What is the most powerful vested interest group in Ireland?

trapsagenius

We all know that back in the "good" (by good i mean bad) old days it was the catholic church.But who, in your opinions is it today?I can't really think of one off the top of my head (but if i had to but money on it I'd say the bankers,given the amount of murder they've gotten away with).Anyway what do you think?

anymore

The problem is that there are links between so many of the vested groups. It is like a set of russian dolls. And who knows how many politicians or top ranking civil servants are members of secretive organisations such as The Knights of Columbanus and Opus Dei and how far can they and do they influence Government decisions ?

FlutterinBantam

Medical profession without a doubt, followed closely by the Legal profession.

trapsagenius

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Medical profession without a doubt, followed closely by the Legal profession.

Interesting, never eally thought about them.Why do you say that exactly?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Have to go with the tabloids. So many gullible people out there.

irishh_bob

the public sector of course , close to a million votes if you include relatives of people who work for the state , so important that no one dare sugest fireing thirty of forty thousand of em

greendom

Have to agree with it being the bankers - allowed to destroy their industry and bring the irish economy to a grinding halt - and yet they are bailed out and allowed to continue, without reform, free to mess up again whenever they choose

trapsagenius

irishh_bob wrote: »

the public sector of course , close to a million votes if you include relatives of people who work for the state , so important that no one dare sugest fireing thirty of forty thousand of em

Yeah, I would have agreed to you if you had said that before the last budget but it seems they finally got (part of) what was coming to them!:)

irishh_bob

trapsagenius wrote: »

Yeah, I would have agreed to you if you had said that before the last budget but it seems they finally got (part of) what was coming to them!:)

despite all the whingeing and moaning , they got off relativley lightly and are still significantly better paid than those in the private sector, on average a couple of thousand people loose thier jobs in the private sector loose thier jobs each week this past year yet it rarely makes the news , cut public servants pay by single figure percentages and several shows a day on tv and radio are dedicated to it , thats power

dvpower

The rich.

ei.sdraob

Trade unions and their vested interest of destroying the country for the sake of their members, tho ironically by destroying the country they also screw their members

Green Gooner

I would say the Green Party with all their global warming mumbo jumbo. They appear to be made up of snobby middle class who dont give a damn about the less well off in our society.

Think out it for a second, some of the things they have introduced or proposed ie plastic bag levy, possible water charges, new light bulbs... all costs extra money which some families simply cant afford.

trapsagenius

Green Gooner wrote: »

I would say the Green Party with all their global warming mumbo jumbo. They appear to be made up of snobby middle class who dont give a damn about the less well off in our society.

Think out it for a second, some of the things they have introduced or proposed ie plastic bag levy, possible water charges, new light bulbs... all costs extra money which some families simply cant afford.

Given that they're a political party would they really qualify as a "vested interest" group?

zagmund

The military-industrial complex.

Oh, wait . . . Ireland . . . scratch that last one.

z

Green Gooner

trapsagenius wrote: »

Given that they're a political party would they really qualify as a "vested interest" group?

Fair enough, but do you get the point which I was trying to make re no giving a toss about the less well off?

ei.sdraob

on further thinking the trade unions are definitely the most powerful vested interests group


think about it


who else can:
* bring airports to standstill
* withdraw law enforcement services
* stop kids from being educated
* prevent people from being treated
* give the government further holidays
* stop electricity, turf and gas supplies
* stop collecting taxes
* stop cleaning streets, collecting rubbish, fixing potholes


even the bankers are not that powerful

bijapos

CIF have had a major influence on government thinking that has led to disastrous policies.

IBEC are as bad, only interested in the profits of their members to the detriment of everyone else.

ei.sdraob

let me fix that for you

bijapos wrote: »

IBEC IMPACT are as bad, only interested in the profits of their members to the detriment of everyone else.

see i can play that game too

trapsagenius

Green Gooner wrote: »

Fair enough, but do you get the point which I was trying to make re no giving a toss about the less well off?

Of course.I think we can all agree the Greens are a joke.

Green Gooner

trapsagenius wrote: »

Of course.I think we can all agree the Greens are a joke.

