What big mistakes did the government make

[taipeir]

Economy

I think its time to I tried to balance things up a little about our true "tax take" and also casting the blame on the "Bloated Monster" and "Overpaid Public Service" once again. I admit that the figures are prior to the bubble bursting but they are very acurate and very worthwhile pointing out.

Ireland's total tax take (29.3% of GPD) is well below the european average(39.3%) and according to figures publised by Eurostat in June 2010 we have the lowest tax take in the entire EU.

Between 1988 and 2007 total employment in Ireland grew from 1,110,700 people to 2,138,900. In 1988 the public service made up 24.3% of total employment. In 2007 the public service made up only 18.4% of total employment. Public Service numbers grew from 270,000 in 1988 to 368,000 in 2007. So over the 20 years, the public service grew by roughly 100,000 employees or 5,000 per year.

Education (which includes primary, seondary, third level, VEC's and IT's) makes up 30% of the public service employment, Health with 33%, Civil Service 10%, Gardai & Defence forces 8% and regional bodies such as Local Authorities 12%.

In 2006 the OECD reported that public sector spending had grown faster that any other OECD country apart from South Kores between 2000 and 2005. Ireland ranked 10th in the EU in public expenditure per head but when compared to GPD we were 25th of all 27 EU countries. The OECD stated that the public sector workforce in Ireland is a major employer but is relatively low by OECD standards and very low compared to Norway, Sweden, France, Finland and Belgium. The majority of growth in public sector employment was in health and education and this would be directly linked to the increase in our population and our ageing society. They also said that public sector growth had not kept up with population growth.

State Agencies (some visable and some not so, ie; appear to the general public to be offices of Departments but in theory are agencies) grew from roughly 150 in the 1980's to over 350 in 2008. The primary function of the majority of these agencies was and still is to deliver services to the public by specialist staff, services that simply could not be provided by civil servants. Some regulate certain industries (comreg, financial reg, taxi reg) and some provide an oversight and accountability system of the public service for the public (ombudsmans offices).

We, the public demand the best services, we demand the best education system with low pupil-teacher ratios for our children, we demand little or no waiting around in hospitals, we demand passports to be made available the day after we post them. We deserve the best possible service and this should be the standard from every sector of the public service. Our Public service should be as efficient as possible but in order to have all of the above it must be funded properly and managed correctly with any waste being stopped and any staffing issues immediatly resolved.


(all approx figures)


Garret Fitzgerald wrote a very good article in the Irish Times here QUOTE]

We don't have a significant defense force which skews figures. Key points are the high salaries of public sector and the low tax regime for a 'developed' economy. Countries in Asia has regimes with even lower taxation (although they still tax minimum wage workers unlike Ireland) but they don't pay their govt workers so much!

 

[Chris]

We, the public demand the best services, we demand the best education system with low pupil-teacher ratios for our children, we demand little or no waiting around in hospitals, we demand passports to be made available the day after we post them. We deserve the best possible service and this should be the standard from every sector of the public service. Our Public service should be as efficient as possible but in order to have all of the above it must be funded properly and managed correctly with any waste being stopped and any staffing issues immediatly resolved.

Yes we all want good services, but the biggest problem is the wastage of resources and provision of totally unnecessary services. This is where you make the savings, not by cutting the pay of the most essential public employees like guards, nurses, teachers.

But we all know that Ireland's GDP figures are distorted by the sales output of the foreign multinational sector. As a result, statistics based on those distorted figures are flawed.

Do the same exercise using the more meaningful GNP figures and you will arrive at a totally different result.

You beat me to it. I haven't got the figures for Europe, but it would be interesting if someone could show the stats for taxation/GNP and Budget/GNP.

 

[csirl]

The big mistake they made is contesting the 2007 election. They should have all done a runner into the sunset with their large pensions

 

[RonanC]

I'll throw up something I feel the Government got wrong big time.

The M50 upgrades were essential but adding a third lane was a complete waste of money and is hardly ever used.

The total cost was roughly €1bn and involved adding a third lane to the 34km stretch of motorway and in some parts a 4th seperate lane for motorists wishing to enter at one junction and exit at the next without needing to use the main motorway itself. 10 junctions along the way were also upgraded which was vital especially at the N7, N4 and N3 junctions and the removal of the toll bridge.

However, from driving the M50 everyday I notice the amount of motorists and alot of them who would be deemed as professionals (truckers etc) ignorantly sitting in the middle lane (lane 2) with the outside lane (lane 1 or the new lane) completely empty.

The upgrades to the junctions to allow them be free flowing and the removal of the toll bridge would have been enough. There was no need at all to add a third lane and this to me is a total waste of taxpayers money.

 

[Complainer]

The €35 billion mistake was including Anglo in the unlimited guarantee.

The bankers either lied to the Govt or were grossly incompetent on that night. The Govt and their advisers in Dept Finance and Central Bank were grossly incompetent.

They could have either put a limited guarantee in place for Anglo, or excluded them completely. To write a blank cheque was sheer madness, and naturally has led to conspiracy theories as to the reasons for including them in the guarantee.

 

[mudahawn]

In 2009 a man who is paid almost quarter of a million Euro per annum, has free world travel including access to a private jet, has a free limousine and two drivers, has huge tax free expenses, and has special income tax allowances;; reduced the allowance paid to disabled people by 7 Euro per week.
Republic of Ireland, we have the government, I wish we had the climate.