The Ideas Campaign - latest sample of ideas received since campaign launch
All island economy
A recession is not necessarily a bad thing as it weeds out inefficiencies and those businesses that survive will be more efficient, productive and profitable. The Irish State must be viewed as a business. We the taxpayers do not pay taxes just to provide jobs. We pay taxes so that services are administered.
We need to get more value out of our public service. This means we need a measurement stick with definitive key performance indicators (KPI’s) which every section of our public sector needs to be measured against.
Lastly the economic downturn is affecting everyone and we are seeing people from all walks of life on the dole. Our government speaks of re-educating our workforce and the country is awash with empty office space.
Why not take the better educated in our society i.e. architects, engineers, and accountants etc and put their teaching their skills to those out of work in these unused office buildings.
Construction
After the property boom there are a number of housing estates whose upkeep is the responsibility of estate management companies or the estate property developers.
There are many recorded cases where these management companies do not fulfil their responsibility for cutting green areas, maintaining walkways and other general up keeping duties.
The consumer ombudsman could establish guidelines of minimum standards for upkeep and when these standards are not met that fines be imposed on the property developer/management company.
In extreme cases the ombudsman could insist that the estate be handed over to the local authority and that the fee for this is paid immediately by the offender.
Green business
Any PC that does not need to be on should be turned off at the end of the user’s day. This could result in a saving of approximately 10 - 50 euro a year. Virus and other PC updates that are normally run at night should be run at lunchtime instead.
Education
How to provide greater efficiency in education:
a. Index each school according to its socio-economic status e.g. average net income per family. Set targets for measurable educational performance e.g. scores on standardized literacy, numeracy tests based on the index.
Teachers should be paid by results achieved by students i.e. a flat rate plus bonus for achievement.
Result: increased work by teachers, increased performance by students, better economy.
b. Teachers often complain of an over-crowded curriculum i.e. they don’t have time to cover various areas effectively. A solution here would be to extend school opening hours. School opening hours are often treated as maximum hours for school operation, when they should be treated as minimum hours. Teachers could be compensated for this by a pro rata reduction in tax. Provide greater mobility for teachers to work between schools rather than being confined to one school.
c. Ensure alignment between current and emerging needs of industry and education courses and have a monitoring agency to ensure this.
* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons).
Innovation
With increasing numbers of people requiring the unemployment benefit, why are we not using these people and resources to build back up our economy? We need to gather a database of volunteers who are claiming the unemployment benefit but still want to still work.
Many of them are highly qualified and currently bored sitting at home without any work. We should introduce a mentoring/volunteering or training type role and introduce them to new start up companies that require many of these services; IT, sales, accounting.
People can then get extra credit/benefits or even just some experience for their CV when they choose to volunteer. It’s also a great networking tool where local people and companies can help each other out.
Action: Create a website
1. Add entry point for volunteers. Choose sector - give brief bio of experience and hours that they are willing to give.
2. Add entry point for people/companies that require help - they choose sector - can view profile of volunteers experience and choose to get to contact with these people.
The website can then rate volunteers and gives feedback and the website can have levels of involvement required (full time, x days, part time, consultant). For example: New start up companies required IT person for 4 weeks to build website.
Policy
This idea is a workable transparent means for local authority funding that should be a ‘win win’. The idea is simple and as follows; that the existing method of levying local authority rates should be abolished because it has resulted in a property tax which was never the intention.
It also places rural local authorities in a very vulnerable position in the current climate because of business closures.
Revenue should be empowered to centrally collect local taxes by way of percentage of turnover as with VAT. Businesses such as medical, dental & chemists with a guaranteed turnover, legal, accountancy, etc are currently deprived of paying their fair share of local authority rates, yet their clients many of whom are in the overburdened service industry are struggling to survive.
Policy
Issue: The amount of people buying houses is quite low as they fear the house price will go down in value once they buy it and so are waiting for prices to hit the bottom.
Solution: The government should buy up these available houses and sell them to the people at a discounted price. These houses could be bought in large quantities at a lower price as developers are eager to sell.
Benefits:
- People would begin to purchase again.
- House prices would begin to balance out.
- People would not be renting but have a place to call their own.
- Developers would be in a position to repay their loans
- Banks would increase profit through mortgage increases
- Banks share price would in turn increase
- With houses selling and the property market improving it would create some employment in the construction industry
- Marginal increase in value of properties would help those in negative equity
- Increase in mortgages would mean increase in revenue for the government
- More jobs for valuers for pricing homes
Policy
We, as employers are constantly bombarded with TV and radio campaigns warning of the dire consequences of submitting late tax returns. In addition it seems we are penalised personally for becoming employers by being denied the same social welfare benefits that employees get.
I have lived abroad and having worked as an employee I discovered that other countries encourage people to set up their own business and give tax breaks for those willing to do so.
I think a system should be put in place to reward those who create employment. After all it is the employer who collects and submits the employee’s taxes on behalf of the government and it appears that in this country you would be mad to become an employer due to the way that penalties go with the position and also the rights employees have nowadays.
Quite simply if you have a good employee you will look after him/her and ensure they are happy with their job.
There is no need for the anti employer measures that enable an employee to almost do what he/she likes knowing that the LRC will award them money should they leave or be fired.
Policy
In order to increase work, the population and jobs, the government must revise its policy towards immigration and naturalisation.
Instead of deterring people going out of Ireland, they must encourage people to stay and fill all the necessary jobs in the country where the Irish are reluctant to fill.
For example, because the government does not have a proper legislation governing residents from other EU and non-EU countries, people are forced to emigrate to other countries (like Australia, Canada and New Zealand) that have a much more stable legislation on citizenship, working visas and immigration.
