You Control Ireland, What Would You Do?

Svalbard

1. National Pride
- First and foremost. I want to build a country we can all be proud of, a beacon to the world. It would be a lot easier if we could sort out the sh**e.

2. Law
- Life means life for murder. Severe penalties for sex offenders, treason, terrorists and repeat offenders.

3. Language
- True bilingualism. An absolute requirement to be a strong, proud nation. Many of you may think it's a stupid idea, but by the time I've built Great Ireland you will be clamoring to show off your native tongue to the world.

4. Education
-Secular state education. Private schools can do what they like. More emphasis on science, mathematics, languages at a younger age - no reason children should not be fluent in 3 or more languages by age 10. More vocational options (carpentry, metalwork, etc).
-All schools are bilingual
-Lower student:teacher ratio, more special needs teachers
-More physical education
-More extracurricular activities (this may come under the banner of social reform rather than being the requirement of the schools but i'll leave it here for now)
-Student military service (like the ROTC in the States)

5. Religion
-No state religion.
-All approved religious groups can worship free of predujice, but without any special state protection, beyond protection catered for under civil liberties.
-The activities of new religions are monitored closely until they are accepted as an approved religion.
-Cults/Scientology/Opus Dei are illegal

6. Health
-Universal healthcare
-First class quality (of course), to include largescale construction of new hospitals and primary care centers. PCCs will be extended to provide diagnostic services and minor injury clinics. Fewer hospitals (that's right!), but larger better equiped ones - better to have the expertise concentrated rather than spread too thinly.
- I would imagine the following hospitals: Dublin (Mater, James', Tallaght, SVUH, Beaumont, Loughlinstown, Blanch), Cork (CUH, New hospital north of city to replace Mercy and SIUH), Limerick, Galway (a hugley extended GUH, or developing Merlin park into a fully equiped, independent hospital), Waterford, Sligo, L'Kenny, Drogheda, Kilkenny, Portlaoise, C'Bar, Tralee, Athlone, Naas, Navan, Cavan. All other hospitals to become either diagnostic/minor injury clinics or stepdown facilities.
-The above would depend on improved national transport links
-Psychaitric admission units attached to all hospitals and some former hospitals (Roscommon, Tullamore etc). Expansion of day hospital services to most major towns.

7. Local Government
-Independent of party politics
-Those running for election must have skills required for the job (degrees in law/politics/art, architects, planners, engineers, artists, farmers etc)

8. Planning
-Expand the 'Wicklow' model to the whole of Ireland.
-Stricter planning laws - who gets to build where, what and how
-Drastic reduction in green field building. No building private entrances on main roads!!!
-Incentives to live in villages/towns (grants, tax breaks)
-Incentives to rennovate rather than build new
-Sustainable development
-Cleaning/beautification of our public roads, towns and vilages

9. Enviroment
-Urban renewal
-Planned developments
-Cleaner agricultural methods
-Expansion of national parks and protected areas

10. Transport
-Invest in rail+++
-Finish existing motorway projects, plus M17/18/20 (Tuam to Cork via Galway and Limerick) then no more motorways for a v long time!!!
-Focus on secondary and regional road networks - aim to have high quality, safer roads in every corner of the country
-Limit building private residences off main roads
-Improve signage

11. Military
-Expand navy - we have a large area to patrol
-Compulsory service for longterm unemployed (those who turn down jobs or don't look for them while on SW, and are young and able) and select criminals (young people, relatively minor and nonviolent crimes)


......that's all I can think of for now!

MakaDonVeli

I_AmThe_Walrus wrote: »

2) Dissolve the military.

We're neutral so no need for an army as such will give extra funding for the new Educational system. Current personnel will be integrated into the Gardai with other area's of qualifications being placed in their particular careers outside the military.

No guns, no weapons, no tanks, no planes, no aggression - Just Peace and Love.

Yea then the IRA can over run you and take control :rolleyes:

I_AmThe_Walrus

Mak_United wrote: »

Yea then the IRA can over run you and take control :rolleyes:

As I said, military will be integrated with the Gardai, setting up separate branches and specific/highly qualified anti-terrorism units. As far as peace-keeping is concerned, I'd rather use the available personnel in Ireland than Africa.

Plus, the IRA are finished.

Faith+1

I_AmThe_Walrus wrote: »

Plus, the IRA are finished.

That's open to debate right there!:rolleyes:

Duck's hoop

Who's up for banning The Beatles?

(and their wacky fans).

I_AmThe_Walrus

Duck's hoop wrote: »

Who's up for banning The Beatles?

