Plans to help the Economy - posters suggestions.

TheRed said:
Spending public services too thinly across the whole country instead of concentrating on provided excellent services in areas where a critical mass exists is non-sensical.
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Do you propose then to unilaterally withdraw public services from people who already live in rural areas and have done so for decades?

TheRed said:
3. Built up tourist industry but providing CPOing a network of walking/cycling trails across mountains, along canals and rivers. Growing market.
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Would this be economic? Look at the cost of CPO-purchased land for road developments. If there was a market in this, the landowners would be doing it already.

TheRed said:
4. Heavily audit public and civil service, ideally by Comptroller and Auditor General
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Sorry, the C&AG have already been doing this for many years.

TheRed said:
Should offer voluntary redundancy to the mad, the bad and the sad.
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The public sector already offers exceptionally generous early retirement terms to employees who are sick or otherwise unable to work. Also, fwiw, given the amount of depression and suicide in this country, some people might find the use of terms such as "the mad, the bad and the sad" objectionable. I certainly do.
 
CSIRL: "Having 100,000s of people on welfare at a time when 10% of the workforce has to be imported makes no sense. People who are able to work should be working. There should be more back to work schemes and stricter application of seeking work rules with regard to welfare recipients. Those who refuse to re-enter the workforce should not get paid. Mandatory training courses should be provided to those with few skills."

This does not make sense. In 2007, the Live Register (i.e unemployed and part-time workers) was at 4.6%. In May 2008 it was 5.4%. This could be considered "full employment" (economicts vary this as between 2% and 7%), given that it would include those between jobs and those casually employed. The actual "unemployed" cnumbers were under 100k, not "100,000s". Unless you want to abolish "welfare" for those that are ill and on pensions?

How can "stricter application of seeking work" rules apply when there are no jobs out there? Would you have plumbers forced to take computer course in order to fulfil this strict criteria?


But I do like your "thinking outside the box". I would agree that mandatory training could play a role but shudder to think how this would work if FAS were put in charge of it! We must rememebr that Ireland is a welfare state" and that no politician will let anybody starev of the streets. That is why we have such schemes as Rent supplement (which enriches the landlords), Supplementary Welfare Allowance (which is basically paid to anybody who fails to qualify for the plethora of SW schemes. Is is why limiting the period of payment would not work either to 6 months or else....
 
Ban private healthcare. If the wealthier and more influencial people had to use the public system things would get sorted pretty quickly
 
csirl said:
According to recently published Green Paper on local government reform we have 114 local authorities in this country (29 County Councils......
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What/ have we taken back half of the 6 counties? When did this happen....
 
Welfarite said:
That is why we have such schemes as Rent supplement (which enriches the landlords),
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I perfer to think that LL's are providing a service.
I doubt very much you would want your boss saying to you, he or she enriches you by paying you what you are due.
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My own way to help our govt to balance it's books would be to put all of our politicians on an average industrial wage with no expenses.

That should save several million!
 
S.L.F said:
My own way to help our govt to balance it's books would be to put all of our politicians on an average industrial wage with no expenses.
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Of course when this was tried before, only either the very rich or the very corrupt or both could afford a career in politics.
 
S.L.F said:
My own way to help our govt to balance it's books would be to put all of our politicians on an average industrial wage with no expenses.
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There was a time when MP's in the House of Commons were not paid anything. This was done in order to keep the commoners out of the Commons.
 
