Originally Posted by Schuhart

Look, this discussion is going around in circles. Examples have already been given in relation to cost. For example, the rural school transport service costs the taxpayer more than the whole of Dublin Bus, just to get the kids to school. You personally may not avail of the service – but someone does. Well, then you experience is untypical.Sorry to introduce facts, the enemy of every rural advocate. Maybe your fuel bills are lower. If so, you are a strange case, and untypical of rural dwellers in general.Grand, but we’ve already established that households in predominantly rural counties (on average) make no net contribution to State funds.

Rural household pay less in housing costs !!

HUGE shocker there mate..
We pay less on food thats produced locally (my veg grown in my garden) than urban dwells where food have to be delivered...
Urban households spend more on public transport ? Im amazed.. You spend more on subsidised public transport that is available to you than I do on public transport that isnt availabel to me ?? I cannot figure that one out..
Yet still I pay more for private transport fuel that is heavily taxed? Perhaps we should put together a committee to figure out why..

Urban dwellers avail more of available subsidised public transport than rural dwellers BUT rural dwells pay more for private transport ?? One of lifes great mysteries there.....

Rural dwellers pay more on central heating when they have tanks in their gardens that require fuel to be delivered than urban dwellers that have a mains gas line.. Its obviously because they use more CO2 emmitting fuels and have uninsulted houses...

Im shocked and congratulate you on your statistics and facts that show absolutely that I live in a hugely state subsidises house, that taxpayers pay to heat, use way more heating than you do, Avail of free water and waste that are provided by the state, get state subsidised food that is obviously produced in urban areas and costs more to deliver to us rural dwells and I dont avail of subsidised public transport that is plentifull supply but would rather pay for furl for may car that that is subsidised by the state instead of been taxed to the hilt.

I am so sorry that you have to may for my subsidised housing, subsidised fuel and subsidised food..

Any more statistics to amaze me ????

Oh, dear.

Originally Posted by sparkey321

We pay less on food thats produced locally (my veg grown in my garden) than urban dwells where food have to be delivered...

You're not reading it right.

As a proportion of total household expenditure, rural households spent more on Food (17.2 %versus 15.6% for urban areas). Rural households were larger in size (average household size of 2.95 persons per household compared with 2.69 persons per household in urban households), which may explain why rural Food expenditure was greater.

Rural households are, by and large, buying their food in shops like the rest of us.

Originally Posted by sparkey321

Urban households spend more on public transport ? Im amazed.. You spend more on subsidised public transport that is available to you than I do on public transport that isnt availabel to me ?? I cannot figure that one out..

What its actually telling you is rural households spend more on transport, despite the taxpayer spending more on rural school transport than is spent on the whole of Dublin Bus.

Can I also point out that I presented these facts in response to your assertion that you spent less on fuel than you would when living in an urban setting. I have demonstrated that this means you are not a typical case. Hence, your mock surprise is inappropriate as your original point is demonstrated to be irrelevant.

Originally Posted by sparkey321

Yet still I pay more for private transport fuel that is heavily taxed? Perhaps we should put together a committee to figure out why..

We need a committee to figure out how we can get folk like yourself to digest facts, such as the fact that, on average, households in predominantly rural areas make no net tax contribution.

Originally Posted by sparkey321

Rural dwellers pay more on central heating when they have tanks in their gardens that require fuel to be delivered than urban dwellers that have a mains gas line.. Its obviously because they use more CO2 emmitting fuels and have uninsulted houses...

I'd say the answer is something like that, yes.

Originally Posted by sparkey321

Any more statistics to amaze me ????

I think you need to understand the information provided, first.

Originally Posted by Icemancometh

It hasn't reared it's head on this thread, but it gets aired often enough. Two examples spring to mind. One was on the ascension of Brian Cowen to Taoiseach, Newstalk did a series of voxpops on the streets of Clara. One woman said it would be nice to have a Taoiseach from the real Ireland, to the support of the people in the background. Another was a letter to the Irish independent concerning Sen. Norris chances of being elected president. (Roughly this time last year). The writer said it was just hype of the Dublin media, and in the real Ireland outside Dublin, Norris stood no chance (true, actually).

Now, I know these are two anecdotes, and the amount to nothing really. But they were just off the top of my head, and I'm sure that if I searched, I could find many more references to the real, rural, Ireland. Let's not pretend this attitude doesn't exist.

I think that it's an anti-Dublin attitude that you can find anywhere outside Dublin. It's not just in rural areas.

Originally Posted by Victor Meldrew

I don't live in a Ghetto. I also paid for it (and continue to pay) myself.

Most rural dwellers in one off housing would not live there if they were made pay the true economic cost of using an old car as a septic tank in pursuit of their perceived god given right to live in a corner of their parents farm and have all services provided for them.

Read the article please....


Then wonder why the no to everything brigade think the IMF will fund such a lifestyle when their real job is supporting developing nations and helping failed states ?

Hang on, its a bit far fetched top say someone used an old car as a septic tank. The closest he could get is to use it as a toilet which is far different to a septic tank. As a toilet, he'd only be doing his own health harm, no one else. So I dont know what your issue there is. Or perhaps your just too ignorant to see exactly that.

I'd like proof of all these allegations about rural dwellers.

Our homes are subsidised - Now where can I make that happen?

We use more heating - If it's cold here, it's cold there.

We don't have gas central heating - well duh! It's not available here & too bladdery expensive, at least when the oil runs out we wrap up warm and wait for a few bob to buy some.

I never heard of anyone using an old car for a septic tank, it does not make any sense at all.

We pay for school busses every year, they are subsidised if you send your child to the nearest school, otherwise, whacko bill. The same in Dublin, I went to school with girls who lived in Stepaside & got the fare subsidised.

Yes, most of us used to have veggies in the field & we gave it up this year, it costs a fortune in sprays and stuff (yesterday was a blighty day for instance), we do have fruit treees, but then my father grows fruit and veg in his small Dublin garden.

We have no public transport, but we all pay (roughly) the same for petrol. The NCT is the same price across the country.

I want to be reasonable here. There are a lot of quare thoughts on here about rural dwellers an we don't eat babies, that's for sure

Originally Posted by Watcher2

Hang on, its a bit far fetched top say someone used an old car as a septic tank. The closest he could get is to use it as a toilet which is far different to a septic tank. As a toilet, he'd only be doing his own health harm, no one else. So I dont know what your issue there is. Or perhaps your just too ignorant to see exactly that.

Actually, it didn't actually occur to me until now - thanks for the notice.

It occurred to me that the spreading out of populations instead of concentrating them all in big cities might be something which ensures the survival and health of the human race if we were hit by some horrific natural disaster e.g a fatal incurable virus, nuclear radiation from a rogue state missile or situation similar to Japan, mega tsunami, earthquake, asteriod impact etc . What real cost then on society ? By following bankers rules concerning the movement of pieces of paper we might forget the older and more established rules set by nature. Perhaps one set of rules should not be allowed to deviate too far from the other set.

Originally Posted by Toman13

1) Agreed. I mean, serious, don't be surprised if you live in the primate city of this country and having to subsidies the rest of the country, what else would you expect?

What subsidies are you talking about ?

Originally Posted by Bonsai Experiment

What subsidies are you talking about ?

It is a fact that Urban Councils are subsided less than rural ones. I don't like to admit it, but it is fact. I'm not sure what great services we get in return, but the transfer of money is undeniable.

Funding local services is not a subsidy. What "subsidies" are you talking about ?