I tried
How does it sound like kicking it down the road, it IS kicking it down the road, down the road until after tender competitions in this area have been completed, I presume tender competitions in this area will be completed (that is generally what happens to tender competitions, there is a beginning, a middle and an end), when they come to an end then he can (and should be) held to account on the publication of the report (I presume the Alliance and the northern political police here won't just forget about it). Does that sound reasonable, but more importantly logical.
Top man, now take two boiled sweets from the drum
Read my posts.
It sounds like, and I say it sounds like kicking it down the road and hope people forget. I could be wrong of course.
I am still struggling to see why this document would have an adverse affect on a tender process? Maybe the SF could explain why?
Do we have a date when the report will be released? Will it ever see the light of day? How do you know it is only delayed?
Quite strange that you don't give a toss when a report is carried into a situation where a Department run by a SF Minister has been found by a court to be guilty of an "egregious breach of the principle of transparency... after engaging in a secret, bilateral and unrecorded process — the very antithesis of what transparency requires”.
It sounds like corruption, and a court has found this. It would appear to me that if the report is released, there is a possibility that contracts already awarded could be overturned because of the findings, so it looks like a SF Minister wants to protect those who received the contracts through a process that a court found to be the antithesis of transparency.
How can it be a cover-up if the release date is being delayed, SSJ, are you suggesting that the report will be doctored before it's release, or won't be released at all, what exactly are you saying, what has you so exercised. Is it of the utmost criticality to you that the report is released today, would it make a massive difference if it was released in a month's time. Me personally I couldn't give a toss when it's released, I won't be waiting with bated breath, truth be told I won't be distraught if it's never released or if a square metre of tarmac (is that what it's about - rhetorical question as I'm tiring) is never laid or laid in the wrong place.
Defend a SF Minister all you want, but I think it was brokenangel who asked the question as to how would releasing a report affect a tender process? This looks like a cover-up.
The other point is that SF claim to be the party of transparency, yet here they are, not releasing a report. At the very least hypocrisy, at the very worst a cover-up.
Well the question is when is the tender over?
I haven't the foggiest, how would I, unless like the other lad(s), who incidentally believe everything that an Alliance spokesperson says but believe nothing that a SF Minister says, I had some insider knowledge. Do you (like the other lad(s)) know. Will it all (whatever all is) not become obvious when the report is eventually released, and in the meantime all the useless bluster and spoofing could be avoided.
Better to remain.......
How would releasing the report affect a tender?
Sounds serious to me so why not release it?
The investigation, headed by QC Sarah Hannaford, was commissioned after a High Court case in which the Department for Infrastructure was found guilty of an “egregious breach of the principle of transparency... after engaging in a secret, bilateral and unrecorded process — the very antithesis of what transparency requires”.
What are you saying?
I did t say he was spoofing…….
How do you know he's spoofing then
Nope….
So you're saying he is spoofing, are ye one and the same, working in the same office?
Chances of getting a comment from Connolly House…………………..nil.
So now do you expect the boy to ‘stick it up’
Not even the light escapes from that gaff
Fair enough, you don't believe him, presumably you know why so stick it up, you'd hardly be spoofing would you
That is the claim from the SF Minister but the Alliance are not accepting that. Do you believe everything that a Minister says, and take it as gospel?
Did you not read the article, it says why in it, just in case you have difficulry finding your answer here it is
“It would not be appropriate to publish the report until after tender competitions in this area have been completed.”
Why is a Sinn Fein minister delaying publication of an independent report into the granting of roads contracts? Is there something to hide?
This is getting really tedious, but let me try one last time. If your business is totally dependent on paying your staff so poorly that a full time worker can't afford to get by.....well you have a sh*te business.
I'm not defending SF (I've already said they're economic incompetents), I'm purely pointing out that this argument has been tried since the concept of minimum wage was first introduced.
I absolutely believe the current minimum wage allows businesses to rip people off. I don't believe the nonsense about increasing minimum wage leading to economic apocalypse, as it hasn't done so in the past.
I'll also highlight that bringing the minimum wage up to a living wage isn't just some crackpot SF idea; it's supported by the current government! Leo has proposed bringing it in from next year.
As for the '22 Merc story, I suppose it was, 'based on a true story' rather than my own direct experience. As I don't get paid minimum wage, it wasn't true for me, though it is absolutely based on someone I know quite well; he drives a Merc (fella has no imagination in fairness, doesn't even think about anything except a silver S class!) which he upgrades every 3 years and the last time I was speaking with him, he was playing the poor mouth over the increase to minimum wage and the implementation of a requirement for employers to pay a ridiculously small amount of sick leave.
I'll repeat myself again just so everything is crystal clear; I'm certainly not criticising all small businesses, my point is very specifically about those who have employees working full time and don't pay them a liveable wage.
