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.

Construction

Double the amount of electricity available from wind farms by building hydro-storage stations near or beside all wind farms. Build upper reservoirs and lower reservoirs similar to the ESB hydro-electric plant at Turlough Hill in Wicklow. SEI (Sustainable Environment Ireland) has done a study on this alternative approach to energy production. This technology has been tried and tested, it works, it lasts for decades, and could slash the cost of our energy bills/ production bills/ and everything that follows on from that. I suggest the Government launch a scheme to build these hydro-storage stations all around the country. Get the economy moving, draw on the ESB’s previous experience with Turlough Hill, and do it fast before it is too late. Master it, and we could pioneer this approach all over the world.

Construction

Over the last 15 years, Ireland has accumulated a huge amount of civil engineering expertise in roads, bridges, water treatment plants, sewerage plants, pipelines, reservoirs, landfills, ports etc. Irish civil engineers (especially those in contracting) are highly regarded internationally as being practical, pragmatic, safety conscious and having the drive to get projects completed on programme.

The challenge now is to retain this expertise - if we people in the 30 to 45-year-old bracket it will be near impossible to get them back. This group of 30 to 45-year-old engineers have terrific skills sets and their expertise could be harnessed. Huge opportunities are available across the EU, especially Eastern Europe (Brussels has earmarked billions for Poland alone and they lack the expertise to deliver these projects just as Ireland did in the early 1990’s) where substantial sums will be invested in infrastructure over the next decade.

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 this expertise, market to Europe and develop links with local companies.

A full supply chain of expertise (site investigation, materials testing, civil construction & design) could be supplied, provided we can offer competitive tenders and control costs both here at home and with local country suppliers.

* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons.)

Education

In the 1990s, Ballyfermot College of Further Education became (according to Disney) one of the top five colleges in the world for animation. This was achieved in five years through close links with the Don Bluth studios here in Dublin.

3D Animation and 3D graphics is now the foundation of the multi-billion dollar Games industry. Each year we export 3D artists to Scotland and the US.

We need to develop the idea of a Technology Development Park to retain these skills and develop the Games industry in Ireland. Expand the existing colleges and encourage games companies to do in-house training here.

Education

This idea is about making further education and training available to more people. I work as Principal of a College of Further Education. The students do training courses for jobs or for advancement to Higher Ed. Unfortunately, the numbers are capped nationally so we technically have no places for the ‘new unemployed’, many of them school-leavers who might otherwise have got jobs or apprenticeships.

My idea is that the Dept of Education gives us more part-time teaching hours to expand/set up new courses. Under current policy, I will be forced to drop 2/3 teachers next year and they will go on the unemployment register as they are part-time or contract teachers. If they were hired to teach these young adults, neither the students nor the teachers would be claiming benefits.

* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons.)

Green businesses

The ‘national’ taxi fleet is aging and needs to be updated. My solution to this problem has environmental, tourism, and business benefits.

Reduce our carbon footprint by investing in new cars for our ‘national’ taxi fleet. All taxis should be a specific colour all over the country -an Irish ‘Green Cab’ similar to London’s world famous ‘Black Cab’ - as this would be a plus to tourists. Taxis should be used to compliment the public transport system. With Government support, this would be a realistic package that would be attractive to the operators and the public, as well as creating a safe and structured industry.

Green businesses

There will be a world shortage of steel wind turbines & possibly a shortage of teams to install and maintain them. Get FAS to train teams of wind turbine engineers to design, manufacture, install and maintain advanced wind turbines and other renewable technologies.

Make Ireland a world centre of excellence for renewable energy. Surely its time to invest in training programmes now?

Innovation

I have worked as a marketing mentor for a County Enterprise Board. It is clear to me that there are many people with good small business ideas who don’t ever get as far as opening the door of their local Enterprise Board office. Many small business start-ups begin without any of the help that could be so valuable at their inception. And the reason they don’t access that help is that it doesn’t occur to them that the County Enterprise Boards exist for people like THEM.

That’s the background to my suggestion, which is to have Ideas Evenings in local parish halls, where potential start-up businesses can get an initial evaluation on their business idea and advice on how to proceed, delivered in an accessible, non jargon format.

The local advertising to promote the evenings should have an emphasis on accessibility, welcoming people of all ages. The advisors could either be local consultants, who would offer their time pro bono, or representatives from the relevant agencies as long as they remember to leave the jargon at the front door!

Pharmaceutical / bio pharmaceutical / medical devices

My idea is that the Government should set up a National Process Development Centre to develop chemical processes for the pharmachem industry. This should have links to universities and ITs as well as the multinational industries based here. There is a similar institute in Israel (see http://www.pilotplantcenter.com).

