5 Reasons why the government should accept Skoda's offer of "Superbs" as State Cars

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ajapale

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5 Reasons why the government should accept Skoda's offer of "Superbs" as State Cars.

#1 They are not German. (ok they are owned by VW ..but you get my drift)
#2 They are not French.
#3 They are not English.
#4 We woulnt have to hear Bill Cullen banging on about it for the next four years.
#5 Skodas are best suited for rough roads in the West of Ireland (need to factory fit them with the rough road suspension).
 
Full page ad in the Indo.

Open letter to the new Govt.

"If you want to save 500k on ministerial transport, then consider the Skoda Superb"

To prove it, they offered 5 Superbs for a 3-month trial, no obligation.
 
What exactly is the 500K spend on. It's not just the cost of the cars, does that include the cost of a driver.
 
Bronte said:
What exactly is the 500K spend on. It's not just the cost of the cars, does that include the cost of a driver.
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They only replace the mercs every 3-4 years, so I'd imagine that most of the cost is on having a corp of garda drivers available 24/7.
 
Do other countries with an economy of our size pay for cars and police drivers for their ministers? I can understand for the Taoishaige but why do they all need a driver all the time? Can they not drive themselves like normal people?
 
The cost of the cars isn't realy the main issue. And this was an incredibly effective stunt by Skoda, sure aren't we here talking about it.

The cars are only replaced every few years and since the State wouldn't pay VRT on their own cars, it's not that high a bill in the scheme of things.

Main cost are the garda drivers. Full time, well paid, pensions due and always available.

I think the Minister of Justice needs a car and full time garda driver, they carry around DPP files and now Defence documents.
Not sure about the others though
 
In the past, Ministers have used the excuse that they need a driver because they usually work while travelling - ringing people on mobile, reading documents, making notes etc.
 
The proposed car pooling arrangement should take care of any excess and, if worked properly, will act as a means of allowing a minister work more effectively without being regarded as a perk it has been.

I'm all for moderation, but some reasonable standards need to apply. I think going to the Aras in a bus was a step too far in austerity. (Could they not have gone two or three to a car?)

Anyway, some people won't be happy until Ministers are obliged to travel by bus.
 
Staples said:
I'm all for moderation, but some reasonable standards need to apply. I think going to the Aras in a bus was a step too far in austerity. (Could they not have gone two or three to a car?)
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Or have the President come to Leinster House ?
 
how much "financial assistance" will be given and who will be hired i.e friends and family? Will this just end up costing more as the garda drivers will not lose their jobs and so will now be paying them and the new drivers?
 
Staples said:
Anyway, some people won't be happy until Ministers are obliged to travel by bus.
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What's wrong with travelling by bus, doesn't it make better sense if you live in Dublin for travelling to work? Aren't their dedicated bus lanes and you have no parking problems? Didn't the green minister go by bicycle.

I see Chris Patten the ex governor of Hong Kong will be travelling by tube and sees no reason to burden the tax payer with a limosine and driver for his new job with the BBC. Very admirable.
 
fobs said:
how much "financial assistance" will be given and who will be hired i.e friends and family? Will this just end up costing more as the garda drivers will not lose their jobs and so will now be paying them and the new drivers?
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It may cost more money, but I would rather the Gardai to be focused on crime than act as glorified taxi drivers.
 
Bronte said:
What's wrong with travelling by bus, doesn't it make better sense if you live in Dublin for travelling to work? Aren't their dedicated bus lanes and you have no parking problems? Didn't the green minister go by bicycle.
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Public transport is fine for the daily commute. I'd be delighted to see Ministers do this as they's get a fairly acute appreciation of the constraints facing most workers.

However, whatever you might think about government ministers, their time is valuable and they have a lot of engagements to potentially perform. While I don't think a full time car/driver is justified, neither do I believe that ministers should have to rely on buses as their primary source of transport just to pacify "Outraged in Clontarf".

And as for the green ministers cycling, a lot of this was for the sake of optics on the way to public appointments. They were very often followed by their state car in which they took a lift back.
 
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