Irish Election - Coverage of Irish Politics, News and Current Affairs

Brian Cowen has stated that if stamp duty were to be abolished, or reduced, the short-fall would have to be replaced with other forms of taxation.
This presupposes that stamp duty is critical to the supply of essential services.
Michael McDowell, in countering this statement, contends that government taxes are €3 billion in excess of current needs.

On a visit to Cuba some years ago, I became aware of a system they employed when registering motor cars.
Basically they use three different registration plates. One is for government & police vehicles; one is for private vehicles.And there is a third category, which might solve some of the problems that seem to induce [...]

I read an article in a magazine recently, commenting on political apathy.
It had resonances for the situation here as we approach Election 2007.
I will reproduce it here, with adjustments to suit the local scene.
“In politics, as in retailing, brand loyalty is a wonderful thing. However badly a company was managed, however awful its stock, a [...]

When considering where to fix your X at the next election, it might be salutary to consider some of the achievements of the Soldiers of Fortune.
1. The closure of the branch railway lines, particularly the Harcourt Street/Bray line where the commuter has been gridlocked for ten years.
2. The Howth Tram - surely a major tourist [...]

The much trumpeted initiative of Fianna Fail to provide X thousand affordable houses is in ashes.
As they quaff their Veuve Cliquot in the FF tent at the Galway Races, the boys from Bovale
et al must be having a good laugh, as Bertie welcomes their political contributions, comfortable in the knowledge that it would be in [...]

[posted as a .doc previously but now reprinted in full here]

What would happen if the US dollar fell, as is expected, by 30% or more?
What will happen when it does fall?
Assuming it does happen, what preparations are being made by the Irish Government to minimise the economic outfall from such an event?
What if the fall [...]

Has anyone out there opinions on Second Opinions?
Why do we, the Clients or Patients or whatever, have to pay for Second Opinions?
If a Solicitor, or a Doctor or whomsoever has no answers to a question - that they should be able to answer - why shouldn’t they pay for the Second Opinion?
After all, it is [...]

With Personal Debt likely to be an election issue, it might be interesting to have this figure broken down?
I have no idea what this might be, but someone out there might have details?
In particular, I would ask the following:-

I read recently that the Church of Ireland is concerned at the suggested re-location of the Childrens’ Hospital.
Which brings me back to a sneaking feeling that the closure of the centre city hospitals

A spokesperson for the Civil Service, in answer to outraged criticism, stated that the 40% earnings differential between the Public Sector & the Private Sector represented the fact that Public Sector workers weremostly highly educated University Graduates.
No mention of the added value of the work carried out.
No mention of the Top-Hat Pensions - a substantial [...]

Some years ago, during Michael Martin’s brief on Health, a well-known orthopaedic surgeon told a group of chaps a story about St. Vincent’s Hospital, which encapsulates the farce that has made the A+E such a mess.
He instructed the duty nurse to put a patient in a splint and send him home.
What he didn’t realise, until [...]

THE HEADLINE in today’s Irish Times reports the findings of The National Statistics Office (CSO) on Employment and Earnings. It is described as a New Survey - albeit three years late.
No matter. Bertie claims that the Minimum Wage was his Magnus Opus and, judging from his love affair with Socialism; CORI and the trade unions, [...]

First it was a diatribe about Walsh & Co. trying to enrich themselves at the expense of the Workers. This was when Walsh & Co. floated the idea of a Management Buyout - when they could see no sign of action from Bertie & the Government to raise the necessary funding to augment the [...]

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There seems to be a conflict of interest in Government, as Ministers retain constituency responsibilities while their Portfolio Brief covers the 26 counties.
Surely they should relinquish all local responsibilities if they are to function in a transparent manner, for the benefit of the country as a whole?
Following on that, we never seem to hear any [...]

Inflation has hit 3.8% against an expected forecast of 2.5%.
Watch House prices from hereinout.
I would predict that a correction is commencing.