The Government has already established a similar centre for biotechnology, namely NIBRT in Dublin. Setting up a National Process Development Centre would reinforce Ireland’s standing as one of the major world centres of pharmaceutical chemical synthesis and would build on the concept already applied in NIBRT.

Policy

Having lived, worked and studied in Silicon Valley, I feel that I am well placed to make suggestions about what Ireland needs to do to become a ‘Silicon Island’.

We have to prioritise the education and supply of high-end R&D graduates at a relatively low cost from our Universities and Institutes of technology. Our Universities and ITs should have a strong commercial policy and links with industry. These should be international, not just national links. IDA Ireland needs to shift its focus on linking Universities to the international R&D centres of world renowned companies.

Silicon Valley has prospered because of a strong Venture Capital community. We need to encourage more risk taking for Venture Capital in this country by offering greater tax relief in this area.

We also need strong financial incentives to attract world class thinkers, leaders and innovators to our rainy but green country. We should not put all our eggs in one basket and I fear we are focusing too much on “green” enterprises. Housing, access to education, should be made available to these international visitors. Just like the tax breaks and assistance IDA gives to companies, we need to do likewise to individuals that can help our economy grow. Silicon Valley does not produce people like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg, it attracts them.

* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons.)

Policy

We have vast oil resources of our West coast and we need to renegotiate the contracts signed with multinational corporations for exploring and developing these resources. We need to start by setting up our own State oil Company. In Norway, the money generated by their national oil company is put back into the country, benefiting everything from health to education.

Policy

If the trend to off-shore all the IT development tasks to India and other locations continues, in 15 years time there will be no one available in Ireland to conduct the high end tasks. At that point Ireland will be required to import these skills and the software development industry as we know it will be lost. The reality is that most developers in software houses in India are actually graduates. The cost of such resources can be as low as €50-€100 per day. Difficult to compete with, but the Irish IT sales pitch needs to change to quality, on-time delivery over pure cost.

My idea is to somehow combat this without being accused of protectionism. Graduate programs are one angle. Allow a company to hire Degree level IT graduates for software development and technical management roles on a three-year ‘apprenticeship’. This would be a fixed term contract that the employer is not obliged to continue after the three years. This could be structured to provide cost benefit to the company by way of tax credits or Enterprise Ireland grants.

The economy benefits by retaining a solid base of software designers and engineers in the long term.

* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons.)

Retail

My idea is an e-tailing venture that would compete with the likes of Etsy, DaWanda Artfire and Folksy in promoting handmade Irish crafts produce. While there are undoubtedly great resources for craftspeople in Ireland, there is little to nothing on the e-commerce side of things. Etsy and the likes have had major success and I believe, after consultation with customers and crafters themselves, that an Irish site inspired by these would do very well.

Sport

Why don’t we revive the National Stadium project? It would be a vital piece of national infrastructure which in the longer term could earn us money through sports tourism etc. For example, if we had the National Stadium now, we could offer world-class acclimatisation facilities pre-London Olympics 2012. We could host a world athletics or boxing championships. Combine a National Stadium with Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium and we could make a realistic joint bid with the other ‘Celtic Nations’ to host a European Football Championships.

Tourism

Once you encounter a busy and thriving waterway system such as the Canal du Midi in France, you realise how lifeless the canals in Dublin really are. In Dublin, with its population of well over 1 million, you don’t see any barges of people actually living on the canal as they do in Amsterdam or Paris or Oxford. That’s why I’m proposing a substantial repopulation of the Grand Canal in Dublin. This would have many benefits including:

• A substantial increase in waterways tourism
• A very cheap form of housing for first-time buyers and tenants
• Direct and indirect business spin-offs for local suppliers, from retailing to restaurants
• The development of a specialised “green” barge building industry, with all the ancillary products and services that would entail (fitters, furniture makers, repairers, solar panel installers etc)
• Seasonal employment for lock-keepers, guides and staff on the large tourist cruisers

* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons.)

Tourism

Build a coastal walking path all around Ireland similar to the coastal Grande Randonee in France. We have a wonderful coastline, but it is hard to access most of it. Pay landowners a small fee for access. This would attract tourists and create jobs in tourist sector, provide significant employment during its construction (labour intensive, low materials cost) and allow our people the chance to enjoy their own country

Transport

Dublin Bus recently announced that it was mothballing a large number of buses due to falling demand for its services. This is both a waste of valuable assets (the buses aren’t being used), and a drain on current resources, (they will still need to be maintained while in storage).

Simultaneously, I note that Bus Eireann have recently reintroduced double-decker buses onto some routes in Cork. These buses are brand new. Almost all of Cork’s current fleet is single-decker, and I believe the same is true of the fleets in Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

I propose that, rather than buying new buses for Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick, the mothballed buses belonging to Dublin Bus would be given/leased to Bus Eireann for use in the regional cities, or for use on the routes between dormitory towns and the major employment centres.

