Councils wasting Money

Hal Emmerich

Year in, Year out, no matter where you drive at this time of year their are Roadworks being carried out in an effort to get rid of the last few alloted €s before the New Year so as to get the maximum possible budget next year.

How is this carry on let continue???

number10a

It's sickening. Pointless footpaths. Traffic lights being replaced with roundabouts, or vice versa. Hard shoulders on roads barely wide enough to drive down - for example this being one of many such roads I discovered in Kerry over the summer. Cycle lanes that run through lamposts and trees. The list could go on forever.

And then the road next to whatever pointless project they're undertaking is riddled with potholes that are filled in with a shovel of tarmac every couple of weeks.

Dannyboy83

LOL, was just thinking to myself the other day in traffic that we were inundated with road works all of a sudden, after an almost complete absence during the year.
Then the penny dropped.

Not surprised in the least. Welcome to Ireland.

ardmacha

Hard shoulders on roads barely wide enough to drive down - for example this being one of many such roads I discovered in Kerry over the summer.

This road doesn't have a hard shoulder.

The problem here is perverse budgeting strategies that require money to be spent by a certain date. This should not exist for things like roadworks that have useful life beyond the budgeting period. If the present government is to have any credibility this has to stop.

tenchi-fan

number10a wrote: »

It's sickening. Pointless footpaths. Traffic lights being replaced with roundabouts, or vice versa. Hard shoulders on roads barely wide enough to drive down - for example this being one of many such roads I discovered in Kerry over the summer. Cycle lanes that run through lamposts and trees. The list could go on forever.

And then the road next to whatever pointless project they're undertaking is riddled with potholes that are filled in with a shovel of tarmac every couple of weeks.

The Dundalk council painted a large footpath along a bridge red and green in recognition of a local gaelic team. seriously!

They also dug up the Town Square and put down new bricks.. not sure what was wrong with the old ones. The contract supposedly wasn't tendered and went to a construction company owned by a friend of one of the councillors... which was the first time in the history of the town a large contract didn't go to Northern contractors.
Confusingly, the dark-gray/light-gray brick patterns are laid out across the road.. it's unclear if they're meant to be pedestrian crossings but I'm sure they'll put traffic lights either side of them if they are.

Finally, plenty of traffic calming measures.. particularly large traffic islands in the middle of wide rows... which have the unfortunate side-effect of being death traps for cyclists. AFAIK one cyclist was killed after a collision with a lorry on this traffic-calming measure located right where a broken-line (i.e. optional) cycle lane begins: http://maps.google.ie/maps?q=dublin+road,+dundalk&hl=en&ll=53.987048,-6.397425&spn=0.000967,0.002411&safe=off&hnear=Dublin+Rd,+Dundalk,+County+Louth&t=m&z=19&vpsrc=0&layer=c&cbll=53.986953,-6.39735&panoid=Vn3Xf3NEEvQTjFno2KVF7Q&cbp=12,342.13,,1,9.41

But here's the one that usually gets me: http://maps.google.ie/maps?q=ecco+road,+dundalk&hl=en&ll=54.003279,-6.414385&spn=0.00005,0.038581&sll=53.975474,-6.339111&sspn=1.967508,4.938354&vpsrc=6&hq=ecco+road,+dundalk&t=m&z=15&layer=c&cbll=54.003392,-6.41436&panoid=GoIWrtdWccCS4Yctjipsiw&cbp=12,162.91,,1,7.31 :mad: Several times cars overtake on the right-hand side of it even though it's right before a junction! Others just try to nip in in front of cyclists.

Dundalk town council, keeping drivers on their toes: http://maps.google.ie/maps?q=mill+road,+dundalk&hl=en&ll=54.018146,-6.430457&spn=0.007678,0.01929&sll=54.00338,-6.414342&sspn=0.015462,0.038581&vpsrc=0&hnear=Mill+Rd,+Dundalk,+County+Louth&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=54.018261,-6.430533&panoid=Nf-SlyY6dhGjh-8fvSrsAA&cbp=12,334.22,,1,10.46

skafish

As part of the madening wastes of money....

