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Ministers: Appointed or Elected?

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  • 11-02-2009 10:35pm
    #1
    giftgrub
    Registered Users Posts: 1,309 ✭✭✭


    Given all the financial hi-jinx I've been wondering if people in charge of portfolios like Finance for example should be appointed?

    How many economists are there in the Dail? Cowen and Lenihan are both from a legal background, the Tanaiste is an ex-social worker...

    Maybe the Taoiseach should be allowed to hire in the best people for the job and pay them top dollar?


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    #2
    Daroxtar
    Registered Users Posts: 4,343 ✭✭✭Daroxtar


    giftgrub wrote: »
    Given all the financial hi-jinx I've been wondering if people in charge of portfolios like Finance for example should be appointed?

    How many economists are there in the Dail? Cowen and Lenihan are both from a legal background, the Tanaiste is an ex-social worker...

    Maybe the Taoiseach should be allowed to hire in the best people for the job and pay them top dollar?
    Why not pay them performance linked wages at the end of their terms of office? then you'd see results.


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    #3
    nesf
    Registered Users Posts: 27,645 ✭✭✭✭nesf


    giftgrub wrote: »
    Maybe the Taoiseach should be allowed to hire in the best people for the job and pay them top dollar?

    Something similar to the US system where the Dáil would have to approve appointments?

    Also, wouldn't this work better if we could directly elect the Taoiseach?


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    #4
    ArmaniJeanss
    Registered Users Posts: 13,439 ✭✭✭✭ArmaniJeanss


    giftgrub wrote: »
    Given all the financial hi-jinx I've been wondering if people in charge of portfolios like Finance for example should be appointed?

    How many economists are there in the Dail? Cowen and Lenihan are both from a legal background, the Tanaiste is an ex-social worker...

    Maybe the Taoiseach should be allowed to hire in the best people for the job and pay them top dollar?

    I actually like this as an idea.

    However could you imagine how this board/Irish society would react if The Taoiseach appointed say Michael O'Leary, Dennis O'Brien, Dermot Desmond etc to ministerial portfolios and things didn't work out perfectly.

    You'd have the usual suspects withering on about an affront to democracy, how the country is a dictatorship where the ministers are a bunch of unelected appointees etc.


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    #5
    Zynks
    Registered Users Posts: 1,693 ✭✭✭Zynks


    ArmaniJeanss wrote: »
    I actually like this as an idea.

    However could you imagine how this board/Irish society would react if The Taoiseach appointed say Michael O'Leary, Dennis O'Brien, Dermot Desmond etc to ministerial portfolios and things didn't work out perfectly.

    You'd have the usual suspects withering on about an affront to democracy, how the country is a dictatorship where the ministers are a bunch of unelected appointees etc.

    Maybe, but by voting directly on who runs the show, he/she would be properly empowered to make decisions without having to negotiate and compromise as much as they have to today.

    I feel sorry for the top civil servants who are probably very knowledgeable, but having to take orders from a clown that was voted by maybe 20,000 votes and doesn't have a clue what the whole thing is about.

    A good local TD does not make a good minister, nor a good Taoiseach.


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