This should be an easy change to implement, as Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus are in the same group of companies under state management.

Previous ideas: Batch #3

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.

Agriculture and food

People in Ireland often go on a wine-makers’ trail as part of a holiday abroad. Experiencing the wines of an area, meeting the grape producers, perhaps staying on the vineyard, and buying some wine to bring home are all wonderful experiences. They profit the winemakers immediately, and in the longer term, if they export their wines to Ireland.  Ireland does not grow grapes, but there is a network of apple growers spread around Ireland, and as is evident from a reading of the Brehon laws, cider has been made here for 3,000 years.

My idea is that the regulatory framework which currently does not realistically permit the small-scale making of cider on farms could be amended to allow this. Farmers with little orchards could produce a few thousand litres of cider annually, just like happens in Somerset, Devon, and other parts of England. (Up to last year the cider duty regulations permitted farmers to make cider “on occasion” without a license, though nobody did it because the legal situation was unclear). We could market holidays based around a series of visits to farmhouse cideries that would bring tourists around Ireland, perhaps extending their length of stay in Ireland, as well as attracting new visitors. Ireland is famous for its hospitality, drink, and food. What a wonderful combination these would make.

Construction

Hundreds of ghost estates lie empty, especially in the midlands. They could be turned into private but affordable retirement communities. We are an ageing population and elderly care is way too expensive. Retirement communities, serviced by their own shop, medical centre, pharmacist etc., would be a good way to utilise the ghost estates, create construction jobs, health jobs, retail jobs etc. and give our ageing population more affordable dignity in their final days.

Culture

Use empty retail and business units to provide workspace for artists, students, colleges where they can develop and create work. These locations can be open to the public and provide an opportunity to create a vibracy in areas which are suffering due to closure or no take up on retail or office space. There could be Friends type refreshment area run on a co-op basis and these could also be utilised by catering students allowing them to gain valuable work experience. We need to give our young people in particular hope that there will be an employment future for them here.

Culture

Learning the Irish Language on a local level (e.g Gaeltachts). I think that many Irish Adults especially those with time on their hands would take the opportunity to learn the language. In the same way that Des Bishop learned the language - by total immersion in the Gaeltacht.   This would be a good income stream for B&Bs , private households in rural Gaeltacht areas of Ireland.  It could also offer employment opportunities for unqualified/qualified teachers in these areas.     This type of industry is quite prevalent in Latin America where people wish to learn Spanish quickly and in a total immersion environment.

Education

There are millions of unused square footage in new business parks all around Ireland which could be purchased vey cheaply and converted to schoolroom space very quickly.

Innovation

I have been all over the world but particularly Asia. One of the reasons that the Asian economies are more competitive than Ireland is that they have a different culture of business that we don’t quite understand. Having sat and chatted to these guys going back and forth in airplanes I have concluded  the Asians have this idea that they must compete but also collaborate in equal measure, whatever suits the circumstances.

Maybe their religions, Buddhism, Taoism and Hinduism, allow them to constantly seek to balance opposites, to find a harmony in contradictions or something like that. This is not a discussion about philosophy but there is something we can learn here. Anyway I think Irish business people are very capable of doing that, more so than our European partners for example, who are very much either pure collaborators or very much competitors and choose business models to suit these sorts of personalities.

* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons.)

Policy

Establish a new Irish Bank, “People’s Bank”, using Kiwibank as a template (www.kiwibank.co.nz)  Basic values include:

• Sense of nationalism
• Simple, no-nonsense brand
• Retail and Commercial lending
• Prudent, long-term conservative lending criteria
• Regulating the space the bank can operate in
• Local presence, atached to the post-office

Fresh capital from the Govt with partial ownership. Eventually self-sustaining.  The Credit Union would be the closest local example, however with central leadership, a broader range of products and shared infrastructure.

Policy

Drop the minimum wage to make employment more affordable and to bring rates in line with mimimum wage across the border and cut out penalty rates for restaurants & entertainment industry at weekends and evenings.

Policy

Use the Job-seeker’s Allowance to keep people faced with layoff in employment.  Give the 200 or so Euro to the employer to subsidise the wages of the affected employees.  This scheme would keep people at work and prevent the current huge haemorrhage of job losses (over 1,000 per day).  It would also have the knock-on effect of keeping dependent businesses open.  It would prevent the huge increasing loss of revenue to the Govt too.  Such a scheme is in operation in Germany and is preventing the massive layoffs there such we are experiencing here.  Anyway, the principle of giving money for doing nothing (the present jobseeker’s allowance scheme) is morally wrong, particularly in the present economic crisis.

