New county council building

oldyouth

Donelson wrote: »

No I'm not lucky enough to get a job up there, but I still don't think spending money on a quality building is a waste. bitterness and begrudge, does not a good discussion make.

Well good for you. If ever you are waiting for hours at A & E in Wexford General, you can nip out and admire where your taxes were spent just up the road

Niles

chieftan65 wrote: »

So your solution is to waste money building lavish office blocks for over paid inept public servants and pander to their gloated egos??? which department do you work in up there?? actually the work word may be pushing the boundries a bit

In fairness I don't think the majority of the people working in the building would be "overpaid" per se. I know people working for another County Council (not Wexford) and their take home pay wouldn't be that great. I can't imagine Wex Co.Co.'s staff are much better. Seems to be a stereotype associated with the public service.

oldyouth

Niles wrote: »

In fairness I don't think the majority of the people working in the building would be "overpaid" per se. I know people working for another County Council (not Wexford) and their take home pay wouldn't be that great. I can't imagine Wex Co.Co.'s staff are much better. Seems to be a stereotype associated with the public service.

I don't think people have a problem with the pay as such. It's the lack of efficiency & productivity for what they are paid is the issue.

mrmeindl

oldyouth wrote: »

I don't think people have a problem with the pay as such. It's the lack of efficiency & productivity for what they are paid is the issue.

Where do you expect the CoCo workers to work? Have you ever been to the old county hall? It was completely overcrowded and parking was impossible. Instead of the old county hall+various rented properties it has everything under one roof. County councils dont get new offices very frequently so quit whinging, they'll have the current county hall for at least 100 years.
Do you expect these "overpaid inefficient and unproductive" people to work in a tent?
As you clearly seem to think the badly paid and treated workers there must have caused the very recession we are in maybe you have never come across grossly inefficient overpaid and unproductive private sector workers? You're clearly taking the RTE distributed propaganda from the government that all public sector workers are evil and deserve to be demonized for heralding in the EU&IMF.
You must be living in some sort of Private sector utopia if you think it is the bastion of efficiency and intelligence.
Maybe you need a little reminding that the BANKS caused all of this and they are still getting pay rises and bonuses?

I hope you come across one of these mythical incompetent lazy over paid public sector workers in a hospital at some stage.

oldyouth

Firstly, I've reported that for personal abuse, but no matter.

I don't know if you are aware, but Boards does have a Ranting & Raving forum, so I would appreciate if you would vent your feelings there rather than at me. I'm open to discuss this thread at any time but I'm confused as to what you want to talk about. Is it the banks, hospitals, RTE, propaganda, the Government, the EU, the IMF, the quality of tents (or any camping equipment in general) as you have hit on them all there.

Tell me this though, do you like your new office?

St Senan

mrmeindl.

Read the rules don't attack the POSTER attack the post
I wont give you an Infraction this time. I will give you a chance to edit your post and remove your foul language.

chieftan65

Oh dear oldyouth seems like we've hit a nerve. I hope for your sake they dont find out who you are, you'll be left standing at the counter filling out forms for a week the next time you go tax your car.. ha ha

oldyouth

chieftan65 wrote: »

Oh dear oldyouth seems like we've hit a nerve. I hope for your sake they dont find out who you are, you'll be left standing at the counter filling out forms for a week the next time you go tax your car.. ha ha

In fairness the car tax people are fairly good. However, I lodged a particular request with Wex Co Co last August and got a reply at the end of December. Oh what I would have given for only a week to respond. No it wasn't planning or anything that involved a meeting of Councillors, just ordinary stuff.

mrmeindl

oldyouth wrote: »

I don't know if you are aware, but Boards does have a Ranting & Raving forum, so I would appreciate if you would vent your feelings there rather than at me.

So your ranting and raving about the "overpaid inefficient" county council workers is different?

oldyouth wrote: »

I'm open to discuss this thread at any time but I'm confused as to what you want to talk about. Is it the banks, hospitals, RTE, propaganda, the Government, the EU, the IMF, the quality of tents (or any camping equipment in general) as you have hit on them all there.

I really just wanted to abuse you a bit as your uninformed opinions about how much more efficient the anointed private sector is will clearly not be influenced by logic.

oldyouth wrote: »

Tell me this though, do you like your new office?

I dont like the greyness and lifelessness but other than that its a very nice building, but also over-designed, but its good that some money was spent on the County council after all the years in the hellhole that was the old county hall.


