Joan, Mick and the 20-minute hairdo

You have to love Mick Wallace. The Wexford TD is never in bad form, although this week, with receivers appointed to a number of his businesses, he had every reason not to smile.

We were loitering with intent outside Leinster House on Tuesday, shooting the breeze with Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton when Mick, a vision in pink, bustled past. Then he stopped in his tracks and made a beeline for Joan.

“We share the same hairdresser,” he announced to the Minister.

“I know,” said the immaculately coiffed Joan to the man some backbench TDs call Hairy Wallace.

“It only takes him 20 minutes to do me,” said Mick to Joan.

That long?

And then he barrelled off with his mad blond hair, which sets off his red chilli-pepper earring a treat.

Joan told us they both frequent a salon called Zoo. “I’ve been going there for years, since I was lecturing in DIT. Mick goes to the same guy as me.”

Then she told us the salon recently changed its name to Mange. Mange? Had we misheard? It seems we had.

“No, it’s called Mane,” Joan corrected us.

Looking at Mick, though, you could see how a person could be confused.