Policy

My idea is the creation of an ‘Irish Patriot Bond’ to be administered by the NTMA.  The bond is intended as a means to raise finance at a cheaper rate than currently available on international markets. It would draw on the good will of Irish people abroad and maybe domestically, who would be willing to invest money in Ireland’s future.    This should not be a ‘begging bowl’ initiative. It should rather, guarantee a return on the amount invested when Ireland emerges from this prolonged economic downturn. I am conscious that mechanisms already exist for raising finance internationally.

However, Ireland’s current credit rating means we are paying above the odds. If the bond were to mature in five to ten years, this should be sufficient to let us emerge from the recession and guarantee a return for investors. Minimum investment EURO 5000 with no upper limit but pro-rata enhanced returns for larger amounts/longer maturity period.    I live abroad and am willing as a proud Irishman to contribute/invest when Ireland needs it. I have asked other Irish friends and I know that with a bit of arm twisting they would  too. All that is needed now is the  means and mechanisms to permit us to act.     Given the current low standing of our politicians, this initiative should be seen as one emerging from this ideas forum or the NTMA.

Services (international)

Large companies already established exporters, take smaller companies, new to exporting, under their wings and help them with advice on how to market their products and guide them through the red tape and introduce them to foreign buyers. Obviously they would not be expected to help direct competitors.        The same could apply to companies trading within Ireland, helping start-up companies with advice on marketing and introducing them to potential buyers.

Services (local)

Bring back bartering!  Create local websites where people can exchange services (fire wood for car servicing, for example).  Everyone has something to offer and in these times of high unemployment it would be a handy way of procuring goods and services cheaply, efficiently and locally.   Local Community Halls could be used once a week where unemployed tradesmen etc. can come to meet with locals who would like to avail of their services (paid or exchanged).

Social and voluntary

We produce a lot of graduates. Unfortunately there aren’t opportunities for them to develop their work experience skills.  If they could be financed to use their skills in the developing world, this might be better than throwing money at projects foreign counteries.  This would be win win for the individual - gaining experience e.g construction, engineering, health care etc, and after a few years - return with a lot of hard-won experience to the benefit of the developing country.  Their salaries would go much further in a developing country than in this country.  Of course they should be credited with PRSi etc as if they were employees of the Irish Government.

Technology

Retrofitting all street lights with LED type light assembly’s.    Benefits:

1. LED’s are far more efficient - they use less power and are brighter
2. There are thousands of these lamps in the country which would equate to major energy savings and a drop of CO2 output for Ireland
3. They last longer
4. Manufacturing the lamps would create jobs, and lamps could be exported to different countries
5. Safer roads and streets

Technology

In a bid to accelerate the development of the smart economy we need more technology transfer professionals.  Millions upon millions have been spent on R&D within universities and institutes of technologies, yet the bulk of new knowledge sits on library shelves.    We need to support researchers more so as they are incentivised to be more entrepreneurial in their outlook. Each institute of technology and university should have a dedicated and fully resourced Tech Transfer office to help the academic community articulate their discoveries into commercial opportunities.

Sport

The sports facilities of schools should be made available to local communities.  It would encourage children and adults to take some exercise.    A lot of schools have gymnasium that are locked up more often than they are used. It could be a nice little earner for the school as well as providing employment for sports trainers/care takers.

Technology

It rains a lot in Ireland (no kidding).  Water will be scarce in the future. We could develop water conservation technologies.  How to trap roof water. How to recycle domestic water. Water filters, water purifiers.    How to control flooding. Develop technologies to protect building from water damage as an alternative to sand bags - levy construction, better river banks,   technology to relieve water pressure to protect bridges.

Previous ideas: Batch #2

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. An idea’s inclusion on the website does not indicate it will be included in our final action plan for the Government.

Agriculture and food

Every town in the country should start a community garden whereby a piece of land is given by the county council to a community group who will develop the land and grow fruit and veg and subsequently have a low cost weekly market.

There is a lot of land lying idle at the moment which, if worked, could yield good food. We would be a happier nation out working in the garden in tune with one another and with nature. A community cafe could be built on the land - a simple ‘Seomra House’ where everyone could congregate for soup and eat produce from the community.

Agriculture and Food

Mine is a quick, simple idea. I live in the village of Paulstown, Co. Kilkenny. There are lots of large homes all over Ireland, be it stately, palatial or just homes or farms with a few acres of land surrounding them.

Here in Paulstown, the owner of a large house was looking to generate a small income. He offered to rent a few acres of land to the local community for people to grow fruit and vegetables.

This has proved a great success and with over 20 members enrolled at the first meeting, I feel it will definitely expand. Everyone’s a winner: he generates a small income, and we all get to grow cheap and fresh food. Some people are already talking of selling their produce in the country markets, generating them a small income.