Additionally, the government could allow people who have tourist visas to apply to work in Ireland. Even small jobs such as catering, bartending in the tourism industry, maintenance work like those that would only require a two week contract. This would attract many people from other countries to come visit Ireland.
Services (international)
Based on the model of the IFSC we should set up an International Marketing Services Centre. International brands such as Coca Cola, Dove, Ford and Sony run international marketing campaigns as well as local marketing campaign. These international campaigns are planned and created in and deployed from various global centres such as New York, London, Milan and Tokyo.
They use a wide range of international marketing services including above the line advertising (planning, creative and media buying), below the line direct marketing, digital and sponsorship. Many of these international agencies already have a presence in the Irish market.
Using a similar tax incentive model to the IFSC we should entice these global marketing agencies to relocate their international marketing teams here.
The creation and implementation of a campaign employs hundreds of high end skilled people such as planners, account directors, account executives, creative teams, producers, and digital programmers and media planners.
We could offer international marketing teams incentives to create and run these global campaigns out of Ireland.
There are hundreds of international brands and agencies spending billions of euro running international campaigns. Ireland could become the leading global centre for International marketing. There is the potential to create thousands of jobs for Irish graduates. International marketing is a skilled profession. Perfect for an open economy such as ours.
* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons).
Sport
More mountain bike and running trails need to be added to our forests around the country. There is a fantastic facility in Ballyhoura in Limerick but more are needed. Individual sports such as adventure racing and triathlon are achieving double digit growth in Ireland.
We have excellent natural resources all around. Jobs will be created in the construction, maintenance and marketing of these trails. There are huge health and tourism benefits to be realised. The Finns, Scots and Kiwis lead the field in this regard. Coillte have an excellent recreation policy in place but more funding is needed to realise the potential of these resources.
Sport
Low cost self-esteem boost - support for economically/socially disadvantaged people to train for and run a marathon. I have got great satisfaction from training for and running marathons. Apart from health benefits, the training is a great stress release, gives a structure and an achievable goal.
We also read in running magazine stories of people who have found running helped get through difficult times, e.g. bereavement, and one man even credits it with keeping him off drugs. The idea would involve a small financial contribution in the form of basic running kit including shoes (about €100) and the race entry fee (about €50).
Training could be provided under a FÁS scheme, perhaps bringing in trainee or qualified physical therapists or physical education teachers. Volunteers from running clubs and sports clinics could provide training, mentoring and education, e.g. on stretching to avoid injury. Anyone can run, even if they are terrible at other sports, and that is part of the appeal. It needs little equipment and no gym membership. All it takes is determination (and shoes).
The benefit is the reward of setting a goal, putting in the work and achieving it, which could be a first for many people who have not had the opportunity to succeed at something before.
Sport
Let’s get outside in the evenings and at weekends and revive our parks. Going out for a walk, a run, for sports or to play with the kids is free, sociable, and healthy.
It could really boost our quality of life, sense of community and reduce our expenditure on healthcare and organised entertainment. Tag rugby has got lots of people out of the pub and into the fresh air. We need more initiatives of this kind and more city and county council pitches devoted to new, inclusive pursuits.
Tourism
Ireland has significant opportunities in tourism. Ireland has a very rich history that touches upon multiple facets of life. Several others commented on “themed tourism” packages.
As a U.S. citizen who has travelled numerous times to Ireland (and now, a tax-paying resident in the Republic of Ireland), I can tell you that such themed tourism ideas would work very well for tourists coming from the U.S.
- Tourism theme examples:
- Archaeological tours
- Traditional Irish Music tours
- Irish Christian History tours
- General Irish history tours
- Surfing, Sailing, other water sport tours.
- Photography, visual artist tours
Tourism
My idea is another idea about speciality tourism. Saint Valentine is buried in Whitefriar Street in Dublin. I don’t understand why this fact is not harnessed as a tourism product by Dublin Tourism.
I am aware that the Japanese are quite knowledgeable about Saint Valentine’s association with Dublin, but generally, tourists appear to be unaware of it. To my mind, there is enormous scope for developing a romance tourism product with this idea.
If we can create a tourism product for Saint Patrick in the Saint Patrick’s festival, then why can’t Dublin create a similar tourism product for Saint Valentine? I believe it would give a great tourism boost mid winter.
Tourism
Increase dramatically the input from women (including public forums / TV programmes) in the design of hotels, bars and restaurants. It is so obvious that all these things are designed by men. Women know what is ideal for families, for couples, for single women.
Even families with high incomes have family holidays independently in caravans because hotels do not provide for their needs. Smaller details of design are important also such as insufficient lighting in rest rooms, coat hooks to hang one’s coat! When designing they should think of the person and their reason for entering a public hostelry.
What about the person who does not drive and comes in from the elements with coats and shopping bags? What are their immediate needs?
What about ideas to make a person’s stay, however brief (such as a cup of coffee in a cafe), more pleasant and comfortable? And when will we learn not to charge tea/coffee by the cup! People should be able to get fill ups for free!
* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons).
Transport
An all Ireland rail system would generate millions of euro to the Irish economy through tourism and it would encourage the decentralisation of business in Dublin and Belfast.
If we could redevelop and expand the rail system introduced by the British years ago it would drive business and tourism into rural areas that are suffering terribly.
To date most tourists rarely see past Dublin or Belfast but beautiful areas such as Kerry, Donegal, Cork , Mayo etc are overlooked due to the poor infrastructure and long travel time required to get to these regions.
Ireland is a tiny nation with so much to offer outside of the capitals, a new rail system would drive business throughout the country and open up access points to the country outside of the two major cities.
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