I don't work for any public organisation, never intend doing so because of they way public sector workers have been shafted over the years and blamed for the economic apocalypse because a scumbag politician helping out his banker buddies.

Random fact:"Carlow IT wexford campus" have occupied the former County hall and have wasted god knows how much money fitting fire doors and getting new office furniture just to do admin for 3rd rate university thanks to Padge Reck. This is the same building that didn't need fire doors when the CoCo was there. So there you have a real example of waste, but instead of whinging about that you decide the evil incompetent rich county council dosen't deserve new offices.

oldyouth

You keep quoting me as saying "overpaid inefficient" where is that coming from? Also you want to link this thread in to the state of the economy.

Good times or bad, that building cost more money than was necessary to accommodate workers whose paymasters do not generate income to pay for it

mrmeindl

oldyouth wrote: »

You keep quoting me as saying "overpaid
inefficient" where is that coming from? Also you want to link this thread in to the state of the economy.

Here;

oldyouth wrote: »

I don't think people have a problem with the pay as such. It's the lack of efficiency & productivity for what they are paid is the issue.

oldyouth wrote: »

Good times or bad, that building cost more money than was necessary to accommodate workers whose paymasters do not generate income to pay for it

Why should it generate an income? They provide services, not all of which are quantifiable and have potential to make a profit.
No money can be made from having unpolluted rivers or clean beaches nor from library fines.

chieftan65

mrmeindl wrote: »

Here;





Why should it generate an income? They provide services, not all of which are quantifiable and have potential to make a profit.
No money can be made from having unpolluted rivers or clean beaches nor from library fines.

So your quiet happy to pay increased rates and taxes and new household charges so the council can afford to pamper themselves with new state of the art offices while people lie on trollies in the corridors of the hospital across the road? others are faced with the weekly choice of paying the mortgage, buying food or heating their homes? but cant do all 3. But then thats real life in ireland today including wexford, a life it seems you and the pampered few in the council have no concept of.

oldyouth

Mrmeindl, I asked you to tell me where I said the staff were overpaid and inefficient and you quoted this post by me. I still stand by the inefficient part

oldyouth wrote: »

I don't think people have a problem with the pay as such. It's the lack of efficiency & productivity for what they are paid is the issue.

The last thing I'll respond to YOU on this topic is that you seem to want to link my opinions on the office for civil servants, with criticism of other public sector workers. I have nothing but admiration for doctors, nurses, firemen, gardai, ambulance drivers etc. I'd never liken them to the inefficient pen pushers in Wexford and all other Government offices

average_runner

This was actually paid for out of the boom money.:D

It also makes perfect sense to move the council out of their current building, it was in terrible location, poor parking, roads getting blocked and even the building itself was poor enough in parts. I worked in it for a summer over 15 years ago and was bad back then.

Funny story I have is when i open the door to take forms off people in a queue at 1.58 and i got given out for doing it in a major way has union rules state doors open at 2pm.

there was a massive queue so i thought i was doing the right thing.

TheChevron

average_runner wrote: »

This was actually paid for out of the boom money.:D

It also makes perfect sense to move the council out of their current building, it was in terrible location, poor parking, roads getting blocked and even the building itself was poor enough in parts. I worked in it for a summer over 15 years ago and was bad back then.

Funny story I have is when i open the door to take forms off people in a queue at 1.58 and i got given out for doing it in a major way has union rules state doors open at 2pm.

there was a massive queue so i thought i was doing the right thing.

I have to agree with you there. The building makes sense to anyone who had to visit the old Council building, for all the reasons listed above.

But don't let that stand in the way of a good oul whinge lads:D

Cantona's Collars

One gripe I have with the building itself is the waste of space inside,the atrium is massive.You could put 3 tennis courts in there.It seems they went from one extreme to another.Too cramped in the old building to what they have now,how much is the cost of heating the place?

Ian7

zerks wrote: »

One gripe I have with the building itself is the waste of space inside,the atrium is massive.You could put 3 tennis courts in there.

They must have over-estimated Wexford City's growth potential in the boom years. The owners probably dreamed of the atrium being thronged with tax payers, ice-cream sellers and street entertainment. Could have sworn I saw a tumble weed rolling out of the planning department corner the other day.

zerks wrote: »

how much is the cost of heating the place?