Constuction

All over the country, in new housing developments, there are unfinished units that are now abandoned in various stages of completion. If left in their present unfinished condition, most of these will have to be demolished. This is a huge wasting asset.

An immediate campaign to finish these houses would rescue these potentially valuable assets. Obviously some capital would have to be supplied to start the project but the added on value and cost benefit of the work would, without doubt, outweigh the initial financial layout.

The unfinished units could be bought at a very low cost as their value to their developers reduces daily. Local craftsmen can be employed for the work thus reducing dole payments and giving business to the various building suppliers.

Construction

We need to build something symbolic like the Hoover dam, a construction project that the country can have pride in and that will be world famous. The Government could put up some of the money but they could also invite consortiums in to fund and build it.

Something like an undersea tunnel to the UK would be the type of thing I’m talking about. There would be plenty of parties interested in building, maintaining and running such a venture.

Construction

I am a 25 year old living in my parents’ home on the northside of Dublin. All around my area there are literally thousands of vacant apartments and houses, most of which are completely finished but the developer is unable to shift them.

I have noticed that all these vacant homes are starting to fall into disrepair. Double-glazed windows on the ground floor are being smashed in, fixtures and fittings are being stolen.

The majority of my friends are living at home. They are in their mid-twenties and would love to be able to move out of their parents’ home. I heard a story about a small property developer who built 40 houses and couldn’t sell the last 15, so he rented the remaining 15 to people who plan to buy them but cannot get mortgage approval.

When they can get mortgage approval in the future, the builder will take the rent they have paid to date off the asking price. His houses are occupied and at least he is getting an income each month

Surely such a scheme could be set up nationally. Everyone - builders, young buyers, furniture shops, DIY stores, tradesmen, and communities would start to benefit again.

Education

My idea is for Fusion Centres around Ireland to promote Lifelong Learning for older people/middle aged people e.g. Art, Design, Crafts, Music, Computer Classes, Literary Classes/Book Clubs, Choirs. Drama Clubs, Dance Classes, Fitness Classes etc. There was a model of this idea in Ballykeale in Limerick.

Use could be made of premises left vacant because of the downturn. People could get the opportunity to submit for FETAC awards as a result of these courses. These Centres could also have Cafe Bars and shops and medical and legal advice centres, mediation and counselling could also be available.

Education

My idea is based on my frustration with the whinging about PCs in schools at all levels. In my opinion we need to change the paradigm here. Why are schools not utilising current infrastrucure by moving to web-hosted software.

Netbooks are one of the fastest growing markets yet no mention has been made of them in terms of education.

Not everything needs to be done locally on a PC. Why not use platforms like Google Apps (and indeed Microsoft Office Online when available). These are free and can form the basis for learning skills that are now virtually a sine qua non when entering the workforce.

Resources for teachers are also available for free. Why can’t material be developed through Moodle (http://www.moodle.org/) or other online systems and used to add variety to the education process?

Microsoft and other companies offer slimmed down versions of their software which would provide a cost-effective basis on which to develop student skills, e.g. Express editions of Visual Studio products Also, I think many IT professionals would be happy to donate time to assist schools in fixing issues with hardware and software.

Please note that I am neither a Microsoft or Open Source devotee. To summarise my idea, we need our schools to look at technology that is freely available and can be harnessed to its maximum potential. While the above may only provide 80% of what’s needed, let’s start on that basis and develop from there.

Education

My Idea is to open a sewing school. I have worked in the clothing trade for 30 years in all aspect of design and garment construction, and in the last 10 years I worked in retail and retail management. This was due to the collapse of the clothing trade.

Now in my 50th year, my husband was made unemployed and I have decided to develop my first love which is design and sewing. In 2008 I decided to start teaching this skill, and realised there is a market. I teach children from the age of 7 to hand sew, use a sewing machine, and make their own patterns, The same I teach to Teens and Adults. I am also teaching Fetac courses in design skills and sewing skills.

I have also devised a programme to teach teen boys, where they will use their mechanical drawing, woodwork skills, and show them how to sew without it been sissy to them. I tried this on Transition Year boys and it went down a treat. I have lots of Ideas on how to develop this idea. I am really excited about the future at the moment and scared at the same time.

I am working alone at the moment but would love to have someone to bounce my ideas off and get instant feedback. I would really love to talk with someone about my plans. Some people just laugh at me, my family are sick of me going on and on. But I can see how my ideas can help give people back some hope, I am not great with business and don’t always go the right way about things. That is where I need help.

Education

I really think it would help individuals greatly if they were taught ways of developing personal wealth in school. The way the relationship with money is taught, is “learn hard, get a job, earn good money and spend it”.

This works great while jobs are plentiful and income is flowing, but does nothing to build future financial self-reliance. What could be taught is that money can be invested responsibly in income-generating assets such as shares, funds, etc.

