Following on from
this thread
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Shocking that you don't agree with the appointment, I was fully expecting this thread after thousands of critical posts abotu the government would welcome him with open arms
It's gone a bit like "cry wolf" at this stage on this thread
When every single thing the government does it met with negativity etc then it's just pointless looking to the thread for any sort of reasonable discussion.
That is the way I would see it. I see the Government as similar to a Senior Management team in a company where the CEO has the best people in those Senior roles that gives people, be they employees, partners or investors confidence in that company. I see Finance, Public Expenditure, Justice and Health as the 4 most important ministries in the Country and being the ministries where a Taoiseach would want to have the best and most experienced politicians in those roles (I wont say senior because there are some "senior" TD's in the government parties that you wouldn't let cut your grass), TD's with a proven track record of managing resources be they people or budgets and delivering what is needed.
To me appointment of Chambers to the role of Finance Minister doesn't give out that confidence, its more of a Teachers pet get rewarded than anything else. Similar to the appointment of McEntee to Justice and we see how that has gone. Hopefully Chambers proves me wrong, only time will tell. I suppose Chambers will have Donohue there to guide him.
They are already coming
https://www.transportforireland.ie/news/record-highs-for-public-transport-passenger-numbers-in-2023/
Make it free and they will come.
Public transport cost is not the problem, most people are lazy and it is easier to use a car
The bus corridors, with bus lane enforcement will improve and make the system quicker and more viable for people. The biggest issues with buses at the moment is the amount of people who use the bus lanes. Remove them and a quicker service
Making the service free now will not improve it and will end up with reduced investment.
There is already insufficient capacity and difficulties increasing it. How do you intend to improve services even more while simultaneously gutting funding?
There is no need to make public transport free. It is already cheap.
I know I’m getting older and have long accepted that the Taoiseach of the day will likely be younger than me - but finance minister at 32?
What exceptional experience and qualifications and developed competencies does this chap have to be Minister of Finance at that age? I know longevity of service doesn’t mean high skills- just look at the rabble of TDs through the years acting like children - but really this is a very technical role and needs a solid hand
Couldn't disagree more. The attraction of free transport will create the unstoppable demand for improvements in service.
Free public transport at the point of access.
This is, generally speaking, an awful policy. Public transport is cheap, the cost is not the issue, the efficiency and reliability of it is.
All wanderer has done is label the long term unemployed as either criminals or insane.
Next you'll be suggesting locking them up in asylums. Weird.
seriously! what age are you!
That's not what @Wanderer78 said and you know it. That is a ridiculous statement and you should retract it immediately
The Children’s hospital is a political lightning bolt but pretty much irrelevant in the context of Irelands financial position . A multi decade one off capital investment of €2.4bn vs an annual overrun of €1.5bn last year which will carry forward indefinitely.
We could build 5 children’s hospitals with what we’ll over spend on HSE running costs this decade.
Health spending quietly increased by €7bn PER YEAR in the 4 years from 2018 - 2022. We spent nearly the full cost of the children’s hospital on energy credits in the last 18 months! The hospital would barely feature in Finance Ministers thoughts. Creates some good headlines though.
..so how do you know what their actual needs are, if you ve never spent a day on it!
..nope, they are where they are cause of us, we never provided them with their actual needs, as needs vary, and can vary greatly across society….
…but if we provide them with their needs now, this greatly increases their chances of future employment, and possibly reducing dysfunctional outcomes such as criminality, addiction problems and mental heath issues, all in turn reducing pressures on our critical services including and in particular our health system….
Never spent a day on the dole.
So basically you're saying anyone on the dole long term are basket cases. Seriously. 😂
medical card holders actually only have partial access to our health system, again, many on long term welfare would have highly complex needs, such as those mentioned, if specialised care is required, this must be paid for outside of this system. again, many of these individuals would need care for long term addiction and mental health issues, and psychological issues mentioned, specialised assessments for common issues generally have extremely long waiting lists via public means, and going private generally means extremely high costs, whereby many employed also cannot afford, so….
…reality check! go sit on the dole for a few years, and see what happens to your overall wellbeing!
They have no access to the Health Service? No medical cards? You need to catch up with reality.
..and once again, most individuals on welfare actually have 'undiagnosed' psychological issues, they are completely unaware of their issues, this is due to a serious lack of state supports to these individuals in meeting their needs…
…so again you show your lack of empathy and compassion towards those lower on the socioeconomic scale, fcuk it, force them further into impossible situations whereby they simply wont be able to meet their needs, rent, health care etc, shur they be grand, they wont wonder into crime and other dysfunctional outcomes to try meet those needs!
As l said. Relatively happy to index link disability payments.
Low pay work? Happy days, where they at least begin to shoulder some of the burden through small contributions to PRSI, USC etc.
Free public transport at point of access doesn't really work. A low cost public transport like we have is better.
I don't think you can freeze unemployment payments, however one way to do it would be to look at increasing it for the first six months of unemployment. Ireland is out of step with other countries in that long-term unemployment is paid at a much higher level here.
…but thats not exactly how reality works, for many on welfare, working simply is not an option, without specialised supports, as most on welfare, particularly long term in fact have highly complex needs, which is in fact causing their situation, some of the most common with be highly complex psychological issues including asd, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, personality disorders and on and on and on, most would be completely unaware of their disorders and disabilities. forcing such individuals into employment would simply exasperate many problems, leading to widescale disruption to potential employers due to these issues, missing working days would be common, as addiction and mental health issues would be very common, do you really think potential employers would be willing to appropriately deal with such issues?
low wage work would really be the only option for those on long term unemployment, best of luck with meeting critical needs such as rent on such!
…if welfare was currently that attractive, how come most citizens opt for employment?
Capital spending. Different financial Vote altogether and is resourced from sources other than income tax. Google financing Capital expenditure v Current expenditure.
Sounds great but you realise they need to finish Children's hospital and that could hit 3 billion. Already 6 times over budget.
No better incentive to work is a decreasingly attractive dole. As l said I'm relatively happy to fund index linking of other welfare payments like pensions and disability awards.
…so if prices keep increasing, those on welfare be grand, yea! remembering the majority of money received by such, is generally spent straight back into the economy, directly benefitting these individuals and the businesses that receive this money, encouraging business growth and job creation…..
50K as the income cut off before you go into the 40% bracket. But I'll settle for 46K. €1,000 increase in the annual credits.
A complete freeze on any increase on unemployment payments and index linked increases for pensions and disability payments.
Introduction of a 4 day working week in the Public Service, as its from there that the private sector will follow.
…yup, the best way forward for ireland is to stay the same, as its the best way to change…..
No come back for Dara Calleary, the man once tipped to be Finance Minister. Martin must really have it in for him
Odd that FF's MEPs are against Von der Leyen getting a second term while they're also hoping she'll give McGrath an important role on the commission.