One in particular took a chance on me and started me in my current career path, which is a total departure from the area I trained in. They paid me very fairly, increased it regularly before I asked and if they had more room for growth, I'd still be there. Went off to the company I worked in after that with a handshake and the owner's blessing. I have very fond memories of some small businesses and poor experiences with some MNCs. I'm not trying to make it a Big Business Good, Small Business Bad argument, and if you've experienced that agenda from other posters, I'd appreciate if you didn't project that onto me.
I'm not sure how you took that from my post
From
If they're literally not paying their staff enough to live, they're hardly treating them better than multinationals. I'll happily continue to take being a well paid number on a spreadsheet over the owner knowing my wife's name while simultaneously trying to pay me the absolute bare minimum he can legally get away with, playing the poor mouth while driving round in his '22 reg Mercedes.
I did ask you to confirm if that story was true but still waiting.
This was the original point: I expect Sinn Fein will put a lot of small businesses out of business due to making labour prohibitively expensive. I expect they will put the minimum way up to the living wage, up employer PRSI contributions and may introduce employer contributions to pensions.
It was not just about wages and it was about making the entire package will not work.
You seem to be suggesting that the current minimum wage is allowing companies to rip off staff, maybe I am wrong but thats the way it is reading.
I again revert back to job satisfaction in Ireland. If companies are not paying staff then why are they so satisfied?
If Sinn Fein come in, put in a load of changes which cripple Small Business, do you think people will be better off sitting at home on the dole or in work when 90% of them based on the report are satisfied?
P.S. I am not saying that some people do take advantage of workers, the report mentioned nearly 50% working overtime but a lot of comments on here would suggest that every company in Ireland is ripping off staff, underpaying them and "driving around in his(her) '22 reg Mercedes"
Let me be clear, I do not think that ALL small businesses are ripping people off. I'm not sure how you took that from my post. I specifically said that small businesses that would fail if they paid their staff a liveable wage are inherently based on exploitation. To further clarify, I'd have the same opinion of MNCs playing the poor mouth when it comes to paying their staff a living wage (particularly when they're pulling in huge profits).
The original point I responded to was that SF in government would cause small businesses to close by forcing them to pay their staff a livable wage. My response was that SF are economic incompetents, but if your business is totally dependent on paying your staff so poorly that a full time worker can't afford to get by.....well you have a sh*te business and maybe the problem doesn't lie with aul Joe on minimum wage not working hard enough.
Why you continue your non-sequitur into small businesses closing for other reasons, I have no idea. It STILL has nothing to do with my point, which I'll repeat again in case you still haven't got it at this point, 'if your business will fail if you pay your staff a liveable wage, you have a sh*te business'. No amount of businesses closing for whatever other reasons changes this point.
If I said that I stubbed my toe by running around blindfolded and barefooted, pointing out all the other ways people had stubbed their toe wouldn't make my decision any less stupid.
To quote what I posted
"Northern Ireland would seem to be similar"
I never said both are the same.
You said "If your small business can't afford to pay its staff a livable wage then you have a sh*te business dependent on exploitation." which is the normal yarn that is fired out to say that all small business is ripping off staff. I tried to make the point that small business look after staff better but you came up with a story, was that a true story?
Anyway if that was the case and they are not paying, we would have dissatisfaction in workers. But we don't.
The original point was that Sinn Fein in government will cause small business to close. This is what is been seen in Northern Ireland. You seemed to suggest that small business will close because staff are not earning enough.
So if so many small businesses are closing in the North when staff are happy maybe explain why you think they are closing?
I'm STILL trying to understand exactly what this has to do with anything I said? It is an absolute non sequitur with regards to my point, which was, 'if your business fails because you have to pay your staff enough to live on, you had a sh*t business to begin with'.
Other businesses failing for other reasons is certainly a topic worth discussing, so no we shouldn't just ignore it, but it isn't really relevant to what I'm discussing, so it remains unclear exactly why you're quoting me.
Seems a bit, 'look over there-ish' to me, BA.
A fair enough comment, Bren, and a topic I'm very aware of given the very strong upward salary pressure in the area I hire people in....but again, if you're asking me to choose between paying an extra few percent on a product/service.....or being part of a society that will have someone work 40 hours a week and still have to choose which bills they pay this month and which they can get away with not being cut off until their next pay, well I don't find that too difficult a decision to make.
While I'm not perfect on the topic (I don't have perfect information of course), this is a choice I consistently make when it comes to how and where I spend my money so I'm not just parroting off lines that are easier to say than to live by.
These 2 surveys measure completely different metrics....you can't honestly expect anyone with half a braincell to attempt to extract a comparison between em🧐🤣
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