Thank You

irishh_bob

bijapos wrote: »

CIF have had a major influence on government thinking that has led to disastrous policies.

IBEC are as bad, only interested in the profits of their members to the detriment of everyone else.

whenever you wish to speak in terms of greed nowadays in this country , simply insert the term IBEC and you,ve made your point , im convinced half the people who use it havent got a clue what it even stands for

kev9100

Until they relinquish their control of education. it's still the Catholic Church.

Red_Marauder

I think the media are probably the most powerful vested interest group in the country, particularly the red tops. They hold a lot of influence over how voters perceive the Government and that gets right to the very core of how this country - and the Government - operates.

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Medical profession without a doubt,

Really? Why?

theghost

irishh_bob wrote: »

the public sector of course , close to a million votes if you include relatives of people who work for the state , so important that no one dare sugest fireing thirty of forty thousand of em

That's close to a million votes that won't be going to FF or the Greens in the next election then. The pay cuts won't be forgotten

Red_Marauder

theghost wrote: »

That's close to a million votes that won't be going to FF or the Greens in the next election then. The pay cuts won't be forgotten

No way, nothing close to that figure.
A lot of people are arguing, in fact, that the reason for the government's recover in the latest opinion poll is how popular the public services cuts were with the elctorate. I think standing up to public servants would be a very wise move by FF.

ei.sdraob

theghost wrote: »

That's close to a million votes that won't be going to FF or the Greens in the next election then. The pay cuts won't be forgotten

great

tho it seems FF popularity has risen by few notches recently

Firetrap

The Banks/IBEC

Spiritoftheseventies

Public sector unions.

Sleepy

"Friends" of Fianna Fail

Spiritoftheseventies

theghost wrote: »

That's close to a million votes that won't be going to FF or the Greens in the next election then. The pay cuts won't be forgotten

yeah but it becomes Labour and Fg's problem then. End of the day if the money isnt there it isnt there. Not the pay cuts that is the problem but the size of the work force. Over staffed seems to be the operative word when it comes to the public sector.

Barname

The old

DrumSteve

The EU.

gent9662

GAA

Japer

Red_Marauder wrote: »

No way, nothing close to that figure.
A lot of people are arguing, in fact, that the reason for the government's recover in the latest opinion poll is how popular the public services cuts were with the elctorate. I think standing up to public servants would be a very wise move by FF.

+1 The public service is the most powerful vested interest group in Ireland. They have the power to - and have done in the past - cut off the countries infrastructure, esb, schools, hospitals, etc. Generally their members enjoy better pay , pensions, holidays, sick leave, shorter hours, more job security, less stress etc compared to those outside that vested interest group who have no option but to pay for those services. Members of that vested interest group ( eg politicians , central bank, regulator etc ) can do appalling damage to Ireland and get away with it, and still get bbiiiigg pensions. Lower down the ladder teachers etc are virtually unsackable no matter how bad they are.

mickeyrooo

anymore wrote: »

The problem is that there are links between so many of the vested groups. It is like a set of russian dolls. And who knows how many politicians or top ranking civil servants are members of secretive organisations such as The Knights of Columbanus and Opus Dei and how far can they and do they influence Government decisions ?

The Knights of St Columbanus...influence Government decisions???
Are you serious? My da has been with them for years...hes not a wizard conjuring divils to do his bidding in the FF tent at the races.
What do you know about these mystical all powerful Knights that I don't?

K-9

Probably the banks now.

Would have said CIF, but that's gone now, no use to the Govt. RGDATA was a massive one, not as powerful as it used to be, same with the publicans.

The IMO is still big, same as the law and Accountancy professions, though pharmacists have been tackled.

Unions have been tackled and probably beat so far, but if more pay cuts are in line, they could topple the Govt. Everybody has a line.

T "real deal" J

Fianna Fails donors

Stroke Politics

The banks and IBEC are running the country now, lads.

As a single profession, the publicans are probably the ones who hold the most sway in the corridors of power. Only in Ireland would a government decide to cut the number of Special Needs Assistants at primary school level, so that the price of alcohol can be reduced. Put the needs of a high-profit-margin legal drug sellers ahead of vulnerable children? You need to have some power to do that......

