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Basket case

Seemingly this is the only permitted descriptor for the 6 county economy

There are no shortages of jobs going at the minute.  At least it curtails the "them foreigners coming over here and taking all our jobs" rhetoric/excuse.

they can have our jobs, it is the houses they take that are the problem

Have 'they' taken your job or your house or a house from anyone you know ? Genuine question

It is simple logic that if you allow in more immigrants than you build houses then you somebody is going to have problems getting a house. I'm quite comfortable and am not one of those people. In general, this debate seems to be unable to distinguish between the aggregate effect and situations of individuals.

So you're worried for others (us Irish with the great bloodline that will hopefully never get diluted by the bad foreigner's bloodline).. Helping out other folk who need our help isn't the issue, they are not your enemy. Why not worry and look out for those less fortunate than us?
The real enemy here looks very like you and me, not the unfortunate on the boats, not trans etc...

I am not in the least worried about the bloodline, and nothing that I said indicated that I was, so you are making it up. I also did not say that we should not help the less fortunate. The people who come here are not the most deserving, the most deserving are stuck in some camp and do not have tens of thousands of Euro to pay people smugglers, those who cannot come are those that we should help, not the chancers who lie their way across the world.

An Easter message to warm the heart

The sheer humanity of it

From the boards chief Catholic Church spokesperson

On Good Friday

The party of God, led by the following...

Ian Paisley - Inciter in chief of countless acts of sectarian violence and murder and otherwise too many things to mention

Peter Robinson - Invader of clontibret and up to his oxters in dodgy Nama dealings.  Wife shagged a young'un

Arlene Foster - RHI overseer and suspected of cruelty to crocodiles

Edwin Poots - Prima facie clean, but the young boy's a suspected crook with planning shenanigans

Jeffrey Donaldson - Charged with sexual abuse

Gavin Robinson - TBC...

What are "woke NGOs"?
Why is wanting fairness, equality, human dignity, a fair wage, etc treated as an insult?
The billionelaires have done their brainwashing well.

By the way most of the monet spent on IPA people and Ukrainians is going into the hands of Irish property owners, food businesses etc.
In other words circulating in the Irish Economy.

I wonder who the ex blueshirts in Mayo are going to vote for?

That's the thing that gets me.  The vast majority of this money is staying in within the economy so it's essentially zero sum.

The thick as mince brits think they are getting a great deal over there by flying these people to Rwanda at a million quid a head with the only economy benefitting being that of Kigali.

The number of licenses in Belfast hasn't went up in year (I've been led to believe). New bars just come in at the expense of old ones. Not sure on where restaurants fit - but there do seem an awful lot more. I do wonder is that a factor at all.

I don't think there's much doubt about this

Every hole in the hedge is now selling coffees and traybakes

And that's not to mention the Deli counters and coffee machines that have appeared in every petrol station in the country over the past decade

Colin Neill needs to get the message that it's not up to the people of Belfast to fund this proliferation of profiteroles

We're veering off into another discussion here.

If Beannchor pubs can set prices at 'whatever they want' and people still pay it then the reason can only be because they are the best pubs so still attract the punters despite the gouging.

If others can't do the same it's because whatever they offer isn't at the same level and therefore, for them, a price increase = lost customers

If Beannchor can make MASSIVE returns out of the pub/restaurant/hotel game in Belfast, then there's no reason others can't.

It's not up to the taxpayer or ratepayer to subsidise these sub-standard outlets.  Or to add another few hundred grand to Bill Wolseys annual dividend for that matter.

And if there are too many pubs and restaurants in Belfast and supply exceeds demand... well tough toddy... a few of them will have to close.

So why is a pint in Belfast £6+?
Is it solely because of some imaginary cabal price gouging (see Beannchor) or is there actually more to it?

Belfast city centre pubs pay 20% VAT, in Dublin it's 13.5% (was 9%). UKGov refuses to reduce VAT for hospitality & tourism.

There is no rates relief in Belfast city centre (or NI) for hospitality businesses that is available elsewhere in the UK. So when the council raise their non-domestic rates, pubs and restaurants here get slaughtered.

Despite handsome profits last year, Diageo have announced their latest price increase - this is the one that makes the news but other breweries and suppliers have also put their prices up in the past 12 months.

Many Belfast city centre pubs employ people on minimum wage. When that goes up next month, they will be paying their bar staff more. They then have to pay supervisors, managers etc more as well. If they hire external contractors such as a cleaning company, that bill will also increase.

Wetherspoons, despite being a messy, under-staffed, McDonald's that serves alcohol and cheap, nasty food, has still increased prices twice in the last 6 months. The industry is fucked.

I was in Belfast over the weekend and plenty of hoardings up around construction sites for new "coming soon" bars, restaurants etc. You'd think Belfast is a saturated market but business owners must think there is profit to be made from the tourist sector in particular.

They'll be heavily backed by whatever group they're owned by so not as much risk attached, compare that

So why is a pint in Belfast £6+?
Is it solely because of some imaginary cabal price gouging (see Beannchor) or is there actually more to it?

Belfast city centre pubs pay 20% VAT, in Dublin it's 13.5% (was 9%). UKGov refuses to reduce VAT for hospitality & tourism.

There is no rates relief in Belfast city centre (or NI) for hospitality businesses that is available elsewhere in the UK. So when the council raise their non-domestic rates, pubs and restaurants here get slaughtered.

Despite handsome profits last year, Diageo have announced their latest price increase - this is the one that makes the news but other breweries and suppliers have also put their prices up in the past 12 months.

Many Belfast city centre pubs employ people on minimum wage. When that goes up next month, they will be paying their bar staff more. They then have to pay supervisors, managers etc more as well. If they hire external contractors such as a cleaning company, that bill will also increase.

