Interesting that everyone is hanging on to the Social dividend clausing in NAMA promoted by the self-promoting Greens, who really want
to grab headlines this weekend.

In 2006 the OECD criticised two departments for critical underspend (which means that spending is wrongly directed essentially)
those departments were unsuprisingly Health and Education.

Today it emerges that Batt O Keefe, who doesn't really think about building or sanitation for the nation's children( unless their parents
have big wage-packets) has an underspend of 396 million euros in his annual budget, sure maybe he can buy toilet rolls.

Minister urged to use unspent €396m on school projects - The Irish Times - Fri, Oct 09, 2009

Now thats some underspend and I propose that Ciarán Cuffe use that knowledge to create himself a headline like this:

"Greens achieve Social Dividend Clause in NAMA legislation and remain in Government until 2012".

I'd be asking why FF have not been building schools, replacing prefabs and providing adequate toilet and sanitation facilites to our kids.

In 2005 Health spending accounted for 7.5% GDP, 1.5% lower than the average for OECD countries. Am Publishing link to
OECD here and asking why FF critically underspend in the most essential departments: http://www.oecd.org

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Department of Education & Science - - Information By Topic

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/6/15/20213230.pdf

Nowt on the Department of education website regarding the budgetary situation; but I do know that the Greens are
attempting agreement on education so this gives them a bit of leverage on the issue. It's how they manipulate and
politicise that leverage that interests me- thus i will be watching the headlines carefully today.

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Sitting on it while there are thousands of contruction workers being paid by the State to do nothing and a pile of school projects are ready to go.

Has he been told not to spend it because it isn't there?

This dear Cactusflower is a regular occurence in health and education. FF has been criticised before for their spending in health and Edu-


What interests me at this point is how the Greenies will spin it out to make it look like they achieved something to stay in Government,
when quite clearly there is a meanness about resourcing school building programmes.

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Spending on primary education per pupil is much lower than spending on secondary or tertiary education despite primary education being the best way to prevent long-term unemployment, poverty.

Living even that aside, how can it be that in some schools there is no sign the boom even happened as kids sit in their prefabs.

Even the latest OECD report which you mention Dot the figures were artficially inflated by mistaken figures given to the OECD by the Department:

Read more: Education spending ?worse than suggested? | Irish Examiner

They'll do that, the learning difficulties numbers have been wrong for years.

They don't give a fck really, I should know having campaigned before on this issue with the JCP

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Slight repost here of a linked issue:

There is a link on this post to a study by the teachers college in the prestigeous Columbia University which outlines a the benefits they found to the finances by investing in education and ensuring graduation.

Briefly an overall investment of $83,000 per student gives a public benefit of $209,000. A net benefit to the state of $127,000 per student or 2.5 times the cost.

we have higher costs (to the state) in health, welfare and criminal punishment etc than the states, therefore we would potentially save a lot more here by implementing methods of ensuring a better funded education and investing in education and graduation.

The study itself with a nice easily read summary at the beginning
http://www.cbcse.org/media/download_...al_Jan2007.pdf

the thread:
Save money by spending more on Education

Given that we know where the Greens want to go Green Social Dividend Clause in NAMA legislation. and that Batt has 396 million in the Pot- how will it
be politicised and to what benefit to us after years of this shyte?

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Its completely bizarre to be discussing any 'underspend' given the state of the nations finances
If they havent allocated the annual buget at this stage then it should be taken back because they obviously dont need it.
There is no such thing as an 'underspend' - in the real world we call it a 'saving'
We should be trying to get them to stop wasting any more of our taxpayers money than they have to.

Batt hasn't been spending on buildings because he thinks that less money spent will impress Cowen and the party.
He, like McCarthy and Harney, doesn't understand the actual result of under investment on a resource and the users if that resource.
That said I guarantee that the local schools in Batt's constituency are in great shape. I have seen a couple recently in Ballincollig.
FF look after their own at the expense of those foolish enough to vote for another party a la Ned O'Keefe.