When I grew up in Germany, my school ran a project in conjunction with the local bank where we had a DM 50,000 pot and we simulated trading shares. The best team won a weekend away, and what I learned then, has stayed with me for life. I now trade shares actively (after receiving more up-to-date training) and the recession doesn’t bother me one bit.

Environment

My idea is a media campaign called ‘STOP THE WASTE’ to run across all sectors of society - industry, public sector and private sectors, right down to people’s homes. We could all list off examples of wanton waste everywhere. As I write this I see a beautifully landscaped IDA site in my town that’s been waiting for the last 10 years for a budding entrepreneur.

Every single night the fabulous lighting comes on and stays on. I like to be positive, but I don’t think an entrepreneur is going to ride into town at 3am! Turn off the lights and save the money. I don’t have the figures, but I am assured that there are plenty of more sites like this across the country.

What about the unused wheelchairs, crutches etc lying in every hospital in the country. Is there a business opportunity here for someone to recycle these medical aids, and get them back into the system to be used again? We should empower people in their own organisations to brainstorm and come up with ideas to STOP THE WASTE. Individuals at grassroots level best know what can be done.

Environment

I am a graduate landscape architect. I was laid off over a month ago, and there is very little need for my services in this country. I have realised that there is a pool of talent from every area of construction. There is also pool of land which essentially belongs to no one.

For example, there are a number of bogs in my own home town which are inaccessible. I would relish developing areas like these if I could continue to receive my social welfare payments. There is a €12.5million fund available for such schemes, and this is where funding could be obtained for materials.

We need to identify land banks around the country which could be developed in a cost effective way, and provide value for money and benefit our tourism industry in the long run.

Green Business

We can achieve 70% savings on water usage as well as energy savings by installing water-saving showerheads and taps in hotels, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, army barracks, domestic homes, fitness centres, and anywhere else that uses water.

There are already a growing number of hotels changing over and saving tens of thousands of euro as a result.

Green Business

The seaweed and wrack around our shore is a huge resource that is barely being used. Bulk harvesting of kelp can provide a completely natural fertiliser, but the real opportunity is in the smaller seaweeds. Dulse and Carrigeen Moss have been eaten traditionally.

There are many more edible seaweeds, some are like Carrigeen in having outstanding health-promoting properties. The wonder-foods on our seashores are harvested and sold, but mostly on a small, local scale. By establishing a brand for Irish seaweed wonder-food and promoting it strongly internationally, the market can be grown greatly and made into a long-term earner for coastal communities.

Innovation

I am working as an operations manager in a struggling wholesale furniture business in a huge industrial estate with dozens of businesses, big and small, that have been badly hit by this recession.

My idea for industrial estates like this is that a company (any company) lends staff to act as sales people to visit each and every business in that area, gather information on the companies products and services including prices and then match the businesses to each other.

For example, if there is a printing firm in the estate, encourage all companies to use that company for all their printing needs. The incentive for companies to do this is they will get the same type of support from all the other companies in the estate. I believe this type of networking will be a help to all who get involved and will give small to medium-sized businesses some confidence again.

Pharmaceutical / biopharmaceutical / medical devices

Idea: The idea is a competition aimed at science and engineering research postgraduates. Objective: The objective of the competition is to promote the development of professional communication skills among the above cohort.

For years we have invested billions into academic research to generate more and more knowledge which is locked up in peer-review journal publications. The first step towards converting that knowledge back into money (i.e. innovation) is to translate it into a format that professionals from other disciplines can understand and start to harness.

The objective of this competition is to instill the skills needed in our graduates to begin this knowledge translation. This idea should not cost much but would probably benefit strongly by having an appropriate high profile sponsor.

* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons).

Policy

During World War Two, people in the US and UK were encouraged to ‘buy war bonds’, to help the government. The money was redeemable and you got a little extra back at the end of the term.

My idea is to do the same in 2009. Instead if increasing taxes the government should be out there looking for us to buy their savings bonds. In the short-term the money can go where it’s needed and in the long-term, when the economy is back to full strength, they can pay out the bonds to the people again. Personally I’d rather save in Ireland and save Ireland at the same time.

Policy

The insertion of stair lifts for people who wish to stay in their own home has been grant aided by county councils. When the user dies, the stair lifts are redundant and can not be reused or sold on even though they cost approximately €5000 and are grant-aided to a sum of €4,300 each.

My mother used one for 10 months and now we are left trying to get rid of same. Why can’t these stair lifts be taken back and reused?

I work in the HSE and am disgusted with the waste and lack of innovation in recyling. The suppliers don’t want to know as they know the local authority fund approx 75% of the cost of a new lift. Please bring to the attention of the relevant authorities as I am at a loss as to how to get this on any agenda.

