The Ideas Campaign - sample of ideas received since campaign launch
Here is a selection of the ideas that have been pouring into the Ideas Campaign website. Please note that some have been edited, for space or clarity, for publication here. An idea’s inclusion on the website does not indicate it will be included in our final action plan for the Government.
All Island economy
The Government should run an international advertising campaign highlighting the positives of living/doing business in Ireland. The advertising campaign could be based on the slogan: ‘We Are Confident in Ireland’, and highlight the logos of the big multinational companies based in Ireland. These companies could help pay for the campaign’s costs
Construction
Make it a Government priority to upgrade the nation’s aging water supply network. This would be a labour-intensive construction project with long term social and economic benefits.
Education
We need to make changes to the Leaving Cert curriculum. There should be four compulsory subjects: English, Maths, Applied Maths (geared towards information technology) and the “Chemistry and Biology of Everyday Life” (CBEL). This would be a significant step in helping to develop the ‘knowledge economy’.
(This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons.)
Green businesses
Make it easier and financially viable for householders to generate their own energy by installing wind turbines. The Government should give a 10-year loan to a company large enough to start mass producing domestic wind turbines suitable for the average suburban house. This company would also distribute and erect the wind turbines/mills.
The consumer pays cash up front for the windmill, but can claim 100% of the cost back through tax rebates over 5 to 10 years. Consumers need a real incentive to take up such a scheme in large numbers, so they need to have low cost of entry, or at least a guarantee that they will get the money back directly in a few years.
An efficient wind turbine should be able to generate most of the electricity required for the average house. In certain areas, the consumer may even generate enough power to sell some back to the grid.
(This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons.)
Green Business
One area where import substitution makes real sense is in the production of fossil fuels. There is huge potential for the recycling of Used Vegetable oil (UVO) and production of bio-diesel from tallow.
We have millions of acres of land lying idle in rural areas that could be used to produce fuel from crops like rapeseed. This would restore the fabric of rural society, get people back to work and by my calculations substitute up to 20% of our oil imports saving over €1 billion per annum. To make this a reality we need to abolish tax on such fuel and designate areas for production.
Green Business
The Government should create a ‘State Energy Bank’ to make better use of natural and untapped resources and reduce energy imports. This agency would harness surplus electrical power to create energy sinks (energy banks). The surplus energy would come primarily from surplus wind energy and non-peak production of electricity.
Green Business
We have got to invest immediately in harnessing our vast renewable energy resources. We should look to Europe to help us fast-track investment in a network of renewable energy power stations. This would create many jobs in the construction sector and the development of renewable energy should not be left to the private sector alone.
We should also put significant resources into R&D with the aim of being a world leader in wave technology and a net exporter of energy.
Innovation
The various Government departments and state agencies all have different IT hardware and software structures which are not capable of interacting with one another.
If all Government IT systems were integrated, surely it would contribute to the more efficient operation of our public bodies while also resulting in expenditure savings.
Frankly, it is a wonder that this was not made a priority a long time ago as I cannot imagine that this is not an obvious solution to the State’s IT requirements and problems.
Pharmaceutical / bio-pharmaceutical / medical devices
There is a severe shortage of laboratory space available in Ireland for indigenous young companies in the life-sciences sector. Once companies in this sector have ’seeded’ their ideas in university labs, it is vital to have laboratory space available to facilitate further growth and development.
Over the years, the Irish Government, through the IDA and other agencies, has given a lot of financial incentives to large Pharmaceutical/ Biotech companies to locate their operations here.
My proposal is that when one of these companies pulls out of Ireland or closes down their manufacturing site, that the Government takes the site back and converts it into incubation spaces for life-science companies to rent. This will help high potential life science companies ‘piggy back’ on existing infrastructure rather than having to build new facilities from scratch.
This approach has already been pioneered in a number of countries including Britain. (See www.wiltoncentre.com for details on the Wilton Centre, a former ICI manufacturing plant which has been converted into modular units available for rent to companies who need lab space.
Policy
Combine the resources of the planning agencies and local authorities to achieve the roll-out of better broadband access networks.
My idea is that the local authorities, in co-operation with the Department of Energy, Communications and Natural Resources, should create a network of structured neutral ducts and street-side cabinets which could be used by any broadband provider who needs access to homes.
Anytime a road is opened and new cables, gas or water pipes are laid the local authority should require that these structured neutral ducts are laid. These should be built to an agreed national standard specification and be suitable for carrying any type of cable that is needed for broadband. Ducts would also be required in ALL new housing developments (including apartments). This would be part of the planning permission requirements.
