The owner of White Moose Cafe in Dublin has spoken out following a "satrical" post on their Facebook page where they suggested putting a '"tax" on screaming children.
On Saturday, the cafe said jokingly: "For the benefit of both staff and customers alike, we have taken the decision to impose a tax on children who scream.
"If we notice that your child is screaming, an automatic 15% surcharge will be applied to your bill."
They added: "For every further screaming child you have in your group, an additional 10% will be added. This charge will be capped at 4 children, in which case the entire group will be asked to leave."
But, the post had a bad reaction and owner Paul Stenson took to his own Facebook page to speak out about the backlash.
He said: "Disgusting. Appalling. Disgraceful. These are all words used to describe a satirical post I made yesterday about taxing screaming children.
"10 years ago people would have laughed at that post and moved on with their lives, but not today.
He added: "In 2019, we need to search deeply to find a reason for our feelings to be hurt in some shape or form. The eyes of our people (particularly the millennials) are being carefully trained to detect a means by which we can become incessantly and needlessly offended.
"If we construct a world around us which is unnecessarily characterized as disgusting, appalling and disgraceful, rather than simply having a laugh, is there really any wonder why we live in such a depressed society?"
The post had over 5,000 likes and 1,000 comments in the space of 24 hours and while a good chunk of commenters interacted well with the post, some parents were outraged.
"This is disgraceful. This place should be boycotted," said one outraged local.
Another said: "You're a tool, I hope your business burns to the ground."
The White Moose Cafe was once again involved in a situation where an influencer wanted to stay in the hotel for free in exchange for 'exposure'.
The cafe, which is part of the hotel Charleville Lodge on North Circular Road, is one of the most popular eateries in the city not only for their fantastic food but for Paul's tongue-in-cheek promotions.
Owner Paul Stenson said on the cafe's Facebook page in April that he "played along" with the influencer and said that his "conversation with this social media influencer highlights the pure deception of the influencer world."
The conversation starts with the woman asking if the hotel is available for partnerships.
She states that she is making a short trip to the capital and would love to stay in the hotel in exchange for advertising.
She added that she would share her 'experience' of the hotel on all of her social media platforms.
However, when asked by Paul if she would say anything on her Facebook and Instagram if the service was bad, for example, she said she would not.