I know a small town in west Cork where the council are renting:
1. the local library
2. local council offices

At the same time, the health board and SW are renting a further 5 properties around the town. 2 of which ( acouncelling servics and the CW office) are actually only ocupied for a few hours per week.

Meantime the council have abandoned the old secondry school they took over a number of years ago, and are now spending a fortune to secure it to keep cider parties out, and repair vandalism.

MADNESS

and now they want us to pay more taxes?:mad::mad:

gurramok

I wouldn't say the resurfacing of all the main routes in Dublin is a waste of money, should of been done years ago considering its supposed to be a capital city. I welcome the good roadworks, only hope service providers(UPC/Gas/ESB) won't dig the roads up again!

ericsinjun

The N17 is being resurfaced just now in several spots multiplying the pain in the ass it usually is. Nice to be getting a bit of new asphalt i suppose, but........
A gas main is being brought into Tuam in February/March and the route of the main is, yes you've guessed, right up the middle of the resurfaced road!!!!
At least they've got their budget blown for the year.

Itsdacraic

In past few months in Limerick I have seen the council do the following

- a 100m stretch of footpath to nowhere.
- re-pointing and jointing an old bridge
- Replacing about 25m of metal railings on either side of a bridge (despite there being nothing wrong with the old ones). Job took 3 weeks.
- massive resurfacing on a stretch of road which was pretty much fine.

Jocelynel

hubby came home this evening with lovely council 2012 calendars...great print quality...such a good use of tax payers money don't ya think

Gumbo

Jocelynel wrote: »

hubby came home this evening with lovely council 2012 calendars...great print quality...such a good use of tax payers money don't ya think

my apolagies, sorry for jumping down your troath.

Jocelynel

kceire wrote: »

Your a 100% liar

Edit - i'll apolagise and retract my statement if you post a picture of said calender.

I presume you are joking, but just in case...as a newbie don't want to be starting off on a wrong foot with you....

the calendar's are printed by www.DesignPrintworks.ie if you don't believe me?!

Green Calendar - Title
Environment Division Anti-Litter Calendar

and the Wine Calendar - Title
Environment Division Anti-Graffiti Calendar

Gumbo

Jocelynel wrote: »

I presume you are joking, but just in case...as a newbie don't want to be starting off on a wrong foot with you....

the calendar's are printed by www.DesignPrintworks.ie if you don't believe me?!

Green Calendar - Title
Environment Division Anti-Litter Calendar

and the Wine Calendar - Title
Environment Division Anti-Graffiti Calendar

good way to promote your company
Judging by the printers location, it was Fingal County Council that your hubby works in?

as i said, post a picture..............

Also, considering a council is a big employer and company to deal with, very strange that no council is listed in their client list?

michael999999

The council in Listowel had a contractor re piont the bridge, upgrade the drainage off it, and replace the lightposts. They spent 6-7 weeks doing it with all the traffic on contra flow for the duration.

The work was finished and signed off and paid for in mid September. Only one small snag, the new lamps still dont work 3 months later!

Jocelynel

kceire wrote: »

good way to promote your company haha
Judging by the printers location, it was Fingal County Council that your hubby works in? i wish

as i said, post a picture..............i'm trying.....

Also, considering a council is a big employer and company to deal with, very strange that no council is listed in their client list?

very strange indeed!

Gumbo

Jocelynel wrote: »

very strange indeed!

so, you gona post a picture of this calender?

fred funk }{

Was there not a few million set a side for the resurfacing of roads last year because of the snow?

Jocelynel

kceire wrote: »

so, you gona post a picture of this calender?

hope this works..what do you think. complete waste of money...everyone has a calendar on their phone or computer, or if you need a hard copy the council website should have one that staff can print off on an A4 sheet of paper. DSCF1458[1].JPG

tails_naf

kceire wrote: »

so, you gona post a picture of this calender?

Well kceire, I think an apology is warranted, after your overly aggressive and dismissive attitude towards the poster. Standard tactic from you is FUD, well it's well and truly backfired from you now.

And on topic - I posted on this a few weeks ago regarding cork county council. they have been trying to spend the budget since late september - and I know this first hand.

