Lisa Hand

@HMcEntee Helen who ever is advising you - fire them. Putting out condemnations against one side while ignoring others doing the same is a dangerous game.

I condemn the brutal Russian air attacks on Ukrainian cities overnight which killed and wounded many civilians. Among those killed was a 12-year-old boy. Yet again, Russia shows it has no interest in peace. We must increase pressure on Putin and give Ukraine the support it needs.

@caulmick They can’t admit they are going to speak with the posters.

Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time on Thursday night, fuel protest organiser James Geoghegan said there has been "good news tonight" and a "breakthrough" in talks. With a commitment made by Government to meet with them tomorrow afternoon (2pm) However, Minister of State Timmy Dooley said he has “no knowledge” of whether protest representatives would be attending a meeting. #FuelProtests ⛽️#rtept

@PaulTreyvaud @FatEmperor @SenatorKeogan - need I say anything, pure madness

This is an absolute national disgrace. Mothers of Ireland, this is what Dublin Zoo thinks of you. ‘Mammies go free’ for Mother’s Day and this is the picture they use to promote it Who in the name of god signed off on this. They probably think, well everyone will share it so the whole country will be talking about us Perhaps, but not for the right reasons It’ll be interesting to see when they come looking for donations because footfall drops. This is simply beyond disgraceful

@Toibin1 How does it make you feel….., it doesn’t and nothing does that’s the problem. They will keep going until they hear a bang and then it’s too late

Petrol, diesel, gas, and electricity prices will start to soar as a result of the war in Iran. What's the government's plan? They are going to increase Carbon taxes AGAIN.

@Toibin1 I’m beginning to feel like what’s the point, no matter what is brought to the table nothing is done. Now we are looking at fuel increases while we hand away money to the world !! At this rate we’d be better off in IPAS Centers where we’d be fed & warm

I debate the fact that the IPAS system is not fit for purpose? newstalk.com/podcasts/clair…

@Niall_Boylan @kenoflynnTD can you expose the levels of madness, paying taxes on inflated rates and then giving money away - pure madness

Message To The Government: Here is a simple thought. Stop taxing people’s energy bills into the ground while sending billions abroad. Charity begins at home. Right now, people here are afraid to turn on the heating or even switch on a light. Look after the citizens who pay the taxes first. When families are warm and not drowning in bills, then you can start saving the world.

@RTEOne @Tommedian Excellent guest, but the stupidity of comments during the interview about naked old women and potatoes was mind blowing !!

“Social media was a warning” Broadcaster & Author Mark Little chats to Tommy about AI #TommyTiernanShow | @tommedian

@courtsnewsIRL @OCallaghanJim @SimonHarrisTD @MichealMartinTD @MaryLouMcDonald @Toibin1 Sadly this is real life & while you guys play word ping pong week after week our country is falling apart. Who cares what side of the political divide you’re on - solve this !!!

Repeat sex offender Randi Gladstone (42), who lured a young woman into his room where he raped her just weeks after he arrived in Ireland, has argued that his trial was unfair after he was forced to withdraw his false claims of previous good character or face having his convictions for rape, kidnap and false imprisonment revealed to the jury. courtsnewsireland.ie/repeat-rapist-…

@gavpepper85 And if Mr McGinn had his way he would be free, this is sickening how was he ever allowed into Ireland - that poor woman, perhaps Mr McGinn can help her sue the state!!

@TheCountessIE It’s actually really sad to be honest. This is what takes up speaking time as kids go to bed homeless and people are in financial turmoil. Pure BS

Who will benefit by having more men in the Dáil? “Transwomen” are men. The people get to decide who they wish to represent them by voting in elections. The SocDems don’t get to decide. No one can change sex & a man can never be a woman

@FineGael What happened to the USC promise once made ??

Fine Gael is committed to making work pay.

