see something like

The business recorded a 77.8% improvement in room hire and food and beverage revenues.

when there's no actual Euro amount provided.

There could be some intra-group transfers and stuff like that going on - this was very much a quick and dirty look to see what sort of basic info I could find out about how Croke Park is doing.

What I couldn't figure out is how these core and non-core activites ended up contributing to a situation where the Group of Companies had a profit, before interest, tax, CLG distribution and exceptional items, for 2024 of €21.3m and contributed a dividend of €16m to CLG (the overall main GAA financial company) especially when the profit increased so much compared to 2023 but the dividend only increased by €1million compared to 2023.

The directors of the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies are pleased to report a strong set of results for 2024. PCT Consolidated Group turnover, for 2024, at €59.7m represents an increase of €17.7m, or 42% on 2023 at €42m. A significant contribution to the results was from non-core activities, emphasising the importance, in particular, of concerts to the overall stadium performance.

PCT Consolidated Group profit, before interest, tax, CLG distribution and exceptional items, for 2024 was €21.3m, an increase of 85% on 2023 at €11.5m. The strong performance facilitated a dividend payment of €16m to CLG, marginally up on 2023 at €15m and underlines the importance of the stadium  in the furtherance of CLG ambitions.

My overall thoughts looking at this limited information is that spending £270 million plus on Casement is just an absolutely terrible idea, bordering on criminal neglience.

Some info from last year's financial accounts regarding Croke Park.

Contribution from our match day activities was disappointing. Total contribution at €1.69m in 2024 was down €140K on 2023 at €1.83m. We hosted 31 match days in 2024, compared to 36 in 2023, with match day attendances falling from 948,000 in 2023 to 865,000 in 2024

So basically Croke Park made a profit of €1.69m in terms of its core business of hosting GAA games in 2024 off the back of 31 match days with a total attendance at those matches of 865,000.

When you compare the attendances of those games at Croke Park versus the absolute best case scenario for annual match attendances at Casement [The attendances for the whole of the Ulster Championship has been around the 100k for a good few years] the capacity for the core operations to turn a profit look severly challenging.

As referenced at the outset, our non-core activities, generated a contribution of €8.3m in 2024. In comparison we had no non-core events in 2023. In May we hosted the legendary Bruce Springsteen and in August, Coldplay delivered one of the great series of evenings held in the stadium, a concert sequence, that put us in the Top 10 worldwide stadium venues in 2024, as listed by Polestar. Not to disappoint, Leinster brought a full house to the stadium for their Champions Cup semi-final

The difference between the two years is obviously stark - 2024 was probably cost to a perfect year for non-core activites compared to 2023 which was a complete zero - the issue is that none of these activites are in any way reliable. I'm convinced that Casement would be a lot closer to Pairc Ui Chaoimh compared to Croke Park in terms of attracting events.

I only took a fairly quick look at the accounts and I definitely don't feel like I have a full handle on the exact nature of the business of Croke Park. Frankly this would take more time that I'm willing to spend looking at previous years' financial reports and looking at the various subsidary companies that make up the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies.

These are all the companies that make up the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies

- Páirc an Chrócaigh CTR. The principal stadium trading company. PCT posted an operating surplus before interest,
distributions, and exceptional items, at €15.1m for the period 2024 an increase of €3.3m on 2023 at €11.8m, a
27.9% improvement.
- Brindare Ltd. This company is responsible for income and expenditure associated with our meeting and events
business. The business recorded a 77.8% improvement in room hire and food and beverage revenues.
- Gambetto / Mercury Investments/ Croke Park Motors – are vehicles we use to hold our property assets. As
expected, rental income for the 12-month period 2024 is largely unchanged on prior year.
- Lauris Ltd. This entity accounts for our pitch farm which is located in North County Dublin.
- Clonliffe Property Investments – this company holds our new hotel which is currently under construction.
- National Handball and Croke Park Community Centre CLG – we hold a 50% interest in this JV in respect of the
handball centre to the East of the stadium. During the period, PCT's share of the of the joint venture, NHCPCC,
losses for the year were €124K.
- For completeness two other companies Le Cheile Promotions Ltd and Musaem CLG CTR, are related by common
directors but do not form part of the consolidated figures.

