The Second Republic

Gloomtastic!

Yes, yes and yes to this.

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2023/12/02/david-mcwilliams-irelands-problem-is-not-money-it-is-management-lets-fix-the-management/

We have a fantastic opportunity to create a much better Ireland if we got rid of the box tickers. They’re everywhere now, even the websites we view everyday. Get rid. And whilst we’re at it, let’s give a secular a try too. Next should be the Dept of Ed, HSE and TUSLA.

Ireland is a great place to live, that’s why everybody wants to live here. But it could be so much better.

Do it, review it, change it!

L.Ball

Dude just tear down the government and civil service and start again from scratch

lol.

lmao, even.

ancapailldorcha

Beyond stupid. I thought the Irish Times was a paper of record.

Polar101

I lived in a country where local government was more powerful. While that meant things like waste collection and say, street light maintenance worked very well - there were plenty of negatives too. Mainly a lot of bureaucracy, and many things had a set budget that was not always realistic. Also, it was possible for the same person to be a member of the parliament and a member of the city council, so you'd have the same people working in both national and local politics.

So if this Republic 2.0 is going to be all about power to the people, hopefully we'll figure out what that means before we start it. :)

Varik

The current French republic kept more than they than they changed, and as for the public services they didn't start from scratch at least in main land France.

The government sucking and changing to who knows what doesn't fix things, especially as they'd probably only empower themselves.

In the event of a united Ireland I can see a big change needed, we'd have the north going from a small part of a larger whole with devolved powers in Stormont and going to a larger part of a smaller whole without Stormont.

When it happens we'd being going from ~160 TDs to adding in ~65-70 extra maybe at highest(def won't be the 1:1 for NI assembly), So 113 - 116 for a majority. So SF get ~21-23 from NI 65-70 (27/82). By todays number, you'd need a 4 parties at best making it even more ridiculous than it is now (SF, FF, GP, LP/PBP).

If it was done it have to be for a better reason than flipping the board and trying again because things are dysfunctional now.

Hotblack Desiato

What he had to say about planning is particularly ridiculous. As if the delays can just be eliminated by imposing a time limit? Of course what will happen then is that most applications won't be examined at all before hitting his arbitrary time limit and going through by default.

duck.duck.go

I heard his podcast on this and cringed

our system is working perfectly in protecting us from extreme polarisation we seen in first past the post countries by proportionally representing the wishes of the electorate

anyways didnt McWilliams predict on his podcast and in papers a house price crash in 2021 which would have resolved the housing crisis according to him then? Or has he forgotten?? Or that time the country was meant to run out of diesel in 90days

“throwing baby out with bath water” comes to mind

Hotblack Desiato

Yeah an executive president-type system is the very last thing we need. Echoes of "we need a strong man to get things done" and we know how that ends... I for one don't think the French or American systems of governance work very well at all, but even if they did they're very different countries from Ireland in size and, well, most characteristics in fact!

hoodie6029

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121445474#Comment_121445474

He’s paid to fill that column every week. He must have let one of the kids write this one for him!

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121445474#Comment_121445474

It is, but it also allows opinion articles as all newspapers do.

Every month or two they have a rather silly piece by a bishop bemoaning something or other.

cheese sandwich

Typical McEilliams populist drivel, one easy answer to a range of complex problems.

As an explainer of economic ideas he’s pretty good, but his solutions are always risibly simplistic