Summary of ideas submitted in the All island economy category…

• Change the tax regime to make it attractive for one parent in a two-parent family to stay at home.
• Change to tax regime, including lower VAT, and introduce a linear tax with no deductions as well as ‘appropriate’ taxes on capital gains and interest
• Charge companies an annual fee for limited liability status.
• Children not resident in the state should not receive child benefit allowances
• Collect and return all coppers to a National Finance Fund
• Companies certified by Enterprise Ireland (and Country Enterprise Boards) who have not made a profit due to investment in development should receive a rebate on Income Tax.
• Conscript secondary school leavers into the Civil Service for a year to undertake the lower skilled functions in there at a nominal wage
• Consider abolishing the Seanad.
• Copy Germany’s incentive scheme for keeping people in employment. Drive all costs back to 2003 levels - this will give us a sustainable cost base.
• Create a government backed bond with favourable tax or other incentives and a 5year timeframe only open to investment by Irish residents to get high net worth Irish individuals to invest in helping the Irish state
• Create a national web site where people can pool ideas and find out what skill/resource shortages and opportunities exist in their areas.
• Create a resource pool/database/bank of highly qualified professionals that are now unemployed and would be available for freelance work to help small-medium companies who may not have the access or resources to professionals of that calibre.
• Create a united federal Ireland and remove duplication of services.
• Create an additional tax bracket
• Create an integrated all-island network that connects the excellent R & D taking place here with complementary networks worldwide.
• Create an internet based commodities/goods exchange platform negating the need for cash.
• Create an Irish database of international people with ties to Ireland to foster development and business
• Create and develop indigenous business and enterprise.
• Create confidential channels to allow whistleblowers in financial institutions to highlight fraud and other malpractices.
• Create government tax incentives to reduce rural depopulation.
• Create new third level and lifelong training courses with a focus on green technologies.
• Creating a circle of Ireland train loop and market this to tourists
• Cut out the bureaucracy for start-up businesses.
• Cut pay civil servants pay by 20% - 30%.
• Cut the Capital Gains Tax rate to 5%
• Cut VAT rates on home improvements in houses more than two years old. This would encourage home-owners and landlords to do work which would benefit a huge number of retailers, builders, tradesmen and boost confidence and morale in the country. The loss in VAT would be easily compensated for by jobs created and increased consumer spending.
• Cuts costs across the board - taxes, salaries, etc
• Decentralise the government departments to various parts of the country.
• Deny non-receipted expense claims and charge for all parking benefits.
• Develop a direct bus route from Galway to Belfast.
• Develop a major tourist attraction
• Develop a new ‘man made’ wonder of the world located in Ireland.
• Develop a skills matching website allowing emerging companies with good ideas to tap into the skills of mature people with business experience (t a greatly reduced premium).
• Develop an e-tenders type mechanism to allow indigenous producers assess whether or not producing certain products with their spare capacity has financial merit.
• Develop an incentive scheme for home grown businesses with grants etc