I'm not really sure how that Brindare in particular fits into things.

Also I'm a bit suspicious when I see something like

The business recorded a 77.8% improvement in room hire and food and beverage revenues.

when there's no actual Euro amount provided.

There could be some intra-group transfers and stuff like that going on - this was very much a quick and dirty look to see what sort of basic info I could find out about how Croke Park is doing.

What I couldn't figure out is how these core and non-core activites ended up contributing to a situation where the Group of Companies had a profit, before interest, tax, CLG distribution and exceptional items, for 2024 of €21.3m and contributed a dividend of €16m to CLG (the overall main GAA financial company) especially when the profit increased so much compared to 2023 but the dividend only increased by €1million compared to 2023.

The directors of the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies are pleased to report a strong set of results for 2024. PCT Consolidated Group turnover, for 2024, at €59.7m represents an increase of €17.7m, or 42% on 2023 at €42m. A significant contribution to the results was from non-core activities, emphasising the importance, in particular, of concerts to the overall stadium performance.

PCT Consolidated Group profit, before interest, tax, CLG distribution and exceptional items, for 2024 was €21.3m, an increase of 85% on 2023 at €11.5m. The strong performance facilitated a dividend payment of €16m to CLG, marginally up on 2023 at €15m and underlines the importance of the stadium  in the furtherance of CLG ambitions.

My overall thoughts looking at this limited information is that spending £270 million plus on Casement is just an absolutely terrible idea, bordering on criminal neglience.

Some info from last year's financial accounts regarding Croke Park.

Contribution from our match day activities was disappointing. Total contribution at €1.69m in 2024 was down €140K on 2023 at €1.83m. We hosted 31 match days in 2024, compared to 36 in 2023, with match day attendances falling from 948,000 in 2023 to 865,000 in 2024

So basically Croke Park made a profit of €1.69m in terms of its core business of hosting GAA games in 2024 off the back of 31 match days with a total attendance at those matches of 865,000.

When you compare the attendances of those games at Croke Park versus the absolute best case scenario for annual match attendances at Casement [The attendances for the whole of the Ulster Championship has been around the 100k for a good few years] the capacity for the core operations to turn a profit look severly challenging.

As referenced at the outset, our non-core activities, generated a contribution of €8.3m in 2024. In comparison we had no non-core events in 2023. In May we hosted the legendary Bruce Springsteen and in August, Coldplay delivered one of the great series of evenings held in the stadium, a concert sequence, that put us in the Top 10 worldwide stadium venues in 2024, as listed by Polestar. Not to disappoint, Leinster brought a full house to the stadium for their Champions Cup semi-final

The difference between the two years is obviously stark - 2024 was probably cost to a perfect year for non-core activites compared to 2023 which was a complete zero - the issue is that none of these activites are in any way reliable. I'm convinced that Casement would be a lot closer to Pairc Ui Chaoimh compared to Croke Park in terms of attracting events.

I only took a fairly quick look at the accounts and I definitely don't feel like I have a full handle on the exact nature of the business of Croke Park. Frankly this would take more time that I'm willing to spend looking at previous years' financial reports and looking at the various subsidary companies that make up the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies.

These are all the companies that make up the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies

- Páirc an Chrócaigh CTR. The principal stadium trading company. PCT posted an operating surplus before interest,
distributions, and exceptional items, at €15.1m for the period 2024 an increase of €3.3m on 2023 at €11.8m, a
27.9% improvement.
- Brindare Ltd. This company is responsible for income and expenditure associated with our meeting and events
business. The business recorded a 77.8% improvement in room hire and food and beverage revenues.
- Gambetto / Mercury Investments/ Croke Park Motors – are vehicles we use to hold our property assets. As
expected, rental income for the 12-month period 2024 is largely unchanged on prior year.
- Lauris Ltd. This entity accounts for our pitch farm which is located in North County Dublin.
- Clonliffe Property Investments – this company holds our new hotel which is currently under construction.
- National Handball and Croke Park Community Centre CLG – we hold a 50% interest in this JV in respect of the
handball centre to the East of the stadium. During the period, PCT's share of the of the joint venture, NHCPCC,
losses for the year were €124K.
- For completeness two other companies Le Cheile Promotions Ltd and Musaem CLG CTR, are related by common
directors but do not form part of the consolidated figures.