(and their wacky fans).

Oh you! *gay hand flap*

PS...free your mind.

MakaDonVeli

Very much doubt they are 'finished'.

I'm sure there still around, just less obvious now a days.

I_AmThe_Walrus

Mak_United wrote: »

Very much doubt they are 'finished'.

I'm sure there still around, just less obvious now a days.

But without supporters they're nothing.

I mean, who cares about the IRA nowadays?

We'll only see a United Ireland through peaceful and political means. Violence has no place in it whatsoever, by any stretch of the imagination.

Peace & Love.

Washington Irving

starbelgrade wrote: »

1. A complete overhaul of the planning system & a complete rethink of zoning policies.

2. Major investment into public health & education systems.

3. Introduce third level fees for those who can afford them & scrap their grants.

4. A complete overhaul of the Social Welfare system as it is outdated & unfair.

5. Get rid of unvouched expenses for all politicians, reduce their expenses severely and reduce their wages to match the average industrial wage.

6. Overhaul the Public Sector - get rid of the deadweight, introduce performance related wages, abolish "jobs for life" & employ all staff on contract basis which would be subject to bi-annual reviews.

7. Scrap the plans for Metro North.

8. Major investment into the roads network in the West of Ireland.

9. Take the running of all schools out of the hands of the Church & put them into the care of the State. Also make all schools non-demoninational, with the option of extra curriculum teaching of all religions for those who want it.

10. Have a referendum on the Irish language to decide on whether to keep Irish as an official language. This would decide if we could scrap the grant system to Gealtacht areas & make Irish an optional language subject in schools.

11. Employ a team of the best economists to try & figure a way of making Ireland a more competitive country. (I know my own limits!)

12. Introduce a tax on unhealthy foods & use it to subsidise healthy foods.

14. Increase spending on community facilities for sports.

15. Introduce a scheme to help people in severe debt.

That'd be what I would do in the first week.

Wheres 13? A mistake or superstition?



*Sorry for being one of those twats that jumps on mistakes like this

starbelgrade

Saul-Goode9 wrote: »

Wheres 13? A mistake or superstition?



*Sorry for being one of those twats that jumps on mistakes like this

Good question! I have no idea.... perhaps the opposition party stole it.

starbelgrade

Whilst I agree with a lot of your ideas, I object strongly to some of them:

Svalbard wrote: »

2. Law - Life means life for murder.

I'm all up for penal reform, but I don't think locking people up until they die does anybody any good. You might as well just shoot them & save a few quid.

Svalbard wrote: »

3. Language - True bilingualism. An absolute requirement to be a strong, proud nation.

Bilingualism is a great ideal, but hardly a requirement to be a proud nation.

Svalbard wrote: »

4. Education -Student military service (like the ROTC in the States)

:eek:

Svalbard wrote: »

5. Religion -Cults/Scientology/Opus Dei are illegal

Secularism is one thing, but that is taking it a bit too far. When it comes to religions, the state should be pluralistic & above all, tolerant.

Also, as one could argue that all religions are in a way, cults, and that all cults are in a way, religions, it would be disingenous of the State to arbitrarliy decide which is which.

Svalbard wrote: »

7. Local Government
-Those running for election must have skills required for the job (degrees in law/politics/art, architects, planners, engineers, artists, farmers etc)

That would exclude a large section of the population from becoming involved in local government. The majority of 3rd level places in Dublin, for example, are taken up by those whose parents are from the middle class & upwards. To exclude anyone from politics, based on their social & economic background, is a frightening idea.

Svalbard wrote: »

8. Planning -Incentives to rennovate rather than build new

In many cases, this makes no economic sense. It is often cheaper & even "greener" to demolish an old building & start from scratch than it is to renovate old buildings that usually have inherent problems like outdated services, unsuitable layouts, poor insulation, etc etc.

Svalbard wrote: »

11. Military
-Expand navy - we have a large area to patrol

To what end? What exactly are we protecting.. our borders? Our fish? Or for customs reasons?

As our borders are not likely to be attacked any day soon, I can only assume that it's for protection of our resources & against illegal imports. To both ends, an increase in Customs would suffice. No need for increased naval military activity.

Svalbard wrote: »

-Compulsory service for longterm unemployed (those who turn down jobs or don't look for them while on SW, and are young and able) and select criminals (young people, relatively minor and nonviolent crimes)

What is it with the compulsory military ideas? If we are to have an increased military presence, I would much prefer a paid professional army than a conscripted one, full of kids who don't want to be there.

