Summary of ideas submitted in the All island economy category…

• Stem the spread of drugs in Ireland and increase the use of sniffer dogs
• Streamline all state and semi-state organisations and get Revenue to audit these bodies for inefficiencies etc
• Switch off public lighting on buildings and streets between certain times.
• Take the unemployed and employ them wherever there are bottlenecks in the civil service to improve efficiency
• Tax all Irish citizens on all outward plane journeys. Do not tax those coming into the country or for their journey home again. Offer incentives such as tax-free shopping and reduced hotel rates or tourists.
• Tax all social welfare benefits and payments.
• Tax National Lottery winnings
• Tax the stud farm sector.
• The ‘Guaranteed Irish’ logo should be reintroduced for all goods produced here to stimulate purchasing and drive the indigenous economy
• The banks should write off all mortgages
• The border counties should become ecommerce hubs benefiting from low corporate tax, grants etc. in Ireland yet able to send deliveries by Royal Mail, thus avoiding international parcel charges to the large UK market
• The Central Bank should review bad debts on a case by case basis and allow Irish companies to write off the bad loans. An examiner should be appointed to take control of all assets belonging to bankers and individuals responsible for these bad loans. The examiner would grant each individual a modest living and house based on the average industrial wage. All other assets, including those pre-assigned to spouse or children others, would be seized and held in trust until the full recovery of the loan.
• The ECB should print more money and treat the European economy as a single economy.
• The financial institutions should use the recapitalisation money they have been given by the state to clear the bad debts of the customers who are unable to meet their mortgage commitments and find themselves in negative equity. The entire mortgage process should be reviewed to ensure people don’t find themselves in this position again.
• The Government should buy houses from developers and individuals at cost price and sell on at cost price.
• The Government should buy out people’s mortgages rather than the banks bad debts. Let the banks deal with their own mess
• The Government should directly purchase unsold housing units and pay builders at cost price with the payment offset against outstanding debts in banks. The Government re-sells the houses at cost, buyers obtain mortgages from banks and the whole process gets cash moving again in the economy.
• The Government should encourage hospitals to work on the principles of LEAN healthcare as seen in the US. The government should regulate and promote alternative healthcare models.
• The Government should launch a scheme to access a percentage of the interest being earned on savings and use it for infrastructural works
• The Government should link bodies such as Enterprise Ireland with Sovereign Wealth Fund managers in the Middle East etc to source strategic inward investment.
• The Government should offer the same tax breaks/reliefs to Indigenous companies as they do to large international companies. The Government should also aggressively support the use of indigenously-produced green fuels.
• The Government should provide tax relief to companies committed to maintaining current levels of employment.
• The Government should repossess buildings formerly occupied by multinationals and offer them free of charge to Irish start-ups.
• The Government should repurchase the Eircom network assets
• The Government should sponsor the production of an annual 2CD pack highlighting emerging Irish artists. This would be distributed to all taxi drivers etc to play and give exposure to the bands
• The Government should subsidise wages in ailing companies to keep people in work
• The IDA and FAS should invest 90% of their budget into indigenous businesses this year; there’s no need for them to waste money flying around the world.
• The idea of house-swapping north to south for holidays should be encouraged.
• The public sector is too big and must be reduced drastically
• The social welfare system needs to be reformed. There should be a reduction, or at least a cap placed on the amount of money being paid out as the current levels aren’t sustainable
• The state should publish an online balance sheet that’s easy to follow and allows people understood the country’s finances.
• The US Government is cracking down on tax havens for American companies (in countries such as Bermuda, the Caymans). A campaign should be mounted by the IDA to attract these companies here and lock these companies into the Irish taxation system for a long time. Ensure those companies attracted are spread throughout Ireland and not just Dublin.
• There should be a ‘Guaranteed Irish’ emphasis in retail stores.
• There should be a 1 cent tax on ring pulls from aluminium cans.
• There should be a drive to market Ireland to “Islamic markets.” Send joint industry-government delegations to selected Muslim countries tasked with encouraging cooperation with these countries.