Nobotty wrote: » Something similar went on across the water with a middle man sourcing ppe early in the pandemic They made millions Its incompetence I don't know anything about dodgy ventilators but I do know that Ireland can't nationalise a private American company making them here They have to source them on the open market So really the fact 20% of them in the world might be made here is beside the point
Cluedo Monopoly wrote: » Nice deflection but you will find Covidien ventilators in all our hospitals. Supply was not an issue. Can you explain this other chancer buying dodgy ones from China?
smurgen wrote: » That doesn't explain how a one man company specializing in events planning in the middle east operating out of a residential apartment won a state contract for specialist medical devices.
Nobotty wrote: » What am I deflecting? Please direct arrogance like that elsewhere ,where it might be needed, thank you I can tell you demand exceeded supply by 100s of 1000s at the start of the pandemic and like ppe, there was a scramble to get them anywhere Normal procurement checks and balances were paused That was a ripe environment for chancers If you think FF FG or whoever scammed the department of health and you've proof,I'll be right behind you supporting you every step of the way
Cluedo Monopoly wrote: » Calm yourself. There was no shortage of ventilators in Ireland. There was a shortage of trained nurses and ICU beds. Globally there was a shortage but not in Ireland. The dodgy ones that cost the HSE 14,000,000 Euros were never used.
Nobotty wrote: » Lest we forgetFG are still up almost twice that of SF since the Feb 20 general election Thats despite foot in mouth after foot in mouth by the current administration and relentless pressure from the Opposition No point sugar coating this
UDAWINNER wrote: » what poll gives them double the size of SF, an imaginary one I guess:D
Bannasidhe wrote: » Do you really think comparing the salaries paid by Facebook - a multinational company worth $720 billion - with the salaries paid out to the govt of a country with a population of less than 5m people - of which 2.3 million are working people is comparing like for like?
Bannasidhe wrote: » I suggest if TD's wish to earn those salaries they go into the private sector, but we know they are all doing the job not for the money but because they want to serve the people. Serve the people by taking snouts out of the trough and living on the kind of salaries the people who pay your wages do - then they might understand how a 300k house or €2k rents is not 'affordable' for the average worker. 51k a year for a backbencher who votes the way the party leadership tells them is, in fact, overpaying. Ditto for an Opposition TD. And as for ministers I said "Absolutely no reason why it is not realistic given they also get a salaried allowance that is currently more than their basic wage [mea culpa - I was wrong on that, the salaried allowance for a minister is €79,510, only in the case of the Taoiseach is it more than the basic 96,189 - it's 111,401].Make the salaried allowance the same as the basic and they would be on €127.920 pa" so why are you arguing with me on that? Currently a minister gets €175,699 (basic plus salaried allowance) plus other expenses so you agree with me they are over paid Yes, Ireland is a high cost society - but our minimum wage - as decided by people you believe need €96k - is €2.20 below the living wage. And that is what is obscene, that just under €100k a year basic paid out of the public purse is justified by saying we are a high cost society but paying people a living wage isn't.
The main reason advanced for introducing payment was, as Thomas Attwood said in 1839, to have ‘that class of men introduced into the House, men of that station and character which would enable them to be competent representatives of the wants and wishes of the Commons of England.’ This concern grew as the franchise expanded after 1867. In 1870 Peter Taylor, Liberal MP for Leicester, proposed restoring the payment of MPs. Alongside the importance of helping working men into Parliament, he emphasised the historical precedent of payment; its near universality in other countries’ legislatures; how it would put MPs on a par with other professions and with ministers who were already paid.
markodaly wrote: » First of all, you do know that salaries paid to TD's and Ministers are linked to other Civil Service grades. Do you propose just to reduce the salary of TD's or all of the Civil Service, who don't forget are the permanent government in the country? We need to get more talented people into politics, not less and by trying undercut their pay, anyone decent will leave in droves. As a historian, you should know why politicians get a salary in the first place because before that, only the landed and very wealthy could afford to run for parliament. Giving a politician a salary was seen as serving the public interest.https://thehistoryofparliament.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/mps-pay-the-never-ending-controversy/ TLDR: Talk of TD salaries and the like is just pure populism.
ExMachina1000 wrote: » Top level politicians and civil servants are paid more in Ireland than they are in the United states or UK in many cases such as chief justice of the supreme court, Tds, party chiefs
markodaly wrote: » So, we should look at reducing PS/CS wages across the board. I don't disagree with the point per say, that in Ireland we do overpay on Public Sector wages. But let's talk about that, rather than focus on the 160 odd TD's and not the tens of thousands of people in the civil service.
ExMachina1000 wrote: » Top level individuals that I mentioned in the comparison are overpaid. The economy of Ireland isn't large enough to justify those ridiculous levels. The chief justice here gets 20k a year more than the chief justice of the supreme court of the United states! Leo is paid more than Boris Johnson etc Their remuneration has spiralled out of control. I have no knowledge of public sector pay levels
Bannasidhe wrote: » I have long thought that all State salaries - including politicians- If an organisation receives State funding towards wages etc the same rules should apply.
markodaly wrote: » First of all, you do know that salaries paid to TD's and Ministers are linked to other Civil Service grades. Do you propose just to reduce the salary of TD's or all of the Civil Service, who don't forget are the permanent government in the country?
blanch152 wrote: » As a result, we now have the lowest calibre of politicians for decades.
Bannasidhe wrote: » As an aside interesting how often you are here defending "the lowest calibre of politicians for decades"
Bannasidhe wrote: » Lower then Haughey? Burke? We have always had some fine examples of numpties, gombeens, and grasping liars. Here is some light reading for you https://westcorkpeople.ie/columnists/a-history-of-political-corruption-in-ireland/ As an aside interesting how often you are here defending "the lowest calibre of politicians for decades"
FrancieBrady wrote: » The next episode of chaos hoving into to view. The Greens being trussed up like chickens on a spit.https://twitter.com/gavreilly/status/1338426588073955329
blanch152 wrote: » Healy-Raes on the double, Violet Anne-Wynne, Reada Cronin, Veronica Murphy, Stanley, Cullinane etc. Some of them have been around a while longer -O'Cuiv, Lowry, O'Dea but we have the worst line-up ever. Gets worse when you consider the likes of Ming and Mick Wallace in the EP.
RandomViewer wrote: » There should be some sort of oversight of TDs performance, a warning for those who aren't pulling their weight and if that doesn't work a suggestion that maybe this isn't the job for you
Bowie wrote: » The Dara Murphy situation was disgraceful. Both Kenny and Varadkar knew he was double jobbing and over in Europe. Varadkar only spoke on it after it was publicised in the papers.
Bannasidhe wrote: » Do you really want me to go through the lengthy list of dodgy TDs since 1922? Really? Shall I do MEP's too? Just to counter your rather politically biased list. Thing is Blanch - it doesn't matter if the entire Opposition are in your opinion of low calibre as it's the government - a majority govt - who create legislation (and vote down any opposition private members bills they disagree with, which is pretty much all of them) sooo it's the low calibre of govt TDs which should concern us yet YOU defend this govt at each and every turn. I find that interesting.
blanch152 wrote: » There is barely a majority of decent TDs in the Dail.
Bannasidhe wrote: » Makes your desire to defend the govt at each and every turn even more inexplicable.