TheWestsAwake

The Axis of Evil :mad:

Fianna Fail-RTE-Irish Independent

Biggins

trapsagenius wrote: »

We all know that back in the "good" (by good i mean bad) old days it was the catholic church.But who, in your opinions is it today?

RGData And the VFA (Vinters Federation Association)

allisbleak

mickeyrooo wrote: »

The Knights of St Columbanus...influence Government decisions???
Are you serious? My da has been with them for years...hes not a wizard conjuring divils to do his bidding in the FF tent at the races.
What do you know about these mystical all powerful Knights that I don't?

Prominent members

• Oliver J. Flanagan, KSG, Irish Fine Gael TD and former sometime Minister of Defence. His brother in law, Charles Benedict McDonald, KCSG, became Supreme Knight
• Feargal Quinn, KSG, three term member of Seanad Éireann, the upper House of Parliament of Ireland of Ireland

Mr. Oliver J. Flanagan asked the Taoiseach if he has seen reports in the press to the effect that on his direction no member of the Government could be a member of Opus Dei or the Knights of St. Columbanus: and if he will state if this is so.

Dáil Éireann 27 Sept 1995 Declan Bree T.D :
".. the Knights of Columbanus, a patriarchal, sectarian, secretive and fundamentalist network of influential men who have exerted power and influence in all sectors of society. While some people might be under the impression that the Knights of Columbanus is a type of charitable organisation, this is not the case. ... Despite the fact that they wish to remain in the background where they can manipulate and influence the agenda in a subtle and simple manner..."


Dáil Éireann 11 June 2009 Ruairi Quinn T.D :
(Addressing Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe) “...either officials in your department are members of secret societies such as the Knights of Columbanus and Opus Dei and they have taken it upon themselves to protect the interests of the clerical orders” or “you are politically incompetent and incapable of managing the department of education”.


I think this speaks for itself

SeanW

In a general descending order, higher = more influence and causes more damage.

1. Developers
2. Bankers
3. Publicans
4. Trade Unions
5. Gaelgoers, the RSA and other regulation freaks.

Red_Marauder

allisbleak wrote: »

Prominent members

• Oliver J. Flanagan, KSG, Irish Fine Gael TD...His brother in law, Charles Benedict McDonald,
• Feargal Quinn, KSG,

You think they are prominent? Is that some sort of joke? One TD, his brother in law, and a Supermarket King? Come on.

You also just ripped most of your incredibly non-damning post from wikipedia, which does tend to devalue the whole thing further...

imitation

At first the unions jumped to mind, mainly the PS ones at the minute, but when I think of the term vested interest I think of an interest in something that is not apparent. This doesn't really hold true for the unions, they follow a pretty simple rule, they are out for what they can get for there workers.

When I hear vested interest I think of stuff like Declan Ganley, who could be considered anti EU in his attitude, and the rumors that he could be financed by american interests. Its a bit tinfoil hat, but I think if its obvious whats going on its not really a vest interest.

changes

Certainly not anyone under the age of 45 anyway.

Mainly the monied people between the ages of 50 and 80 are on the minds of the government constantly IMO, doesn't really matter if they are bankers, property developers, landlords, senior civil servants etc.

So long as they are of the monied classes they have great influence over this government.

Red_Marauder

changes wrote: »

Certainly not anyone under the age of 45 anyway.

Mainly the monied people between the ages of 50 and 80 are on the minds of the government constantly IMO, doesn't really matter if they are bankers, property developers, landlords, senior civil servants etc.

So long as they are of the monied classes they have great influence over this government.

It's nothing to do with being in a 'monied' class.

These are the people most likely to get out and vote.

The Government doesn't listen to the grey population because of the amount of money they stuff into their mattresses, they listen to them because they are actually afraid of the repercussions.

trapsagenius

TheWestsAwake wrote: »

The Axis of Evil :mad:

Fianna Fail-RTE-Irish Independent

Please tell me that's a joke!