Zadkiel

BrianStorm wrote: »

• Open off licences until 12 again.
• Put a cap on price of pints
• Shoot George Hook
• Legalise Brazzers

Brazzers are legal, so is prostitution. Its soliciting brothels and kerb crawling arent iirc

starbelgrade

Duck's hoop wrote: »

Who's up for banning The Beatles?

(and their wacky fans).

It's 2010. Half of the members of the Beatles are dead & the word "wacky" fell out of popular usage over 20 years ago.

Why don't you put down the acid tabs and doobies & join us all here in the 21st Century?

biko

Bring back deportation for crimes, not to Australia but to Greenland this time.

I_AmThe_Walrus

starbelgrade wrote: »

It's 2010. Half of the members of the Beatles are dead & the word "wacky" fell out of popular usage over 20 years ago.

Why don't you put down the acid tabs and doobies & join us all here in the 21st Century?

NEVER! :mad:

Svalbard

starbelgrade wrote: »

Whilst I agree with a lot of your ideas, I object strongly to some of them:



I'm all up for penal reform, but I don't think locking people up until they die does anybody any good. You might as well just shoot them & save a few quid.

Great idea. Just as long as they are never released.

starbelgrade wrote: »

Bilingualism is a great ideal, but hardly a requirement to be a proud nation.

Well, as you can see from the rest of my post I have rather nationalist leanings, so language is vitally important in my Ireland.

starbelgrade wrote: »

Secularism is one thing, but that is taking it a bit too far. When it comes to religions, the state should be pluralistic & above all, tolerant.

Also, as one could argue that all religions are in a way, cults, and that all cults are in a way, religions, it would be disingenous of the State to arbitrarliy decide which is which.

Cults are dangerous and do not deserve tolerance. It wouldn't be an 'arbitrary' decision - as I said, there would be a process of close monitoring of activites before deciding if a new religious movement turns out to be benign or a dangerous cult.

starbelgrade wrote: »

That would exclude a large section of the population from becoming involved in local government. The majority of 3rd level places in Dublin, for example, are taken up by those whose parents are from the middle class & upwards. To exclude anyone from politics, based on their social & economic background, is a frightening idea.

I never said local government positions would be reserved for 3rd level graduates - I said people in local government must have the necessary skills to do the job. People can bring all sorts of different skills to the table. I'm against the 'jobs for the boys' culture - the local government members must be able to effectively run a local government. There's no point electing some clueless ex-footballer because his father was 'a great fella'.

starbelgrade wrote: »

In many cases, this makes no economic sense. It is often cheaper & even "greener" to demolish an old building & start from scratch than it is to renovate old buildings that usually have inherent problems like outdated services, unsuitable layouts, poor insulation, etc etc.

Fair point.
To elaborate on mine - it is preferable to build on unoccupied/derelict sites (even if this means demolishing the existing structure) rather than spoiling green field sites.

starbelgrade wrote: »

To what end? What exactly are we protecting.. our borders? Our fish? Or for customs reasons?

As our borders are not likely to be attacked any day soon, I can only assume that it's for protection of our resources & against illegal imports. To both ends, an increase in Customs would suffice. No need for increased naval military activity.



What is it with the compulsory military ideas? If we are to have an increased military presence, I would much prefer a paid professional army than a conscripted one, full of kids who don't want to be there.

That all becomes obvious in volume 2 of my plans - when we move for Total World Domination. Mwah hahahahahah!!!

Mike 1972

biko wrote: »

Bring back deportation for crimes, not to Australia but to Greenland this time.

Should we not ask Greenland first ?

sligopark

Mike 1972 wrote: »

Should we not ask Greenland first ?

was Austalia asked before hand?

Mr Benevolent

biko wrote: »

Bring back deportation for crimes, not to Australia but to Greenland this time.

Good idea, but I think Denmark might be a tad miffed that no-one told them about it. I suggest Offaly.

Celly Smunt

Confab wrote: »

Good idea, but I think Denmark might be a tad miffed that no-one told them about it. I suggest Offaly.

i agree,i don't think anybody could stand a night in that god forsaken place

oppenheimer1

I_AmThe_Walrus wrote: »

Next, the Healthcare System needs to be turned on it's head, using the French model. WHO has placed France as the best Health system in the world. Free universal healthcare with latest technology and equipment to diagnose and treat illnesses of every distinction. Foreign nationals flying in for treatment will pay though.

Healthcare will be funded by tax on liberal's recreations.

WHO placed France at the top of the list 10 years ago. They stopped ranking countries after that.