I'm not really sure how that Brindare in particular fits into things.

Also I'm a bit suspicious when I see something like

The business recorded a 77.8% improvement in room hire and food and beverage revenues.

when there's no actual Euro amount provided.

There could be some intra-group transfers and stuff like that going on - this was very much a quick and dirty look to see what sort of basic info I could find out about how Croke Park is doing.

What I couldn't figure out is how these core and non-core activites ended up contributing to a situation where the Group of Companies had a profit, before interest, tax, CLG distribution and exceptional items, for 2024 of €21.3m and contributed a dividend of €16m to CLG (the overall main GAA financial company) especially when the profit increased so much compared to 2023 but the dividend only increased by €1million compared to 2023.

The directors of the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies are pleased to report a strong set of results for 2024. PCT Consolidated Group turnover, for 2024, at €59.7m represents an increase of €17.7m, or 42% on 2023 at €42m. A significant contribution to the results was from non-core activities, emphasising the importance, in particular, of concerts to the overall stadium performance.

PCT Consolidated Group profit, before interest, tax, CLG distribution and exceptional items, for 2024 was €21.3m, an increase of 85% on 2023 at €11.5m. The strong performance facilitated a dividend payment of €16m to CLG, marginally up on 2023 at €15m and underlines the importance of the stadium  in the furtherance of CLG ambitions.

My overall thoughts looking at this limited information is that spending £270 million plus on Casement is just an absolutely terrible idea, bordering on criminal neglience.

Some info from last year's financial accounts regarding Croke Park.

Contribution from our match day activities was disappointing. Total contribution at €1.69m in 2024 was down €140K on 2023 at €1.83m. We hosted 31 match days in 2024, compared to 36 in 2023, with match day attendances falling from 948,000 in 2023 to 865,000 in 2024

So basically Croke Park made a profit of €1.69m in terms of its core business of hosting GAA games in 2024 off the back of 31 match days with a total attendance at those matches of 865,000.

When you compare the attendances of those games at Croke Park versus the absolute best case scenario for annual match attendances at Casement [The attendances for the whole of the Ulster Championship has been around the 100k for a good few years] the capacity for the core operations to turn a profit look severly challenging.

As referenced at the outset, our non-core activities, generated a contribution of €8.3m in 2024. In comparison we had no non-core events in 2023. In May we hosted the legendary Bruce Springsteen and in August, Coldplay delivered one of the great series of evenings held in the stadium, a concert sequence, that put us in the Top 10 worldwide stadium venues in 2024, as listed by Polestar. Not to disappoint, Leinster brought a full house to the stadium for their Champions Cup semi-final

The difference between the two years is obviously stark - 2024 was probably cost to a perfect year for non-core activites compared to 2023 which was a complete zero - the issue is that none of these activites are in any way reliable. I'm convinced that Casement would be a lot closer to Pairc Ui Chaoimh compared to Croke Park in terms of attracting events.

I only took a fairly quick look at the accounts and I definitely don't feel like I have a full handle on the exact nature of the business of Croke Park. Frankly this would take more time that I'm willing to spend looking at previous years' financial reports and looking at the various subsidary companies that make up the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies.