1. Cut corporation tax to 9%.
2. Simplify/cut VAT, 0% for essentials & 15% on other goods and services.
3. Do a detailed appraisal of NDP/Transport 21, forget Metro and other silliness, borrow for essential infrastructure (ignoring EU limits).
4. Cut lower rate of income tax to 18% (maybe increase higher rate to 42% to balance). Cut employer PRSI and give corresponding wage increases (in line with inflation).
5. Charge stamp duty only on the aggregate difference in house prices and charge a tax on any residence that isn't a principal primary residence.
6. Scrap de-centralisation; Lay-off 10-25% of the public service (but with a decent redundancy package).
7. Cull the quangos/regulators.
8. Build 3 nuclear power stations.
9. Stop wasting taxpayers money on carbon credits.
10. Stop paying Early Childcare supplement for children not resident in this State.
11. Do not issue any more PPS numbers to non EU-15 workers until unemployment drops or until we have to in 2011.
12. Unemployment benefit should time-out after 6 months rather than the current 15 months.
13. Build a new Port north of Dublin.
14. Develop the vacated Dublin Port with high rise office space, conference facilities, Casino, hotels, other tourist facilities, extend LUAS - already serviced by Port Tunnel.
15. Offer free return flights (minimum 1 week) to Ireland for US tourists. Maybe offer to all 'claimed' tourists but charge the flight to their credit card if they fail to make the return flight.
16. There seems to be endless opportunities (other than public services, quangos, carbon credits) where the government could save money: too many advisers and PR people in the pay of the State; we're still paying to store Electronic Voting machines; the OPW is spending money like it's going out of fashion; It's time to end current Tribunals - we need a different, speedy and frugal method for future such investigations . . .
 

Micheal O Leary, Is that you?
 
Of course there is a large bunch of people who are getting paid to sit around for 2 or 3 months at tax payers expense.

Teachers.

If teachers were only paid when they work they that would save a lot of money too.
 
S.L.F said:
Of course there is a large bunch of people who are getting paid to sit around for 2 or 3 months at tax payers expense.

Teachers.

If teachers were only paid when they work they that would save a lot of money too.
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Cheap shot SLF, whats your excuse. Get a life will ya. Should not dignify that with a responce.
 
S.L.F said:
Of course there is a large bunch of people who are getting paid to sit around for 2 or 3 months at tax payers expense.

Teachers.

If teachers were only paid when they work they that would save a lot of money too.
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Indeed. But we would then end up in the same position as in New York (and possibly other US cities) where teaching in publicly-funded schools is on a par career-wise with working in McDonalds, and where competent and experienced teachers have no incentive to work there. Instead they teach in privately-funded schools. If you can afford to pay for private education you're grand. If not, then your kids won't get a decent education in the public sector schools.
 
television said:
Cheap shot SLF, whats your excuse. Get a life will ya. Should not dignify that with a responce.
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Sorry tv only messing!

I have tremendous respect for our teachers.
I think they do a great job and don't get paid enough for their time nor experience
I don't believe our govt puts enough money into education
 
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4. Cut lower rate of income tax to 18% (maybe increase higher rate to 42% to balance). Cut employer PRSI and give corresponding wage increases (in line with inflation).
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michaelm, a lot of good ideas.

But I would question no. 4 above.

Would it not be better to cut the higher rate of tax to give people more of an incentive to improve their employment?

Personally, I dont agree with tax bands. Think it should be a straight percentage of income across the board on all income. I believe that the tax rate in Ireland would be somewhere in the mid teens if it were a straight percentage without exemptions. Just think of the stimulus the economy would get if at the next Budget it was announced that tax would be flat rate 15% on all income - would really incentives people to work.
 
I did put 'maybe . . . to balance' in there, it was more a cosmetic 'social justice' thing. I wouldn't have a problem with replacing tax bands with a flat rate however I would want to see a tax credit per child, to support families.
 
I agree, but this won't happen unless we are truly in dire straits.
 
Rather than talking about what should happen and I agree with many postings, what do people think actually will happen as economy worsens, I think that if the euro continues at these levels there will be big pressure on the government to pull out of the euro, i think events are now going to dictate policy and not politicians, the politicians let things go too far when they had the power to change course but now it is out of their hands
 
what do people think actually will happen as economy worsens
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The government will pander to the unions and increase taxes to pay for it. There will also be massive cut backs.
 
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