What changes would you like to see made in Ireland?

Geuze

s3ndnudes wrote: »

7. I'd love to see a more equitable tax treatment for those in the middle - say 30-60k incomes approximately. People who can afford to rent but not buy, and more broadly the "squeezed middle". I'd like the amount at which the 40% tax rate kicks in to be higher, and possibly the introduction of a third band for those earning say over 100k-150k. Don't want to squeeze the life out of high earners but I think they can pay a bit more.

Yes, a third income tax rate is a good idea.

Most countries have more than two.

I suggest 20%-30%-40%-50%.

Geuze

GalwayMark wrote: »

How about getting rid of county councils and instituting regional assemblies for less parochialism in Irish politics?

In 2014 we abolished 80 town and borough councils.

There used to be 114 local authorities, that was reduced to 34.

We also merged Tipp, LK and WD.

So now there are 31.


As a result, our local councils are very large, as measured by average population.

So it would be difficult to argue for further reductions in LA.

AngryLoner

Legalise weed.
That’d do me.

The One Doctor

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Balbriggan is a great example of what you describe for refugees to this country alright. Total ban on MSM about the black gangs terrorising the place. So I don't agree with you on that one.

https://gript.ie/why-the-media-blackout-on-gangs-and-house-burning-in-balbriggan/

I agree about having more women in prominent positions, but on merit not just tokenism.

Anyway I'll probably be carded for contributing the above.

I live in Balbriggan. Have yet to see black gangs terrorising the place. I get the impression they're far too polite, having being brought up properly.

Spanish Eyes

The One Doctor wrote: »

I live in Balbriggan. Have yet to see black gangs terrorising the place. I get the impression they're far too polite, having being brought up properly.

OK my friend I know you are trolling a teeny bit now. lol. It is not good what is happening there in certain areas, and because of the R word nothing is reported either is it.

Feel sorry for those in the thick of it out there. Was a great place when I was a nipper, picnic and a great day out for the city Dubs. In latter years it was the Man O War. Those who know it will know it.

mr_fegelien

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

OK my friend I know you are trolling a teeny bit now. lol. It is not good what is happening there in certain areas, and because of the R word nothing is reported either is it.

Feel sorry for those in the thick of it out there. Was a great place when I was a nipper, picnic and a great day out for the city Dubs. In latter years it was the Man O War. Those who know it will know it.

So are you saying that if this "multiculturalism" continues, we'll have more Balbriggan's in 20-30 years time?

gogo

I have it fairly easy in the grand scheme of things, but I’d love to see some incentive for second time buyers, not investors.. just people like me who are still stuck on their starter home, too small of my family but need to come up with 20% plus stamp duty/legals before I can trade up. This is despite them increasing the help to buy scheme for first time buyers again, when I’m left to rot despite paying off over 100k in negative equity, I’ll walk with f all from the sale of this house but it would free it up for another couple looking for a starter home and afford me the space I need to grow.. space I can afford and proven I can afford... but it will take all my savings to do that.
We are going to be the generation that they forgot about...

And yes I know I’ve nothing to complain about, tis grand to have a house etc etc

JohnnyFlash

Make Sláintecare happen. Convince the public that investment in new, huge, and very expensive urban hospitals is the way forward. This will involve tax increases.

More support for trades. Expand what a trade means.

Reintroduce fees for 3rd level education. Not a punitive amount, but enough to involve a conversation with the people who are paying for it. More funding for universities in general.

Continued investment in the National Broadband Plan. It's like the rural electrification project.

Change the name of Irish Water, and bring in a fixed charge of €107 per year across every household in the country for the delivery of improved water and sewage infrastructure.

Geuze

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

Make Sláintecare happen. Convince the public that investment in new, huge, and very expensive urban hospitals is the way forward. This will involve tax increases.

More support for trades. Expand what a trade means.

Reintroduce fees for 3rd level education. Not a punitive amount, but enough to involve a conversation with the people who are paying for it. More funding for universities in general.

As we already overspend on healthcare, then Slaintecare should not cost more.

It may mean a re-allocation of funding, yes.

So I stop paying health insurance, pay more tax, but pay less combined.




100% I agree about apprenticeships.