These are all the companies that make up the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies

- Páirc an Chrócaigh CTR. The principal stadium trading company. PCT posted an operating surplus before interest,
distributions, and exceptional items, at €15.1m for the period 2024 an increase of €3.3m on 2023 at €11.8m, a
27.9% improvement.
- Brindare Ltd. This company is responsible for income and expenditure associated with our meeting and events
business. The business recorded a 77.8% improvement in room hire and food and beverage revenues.
- Gambetto / Mercury Investments/ Croke Park Motors – are vehicles we use to hold our property assets. As
expected, rental income for the 12-month period 2024 is largely unchanged on prior year.
- Lauris Ltd. This entity accounts for our pitch farm which is located in North County Dublin.
- Clonliffe Property Investments – this company holds our new hotel which is currently under construction.
- National Handball and Croke Park Community Centre CLG – we hold a 50% interest in this JV in respect of the
handball centre to the East of the stadium. During the period, PCT's share of the of the joint venture, NHCPCC,
losses for the year were €124K.
- For completeness two other companies Le Cheile Promotions Ltd and Musaem CLG CTR, are related by common
directors but do not form part of the consolidated figures.

I'm not really sure how that Brindare in particular fits into things.

Also I'm a bit suspicious when I see something like

The business recorded a 77.8% improvement in room hire and food and beverage revenues.

when there's no actual Euro amount provided.

There could be some intra-group transfers and stuff like that going on - this was very much a quick and dirty look to see what sort of basic info I could find out about how Croke Park is doing.

What I couldn't figure out is how these core and non-core activites ended up contributing to a situation where the Group of Companies had a profit, before interest, tax, CLG distribution and exceptional items, for 2024 of €21.3m and contributed a dividend of €16m to CLG (the overall main GAA financial company) especially when the profit increased so much compared to 2023 but the dividend only increased by €1million compared to 2023.

The directors of the Páirc an Chrócaigh Group of Companies are pleased to report a strong set of results for 2024. PCT Consolidated Group turnover, for 2024, at €59.7m represents an increase of €17.7m, or 42% on 2023 at €42m. A significant contribution to the results was from non-core activities, emphasising the importance, in particular, of concerts to the overall stadium performance.

PCT Consolidated Group profit, before interest, tax, CLG distribution and exceptional items, for 2024 was €21.3m, an increase of 85% on 2023 at €11.5m. The strong performance facilitated a dividend payment of €16m to CLG, marginally up on 2023 at €15m and underlines the importance of the stadium  in the furtherance of CLG ambitions.

My overall thoughts looking at this limited information is that spending £270 million plus on Casement is just an absolutely terrible idea, bordering on criminal neglience.

Thanks  for a very interesting post.

#4

General discussion / Re: The far right

Last post by RedHand88 - Today at 03:50:21 PM

Benefit scam is a terrible practice that should always be called out, but let's not kid ourselves that it is associated with being an immigrant. It is not unique to the immigrant population.

#5

General discussion / Re: The far right

Last post by Deerstalker - Today at 03:39:31 PM

Is it people that need government handouts that do most of the protesting, cause it's being sold that it will affect their benefits? And the rest are just racists?

If they're on a housing list and think new arrivals are getting equal or preferential treatment, they get annoyed.
Also, they probably don't like when immigrants arrive and start working for a living and better themselves.

Like this one from today's Examiner ?

An unemployed father of four who could not explain almost €60,000 lodged into his accounts over four months and was receiving six other people's Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has been jailed.

Stefan Muntean, a Romanian national with an address at Meadowbrook, Athlone, Co Westmeath, was handed a three-year sentence by Judge Keenan Johnson at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court.

The 39-year-old, who was on social welfare, pleaded guilty to money laundering using his account in his local credit union and the finance app Revolut, and welfare fraud in 2022.

The investigation was triggered when the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau's financial intelligence unit became aware of suspicious transactions.

Athlone-based Detective Garda Kenneth Nerney said that from July 1 to October 24, 2022, Muntean had €48,752 put through his Revolut account. The source of these funds could not be identified, with Muntean telling officers that unnamed friends or relatives transferred some money to him.

Unexplained cash lodgements to his credit union account came to about €11,000 from May 18 to November 25, 2022. Detective Garda James Martin stated that the probe identified six PPS numbers of individuals not residing in Ireland at the time but who were receiving PUP support, totalling €16,786, and which was also paid into Muntean's credit union account.