Wetherspoons, despite being a messy, under-staffed, McDonald's that serves alcohol and cheap, nasty food, has still increased prices twice in the last 6 months. The industry is fucked.

Bollocks

As someone pointed out, Beannchor Group posted a 5m (net... I repeat net) profit after tax on a 28m turnover in 2022.

They are printing money

And wanting an already underfunded BCC to put the cherry on top

Beannchor are the cabal. They can set prices to whatever they want in their establishments and people will pay it. A few others often follow suit but that's a lot different to saying the Downeys, Conlons etc are all in on it.

The size of the Beannchor group is largely irrelevant

If they "can set prices to whatever they want in their establishments and people will pay it" then why can't others?

It's not as if the people of Belfast flock to Bill Wolsey's pubs out of love for the man

So why is a pint in Belfast £6+?
Is it solely because of some imaginary cabal price gouging (see Beannchor) or is there actually more to it?

Belfast city centre pubs pay 20% VAT, in Dublin it's 13.5% (was 9%). UKGov refuses to reduce VAT for hospitality & tourism.

There is no rates relief in Belfast city centre (or NI) for hospitality businesses that is available elsewhere in the UK. So when the council raise their non-domestic rates, pubs and restaurants here get slaughtered.

Despite handsome profits last year, Diageo have announced their latest price increase - this is the one that makes the news but other breweries and suppliers have also put their prices up in the past 12 months.

Many Belfast city centre pubs employ people on minimum wage. When that goes up next month, they will be paying their bar staff more. They then have to pay supervisors, managers etc more as well. If they hire external contractors such as a cleaning company, that bill will also increase.

Wetherspoons, despite being a messy, under-staffed, McDonald's that serves alcohol and cheap, nasty food, has still increased prices twice in the last 6 months. The industry is fucked.

Bollocks

As someone pointed out, Beannchor Group posted a 5m (net... I repeat net) profit after tax on a 28m turnover in 2022.

They are printing money

And wanting an already underfunded BCC to put the cherry on top

[Then they appear in the press every few weeks claiming poverty.]

What are pubs paying Diageo per pint nowadays? Couldn't be much over £2?

Yeah nearly £2 on the button.

So a 7 quid pint has a fiver going to the publican - 440 for a keg. Obviously that doesn't take into account the many overheads a business owner has, but it's mad that small places operating at low volumes can charge much less and still keep going.

The traditional pub model was a ratio of 3:1 on purchases i.e if a drink sold at £3, roughly £1 was for the wholesaler, £1 was for cost of business (staff, heat, light, insurance, tv, etc), and £1 was profit/loan repayments/reinvestment.

Diageo (and other brewers) have made this model unsustainable in recent years, as bars attempting to charge £6 for a pint when the same core product is available in off sales for around £1, should put themselves out of business.

When I say should, Belfast city centre's pub scene is effectively a cartel and they got together during Covid to agree minimum pricing i.e. a return to 3:1 ratios on pints.

Which as a move I suppose I'd support in general, except those shower of profiteering c***ts are now using a baseline 3:1, and are charging upwards on 8:1 ratios for mixed drinks and "premium" bottled beers.

Then they appear in the press every few weeks claiming poverty.

No harm to any of them. If they're converting £12 bottles of Smirnoff into £120 cash on repeat, and still claiming poverty, then they're on the take.

A massive bug bear of mine.

If you're going to gouge consumers and they're happy to come back for a gouging time and time again, well fair play to you.  Fill yer boots.

But not content with that, the city centre cartels feel they need a slice out of the tax/rate payer also.

Greedy cnuts, fronted by the insufferable Colin Neill

[hardly boasting about your Michelin star experience]

3 course meal and near enough a whole bottle of wine for £80? You're hardly boasting about your Michelin star experience the way some folk are suggesting.

The bit in bold is exactly what I'm suggesting

Out for a meal on Sat afternoon.. bill was £80 a head! Is what it is, had a great time and decent food..Ya only live once!

Anyone else baffled as to the point of this post?

The point is.. people complaining about going out and spending money in Belfast when they are aware of the cost!

Go out, enjoy it and stop your gurning.

Or just sit in

Lol, case #1467 of MR2 posting on a thread on the board with the sole reason being to tell people not to be talking about the thread topic.

Coincidentally, also case #47562 of MR2 posting on a thread about his incredible wealth

£80 a plate ye say

Settle down Rockefeller

When a bald man takes a redner, does the whole dome change colour?

Out for a meal on Sat afternoon.. bill was £80 a head! Is what it is, had a great time and decent food..Ya only live once!

Anyone else baffled as to the point of this post?

As pointed out by others that's nothing to do  the split season.
It's a good argument for abolishing the Provincials or the link between them and the AI.

It's isn't about the split season. They could run any kind of championship in the time available.

OK, so we're agreed

This has everything to do with the structure of the championship and the relative weaknesses of the provincial championships compared to Ulster

And nothing to do with the split season

Finally, Franko. I can't believe it.
 

Sorry I was confused, maybe I got the wrong end of de schtick but I thought your messaging was mixed

Tis a great day for sure 

As pointed out by others that's nothing to do  the split season.
It's a good argument for abolishing the Provincials or the link between them and the AI.

It's isn't about the split season. They could run any kind of championship in the time available.

OK, so we're agreed

This has everything to do with the structure of the championship and the relative weaknesses of the provincial championships compared to Ulster

And nothing to do with the split season

Have always believed that car insurance should be nationalised and any profits redeployed to fund road upgrades

I get all the arguments about lazy civil servants etc etc

But ask yourself - would it be possible for anyone to deliver a worse service than car insurance companies?

And at least with my model there may be SOME pressure on them to act honourably

Rather that the thieving bastards they currently are