Ireland, Inc

Freddie59

There's been a good debate on the household charge on that thread, but I think that the state - and fate - of the country needs to be discussed separately. I list below some of the sheer lunacy that is taking place around us. Feel free to add to the list and discuss same.

1. We are borrowing €400m a week for 'day to day expenses', such as PS/CS pay and "entitlements", along with a ridiculous SW bill.

2. The CEOs of failed banking entities are being paid €800k a year in salary.

3. 20 consultants were paid €500k each by the VHI last year.

4. The failed banks are still paying golf club/gym club memberships for their staff.

5. There is a proposal to raise the retirement age to 68, when Gardai, etc can retire in their 50s, with both a lump sum and an early pension.

As I said, feel free to add to it. How long can this go on, before it all implodes? Who knows.

lividduck

`You forgot the up to €1 Billion a year we spend on a dead language:(

I Heart Internet

As a country, we seem to be about 17-22 years old. Wasteful, brash, messy and impulsive.....oh, and broke.

What we want to be is like a 40 year-old, slightly greying, good, cultured, decent family man (or woman).

Hope this rambling helps.

dxhound2005

Freddie59 wrote: »

There's been a good debate on the household charge on that thread, but I think that the state - and fate - of the country needs to be discussed separately. I list below some of the sheer lunacy that is taking place around us. Feel free to add to the list and discuss same.

1. We are borrowing €400m a week for 'day to day expenses', such as PS/CS pay and "entitlements", along with a ridiculous SW bill.

2. The CEOs of failed banking entities are being paid €800k a year in salary.

3. 20 consultants were paid €500k each by the VHI last year.

4. The failed banks are still paying golf club/gym club memberships for their staff.

5. There is a proposal to raise the retirement age to 68, when Gardai, etc can retire in their 50s, with both a lump sum and an early pension.

As I said, feel free to add to it. How long can this go on, before it all implodes? Who knows.

What do you mean by "before it all implodes"? What happens when it implodes?

ChunkyLover_53

The problem is people refer to it and see it as Ireland, Inc.

Its not a company its a nation of proud people who have been forgotten by the those in power who think the welfare of their respective political parties & business accossiates should come before the welfare of the people.

Somewhere along the line greed got in the way of actual priorities.

lostboy

Freddie59 wrote: »

5. There is a proposal to raise the retirement age to 68, when Gardai, etc can retire in their 50s, with both a lump sum and an early pension.

yeah because we really need 68 year old men patrolling the streets looking for trouble

Stripey Cat

You can see the priorities of our government when you remember we are paying a generous "pension" of about 50,000 euro a year to Sir Peter Sutherland, Chairman of Goldman Sachs International, and former chairman of BP and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

We are told we need to cut teachers in state schools, social welfare to the very poor, public transport, etc etc in the name of "austerity". But Sutherland's pension can't be touched.

Why we are paying this rich man a handsome salary every year? Because he was briefly a part of a Fine Gael government back in the 1980's.

44leto

More a PLC then an Inc.

I Heart Internet

Stripey Cat wrote: »

You can see the priorities of our government when you remember we are paying a generous "pension" of about 50,000 euro a year to Sir Peter Sutherland, Chairman of Goldman Sachs International, and former chairman of BP and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

We are told we need to cut teachers in state schools, social welfare to the very poor, public transport, etc etc in the name of "austerity". But Sutherland's pension can't be touched.

Why we are paying this rich man a handsome salary every year? Because he was briefly a part of a Fine Gael government back in the 1980's.

I agree in principle but really these mega-rich guys getting pensions are only a tiny, tiny part of the problem.

The main chunk of that pension problem is the enormous number of public servants like teachers and gardai who are retireing now on extraordinarily generous pensions.

dotsman

Freddie59 wrote: »

1. We are borrowing €400m a week for 'day to day expenses', such as PS/CS pay and "entitlements", along with a ridiculous SW bill.

Agree. This is the white elephant in the room. The government can talk about making a savings of a few million here and there, and people can blame the bankers/developers etc all they like, but this is the reason why we can't sell any bonds, this is the reason we can't burn existing bondholders and until this is resolved, we will continue to be in this crisis.

Freddie59 wrote: »

2. The CEOs of failed banking entities are being paid €800k a year in salary.

Don't have a huge problem with this if they are resolving the banking issue. Ultimately, they are making decisions worth billions of euro - so it's no time to get cheap! However, I would prefer if they were paid in stock. That way, should they succeed and the banks make a strong recovery, then they get handsomely rewarded. If they **** up and the banks are still in trouble, then their pay is worthless.