The PUP was a temporary social welfare payment for employees and self-employed individuals who were out of work due to covid-19. Judge Johnson described them as serious offences that were a fraud on the State.

Over that time, he spent €90,000 in an online casino and withdrew €68,622 from his gambling account. Muntean, with prior convictions for theft and trespass, had been entitled to a carer's allowance to look after his father and had worked intermittently.

Gardaí accepted he had no display of wealth, the court heard. Desmond Dockery SC, defending, said his client was admitting he was reckless in allowing his account to be used for the pandemic payments.

In a plea for leniency, the defence said Muntean, who came to Ireland almost 20 years ago, was a member of the Roma community who suffered with health issues, had a gambling habit, now lives in squalor and was estranged from his family.

The accused, who listened to the proceedings with the aid of an interpreter, did not address the court.

Passing sentence, Judge Johnson said the money laundering offence attracted a headline prison term of seven years. Taking into account his guilty plea and the mitigation, he reduced it to five years and six months.

However, he suspended two and a half years on condition that Muntean did not re-offend for five years. A concurrent two-year term was imposed for the PUP fraud.






 

#6

General discussion / Re: The far right

Last post by Dag Dog - Today at 02:55:37 PM

Is it people that need government handouts that do most of the protesting, cause it's being sold that it will affect their benefits? And the rest are just racists?

If they're on a housing list and think new arrivals are getting equal or preferential treatment, they get annoyed.
Also, they probably don't like when immigrants arrive and start working for a living and better themselves.

#7

General discussion / Re: Official Gooners Thread - ...

Last post by Mourne Red - Today at 02:52:49 PM

Is that Chelsea fella Madueke going to Arsenal as well?

Eze, Madueke, Gyokeres and Rodrygo are being worked on at the moment.. The first 3 more than likely will be signed, Rodrygo a lot of work needing done to get it finalised

They'll hardly buy all of them would they, especially as 2 of them preferred position is where Saka plays?

Do they have the guts of £300+ to spend?

Was reported earlier in the year club had a 300m possible layout if needed in the summer. That would mean no transfers next summer mind but possible they do get them all.

Would prefer if we got Eze, Rodrygo (Would be left wing) and Gyokeres no need to sign Madueke. But Trossard has a bid from Turkey and Vieira is being sold so money made back on them.

We have Nwaneri who's minutes will be impacted if Madueke comes so I don't see the need for signing him

#8

General discussion / Re: The far right

Last post by RedHand88 - Today at 02:47:46 PM

Moygashel.

#9

GAA Discussion / Re: Tyrone v Kerry Semifinal 2...

Last post by Duine Inteacht Eile - Today at 02:37:57 PM

Hampsey has always done a good job on David Clifford.
Seanie O'Shea turned it on against Armagh but they didn't seem to mark him at all. He got a free run at it.

#10

GAA Discussion / Re: Tyrone v Kerry Semifinal 2...

Last post by tbrick18 - Today at 02:30:47 PM

Morgan's kickouts were a disaster against Dublin - but they still managed to win.
I thought Tyrone were poor against Dublin until that last 10-15mins, and I thought Dublin were poor throughout.
Tyrone's main players are still the older guys, Peter Harte, Mattie Donnelly and McGeary - if Kerry get on top of them out the field and break even around the MF area the supply won't be there regardless of what combination of forwards Tyrone play.

However, if the 3 mentioned above get on top and can last the full game, then Tyrone are in with a shout.

Kerry have been inconsistent all year, but can switch it on and have the forwards who are more capable of winning their own battles than Tyrone do - on that point I agree with O'Se. But if in this game Kerry don't play at their best, then can be caught because the same applies to them in that if there is no supply going forward they will struggle for scores.

I think Kerry have the defenders to go man-to-man on DC and McCurry, not sure Tyrone can say the same about Seanie O'Shea or Cliffords.
For me, Tyrone's best chance is to run at the Kerry defence - which takes a lot of energy especially in the hot weather.
I don't think there'll be a huge gap between them, but in general I think Kerry have better players in more positions and so will likely win by 5 or 6.