The ducts network should be planned so that it intersects with existing communications infrastructure. The infrastructure would be publicly owned and available to any telecommunications provider who wishes to provide broadband services, but could not be used for ‘traditional’ telephone wiring, electrical cabling or any other non-related purpose.
Policy
Increasing the charge for renewing gun licenses would a large amount of extra revenue for the Exchequer. The current charge for renewing a license is a mere €6 for a limited certificate and the license period is one year. The charge should be increased to €100 for shotguns and to €150 for rifles and handguns, and the license should be granted for a period of three years. The increased licensing period would reduce the Garda workload and administration costs.
On the basis that there may be somewhere of the order of 200,000 legally held shotguns and rifles in the country, an increase in the fee to €100 (minimum) as proposed above would generate significant additional revenue across the country. And if the increased costs of obtaining a license resulted in fewer guns, then that would be good for society generally.
Policy
Thousands of Irish people, especially in the 50-plus age group have money on deposit in banks earning very little interest. If the government were to set up a guaranteed ‘National Revival Fund - offering a small rate of interest over a fixed term, say 5 years - I am sure people would be prepared to invest in the future of their country, I know I would.
Policy
A number of oil companies are not drilling exploration wells in the timeframe as specified in the terms of their licenses. The government should pressure companies with such licenses to use them or loose them.
A drill campaign would boost a local economy at the very least, while a discovery would be of huge importance to the economy in terms of security of supply and tax income.
Policy
Unlike Israel, Ireland has no repatriation policy for our enormous Diaspora. What about providing passports to people of Irish descent (setting third generation as a limit), provided they transfer funds to Irish banks (as the Australian Government. insists if you want to live there) and show evidence of plans to purchase a house/business in Ireland and resettle/retire/spend some years here?
Services
The Government could set up an online bank where people could deposit money online and the Government in turn loan money to businesses. The key advantage would be that it could be set up quickly and provide a small-scale but efficient source of capital for SMEs etc.
Social and voluntary
My idea is the establishment of a national ‘Golden Days Skills’ Bank’. There are thousands of retired people, many retired quite early, who would voluntarily contribute a day now and again to advise and assist new and developing businesses.
The Golden Days Skills’ Bank would be a simple register of people’s skills and location with e-mail address and phone number for contact. Those needing help would simply look up the bank and make contact. The volunteers would then assess whether they could help.
A condition of assistance would be that the voluntary help wouldn’t be a substitute for proper employment. The aim is to enhance a company’s ability to grow and create new jobs long term.
Social and Voluntary
We should establish an ‘Ireland Peace Corps’, based on the US Peace Corps model, and drawn from the ranks of unemployed graduates. Selected members would be sent overseas to do humanitarian work under the leadership of former Irish army officers with a background in peace-keeping duties. Funding could be available from the U.N. and EU.
Technology
I am Irish and work at a high level in international space programmes and I am consistently disappointed by the lack of Irish Government interest in space technology R&D programmes Irish companies could participate in. These include European Space Agency programmes, and other projects funded by the European Commission.
My idea is that state agencies such as the IDA, Enterprise Ireland inform themselves of the opportunities available in this area and develop an Irish skills base for European space programmes.
Tourism
Engage all our citizens in a renewed campaign to really make this country the ‘Ireland of the Welcomes’ for tourists. We need to make visitors feel more welcome in Ireland than anywhere else, and we need a fresh approach to rediscover and revive what made this country so attractive to tourists in the first place. We could start with the recruitment of voluntary ‘citizen ambassadors’ to assist tourists and people working in the tourism industry.
Tourism
Bord Failte should organise annual festivals for people with the same surname, inviting people from abroad to attend. The festivals could be held in various towns around the country associated with a particular surname. Hotels could be asked to give discounted packages to those attending these festivals which would showcase Irish culture, and products as well as boosting local economies.
Transport
Scrap VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax) and replace it with increased road tax and duty on petrol/diesel. Road tax would increase in line with a vehicle’s CO2 output, but there would be special rebates for some businesses such as the haulage industry etc. There would also be special lower rates for congestion relieving vehicles like motorbikes and scooters.
This approach to motor taxation would boost the motor industry reducing price son new vehicles and giving people incentives to switch to more fuel efficient models. It would also provide the Government with higher and steadier motor taxation revenue than VRT which has all but dried up.
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