Freddie59 wrote: »

3. 20 consultants were paid €500k each by the VHI last year.

I hate consultants. I don't believe I have ever seen a consultant worth their paycheck. Call me a cynic, but I view them as a prop for managers who are in over their heads and don't know what they are doing.

Freddie59 wrote: »

4. The failed banks are still paying golf club/gym club memberships for their staff.

I'm not sure how accurate this is. I thought it was just a partial payment, which is then subject to BIK. Many companies do this. It's actually a very good thing, encouraging a healthy lifestyle and I wouldn't complain about it at all.

Freddie59 wrote: »

5. There is a proposal to raise the retirement age to 68, when Gardai, etc can retire in their 50s, with both a lump sum and an early pension.

We badly need to raise the retirement age. Even before this crisis, we were facing a retirement crisis. The simple fact of the matter is that, as a demographic, we are living longer healthier and far more expensive lives than that of a few generations ago when the retirement age was set to 65. We simply can't afford this luxury. There's still nothing to stop an individual retiring early if they can afford it, but the state should not be contributing anything until they are 68. As for guards, I pretty much assume this is a physical thing. A 65-year-old is going to have a hard time chasing/restraining a 20 year-old scumbag.

ancapailldorcha

I don't have a massive problem with bankers getting massive salaries. Now, more than ever we need the best financial minds running the banks. Offering minimum wage won't attract anyone to the position.
Bonuses, however should only be paid to individuals doing splendid jobs and showing great leadership.

Nermal

lostboy wrote: »

yeah because we really need 68 year old men patrolling the streets looking for trouble

I'm sure we can find them a desk to stamp passport applications.

Stiffler2

Mahon Tribunal
Cost = €250m

Enda's private jet flight to the states = €68,000


There's some things Ireland can't buy
For everything else there's the taxpayer

( Stolen from the mastercard Add, sy Shercock but if you're reading this you can suck on my b@lls )

Freddie59

dxhound2005 wrote: »

What do you mean by "before it all implodes"? What happens when it implodes?

When the cash runs out. Ya know? If you were earning €32k a year and spending €50k, and borrowing €400 a week how long would you think you could sustain it? Seriously?

jumpguy

dotsman wrote: »

I hate consultants. I don't believe I have ever seen a consultant worth their paycheck. Call me a cynic, but I view them as a prop for managers who are in over their heads and don't know what they are doing.

I think the consultants he's referring to are actually the specialised clinician sort - like an oncologist or gynaecologist. The consultants were paid 500k because they were some of the few consultants of that sort in the country. If we sort out the health service in a way that'll actually make it attractive for doctors to stay in Ireland long-term, that all might improve...

Freddie59 wrote: »

When the cash runs out. Ya know? If you were earning €32k a year and spending €50k, and borrowing €400 a week how long would you think you could sustain it? Seriously?

The idea is that we'll be given cushioned (by debt) austerity until the big economic upswing comes around and we can get to proper debt servicing.

Richard Hillman

lostboy wrote: »

yeah because we really need 68 year old men patrolling the streets looking for trouble

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO3YmT2d-8k

ejmaztec

ChunkyLover_53 wrote: »

The problem is people refer to it and see it as Ireland, Inc.

Its not a company its a nation of proud people who have been forgotten by the those in power who think the welfare of their respective political parties & business accossiates should come before the welfare of the people.

Somewhere along the line greed got in the way of actual priorities.

That started on day 1, and escalated.

earlyevening

re consultants:
Dont forget their private income from Aviva and Quinn Health and their 180k public salary on top it.

igorbiscan

All the established leaders have utterly failed
Political - fail
Financial - fail
Religious- fail
Law enforcement - failed by protecting the above

But yet, look up "9 famous Irishmen" and you'll see how capable we can be but its a curse on the irish to always seem to end in glorious defeat..

Freddie59

igorbiscan wrote: »

All the established leaders have utterly failed
Political - fail
Financial - fail
Religious- fail
Law enforcement - failed by protecting the above

But yet, look up "9 famous Irishmen" and you'll see how capable we can be but its a curse on the irish to always seem to end in glorious defeat..

Yep. I was driving back from Dublin early yesterday morning. Glorious sunshine. An absolutely fantastic scene unfolding before me. One of the most beautiful places on Earth. And then I thought of the few dozen pricks who have brought this country to its knees.:mad:

Freddie59

lostboy wrote: »

yeah because we really need 68 year old men patrolling the streets looking for trouble

And teachers???

laoch na mona

im already putting together a contingency plan to create my own fiefdom