Note that third level fees have already been re-introduced, and are now at 3,000.

AFAIK, our fees are 2nd highest in Europe, after UK.

happyoutscan

Remind people that it is 2020. Do they really need religion(s)?

droimlis

A complete ban on concurrent sentencing. It makes no sense to reward those committing multiple crimes

paw patrol

i would eliminate nanny statism.
Limit to what the government can spend money on.
De-fund quangos, all campaigns should be privately funded
Legalise narcotics

CrankyHaus

Ban those public-hanging-lite judgemental programmes that seem to be the only thing RTE makes nowadays. The ones where some fame-hungry parents volunteer themselves, and their kids with no meaningful consent, to have their day to day life analysed and then publicly shamed at the end of the week by a team of "experts" for eating too little seaweed, using too much bogroll or running the tap while they brush their teeth.

The broadcasting space freed up should then be devoted to invasive coverage of all of those "experts" where their own unattractive habits can be seen and criticised by all, every day of their lives, until they die.

osarusan

Massive effort to eradicate the claims culture that makes insurance skyhigh and has a knock-on effect on so many areas, such as starting/running a childcare business.

More police on the street, more prosecution of crime, stricter sentencing.

Just in general, more enforcement of laws that actually exist.

Proper efforts to develop infrastructure along the south to west coast to improve Cork, Limerick, and Galway as alternatives to Dublin for multinationals. The biggest will always want/need Dublin, but the smaller ones could easily be accommodated elsewhere. Failure to stop or slow the growth of Dublin by providing alternatives has had serious consequences at so many levels.

More building of proper apartment buildings that can accommodate a family of say 4 for a long time. Our apartments are almost all to small for a family to live long term, so everybody wants the house and garden.

Eric Cartman

1) A flat 20% income tax all the way from the bottom to the top
2) Anyone on JSA / On welfare more than 2 years or on disability for addictions is given a cashless payment card that can't be used for alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, tanning beds, travel, sky tv packages, tattoos etc....
3) convert child benefit to only a tax credit to discourage the wrong people having kids.
4) A gigantic massive huge prison in the midlands and tell the judges to stop suspending sentences and fill it.
5) A new division of the gardai designed specifically to target the travelling 'community' and migrants where we can all acknowledge there is a massive over representation in criminality.
6) free speech protected in the constitution
7) the introduction of a class called 'life skills' in school teaching kids about taxation, government departments, basic business skills, how insurance works, how defrauding social welfare is immoral and robs from poor people.
8) reintroduce the death penalty for absolutely proved cases murder, serial rape, paedophiles
9) close the borders to anyone from outside the EU who doesn't have job sponsorship for a position over 40k a year
10) 10 year social welfare ban and 10 years before they can even put themselves on the housing list for all immigrants
11) scrap motor tax
12) make it illegal to cycle without a helmet baring a registration number so its easier to catch cyclists breaking the law and causing damage to cars.
13) set up no loitering zones around tourist attractions where homeless people / junkies can be automatically arrested for begging or intimidating people.
14) Variable corporate tax rate - 12.5% in Dublin/cork/limerick/galway , with drops to 11% and 9% for companies stationing staffed offices in rural/deprived/economic black spots.
15) reform planning to allow residential development almost anywhere, allow modern/alternative building styles , abolish style guides.
16) Planning objections in the cities can not be based on height, aesthetics or having a view obscured, allow approval in theory for buildings up to 40 storeys.
17) Remove unprovable whiplash/back/neck injuries from personal injury claims, lifetime payout caps and allow personal injury awards to count towards means testing welfare recipients.
18) Drug testing for welfare recipients.
19) Scrap the HSE and sack all of the admin and management staff, make rules to stop it being top heavy with a 5:1 frontline to admin staff ratio
20) Ban unions for the civil/public service and semi state companies.

Pkiernan

mr_fegelien wrote: »

By the government (if they can be arsed to)? I don't think housing will be sorted given that many TD's are landlords and are unlikely to act against their own interests by building houses and lowering thus lowering the average cost of rental units.

This is one of the most bogus arguments on Boards.

If TDs wanted to maximise money for landlords, they would change the tax laws around rental i come.