It's amazing that some simple auditing of the budget spends could easily reveal this end of year crazy spending and punish (i.e. fire) those responsible for the willful waste of money. The attitude and system where 'if you don't spend it you won't get it next year' is costing this country at the very least 10-20% of these budgets - and that is conservative based on the number of months before the end of year the panic spending hits high gear.

I know this used to be the case in the private sector years ago too, but by and large most big companies have totally reformed the budget process for departments. I know for our company there is absolutely no spending to protect next years budget.

Gumbo

Jocelynel wrote: »

hope this works..what do you think. complete waste of money...everyone has a calendar on their phone or computer, or if you need a hard copy the council website should have one that staff can print off on an A4 sheet of paper. DSCF1458[1].JPG

yep, complete waste of money! ive apolagised in my original thread.
Is this calender for staff only or is it available to the public ?

Dublin City Council do not issue anything like this to their staff, so thats why i was hesitant to believe it.

Although, its not simply a staff calender, its promoting Anti litter and anti graffiti, so i suppose it serves some small purpose.

tails_naf wrote: »

after your overly aggressive and dismissive attitude towards the poster. Standard tactic from you is FUD

pot, kettle, black there one would think, you accuse me of aggressiveness then you post crap like that........the mind boggles with some people....

Jocelynel

kceire wrote: »

yep, complete waste of money! ive apolagised in my original thread.
Is this calender for staff only or is it available to the public ?

hubby got the calendars in the library...so i presume any public member can have one if they ask. i got so annoyed last night that it made me sign up to boards and share!

Jocelynel

kceire wrote: »

yep, complete waste of money! ive apolagised in my original thread.

apology accepted...to be honest i wasn't sure if you were serious!

don't know how to 'do the thanks' bit on boards

ballsymchugh

Dannyboy83 wrote: »

Not surprised in the least. Welcome to Ireland.

happens all over the place, not exclusive to ireland.

Gumbo

Jocelynel wrote: »

hubby got the calendars in the library...so i presume any public member can have one if they ask. i got so annoyed last night that it made me sign up to boards and share!

then its not a complete waste in my honest opinion, documents and leaflets are printed throughout the year by LA's and other bodies for the general public. Going on forst impressions, i thought it was a calender made up for the staff of the council, but its not, its a document made for the public.

They are incorporating anti litter and anti graffiti campaign awarness into calenders and again, in my opinion, is not a complete waste.

Projects/activities were used to promote greater public awareness and education in relation to litter and/or graffiti. Local advertising, including cinema advertising, was part of the list of "Typically Suited Projects".

And also bear in mind, that alot of these campaigns are done with local schools and youth groups to raise awareness of the issues to the next generation.

Have your say! Design an Anti Litter and or Anti Graffiti poster for our Calendar!

We know that schools work hard to keep their grounds clean and tidy and we want to spread the word to the wider community. Design a poster and be in with a chance to have your poster displayed in our Calendar for 2012. The calendar will be distributed to schools, libraries, community centres and other public buildings all around the County.

Conditions

· Posters should be no larger than A3

· Print your name, age, class, teacher and school on the back of each entry.

and its my opinon that the campaign in worthwhile as your hubby took the time to take the calender
now please, make use of it and dont throw it on the street

Jocelynel

we may well have to disagree on this one.

i think it's a COMPLETE waste of tax payers money. by all means have a school project competition for an anti-litter poster, it's great awareness for kids but there is absolutely no need to make a calendar out of the winning entries...

we simply don't have any money for this non essential service in Ireland in the present climate, when so many other hard choice cuts are being made and about to made.

If we could identify all these little cuts, it could account for one big cut...

Gumbo

Jocelynel wrote: »

we may well have to disagree on this one.

i think it's a COMPLETE waste of tax payers money. by all means have a school project competition for an anti-litter poster, it's great awareness for kids but there is absolutely no need to make a calendar out of the winning entries...

we simply don't have any money for this non essential service in Ireland in the present climate, when so many other hard choice cuts are being made and about to made.

