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Are all travel expenses a waste of money?

  • 30-12-2010 3:38pm
    #1
    SuperInfinity
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,449 ✭✭✭


    We're continually hearing ludicrous stories of how for example members of FAS were given hundreds of thousands of euro to go to holiday resorts in South America.... ostensibly so they could see how they ran things there so they could see if it would work back home. It's like an absurd joke, if someone came up with that in a novel about a world gone out of control they'd be directed to the nearest lunatic asylum.

    All international meetings can be done through video-conferencing. We have the technology for it, why not use it? There is literally no reason a person should be there, it's all just a big waste of time and money and they convince themselves it's worth it because they secretly love all this travelling to foreign places and feeling so important.

    Sure some things such as meetings of the Dail would be better to be conducted in reality. The expenses should come out of their own pockets. Then maybe they wouldn't be travelling halfway across the country every day driven by a chauffeur.

    Are all travel expenses a waste of money? 18 votes

    Yes, they should come out of the person's income.
    0% 0 votes
    No, some may be justifiably put on the taxpayer.
    11% 2 votes
    No, after some changes the system is fine fine.
    72% 13 votes
    No they are fine the way they are.
    16% 3 votes


Comments

  • #2
    stovelid
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,252 ✭✭✭✭stovelid


    SuperInfinity wrote: »
    The expenses should come out of their own pockets.

    Then elected representatives would have to have considerable independent means to conduct their duties which wouldn't be very democratic.

    It should seem easy - to me - to have stricter guidelines on expenses rather than wiping them out altogether.


  • #3
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,787 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    A collossal waste of time and money, IME. I can't stand travelling on business and seeing a fortune being wasted on crappy hotels and overpriced flights and lousy meals just so I can have a bunch of morons ignore me in person as opposed to over the internet. When I think of all I could do with the money they waste...


  • #4
    snubbleste
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 31,117 ✭✭✭✭snubbleste


    Write to the fellow who controls the purse strings:
    Minister of Finance
    Upper Merrion Street
    Dublin 2


  • #5
    ejmaztec
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,247 ✭✭✭✭ejmaztec


    snubbleste wrote: »
    Write to the fellow who controls the purse strings:
    Minister of Finance
    Upper Merrion Street
    Dublin 2

    They couldn't stop this twat:
    Haughey blew budget on entertaining
    By Caroline O’Doherty
    Thursday, December 30, 2010
    FORMER taoiseach Charles Haughey was spending more than double his official entertainment allowance on wining and dining visiting dignitaries within weeks of his infamous "living beyond our means" speech.


    Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/haughey-blew-budget-on-entertaining-140672.html#ixzz19buozeJl


  • #6
    Sam Vimes
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,611 ✭✭✭✭Sam Vimes


    Having worked in a job that required travelling I don't think it's acceptable to make people pay travel expenses out of their own money. For one thing it would have cost multiples of my salary. Making people pay to do their jobs isn't the answer but whenever I handed in an expense form it was gone through with a fine tooth comb. Everything had to have receipts and you couldn't go booking five star hotels with company money


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  • #7
    ilovesleep
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,619 ✭✭✭ilovesleep


    Travelling with my job (to dublin and the uk) was considered for me. It doesnt happen often. Havent been to the uk yet but it may be on the cards for the future. I would have to pay for everything out of my own pocket. And too happy I was too to do it.

    If politicians and tds and others recieving taxpayers money to travel for their job was told to pay for it from their own pockets there probably would not be any waste.


  • #8
    hsi
    Closed Accounts Posts: 132 ✭✭hsi


    What bollox started this Thread with a poll and an option "Yes, they should come out of the person's income. "

    If my employer asked me to travel but that I had to pay for it well I would tell him with to stick it.

    For god sack travel is part of doing business either privately or as part of goverment.

    What needs to be tackled is the abuse of expenses.


  • #9
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 24,713 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    There are plenty of areas of work where travelling to meetings and conferences etc is necessary. For instance in scientific research etc you have to attend conferences etc and especially for students this would not be possible if flights etc could not be covered by expenses.

    Just because some people took the p**s does not mean that expenses should be done away with for genuine reasons. Also video conferencing will never replace a proper meeting its alright in certain situations but cannot replace a face to face meeting.


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