0ph0rce0

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

You can't have the big companies outside of Dublin.

Nobody can understand a thing you say down the sticks.

Imagine some american director on a skype meeting to the likes of that. No chance.

I used to work for an american research institute in Athlone. Some poor creature had been sent over from the US to set up the Irish office, make initial hires etc. I got the feeling of how he felt about his assignment when I discovered the Wifi password which he had set up was Why@hlone!?

:pac:

The Unbearables

Good idea for a thread OP.

I'd like to see a more conservative political party gain traction within the state.
The present situation isn't healthy for anyone.

The Unbearables

The One Doctor wrote: »

I live in Balbriggan. Have yet to see black gangs terrorising the place. I get the impression they're far too polite, having being brought up properly.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Stevie wonder.

paw patrol

Eric Cartman wrote: »

1) A flat 20% income tax all the way from the bottom to the top
2) Anyone on JSA / On welfare more than 2 years or on disability for addictions is given a cashless payment card that can't be used for alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, tanning beds, travel, sky tv packages, tattoos etc....
3) convert child benefit to only a tax credit to discourage the wrong people having kids.
4) A gigantic massive huge prison in the midlands and tell the judges to stop suspending sentences and fill it.
5) A new division of the gardai designed specifically to target the travelling 'community' and migrants where we can all acknowledge there is a massive over representation in criminality.
6) free speech protected in the constitution
7) the introduction of a class called 'life skills' in school teaching kids about taxation, government departments, basic business skills, how insurance works, how defrauding social welfare is immoral and robs from poor people.
8) reintroduce the death penalty for absolutely proved cases murder, serial rape, paedophiles
9) close the borders to anyone from outside the EU who doesn't have job sponsorship for a position over 40k a year
10) 10 year social welfare ban and 10 years before they can even put themselves on the housing list for all immigrants
11) scrap motor tax
12) make it illegal to cycle without a helmet baring a registration number so its easier to catch cyclists breaking the law and causing damage to cars.
13) set up no loitering zones around tourist attractions where homeless people / junkies can be automatically arrested for begging or intimidating people.
14) Variable corporate tax rate - 12.5% in Dublin/cork/limerick/galway , with drops to 11% and 9% for companies stationing staffed offices in rural/deprived/economic black spots.
15) reform planning to allow residential development almost anywhere, allow modern/alternative building styles , abolish style guides.
16) Planning objections in the cities can not be based on height, aesthetics or having a view obscured, allow approval in theory for buildings up to 40 storeys.
17) Remove unprovable whiplash/back/neck injuries from personal injury claims, lifetime payout caps and allow personal injury awards to count towards means testing welfare recipients.
18) Drug testing for welfare recipients.
19) Scrap the HSE and sack all of the admin and management staff, make rules to stop it being top heavy with a 5:1 frontline to admin staff ratio
20) Ban unions for the civil/public service and semi state companies.

not in fully agreement but some decent stuff there.

Be right back

A life sentence should mean for life.

pgj2015

anyone found guilty of insurance fraud = 7 years in jail.

if you don't pay your rent for 2 moths max, you are kicked out, dragged out if necessary.

more prisons built with far longer sentences handed out.

food stamps rather than money for anyone on the dole for over 2 years.

arm all gardai with at least taser guns.

freshpopcorn

I’d change the secondary school system especially the senior part. I’d reduce the amount of subjects you need to study. Introduce more subject choices and allow you study them in a greater detail.
I’d focus more also on people who don’t want to go down the traditional subject route and focus on trade/vocational type subjects.
However I’d be fairly strict about school attendance.(people can take a few days off within reason) however if your missing large amounts of school. You’d be plagued with social workers and support.
Fairly to comply would result in fines, cut in benefits, etc
Strict laws around guys who try and recruit teenagers into crime.

Eric Cartman

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I’d change the secondary school system especially the senior part. I’d reduce the amount of subjects you need to study. Introduce more subject choices and allow you study them in a greater detail.
I’d focus more also on people who don’t want to go down the traditional subject route and focus on trade/vocational type subjects.
However I’d be fairly strict about school attendance.(people can take a few days off within reason) however if your missing large amounts of school. You’d be plagued with social workers and support.
Fairly to comply would result in fines, cut in benefits, etc
Strict laws around guys who try and recruit teenagers into crime.

