Ben’s ‘mental blackout’ line would hardly get you past store security

IF YOU came out of Dunnes Stores with a bag of bananas unpaid for, it is highly unlikely that the security man would accept a plea of “mental blackout” in mitigation as you shrank with embarrassment in the street after being caught.

It might well be true, but while the security man may be no psychiatrist, he is more than aware that the Dunne family expects the highest standard of probity from its customers.

In other words, they’re expected to pay for whatever they take out of the store. How else could the Dunne empire have had a reputed multi-billion euro turnover last year.