Brian Cowan and Wage Restraint

[RainyDay]

BTW Dick Spring resigned from the Dail, he did not seek re-election, to best of my knowledge.

Wrong again - From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Spring "He remained a TD, until he lost his seat in the general election of 2002 to the Sinn Féin candidate, Martin Ferris."

Just because you disagree with my post you do not need to be condescending about it.
Did I say that they never lose their seats ? No.
I said they never get fired for complete incompetence.
Has anybodys ass been kicked for PPARS, either at ministerial level or civil servant level ?
That project would have been axed at a much earlier stage if it was been undertaken within a private sector organisation. Also some people would have gotten their asses kicked or at least their career prospects would be seriously halted in limbo.
But in the public service nothing happens, sure the fuss will die down in a few months and it's only the taxpayers money anyway.

It is one of the great oft-repeated myths that 'nothing like this ever happens in the private sector'. Private sector companies go bust every day. Who got fired when Goodman Industries lost £500m within a year? Who got fired when AIB nearly went bust over ICI until the taxpayer bailed them out? Who got fired when AIB allowed Ruznak to lose millions of shareholder funds?

I personally have seen multi-million projects quietly get shelved after a year or two and the guilty parties getting promoted or moved sideways. It happens all the time.

The reasons why politicians lose their seats is irrelevant. Indeed, it shows what a risky business politics is when you realise that a politican might do a fabulous job as a minister and still lose his seat if the country moves against his party.

I'm not looking for sympathy for politicians. I'm just challenging the myths that it is a cushy life. You wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy.

 

[jmayo]

Wrong again - From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Spring "He remained a TD, until he lost his seat in the general election of 2002 to the Sinn Féin candidate, Martin Ferris."

It is one of the great oft-repeated myths that 'nothing like this ever happens in the private sector'. Private sector companies go bust every day. Who got fired when Goodman Industries lost £500m within a year? Who got fired when AIB nearly went bust over ICI until the taxpayer bailed them out? Who got fired when AIB allowed Ruznak to lose millions of shareholder funds?

I personally have seen multi-million projects quietly get shelved after a year or two and the guilty parties getting promoted or moved sideways. It happens all the time.

The reasons why politicians lose their seats is irrelevant. Indeed, it shows what a risky business politics is when you realise that a politican might do a fabulous job as a minister and still lose his seat if the country moves against his party.

I'm not looking for sympathy for politicians. I'm just challenging the myths that it is a cushy life. You wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy.

Sorry, Dick Spring was not going to stand for electioon in 2002 but was convinced to do so to try and save the labour seat.

Regarding AIB I thought Ruznak got fired?
Alright he was guilty of fraud.

I think you inadvertently made one of my points.
Yes, multi million projects in private sector get shelved quietly after a year or two, NOT 5, 6 or 7 years.
And a few million is not 150 odd million.

There are lots of organisations, particularly the larger ones that have blown serious amounts of money through incompetence and glaring mistakes and you do find that some managers manage to shovel the cr** onto some other poor sod, so that they do not carry the can.
These would be the ar**lickers as I affectionately call them.

I have known where decisions have been made to implement a particular system, the project is not delivering or there are two many problems and it is shelved. At that stage maybe a million may have been spent but someone decides to cut the losses and run.
Regarding PPARS this particular coarse of action was taken after how many years?

 

[Green]

What's your point?
Would our system be better if no one participated?

Read my posts and you'll see what my point is! Of course, there would be no system is no one participated. The point is that we have been systematicaly failed by many politicians over the years who have not acted in the public interest but in their own and those who have paid them. The current system does not hold Ministers to account over bad decisions or incompetence. Ministers rarely get fired when things aren't done or are done badly. The people who vote them in do so on local issues.

 

[Sunny]

The people who vote them in do so on local issues.

At least they are voted in. As for the Seanad elections, what a complete farce! It is the biggest example of 'you scratch my back and I will scratch yours' and no-body seems to bat an eyelid. You even had labour and Sinn Fein doing a voting pact for Gods sake

 

[Green]

At least they are voted in. As for the Seanad elections, what a complete farce! It is the biggest example of 'you scratch my back and I will scratch yours' and no-body seems to bat an eyelid. You even had labour and Sinn Fein doing a voting pact for Gods sake

I agree, esp re Sinn Fein and Labour

 

[Purple]

You even had labour and Sinn Fein doing a voting pact for Gods sake

I know! I didn't see the Irish Times pointing out the blatant hypocrisy of that. I didn't think Pat would ever get back into that bed.