@PeterAttiaMD Your poor son how very embarrassed you should be. It’s people like you that turned a blind eye and gave that monster oxygen- you absolute coward

The following email is what I sent my team last night. I sent a similar version to my patients, also. *** You’ve put your trust, your credibility, and your hard work into what we have built together, and I take that responsibility seriously. You deserve a complete and honest account of what did and did not happen. I apologize that I did not get this out sooner, but I want to be thorough. The purpose of the DOJ releasing these documents is clear: to identify individuals who participated in criminal activity, enabled it, or witnessed it. I am not in any of those categories, and there is no evidence to the contrary. To be clear: 1. I was not involved in any criminal activity. 2. My interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone. 3. I was never on his plane, never on his island, and never present at any sex parties. That said, I apologize and regret putting myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, and that is on me. I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it. *** I want to start by directly addressing the email thread that I’ve been asked about the most. In June 2015, I sent Epstein an email with the subject line “Got a fresh shipment.” The email contained a photograph of bottles of metformin, a medication I had just received from the pharmacy for my own use. The subject line referred to the picture of the bottles of medication. He replied with the words “me too” and attached a photograph of an adult woman. I responded with crude, tasteless banter. Reading that exchange now is very embarrassing, and I will not defend it. I’m ashamed of myself for everything about this. At the time, I understood this exchange as juvenile, not a reference to anything dark or harmful. At that point in my career, I had little exposure to prominent people, and that level of access was novel to me. Everything about him seemed excessive and exclusive, including the fact that he lived in the largest home in all of Manhattan, owned a Boeing 727, and hosted parties with the most powerful and prominent leaders in business and politics. I treated that access as something to be quiet about rather than discussed freely with others. One line in that exchange, about his life being outrageous and me not being able to tell anyone, is being interpreted as awareness of wrongdoing. That is not how I meant it at all. What I was referring to, poorly and flippantly, was the discretion commanded by those social and professional circles–the idea that you don’t talk about who you meet, the dinners you attend and the power and influence of the people in those settings. What I wrote in that email reads terribly, and I own that. *** I met Epstein in 2014 through a prominent female healthcare leader while I was raising funds for scientific research. At that time, he was widely known in academic and philanthropic circles as a funder of science and moved openly among credible institutions and public figures. Between summer 2014 and spring 2019, I met with him on approximately seven or eight occasions at his New York City home, regarding research studies and to meet others he introduced me to. I never visited his island or ranch, and I never flew on any of his planes. When I was at his home, it was either meeting with him directly, meeting with small groups of scientists, doctors, or business leaders, and once at a dinner in 2015 with a number of guests including prominent heads of state. In retrospect, the presence and credibility of such venerable people in different orbits led me to make assumptions about him that clouded my judgment in ways it shouldn’t have. I was not his doctor, though several times I answered general medical questions and recommended other providers to him. Shortly after we met, I asked him directly about his 2008 conviction. He characterized it as prostitution-related charges. In 2018, I came to learn this was grossly minimized (more on this below). I was incredibly naïve to believe him. I mistook his social acceptance in the eyes of the credible people I saw him with for acceptability, and that was a serious error in my judgment. To be clear, I never witnessed illegal behavior and never saw anyone who appeared underage in his presence. *** In November 2018 I read the Miami Herald investigative article. I was repulsed by what I learned. Nauseated. It marked a clear and irreversible line between what I knew before and what I understood afterward. At that point, I told him directly he needed to accept responsibility for what he did. Hoping to provide the victims from the Herald piece with support, I contacted a residential trauma facility to understand what funding comprehensive care for many victims would require. (Those communications were between me and the facility and were therefore not part of the document release.) I spoke with him and shared that information and insisted that he fund their care, beginning with residential treatment and followed by lifelong therapy. In hindsight, even attempting to facilitate accountability was a mistake and once again reflected just how naïve I was at the time. Once the full scope of his actions was clear, disengagement should have been the only appropriate response. My intent does not change that, and I regret not drawing that boundary immediately. *** Nothing in this letter is meant to minimize the harm suffered by the young women Epstein abused. Their trauma is permanent. I am not asking for a pass from you. I am not asking anyone to ignore the emails or pretend they aren’t ugly. They simply are. The man I am today, roughly ten years later, would not write them and would not associate with Epstein at all. Whatever growth I’ve had over the past decade does not erase the emails I wrote then. I recognize that my actions and words have consequences for the people I care deeply about, including all of you. I regret the cost this has placed on you, and I take responsibility for it. I won’t ask anyone to defend me or explain this on my behalf. If you have questions or concerns, I’ll address them directly with you, my team.

