Summary of ideas submitted in the Other category…

• I propose that the Government move the entire public sector to a four-day week (or some equivalent reduction in paid working hours). This will automatically reduce the public sector pay bill by 20%.
• I propose that the Republic of Ireland (re)join the Commonwealth of Nations.
• I suggest that a partnership of local stakeholders -e.g. local authority departments, Gardai, Roads Authority, transport companies, business communities - create a Community Litter Brigade with the aim of “Tidying for Tourism” in our local areas. Full-time or part-time hours could be created for people - voluntary or sponsored - in developing education programmes to be delivered in local communities.
• I suggest that an expert group / working party group be immediately set up in connection with Enterprise Ireland (and possibly Engineers Ireland) to see how we can package the expertise of 30- to 45-year-old engineers who have terrific skill sets, market to Europe and develop links with local companies.
• I suggest that Ireland proposes the four-day week to the EU.
• I think it would be useful to allocate some money to a select set of suitable people to allow them to execute their own ideas.
• I think that it would be a very good thing if the civil servants and others who are dealing with our affairs were allowed to address us more directly on the factors affecting the crisis and the measures that they are trying to take.
• I think that the attitude of the people of Ireland is creating a panic and resulting in a vicious circle or a self-fulfilling prophecy. In Australia, the government is running advertising campaigns with slogans such as “Times are tough but we are tougher”. I feel that something similar might stimulate Irish people into fighting the recession, and motivate entrepreneurial minds to take action.
• I think the Government should lead by example and take a long look at themselves.
• I work as a Garda. People are taken to prison for sums of money less than €100. This person then spends a few days in prison for non-payment of a relatively small amount of money. Also, policy states I must take this person to prison by taxi. My suggestion is that people, on conviction, should provide their bank account details or a consent form for deductions to be made by their employer or social welfare department. A direct debit/pay deduction at source could be consented to, which would allow that person to pay their fine at an agreeable amount over a given period. Even people in receipt of social welfare should be in a position to pay fines in a drip-feed manner.
• I would like the Government to allow refugees and other non-nationals to continue working in Ireland.
• I would strongly recommend a food-based industry that would service the needs of people on weight loss management programmes. This service would provide people on low calorie, alkaline, low glycaemic or other diets with their actual lunch and/or dinner each day.
• IDA sponsored website to facilitate people with a new business idea to meet others who would like to get involved who have the necessary skills in building the idea into an actual business.
• Identify as quickly as possible new business innovative ideas from new or existing entrepreneurs and quick-start their ideas.
• Identify the specific projects involving public service management. All smart economy projects should be undertaken by a dedicated service-wide senior management group of individuals who themselves are determined to see real progress made and are given explicit authority by the Taoiseach to make this happen. Advertise them across the relevant organisations, inviting individuals to make their pitch on how they would make a particular project happen and why they should be regarded as likely to make a great job of it.
• If a family would qualify for rent supplement if they had to sell their house or have it repossessed, then don’t make them go through all that. Just give them the same money to use as mortgage interest supplement instead and take away the barriers to doing this.
• If a strike is going to cost the country millions why not then do the opposite. ‘Give an hour for your country’. Nobody likes money being deducted so why not work an hour a week for nothing instead?
• If attendance in the public sector was monitored more effectively I believe there would be a significant savings in the overall wage bill.
• If everyone bought approximately a few hundred euro of shares in Irish banks, then we would lift share prices, this would help our banking crisis and most important bigger investors inside and outside our country would reinvest. This would mean that for a few hundred a person could in time turn their money into a few thousand.
• If GPS tagging devices were installed on cars etc, their location after theft would be known, making the stolen goods more easily recoverable, the culprits possibly apprehended and with a reduction in police work. Insurance premiums might also reduce.
• If it was possible to structure work groups to carry out work on various projects, wouldn’t it be worth paying people extra on top of dole money to be available to work on these projects?
• If the community came together, took a derelict house and built it up using people from the area, a new type of youth service could be achieved.
• If the Government were to provide working mothers like me with a grant of say €20,000 a year this would cover my share of the mortgage. We could then manage to live on one salary and my job would be freed up for someone who is currently unemployed.
• If the public service unions would co-operate, we could make it possible for recently retired civil and public servants to volunteer their services, part-time and unpaid, to get us out of a hole.
• If the rules were relaxed a little bit for a year or so to permit the credit unions to lend out a given percentage of this money to small local businesses, they and the credit union would both benefit, and it would take some pressure off the banks.
• If the state took ownership or bought (they partly own the banks anyway) social housing from the builders at a very good price rather than rent, would it not make sense? It would help with liquidity for the builders, in turn liquidity for the banks and clear the backlog of available houses and in turn construction can recommence.
• If there was a website where individuals could log on their experience, skills, location, areas of interest etc, and at very short notice a company could log on to it and call an individual to see if they wished to do some thing that day or that week or when it suited both parties.
• If union leaders accept that cuts need to be made in public spending, perhaps it should be them and their union members who identify what needs to go in their individual sectors.
• If you are an SME exporter with turnover less than €X million in 2008 then take away the tax on employing people and charge 0% PRSI.
• If you have become unemployed and have a bit of money from a redundancy or a nest egg, you might consider registering to trade shares online and begin buying and selling shares in an educated fashion with a view to making some money out of it and maybe even to make a weekly wage.
• Implement existing legislation requiring elected representatives to sign ethics declarations then make these available on the web.
• Impose an embargo on promotion in the public sector and a freeze on incremental payments. This would substantially reduce the public pay bill.
• Impose an exit tax on all departures from Ireland of €250 per head to apply only during school holidays.
• Improve the waiting time for medical card applications by transferring extra staff to meet the demand and extending the working day and working week for staff.
• In all areas of the public service, set up a mechanism for all employees to submit ideas under various headings e.g. cost saving, efficiency, customer service. Have a mechanism (ideas committee) for reviewing ideas to decide what should/ should not be implemented. Where ideas are implemented, give the person/group of persons who submitted the idea a monetary award.