unfortunately true. Ireland will follow the USA and UK in the obesity epidemic as ease of access to this type of food increases.

Lads no body forces them to eat it. Self discipline is needed. Anyway fair play to McDonalds, can’t beat the breakfast.

Nothing to do with any fast food outlet! The problem is gluttony . People need to get their snouts out of the trough! BTW, McDs pay more than the minimum wage!

Plenty Mc Donalds in Poland and they’re not obese over there

I think this is crap. In the good times why would any young person work in these industries when they could walk into a building site and get e500 or e600 a week.

Not so much. In the last great depression, popcorn sales took off – at the time, popcorn was the social equivalent of mcdonalds – a cheap snack with far too much salt and fat that nobody thought of as real food.
McD’s (and the pizza and other fast food businesses) seeing an uptick in sales is a bad sign for the economy, not a good sign.

And that’s not even mentioning the healthcare issues that the increase in fast food consumption raises.

Agreed. Plus they use Irish beef in almost all their burgers in Europe . Great for the wider economy here!

I was agreeing with Sean!

Well put Robert!

Here, here!

Becareful using that optimistic attitude around here.

Couldn’t have said it better myself Mr. Worf. Now fire phasers…

The kind of food produced and marketed by our friends under the arches is contributing to a plague of obesity, diabetes, colo-rectal cancer and cardiovascular disease. I don’t eat that crap, but many of my fellow citizens do, and you and I are paying for their mistake. The Arch boys aren’t paying. WE are paying. The Arch Boys get tax breaks and pats on the back from their pitiful and desperate FG suck-ups. Whooooo. 700 jobs. Only about 10,000 lost last week in this country. I am underwhelmed. On the bright side, think of all those cardiac care nurses they’re creating a demand for!
The food is as deadly as cigarettes. They’re selling death and diabetes to our kids for christ’s sake. You grateful for that?

seamus mcdermott, read my previous post please.
Also is it not up to the individual to look after themselves? I would assume if you told random people on the street what to eat, drink etc you would be told mind you’re own business, and I understand where you are coming from – they’re are always those who will over do it, same as alcohol, prescribed drugs etc. Mcdonalds isn’t as bad a villain as you may think, bigger fish to fry and all that.

Comment of the week.

As if it’s that simple.

Where are you going with this?

I think I need to go to SpecSavers. I’m seeing double. ;)

Not going anywhere, just wondering. Whether it’s KFC, Burgerking or McDonalds I very seldom see young Irish people serving. My son’s looked everywhere for a part time job and there’s not a hope of getting in anywhere.

I hit the odd mackers for a double cheese now and then and I have to say their restaurants are full of Irish staff. I’m sure the amount of Irish they hire is directly relative to how many Irish people apply. There’s been a snobbery here for years about ‘flippin burgers’ where as in reality we need thousands of these types of jobs to make a dent so its good stuff . as for the health ramifications of eating it, that’s up to the eater.. all in moderation .

Fair point but how many irish will apply. As a bartender I often felt ppl looked down their noses at me for working in the service industry. Completely different here in New York…

@ Kevin…. oh yes America.. the greatest country on earth… typical Irish emigrant they only out of the country 5 minutes and they running it down. Maybe its out gain people like you are gone….

People also look down on bar tenders in America, that’s why Bars pay you a dollar an hour or whatever, and customers feel sorry for you so they tip

Those last 2 comments gave me a laugh. Thanks lads :)

Why would you not like to work for them?

While new jobs are welcome, min wage jobs for large multinationals that serve unhealthy food will not benefit society in the long run. Just more working poor.

Start off pay is €8.80 above min wage and increases if u go up the ladder!!

staff pay (if you are over 18 and had a job before) is 9.00 an hour and can go up as you progress.. over 18 with no experience is minimum wage

Ireland swaps Broadband for broad waistband!

Zing!! There it is… Kudos Barry

exports are buzzing its the domestic economy that’s dead. this will give 700 people in those local areas to go out and spend in their locality creating residual jobs.

by the by, Mc Donalds is one of the biggest purchasers and exporters of Irish beef and anchillary produce to the value of nearly 200 million annually.. Dawn meats in Waterford have just built a massive extension and are hiring in order to meet mc D’s needs..

How much would a happy meal cost of SIPTU got their grubby little mits on McDonalds staff?

“What? a new McFlurry flavour I have to make? I want an increment, and a new title, and less hours… “

I don’t think you understand the concept of slave labour…

20 thumbs down:20 people still living the Celtic Tiger life.

You might want to look up the meaning of ‘slave labour’. I guarantee it doesn’t say you’ll be paid above minimum wage with a salary review each year, free lunch and paid holidays.

Caroline not only is you’re first comment ‘away with the fairies’ but your second comment directly contradicts it. Making them combined …. utter bulls**t.

Caroline, I think you might benefit from waking up to smell a stong McCoffee. McDonalds are not the epitome of minimum-wage opportunists. My brother-in-law, for instance, is applying for an assistant-manager job that pays 89 cents above minimum wage. The owner of a neighbouring business (I’m an employer myself) is roundly exploiting the Job-Bridge Scheme and encouraging other prospective employees to stay on the dole (he’ll generously “top up” their dole to make it something like a semi-realistic wage). This recession is an absolute gift to many an unscrupulous employer. McDonalds really is not among that gang. With all due respect, snap out of it.

Mc donalds pays better than most places around Where u pullin this crap from

My brothers girlfriend works in a Mickey D’s, and low and behold she is a member of SIPTU, who successfully fought a case on her behalf at the Labour Court this year.

Crap jobs?!!…I don’t see any negatives in teenagers getting a job in MD’s,gaining a work ethic and earning some cash that there cash strapped parents would otherwise have to give them…..Too many grim reapers about

so youd rather 700 on the dole yeah? a job is a job, working there is no different than working in any restaurant or cafe and also nobody is forced to eat there, they do so out of choice.

I resent this comment as I am an Irish person working abroad, as I could not find work in Ireland.

I don’t wish to pass some nationalist or racial purity test when applying for jobs here, nor would I wish the same discrimination applied to legal immigrants in Ireland.

Anyone that is legally in the country should be allowed, and encouraged, to seek work.

You can’t win if you’re a foreigner, either stealing jobs when they work or scabbing off the taxpayer if they’re unemployed.

Ur either blind or just stupid!! Loads of Irish in them!! Open ur blinkers maybe

Probably better that they withdraw these 700 jobs, huh, Frank?

I see. So you’d rather they *didn’t* offer these jobs?

Like Starbucks, they expand in order to push locally owned competitors out of the market. They will out-bid others for leases and have local special offers in order to make it almost impossible for smaller locally owned businesses to compete. Once all the competition is gone, they close down some of the outlets and drive their custom to the remaining open outlets.

It’s standard unfair business practice which local councils need to address but of course they’re in the pockets of businesses and often own the premises being leased out.

It’s the slow death of small local business and soon, people will forget how to open, operate and profit from a local business. It will all be pre-packaged franchises from abroad.