Little faith in Northern Ireland Politics

Northern Ireland politics can be best described in one word... JOKE!

I honestly think Northern Ireland is better off with direct rule from London - and please all those who are offended by this, sit back, and consider this:

The biggest mistake was giving Sinn Fein the responsibility for education.

They have well and truly made a complete mess of it. Doing away with the 11+ was a wrong move. The integrity of the education in this country has been mutilated. Academic selection indicates a pupils ability, and how to match them to the level of secondary education they are best suited. Northern Ireland has the top 25 percent and bottom 25 percent of students in the whole of the United Kingdom when it comes down to results at GCSE and A Level grade. This is endangered of being lost! We need students who can excel in their studies, and this will not happen unless they are grouped according to their ability.

The one thing that the collation government are doing right, which the NI Assembly are not, is raising tuition fees. The Labour government made the mistake of making university available to everyone. People are not being considered for graduate jobs unless they have a minimum of a 2:1 degree classification. What about the people who get a 2:2 or a 3rd? They still do the same amount of hours and pay the same amount in tuition fees .... and for what - to graduate with a degree that doesn't seem to be worth much. Raising tuition fees will make a 2:2 and 3rd degree actually mean something.

Why do you think the fees have to be raised - it is because of the earnings threshold. The money that is lent by the Student Loans Company is not secured because if a student does not earn above a certain amount then they do not have to pay it back. This means the students coming through are having to pay for this non payment. If it was made that every student paid back what they borrowed in installments according to their earnings then this would also fill a hole in the government deficit.

How is this linked back to academic selection?

Not everyone is university material. Apprentices and internships should be actively promoted for school leavers who do not wish to continue in education. Students who want to go to university can be taught at a certain level, and those wishing not to continue with education can be taught at another level. This is not discriminating because the schools are simply tailoring the learning process to the level that the student needs to attain for their future endeavors

The Northern Ireland Planning Service, supposedly independent from the local government, but is overseen by the Department of Environment cannot even make decisions such as extending the runway at Belfast City Airport, or building the John Lewis store at Sprucefield.

In the case of the City Airport, the issue is only concerning a few hundred feet of concrete, not a completely new runway. Even though Michael O'Leary can get up peoples nose, he was right to pull Ryanair from the airport. He is a businessman, and if he is losing business because a local government cannot make up its mind, then he has every right to go elsewhere to make his money!

The John Lewis saga, has also gone on for a ridiculous period of time because of all the objections and judicial reviews. The courts should be overruling any protests at this stage because they are just petty! Let the Minister for the Environment, make a ruling, and this ruling should be final.

Its people who don't want to compete with the big stores that are protesting. Get over it. We are in changing times, people want the best bargain they can get so if you can't offer it they will go elsewhere. If you want to stay in business you will have to work a bit harder! A hard work ethic is few and far between in some parts of Northern Ireland!

In the past month there has been two major failures of the Northern Ireland Assembly. They did not take an active role in clearing the snow. Instead they put the burden onto the Road Service. This is ironic because even though the Roads Service is supposed to be independent, they are overseen by the Department of the Environment.

The second which as happened in the last week is the water service. Where was the Northern Ireland Assembly - blaming Northern Ireland Water, and Northern Ireland Water, blamed the fact that the pipes were not buried deep enough, which is why in other countries do not face this issue where the temperature falls into the minus figures. But how come it was Northern Ireland that was only affected? Why was the rest of the UK not suffering the same? That might be because of the actual network. There have been news reports in the past indicating how behind the times, the pipes that transports the water throughout Northern Ireland.

Why hasn't this been addressed? Oh, because it would cost to much to replace, and we are in a recession... blah blah blah !!! It's a little thing called water charges. Why will the Northern Ireland Assembly not enforce water charging. I am sick of people saying, oh, but we do pay it through our rates. The amount of rates that we pay do not reflect this!

My last point is that the Northern Ireland Assembly were the last region in the UK to publish a budget. The spin doctors claim this was because the ministers were setting a four year budget and not just a one year budget. This was just political point scoring! They were just concerned that if they only did a one year budget that this would affect their prospects of being re-elected in the Assembly elections next year.