Policy

The large land banks on the outskirts of towns and villages that have become the subject of ‘toxic-debts’ should be legally taken into state ownership - in the case of some banks, the taxpayer is now the owner of such tracts of lands and steps should be taken without delay to change the ownership of the land from the defaulting developers and speculators into the names of the respective Local Authorities who should be authorised to develop them into allotments, at least for the duration of this recession/depression.

Policy

Let’s scrap the whole Metro idea. Why not invest all of this €2.4 billion in renewable energy. Model ourselves on the Danish who export over one third of the world’s wind turbines (employing in excess of 18,000 in production alone).

We should also seek to bring our wind resource up to levels similar to Denmark, a country with a population not significantly greater than ours. Denmark now expects to have 50% of its energy produced by the wind by 2025. This is a figure which is actually realistic when we look at their current levels and their current growth levels.

Our green island should be as green as it’s made out to be. And people can no longer complain about the sight of wind turbines either onshore or offshore if it means they have a secure job. We can use this recession to source, supply and install cheaper than ever before and when oil shoots back up to $70 a barrel or more we won’t be the suckers paying over the odds to power our country.

Ireland has one of, if not the most rich wave energy resource in the world and this technology is just about to be brought into full scale use. Maybe the Danes beat us in the wind race but let’s not be beaten the in the Tidal war which is to come.

* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons).

Policy

The state should arrange with the banks to buy 20,000 of the unsold houses in the state for social and affordable housing. They should pay no more for each unit than would be necessary to cover the developers’ borrowing on it, i.e. no profit. Although this might be seen as bailing out the developers, the benefits far outweigh these concerns. The benefits are:

• reducing the housing overhang thereby supporting house prices
• reducing the banks’ bad debt exposure, thereby reducing the need for a further capital injection
• providing for the state’s social housing needs
• providing the liquidity to get lending moving again

Policy

Instead of chasing tax exiles out of the country, why don’t we encourage them to return here to live! There are hundreds of tax exiles paying tax in other countries, but also paying a big personal price in terms of their restricted movements. What is the level of income that these exiles are ok about paying income tax on? Is it €500k or €1m?

Bring in a new tax band for the tax exiles that will tax them at 41% on their first €500k or €1m and then 10% — or whatever is just below the level they are currently paying in Malta, Monaco etc - on all income over that. As a nation we would reap great benefits:

• A tax windfall
• An impressive message to the rest of the world
• More HQ’s etc and jobs here
• A valuable ‘knowledge bank’
• No one could claim it was not a fair tax.

Policy

You need to read this to the end to understand that the idea is unique. Everyone currently in a job should cut back his or her hours by 20%, i.e. go on a four day week. Then for every 4 people employed [in certain types of job obviously] a fifth unemployed person could make up the time.

The person reducing his or her earnings by 20% would get one day’s unemployment benefit to make up some of the difference (the fifth day is often for the taxman anyway).

For example, take a bus driver earning €500 per week. He would cut back to €400. Social welfare would make up the difference between what his take home pay was, say maybe €450.
The cost to the state for 4 people would 4 x €50 i.e. €200. That would be less than the one unemployed individual would have received from social welfare and the country would have five people spending and paying tax. There is the added social benefit of people having extra time for the family, hobbies, charity work etc.

Policy

Fast Track Planning Permission in all counties for one-off housing, housing developments, roads, schools and infrastructure projects currently held up in red tape. Co-ordinate financing to support same, and relax planning policy for the above term.

This idea will immediately help the construction industry and supply companies. Putting people back to work and creating wages that will help the communities and local businesses.

Policy

To promote employment we could offer an incentive for employers to take on people from the dole. This would be done by giving the employer a payment equal to a person’s dole for the first 3 months of employment making it far cheaper to pay someone while adjusting to the new job.

John is on the dole getting €250 a week. Pat needs a worker but is a little tight on money and is not sure if he can afford €500 a week. If he employs John, the Government will give him John’s dole payment for 3 months so his cost is €250 and Pat gets an employee for €250 a week for 3 months. John gets a job and €500 a week.

The Government pays €250 a week for 3 months which it would be doing anyway if John had no job and at the end of 3 months it doesn’t have to pay John’s dole. Instead he will be a taxpayer. Everybody wins.

Policy

My idea is that the Government should ban the use of automated telephone answering services in all areas of the Public Service i.e. Departments, Semi-State bodies, Local Authorities and Government Agencies of every description.

These services would then be provided by suitably trained people who would be able to handle calls from the general public in a courteous and helpful manner. The implementation of this idea would take people off the Live Register or keep them from going on it.

Such a move by Government might also encourage organisations in the private sector to follow suit.