I'd love to know this too, I think it was designed as an energy efficient building but I wonder how energy efficient it actually is. We'll probably get the report in twenty years. :rolleyes: Can't wait.

Also, how come no one has posted here about the equally large building beside it? Where was that department located before Carricklawn?

yobr

oldyouth wrote: »

I'd never liken them to the inefficient pen pushers in Wexford and all other Government offices

Do you have any (non anecdotal) evidence of this inefficiency?

yobr

Ian7 wrote: »

Where was that department located before Carricklawn?

Custom House, Dublin.

Conas

Well I'll say this now, It's a disgrace that there was a new county council built, when the General Hospital is falling to the ground. I was inside the new county council building and it's a waste of space, and a waste of tax payers money, they could and should have stayed where they were, because there was nothing wrong with it, considering the botch jobs the county council do anyway the old building was just fine. Wexford General Hospital is inhuman, and the last time I was in it, I was shocked by the dirt of it, but that's a seperate issue. What I'm trying to say is, Wexford needed all that money pumped into the hospital, and not into a new county council building.

patff

So the Council are dwelling in an unaffordable monument to extravagance.......kinda like a lot of people and the houses built over the past 10, 15 years.

oldyouth

yobr wrote: »

Do you have any (non anecdotal) evidence of this inefficiency?

My post no 39 for a start plus dealings with them through work

yobr

oldyouth wrote: »

My post no 39 for a start plus dealings with them through work

Not any real evidence so...and when seen in the context of your post @ 16 you just appear, in your own words to, "hate the civil service in this country". While your entitled to this view your earlier comments puts your later comments into context.

St Senan

Mod Note

Folks Please try to be CIVIL with your comments and with quoting other posts.

bruschi

I think there are a lot of things going away from what the thread was set up to discuss.

Personally, I have no issues with a new building. But I think it was poorly designed, and cost far far too much and could have been built for much less but not compromising on detail or quality. Its a massive amount of money and the cost per m2 is way above the norms, even at building celtic tiger peak.

As I said, no issues with a new building, but just the design of it meant it was going to be more expensive than it should have been.

As for the other public sector/hospital/us against them argument, think thats for another thread altogether.

oldyouth

yobr wrote: »

Not any real evidence so.

I can't provide any more than direct, first hand, experience.

allthedoyles

MEMBERS OF Wexford County Council spent more than €27,000 last year attending conferences and seminars, mainly in the counties of Kerry and Mayo, while some had to travel as far as France and London in their duties as elected officials

A life of Reilly :

http://www.newrossecho.ie/news/eycwsncwkf/

Cantona's Collars

Funny how the conferences have no practical use to any of the councillors,it's as if they got a list and stuck a pin in it then went to the chosen conference.

A bit like the shower from FAS going to visit NASA.

I wouldn't mind if the seminars/conferences were on topics such as "improving road surfaces" or "fixing leaking water mains". But going to London to learn how to tell people what to do is crazy.

Ian7

I'm torn on this issue. In one way it makes me sick to think that if I had to go on a professional development course to further improve myself I would be forking out through the nose and the other side of me thinks that when you have elected town councilors that never went to college or even left the town they are elected in, maybe it's not such a bad thing. But then I think how they could possibly learn anything from such short outings. Makes me worried really.

Would it make sense to have specific roles for councilors and elect people with relevant qualifications to that role? Take Enniscorthy for example, How many of the councilors have any suitable knowledge regarding sustainability & energy conservation, waste & recycling, street planning, IT issues and online strategies, tourism, social integration of non-nationals and community development. These are all very relevant and pressing issues and if none of our councilors are adequate or competent enough to tackle such issues and have to travel abroad to attend a 5 hour conference on such things then its pretty obvious why we are where we are and why we have such a monstrosity of a building (now reportedly very cold to work in) instead of that money being pumped into a sham of a hospital right beside it. F**k. I need a lie down.

Ian7

and one reason I mentioned Enniscorthy is because I helped out with the strawberry festival a couple of years ago and another young member of the committee raised the issue of waste at the festival and asked if there would be any allowance or thought given to recycling. Now, I know the budget is very tight for the festival but there's no harm in asking this sort of question. It's a very relevant thing to ask. They could have at least entertained the idea briefly. Instead, two senior members of the committee scoffed at her. Actually laughed at her and surprise, surprise.....one of them was a prominent member of the council. It's such a backward mentality. I felt ashamed to be there and felt sorry for the young girl that asked the question.