Summary of ideas submitted in the All island economy category…

• Develop and protect our marine resources
• Develop Ireland as a completely green tourist destination.
• Develop provincial airports and associated transport links.
• Drive down fuel costs to businesses and introduce cross-border competition
• Educate bankers in the core principles and ethics of banking and its aims and responsibilities
• Efforts should be made to attract the Irish abroad home, even if only for a holiday.
• Eliminate VAT for companies situated in the border counties.
• Employ out of work tradesmen to maintain, improve and build key social infrastructural projects like schools and hospitals etc.
• Employ private sector monitors to oversee and push through key public infrastructure projects
• Employers should be allowed to retain a percentage of turnover to pay for ‘odd jobs’ which could be paid for without deduction of PRSI or tax
• Employers should encourage employees to suggest ways to save money and improve efficiency.
• Employers who are struggling to keep staff on should give notice to the Government of their intentions to lay off staff. The Government could ‘means test’ the company in question and pay a percentage of the potentially redundant employees’ wages to keep these people in jobs and off the Live Register.
• Encourage bands to hold concerts and donate full proceeds to Exchequer. They currently don’t pay tax here (other than VAT).
• Encourage big businesses to sign up for a government programme to get people back to work - large companies would be subsidised to take on staff. The government could offer incentives. Such as deferred tax credits, to encourage unemployed people to take up the offer.
• Encourage companies to use firms in their locality rather than looking further afield. This will help build confidence in local businesses and redevelop relationships.
• Encourage inward investment by providing free electricity to companies interested in locating in Ireland.
• Encourage peer-to-peer lending with no bank involved and both lender and depositor getting more attractive interest rates than available commercially. An example of a peer-to-peer intermediary is Zopa in UK.
• Encourage people to invest in trees (willow specifically) which can help the environment and, when managed and harvested, generate an income
• Encourage people to use alternative energy and be more environmentally kind
• Encourage private sector investment in public infrastructure and provide an appropriate return for doing so
• Encourage remote working and working from home for civil servants. This could reduce waste and increase efficiency.
• Encourage specific inward investment into Irish owned companies
• Encourage the possibility of student exchanges between north and south
• Encourage the purchasing of Irish goods and products.
• Encourage those who are prospering to expand their businesses and not to sell. If they want to release cash maybe we need a state agency which will take a 25 to 30% share for say 5 years to be released to a new shareholder at the end of this time.
• Encourage uptake of the internet for commerce among Irish businesses
• Encourage use of open source software to reduce spending on proprietary software
• Ensure people in bodies such as the NRA are appropriately qualified to fulfil their duties.
• Establish a ‘People’s Bank’ or a government bank to get involved in money-lending including credit cards etc
• Establish a lottery type system to win housing in Ireland
• Establish a new fund to invest over €500 million in export oriented businesses with their HQs in Ireland.
• Establish a state bank.
• Establish a state-backed ‘Dragon’s Den’-style business support group to assess quality of ideas from entrepreneurs and offer investment funding.
• Establish a ‘War Bond / National Recovery Bond’ with government backing but independently managed.
• Establish all-island health and educational services.