@an_brasan @SenatorKeogan what the hell os going on on our country

Apart from 12 years while living abroad I’ve been paying taxes in Ireland since I was 16 in a part time job. I served my time as an apprentice toolmaker at 18, qualified at 22, and emigrated at 24. I put myself through an engineering degree in Sweden while working as a toolmaker, set up as an engineering contractor when I moved home and have been paying massive taxes ever since, both as self-employed and later while working for various companies. I never claimed the dole or any other social welfare payment until my cancer diagnosis when I claimed illness benefit of €244 (now €254) per week. @welfare_ie under @daracalleary are fully aware that I’m undergoing chemotherapy for an incurable cancer and they’re in possession of detailed medical records and certificates from my doctor and my oncology team, yet they took it upon themselves to investigate me and have me prove to them that I’m unable to work and that I’m entitled to a measley €254 in illness benefit. Pics of the demands below. This has, no doubt, been farmed out to a private company who are now privy to my private medical information, too. Not satisfied with what I’ve already provided, they demanded to know not just my current occupation, but all previous ones, along with why I’m unable to work, amongst other things. Let’s just say there were a few choice and capitalised words used in my responses. Now, I’m in a good place mentally and physically despite my diagnosis and I’m well able to deal with them, but consider those worse off than me, or literally on their deathbeds, and these bastards are stressing and harassing them for a pittance. These politicians need a sharp reminder of who they work for and who pays their bloated salaries and extortionate expenses. We need a full clear out of the Dáil and to build a society that takes care of their sick and elderly the way they should be taken care of. They’ve squandered €1 trillion over the last decade, we’ve got nothing to show for it, but they’ll still harass sick people for pennies. They absolutely disgust me.

@LOCthedreamer2 @nealerichmond @MichealMartinTD @SimonHarrisTD #Enough How is it possible you can giveaway our taxes and yet Children remain homeless in this country?? Surely even you can see the madness in this are you looking to destroy this country

How can you spend 100 million on foreign aid, when you cannot house the Irish people ? This is the most anti Irish government since before the war of independence. #HouseTheIrish

@udippy @nealerichmond You could not make this up

Whats BADLY lacking in Ireland is ambition Our water,power & transport infrastructure desperately needs modernisation So whats been done, well up steps @nealerichmond on the 1st of Jan to announce more NGOs & a €100 mil more of OUR money is to be pissed away🤦🏻‍♂️ FML it’s crazy

@Niall_Boylan @nealerichmond seriously not acceptable and switching off replies on your post is a real case of burying your head in the sand !! #NotInMyName

It’s just like Monopoly money to the elite but it’s your taxpayers money handed out to anybody around the world looking for it. Fix your own home before you help others lads. I can see huge changes in Ireland before the end of this year. The people are not quite as thick as some politicians think.

@blanchcentre any chance you can sort out the traffic, total joke nobody managing traffic

@liamgraz58_o I hear you, totally ridiculous no traffic management at all. @blanchcentre asleep at the wheel, this is a joke !!!

Trying to navigate ones way out of blanchstown shopping centre would give one road rage 😣 #Traffic

@rodericogorman @rodericogorman time to read the room and retire from public life, I’d doubt there is any comeback from your disastrous time in government

Another example of the stalling of public transport expansion - this time in West Dublin. The Churchfields development already has people moving in, but their bus service is totally inadequate. And as it stands, there will be no improvement in bus access for another ~18 months.

@MaryLouMcDonald Today in Finglas a 70 year old woman fell, she lay on the ground for over 1 hour, the ambulance was called when it happened, 1 hour later while still on the ground the ambulance service said they had no ambulance to dispatch. Serious question what has happened to our country

Thank you to everyone who has reached out and shared their stories with me regarding the government's cruel decision on tablet blister packs. Over the last 48 hours, I have been inundated with messages from people who are very angry and very worried, particularly about elderly loved ones with dementia and Alzheimer's. Blister packs are not a luxury. They are a lifeline. This decision is putting huge and unnecessary stress on people ahead of Christmas. So, we’re not letting this go. Next Tuesday we will bring forward a Dáil motion in effort to force the government to reverse this cruel cut. Your words, your stories, your worries will be front and centre. Your voices will be heard!