On flight path to disaster but no-one knows how to land

[lostexpectation]

what vague waffle and inappropriate analogy, usual dq tripe

[wombat]

Probably, a change of flight crew would be a useful first step in the prolonged detoxification process needed by Irish society. But the passengers on Flight EI-2009 need to take a good look at themselves also!

In defence of the people, a lot of us remembered the 80's, many had returned from abroad and we lost the run of ourselves but you should not underestimate the power of advertising - remember the mantra - rent is dead money, if you don't get on the property ladder now, you won't be able to afford it later. Part of our problem is that people have taken a look at themselves and are desperately saving for the approaching downpour.
I had an ambition when younger to retire at 55, now I might just be unemployed.

[Rosmuc]

When is the PD thread going to be removed ? Should their logo still be used as an avatar in here, I heard it was sold on Ebay for 5 cent.

[irish_bob]

I suspect that a FG Labour alternative is off the agenda - it is impossible to underestimate Eamonn Gilmore's ego - he will continue telling us that "yes he can" until the shine wears off Obama. It is time FG faced facts and realise that Labour will not want to join them in govt. Labour will get the votes of the 2 teacher family and FG should try and win the support of the private sector. They need to get back to their message of cutting public spending, not increasing it as Labour want.

labour are reaping the rewards of playing to the public servant gallery right now , they are unequivocally supportive of the public sector , fine gael are dithering on what it is they wish to do regarding public sector pay , they are again trying to ape fianna fail and be all things to all people , they think there are public sector votes up for grabs but they also realise the public sector is over paid and over staffed , NEWSFLASH , the public sector would bleed the rest of us dry so as to maintain thier possition as europes highest paid ps , they are sluts when it comes to voting , whoever is against ps cuts gets their number one , fine gael need to get off the fence and become what many in ireland are crying out for , a truly conservative party , they need to canvass on a cut public spending mandate the same way eamon gilmore is canvassing on a no public spending cut mandate
its not clear what fine gael want to do , we need them to clarify, presently all they are is not fianna fail

[Colada]

"Can anyone truthfully say that if Labour and Fine Gael had been in power the economy would be in better shape today than it is? It is extremely doubtful. They were all for flying high and fast as well."


Most people in Ireland "were all for flying high and fast as well". The delusions of grandeur ("economic miracle", "one of the richest ... happiest ... best quality lifetsyle ...", etc.) infected society as a whole (apart from the most disadvantaged, who became practically invisible).

I returned to Ireland at the height of the much-vaunted 'boom', after several years working on a project in a so-called '3rd World' country. I was profoundly shocked. The arrogance of many Irish people was matched only by their obvious incompetence. The amount of money being squandered on all sides was staggering - endless consultants' reports (largely worthless vanity exercises), State-funded quangos and politically expedient projects of all kinds (obviously unproductive, when one began to look for concrete results/benefits), and so on. Coming home to this from a desperately poor country, where, by necessity, precious resources must be used carefully and wisely, I regularly found myself left speechless with anger.

The pervasive attitude seemed to be: "grab as much as possible for as long as possible". Medical, legal and business elites were raking in the dosh for all they were worth. Further down the feeding-frenzy chain, even small domestic repair/maintenance jobs became a blatant, shameless rip-off.

And all of this was merrily led by our grossly over-paid political masters and mistresses, of all persuasions. However, these elites were simply the rats propagating the social plague. Our entire society became contaminated. Even people of modest means suddenly felt the need for a flashier car, a more upmarket address, additional annual holidays in the sun or snow, regular trips to the latest, hippest eateries and ridiculously expensive coffee joints. Even kids became overweight shopaholics!

Probably, a change of flight crew would be a useful first step in the prolonged detoxification process needed by Irish society. But the passengers on Flight EI-2009 need to take a good look at themselves also!

Very well said UHM. I agree totally. The vast majority of so-called 'Professionals' in this country are frauds. Frauds in that they are incapable of doing their jobs correctly or professionally. I've seen it time and again when I've been unfortunate enough to have to interface with any of these yahoos. From a Solicitor who took THREE attempts to get a simple affadavit right (even though the required wording was prescribed) through to architects who won't listen to instructions, accountants who simply refuse to return calls....the malaise had trickled down through the ranks so that even the local tradesmen had adopted the same shoddy and lazy attitudes. It was all too easy. Even the 'leading lights of society' our bankers and CEO's have proven to be just another set of greedy arrogant incompetents, out of their depth.

It occurs to me that the professional performance of Captain Sullenberger, in getting his aircraft down safely without loss of life, has struck so deep a chord round the world because here was a REAL professional doing his job COMPETENTLY and PROFESSIONALLY, in a world where MEDIOCRITY has become the norm.

In some jobs there is no room for error, and no opportunity to say 'sorry' and slide off with a fat pension and a golden handshake, after you've screwed it up.

If anything good comes of this recession it'll be the utter destruction of the professional classes arrogance, and a return to minimal competency.

Maybe the plumber might turn up on time in future too.

[DeGaulle 2.0]

I very rarely agree with David Quinn, however .......

Can anyone truthfully say that if Labour and Fine Gael had been in power the economy would be in better shape today than it is? It is extremely doubtful. They were all for flying high and fast as well.

Discuss:

David Quinn is wrong. The only defence the government appear to have of their ineptitude is the dishonest mantra "FG and Labour would have done the same". No matter how much it is repeated, it is not true.

Richard Bruton 2003:-

1. The legacy of soft option politics.

After almost two decades of scrimping and saving to retrieve the Country’s public finances, this Government was handed a unique opportunity in 1997. It inherited a sound foundation of public finances, an economy growing at 10% per annum, and employment growing by 1000 jobs per week. Here indeed was an opportunity to use the country’s newfound wealth to fashion New Ireland. This opportunity has been spurned. Instead the lessons of those hard years were quickly forgotten. The worst excesses of rapidly developing economies were repeated. Huge amounts of money were poured to unreformed systems. Poor choices were made. Poor value was got. Proper procedures were ignored. There was no vision for a new Ireland.

The opportunity was lost by inept leadership working a washed out model of governance, unequal to the challenges we face.

The Estimates volume for 2004 bears the indelible marks of this legacy. You will search in vain for a single sign of serious reform to deliver better value for money. No programmes have been restructured. No bureaucracy has been dismantled. No new systems of evaluation and cost management have been put in place. No renegotiation of Benchmarking has taken place to yield genuine value. No organisation has been asked to compete for its Budget or demonstrate what it is achieving.

Fine Gael News - Speech by Richard Bruton T.D on the 2004 Estimates