My issue with the budget is that departmental spending is being slashed in favor of free prescriptions and art within hospitals. The amount of money generated from paying for prescriptions would go a considerable way to lowering the deficit. It might also decrease the amount of chancers, who are working the system! The health spending was the only one not to be touched. But why not invest some money in sport and get more children involved. This would curb the obesity pandemic, decreasing the health complications as a result, and not putting such a strain on our health services, freeing up time and personnel to give help where it is most needed!

So that is why I have little faith in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Keep chuckin them deuces!

The beginning

So I did think about starting this blog a couple months back and started looking at the mess which is the world economy. The biggest casualty has been Ireland and looking at the bailout plan it seems to be the case that this economic depression may well get worse before it gets better.

I'm starting over though.

A wise man told me, "just put up ya guard"  .... there is a lot of shit in this world, so I just block that shit right out. I may come across as grumpy or just plain socially awkward, but don't be fooled because I can get down with y'all when I feel like it, and y'all will be sprintin to keep up, cos nothing can stop me...

On a serious note, I am well rounded individual with a lot to offer. So here goes........ the first next chapter in my book of life.

If you don't like what I say, then tell me! Free speech is a wonderful thing, so you are entitled to disagree with me! But at least tell me why you disagree with me.



Keep chuckin them deuces!

About time too!

So AIB were again part nationalized since the last post, but one positive that came from it was that no bonuses were being paid out - and no one could legally challenge it!

AIB - Allied Irish Burglars!

Todays Irish Independent has reported that AIB will pay out around €40 million in bonuses! 

This is an outrage - regardless of the fact that this was a bonus deferred from 2008, and AIBs hand seem to be tied following legal action, the execs of AIB are robbing the Irish tax payers!!!!

We are constantly being told that we are paying for the benefits cheats! Well, this is just as bad. On average the execs will receive €16,000. There was one exec, (the first to take legal action) forced the bank to pay €161,000 - one hundred and sixty one thousand of our money is being paid to one person. 

The IDA are reported as saying "if the IDA had that sort of money to repair the country's tarnished reputation on the international scene" ... the Irish people's income is being slashed under the budget, whilst these execs are being paid these bonuses. Not even in the private sector does shareholders get paid dividends until a certain amount has been put in reserves. 

AIB has been bailed out by the Irish taxpayer to the tune of €3.5bn and this is expected to be much larger. AIB have been set a target to raise €5.3bn in capital, which is thought to be very unlikely. So I say again, why are these bonuses being paid out. The Government and their budget are a farce if they exempt the very people that are being paid these ridiculous amounts from the €250,000 pay cap.

And NAMA! The National Asset Management Agency - the one that buys all the bad debt, and the money they spend may never be recouped.  

  

John Dick

Where we are so far...

The problem really with the banks was their criteria, or lack there of, of lending money. People were being offered loans regardless of whether they were eligible. Years ago you could only get a mortgage at 2x or 2.5x your salary but now the banks were giving mortgage at 4x and 5x times your salary. AIB and Bank of Ireland, the two biggest banks in the country knew they couldn't or wouldn't be allowed to fail, because the Irish economy would be unable to function.

That is why the Irish Government said they would cover all the bad debt in the country, just to make sure these banks did not fail. But what they were not counting on was the property developers. Millions, even billions of euros was pumped into the market, and with it rose the amount of unsecured debt in this country.

But its not completely the banks fault, is it?

What about the estate agents that were valuing the houses on the market??? Were they irresponsible or careless in their responsibilities of valuing houses in the way they did? Were they being speculative  ??

People are calling for the Government of Ireland to resign - but do they know what the others can offer. It is plain and simple. All parties should be publishing economic stimulus manifestos and outline in it their course of action and set down exactly how they are going to deliver it.

Introduction

I have often thought why do people write blogs. Then I watched a movie about a blogger. So I thought, why don't I try it? I have decided my purpose for this blog will be to look at Ireland's economic recovery.