If we could identify all these little cuts, it could account for one big cut...

yep, thats fair enough. wouldnt be mush of a forum if everybody agreed on the same stuff everyday

These things run deep though, and also into pricing structures in the private sector etc For example, Oxygen print up their collection calenders everyyear, can you imagine the cost of this, and maybe they could reduce their prices to the residents if they didnt have to spend so much making these.

Also leaflets for elections, an post etc etc, for the current generation of iTech savvy kids etc they may not be required as we can get our collections dates by email, by text or indeed on the net, but there are still a large section of the population that dont have an email adress, access to the web etc and these hard copy printed media available in libraries, area offices, youth centres etc may be their only window to wahts happening in their community. My 2 cents anyway

CamperMan

this thread is making my feckin blood boil.... wasteful w@nkers

Head The Wall

kceire wrote: »

Dublin City Council do not issue anything like this to their staff, so thats why i was hesitant to believe it.

You were only giving out to someone this week for saying their singular opinion wasn't representative of the whole country and then you come out with this rubbish yourself.

Hypocrite

Gumbo

Head The Wall wrote: »

You were only giving out to someone this week for saying their singular opinion wasn't representative of the whole country and then you come out with this rubbish yourself.

Hypocrite

coming from a bloke that says this :

Head The Wall wrote: »

Another point you raise is the fact that these people have time to stop and have a chat with you when they are supposed to be working, and lets not forget to mention all the complaining about the increased workload and reduced staff numbers. That doesn't add up to me so you can see how people are so cynical about PS staff and their attitudes. Don't try and explain that one away now, they're your own words

sorry but i'd listen to a wooden shelf first.

listermint

This is the norm, waste waste waste.


Sure doesnt SDCC have a bloody subsidised canteen. How the hell can a non profit making entity justify a subsidised canteen!!??

There is just waste everywhere. Its the same right across these so called civic entities. They dont make any money but enjoy all the benefits as if they were google or facebook.

Reform my ar**. The government havent made the 'hard decisions' anywhere, they make the easy decisions so as not to rock the boat in the unionised crippling organisations such as County Councils.

MagicSean

Hal Emmerich wrote: »

Year in, Year out, no matter where you drive at this time of year their are Roadworks being carried out in an effort to get rid of the last few alloted €s before the New Year so as to get the maximum possible budget next year.

How is this carry on let continue???

I don't think that's the only reason. I think it is also for the benefit of the workers so that they can get the bulk of overtime payments in the month before Christmas. Like a Christmas bonus but in exchange for work done.

EDIT: It's also probable that funds were kept in preperation for the damage caused by ice.

Gumbo

MagicSean wrote: »

I don't think that's the only reason. I think it is also for the benefit of the workers so that they can get the bulk of overtime payments in the month before Christmas. Like a Christmas bonus but in exchange for work done.

EDIT: It's also probable that funds were kept in preperation for the damage caused by ice.

Aren't the road works carried our by private sector sub contractors?

MagicSean

kceire wrote: »

Aren't the road works carried our by private sector sub contractors?

Not all of them. Afaik the out of hours emergency work is done by council employees too and they will be very busy for the next few weeks.

Welease

kceire wrote: »

Aren't the road works carried our by private sector sub contractors?

Our local road works are carried out by Kildare CoCo. employees. (Although I would imagine across Ireland it's a mix of public and private depending on requirements and resources)

Gumbo

MagicSean wrote: »

Not all of them. Afaik the out of hours emergency work is done by council employees too and they will be very busy for the next few weeks.

Welease wrote: »

Our local road works are carried out by Kildare CoCo. employees. (Although I would imagine across Ireland it's a mix of public and private depending on requirements and resources)

In Dublin its carried out by private companies with maybe a council employee checking the finish or a group making a particular connection etc. but yeah as you mention, may vary county by county.

n97 mini

Welease wrote: »

Our local road works are carried out by Kildare CoCo. employees.

Takes a crew of seven four days to replace a section of footpath about 8 foot long outside my wall. Took a crew of two about 4 hours to replace a section of footpath 20 foot long inside my wall. One crew were suckling on the public tit, one crew weren't. Guess which was which!