Pavee Point will be sending you a long letter about discrimination any second.

nthclare

I'd like more emphasis on our culture, our real culture and not shopping malls, IT companies, gastro pubs, influencer's and reality TV

I suppose the advantages of enjoying real Irish culture is it's we're a tight knit group and we all appreciate it.
And the jocks and gannets dont spoil it because they're prouncing around showing off their sunglasses, fake tans, beard's, fake tits and toned physique for validation from people as shallow as themselves.

We had an influx of influencer's in North Clare recently and they were praising the place on Instagram and most of their photo's were of themselves on boats or looking through a window, some bathtub and a kitchen.
We're supposed to lick these people's arses and aspire to their emulations of reality.
I say they haven't a clue about reality and no doubt they tried to get discounts and special treatment off business owners for a mention on INSTA...

Usually their emasculated boyfriend or down trodden girlfriend has to spend the whole time taking photos of their narcissistic partners for the sake of a few hits to fire up the receptors in their reptilian brain's...

I'm secretly jealous because I'm not an influencer, and I'm so ugly that none of these mogles will look at me.
Sorry not mogels, it's models.

Signing out from my shallow cave and dragging my knuckles through boards.ie

J_M_G

Abolish TD salaries. Can’t afford to be TD without a salary? Too bad.
Abolish TD pensions. Can’t afford to be TD without a pension? Too bad.
Abolish the Seanad. Useless wasters appointed by equally useless midwits from our corrupt academic system.
Abolish all local councils and local elections. Replace them with simple regional administrative offices under the control of national ministerial departments.
Abolish all third level courses pushing crap like gender studies or other grievance industry anti-white propaganda.
Abolish all overseas aid.
Abolish asylum processing. We’re full. Got a problem with that? Too bad. It’s our country and we can do what we like. You are not entitled to an explanation.
Ban usury. Creation of a new national public bank.
Ban face tattoos.
Ban tattoos entirely for women.
Ban anyone under 25 from voting unless they have children and are married.
Mandatory military service for 3 years from 18-21.
RTE will show only programming relating to current affairs, Irish sport, culture and history. No more soaps and reality tv.
Remove all privileges for Travellers. They should receive no special designation.
Build a giant prison in the midlands. We’re going to need it.
Bring back execution for heinous crimes like child abuse, rape, murder, etc.
Ban all NGO funding.
Ban all outdoor advertising.
Ban ugly modern archtecture. Most residential architecture is also incredibly bland and ugly. Massive overhaul of building standards and aesthetics.
Ban one-off rural housing. Only farmers should live in the countryside. Suburban periphery will be allowed for exceptionally beautiful houses only.
Free speech enshrined in the constituion but only for Irish citizens. All temporary visa holders, tourists, non-citizens, etc are explicitly recognized as second class peoples on the island and do not have free speech. They will be advised to not opine on political or social matters. Doing so will be considered subversive. They will be immediately jailed/deported depending on severity.
Free healthcare for all citizenry.
Massive capital investment in infrastructure. Railways, roads, utilities, hospitals, etc. Take on huge debt. Everybody else is doing it and interest rates are at rock bottom. We might as well take advantage and put a ton of money into this stuff while we still can.
Huge emphasis on ecology and restoring the natural beauty of the island. Woodlands, waterways, parks, beaches, etc.

That’ll do to start with.

Fr Tod Umptious

Do everything that I think is good for society but don't ask me to pay for it.

Either tax someone who is earning more than me more to pay for it or take away welfare benefits from someone earning less than me to pay for it.

Eric Cartman

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Do everything that I think is good for society but don't ask me to pay for it.

Either tax someone who is earning more than me more to pay for it or take away welfare benefits from someone earning less than me to pay for it.

Youve basically just drilled down every FF manifesto ever.

Antares35

Proper enforcement of animal welfare legislation.

Jobseekers linked to contributions.

Mandatory 50hours labour for anyone found travelling on the Luas without a valid ticket

Stop MOST TV / Radio adverts to Customers as if they are Children.