Sunday Times Magazine’s Shoddy reportage on Limerick
In the March 29th edition of the Sunday Times Magazine, “journalist” John Ardige made some innacurate claims in relation to Limerick.
The reference to Limerick in it’s entirety:
Out of luck and lucre, could Ireland really go bust? On the streets of Limerick, it looks like it already has. Unemployment there is 14% and the town is about to suffer the loss of 2,000 direct jobs and perhaps a further 8,000 indirect posts following Dell’s decision to close its Raheen laptop factory and shift production to Poland, taking almost 4% of GDP with it. Hotels are closing and snazzy new homes lie empty. On Cruises Street, the main drag, every shop has a sale on, with discounts of up to 80%. In the worst estates, where unemployment is 70%, corner shops sell single cigarettes and single tea bags. Economists use the pyjama index to track poverty: they count the number of people walking around the street in their pyjamas because they see no point in getting dressed. Whole neighbourhoods are fighting chronic crime, drug abuse and the most violent gang warfare in Europe. Recently a man accused of not repaying debts to a local family saw his children doused in petrol and set on fire. They suffered dreadful burns but survived.
Now time to pull it apart.
On Cruises Street, the main drag, every shop has a sale on, with discounts of up to 80%.
Anyone who knows Cruises Street will no only know that this claim is untrue, the highest discound I personally have witnessed on the street is 70 percent, but they will also know that the street is occupied mostly by UK based chainstores. Any reductions being offered by these stores are being offered by the whole chain and not just their Limerick outlets.
Economists use the pyjama index to track poverty: they count the number of people walking around the street in their pyjamas because they see no point in getting dressed.
Arldige never cited any economists who use this method to measure poverty. It also intimates that the less well off are lazy, which is despicable.
Whole neighbourhoods are fighting chronic crime, drug abuse and the most violent gang warfare in Europe.
This is a false claim. Not only has the Limerick Garda division got one of the lowest crime rates in the country, it also bosts one of the highest crime detection rates. There has been nearly one gang related murder a week in Dublin so far this year. Compare that with the number for Limerick.
Recently a man accused of not repaying debts to a local family saw his children doused in petrol and set on fire. They suffered dreadful burns but survived.
This never happened. If it did, it would have at least been reported in local media by now.
A request for a response from the Sunday Times went unanswered .