Apart from the direct benefit of improving employment, it would also have the indirect benefit of reducing the frustration which many people currently experience in dealing with automated systems. The genesis of this idea goes back to the 1930s when men were taken off the dole to break stones on the side of the road while the stone crushers were left in the county council yards.

Policy

Allow Tax Exiles to pay flat fee for tax of €300k per annum in return for unmonitored access to Ireland.

There are approximately 5,880 tax exiles according to Prime Time so my idea would generate €1.76billion.

This could be sold on both patriotic and business grounds. We had crazy tax amnesties before so I believe this could be a runner.

Policy

How much money is on deposit in Irish Banks yielding peanuts for its owners - how much is in pension funds losing money? Why does the Government have to go to international markets to raise money and pay higher than normal interest rates to foreign sources?

Why can’t it borrow its own citizens’ money from bank deposits and pension funds and pay them the rate that they would be paying foreign sources. I would invest my money in Ireland inc. - not to do so would be like saying that this country has no future.

This country has a great future, but we must go back to doing it for ourselves and invest our own money in our own future.

I have €1,000 ready to invest in Ireland Inc. for five years and I would accept no interest, just my money back in five years. I have my €1,000 ready - who will take it and who will match it?

* (This idea is very long and detailed and has had to be edited for space reasons).

Policy

I believe that removing or seriously reducing the obligatory Sunday Supplement would create many jobs in the retail and service industries. Having to pay double time on Sundays has forced many shops, restaurants, etc. to close on Sundays.

If a good percentage of them re-opened, it would be a huge boost for employment and for GDP

Policy

Reduce the excise on alcohol for On-License sales while at the same time increasing the excise of alcohol in Off-Licenses in order to get people back into the pubs at night, which leads to an increase in employment in pubs and the spin off services.

Policy

All public sector offices are governed by the tender process, from who builds our roads to where we buy our biros.

For the smaller items, plugs, tools, stationery we should be able to source cheaper items as we require them. I have often come across cheaper products but can’t order them as we are tied into the company who won a tender. It’s ridiculous.

They may have been better value at the time of the tender, but not now. The government is too tied into paperwork. Sometimes commonsense should prevail. If we start small in every single office, the bigger things we fall into place.

Policy

We need to immediately introduce a post code system. The only reason we don’t have one despite numerous studies and reports is to preserve the monopoly of An Post. A postal code will encourage competition in the postal and parcel delivery system. A post code system will be of major benefit to companies wishing to sell online, but also to Local Authorities, Government Departments and the emergency services.

Services (local)

Florists import a huge percentage of their flowers and greenery: I wonder if polytunnels could not produce a great deal of flowers instead in Ireland. This would create employment; reduce reliance on imports and with the right products such as daffodils, which we already export I believe, result in some exports.

I used to sell some of my surplus eucalyptus to a local florist - this is how I became aware of the issue.

Tourism

Everybody overseas loves an Irish pub and is always trying to find one. I suggest a website like a dating site or like a town-twining scheme where an Irish Pub would be twinned with an overseas bar and could host exchange weekends, bring in people from abroad and let them experience a proper Irish pub.

It would be very easy to set up and simple to run and put a buzz back into our pub trade. Advertising on the site would more than pay for itself and give some back to the organisers. THANK YOU for the Ideas Campaign - it’s such a breath of fresh air.

Tourism

Chomhghairdeachas leat as an iarracht seo a dhéanamh. Here’s a simple idea that could boost tourist numbers by thousands. Why not promote Irish language holiday courses for adults across the globe?

Over 40 million Americans claim Irish ancestry and if even a percentage of them could be tempted to go on an Irish course it would give a significant boost to local economies. Irish is also studied in dozen of Universities from Russia to Australia. Many of these students would surely be tempted to visit Ireland for two or three weeks to learn Irish if the idea was marketed properly to them.

In Donegal, this interest abroad in the Irish language has been tapped in to by ‘Oideas Gael’ who’ve been organising language courses successfully for years. But I think they’ve only just scratched the surface.

What this idea needs is someone to co-ordinate Irish language schools and funding to market what they have to offer across the world. There is a huge untapped market of well-educated, well-to-do people who would gladly travel to Ireland tempted by Irish language courses while enjoying our scenery, music and food. Let’s go out and get them! Tá siad ann, ní gá dúinne ach dul amach agus an smaoineamh seo a dhíol leo!

Tourism

Move St. Patrick’s Day to mid-May or late-September and stretch out the tourism season (and get it out of Lent!)

Transport

Estimates say that £3.5billion would be enough to build a bridge from Ireland to the UK The Chinese have already build bridges longer and larger as reported on by the BBC.

A bridge to the UK opens up Ireland for tourism like never before. It will also create 1000’s of jobs in construction etc and future maintenance of same. The UK Government would pay their share and funding could be available from a European or US development fund for Ireland/Northern Ireland.