Shoot them

All 646 of them?

An excellent start and 166 at dawn Monday

Too many back benchers with nothing useful to contribute anyway. Or perhaps the cull should start at the top.

I see posters calling for a reduction in TDs. A bad mistake. There should be 500 with each representing 1000 people in maybe 100 five seat constituencies. They should be paid peanuts and sit infrequently.

Ever notice how they always rant about legislating this and that. After 90 years one would think they had legislated enough. What a crowd of scamsters and even worse their spinners.

I am with you on that, but why stop at 500 in Ireland! go the whole hog and make it 1000 in 10 not 5 seat constituencies. That way just about everyone who wants to can get elected. We could build a shed near Athlone to house them on their bi monthly meetings and sell of that place in Dublin at a good profit to that fellow Quinn.

As for legislation try getting then to dump or simplify. It would be easier to teach heifers to jig.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1si7a_cow-dancei-like-to-moo-it_fun

That reminds me where is Papal Kmight to answer the question on the 2 identical speechs. He does not like to get caught looking foolish so he runs. We will miss him as Obama looks more like an eejit every day

youngdan wrote:

I see posters calling for a reduction in TDs. A bad mistake. There should be 500 with each representing 1000 people in maybe 100 five seat constituencies. They should be paid peanuts and sit infrequently.

Ever notice how they always rant about legislating this and that. After 90 years one would think they had legislated enough. What a crowd of scamsters and even worse their spinners.

I think, youngdan, that you have been in the US too long to remember that in Ireland, legislation exists by the warehouse load, but absolutely sod all is enforced. Ireland does NOT do law enforcement. Ever.

Slim Buddha wrote:

I think, youngdan, that you have been in the US too long to remember that in Ireland, legislation exists by the warehouse load, but absolutely sod all is enforced. Ireland does NOT do law enforcement. Ever.

It's rarely enforced in the UK if you happen to be in some sort of position of power or influence. Neither of these islands has a culture of whistle blowing; people don't like ratting on their friends. Mind you, in some ways this can be a plus... working in Canada could be very stressful as no-one ever thought they were to blame for anything and Salem style witch hunts where no-one would own up to stuff that had gone wrong were common, as were..."it was him... no it wasn't" style workplace catfights. Thanks to the relative lack of blame culture, people here and in the UK are more likely to own up and apologise, and more likely to clean up after other people's mistakes quietly, then have a wee word.

I hasten to add though; I've never worked for a bank!!!

I have to say, as an observer, I found the whole legalisation of homosexuality thing in the 90s hilarious.... Norris took the GOvt to the ECJ in Strasbourg; when asked why they hadn't legalised it, "well, we haven't enforced it since 1946"...they were then told to do so, but they waited years until there was a threat of reduced structural funds or similar....

Having said that, life under a regime where every petty rule is enforced stringently and by other members of the public as well as the police can be very stressful. For example, that woman on the US flight who smacked her kids and ended up under the Patriot Act. I had also heard of a case in Canada where a neighbour called the RCMP (the Mounties) because she THOUGHT the pregnant woman next door had been drinking alcohol...

Ireland really ISN'T the worst place in the world to live

coc wrote:

On East Coast FM this morning it was reported that there are 2,600+ signed on in Arklow. Nicky Kelly was interviewed and though it is hard to put exact numbers on it, the following appears to be the case.

Arklow has population of around 10k.
It's hinterland (who'd sign on in Arklow if they had to) has a further 5-10k.
That means 2,600 out of a population of 17,500 is on the dole in Arklow/South Wicklow.
That's 15% of the population on the dole.
That is well North of 20% (probably closer to 25%) of the workforce.
How much worse is this going to be a year down the road?
Declan Meehan sounded shocked.
I don't blame him.

People signing on doesn't equal the number unemployed. An awful lot of part-time, temporary and low-wage earners qualify for social welfare benefits and they would be in the same queue as those who are actually unemployed. 15% are not "on the dole", 15% are in receipt of payments from social welfare.

Leading Solicitors firm A & L Goodbody announced plans on Monday to offer staff up to €20,000 to take career breaks. Lennon Heather, a leading property practice, has bought out five of its partners. 749 solicitors signed on the live register in December and it is expected that 10 per cent of the profession will not have renewed their practising certificate, the renewal date for which was last Friday.

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

coc wrote:

On East Coast FM this morning it was reported that there are 2,600+ signed on in Arklow. Nicky Kelly was interviewed and though it is hard to put exact numbers on it, the following appears to be the case.

Arklow has population of around 10k.
It's hinterland (who'd sign on in Arklow if they had to) has a further 5-10k.
That means 2,600 out of a population of 17,500 is on the dole in Arklow/South Wicklow.
That's 15% of the population on the dole.
That is well North of 20% (probably closer to 25%) of the workforce.
How much worse is this going to be a year down the road?
Declan Meehan sounded shocked.
I don't blame him.

People signing on doesn't equal the number unemployed. An awful lot of part-time, temporary and low-wage earners qualify for social welfare benefits and they would be in the same queue as those who are actually unemployed. 15% are not "on the dole", 15% are in receipt of payments from social welfare.

OK. I'm not sure what the distinction is. It's been a few years since I was on the dole. This says 2,421 on the live register. That is catastrophic. If that is what small towns around the country are facing then the country is in for a rough patch to say the least. The site is run by the Chamber of Commerce and the Town Council. May we assume they know of what they speak?

Arklow was one of the worst hit during the 1980s and given the reliance on retail in the area coupled with it being on the outer (aka poorer and more vulnerable) hinterland of the Dublin commuter belt it would not be surprising if it were hit worse this time around.

Yeah, I know. But 20-25% unemployment! In year one! What's it gonna be like in year three?

coc wrote:

OK. I'm not sure what the distinction is. It's been a few years since I was on the dole. This says 2,421 on the live register. That is catastrophic. If that is what small towns around the country are facing then the country is in for a rough patch to say the least. The site is run by the Chamber of Commerce and the Town Council. May we assume they know of what they speak?

I'm not denying that it is a truly terrible time for the labour market -redundancies in January were up 143% on last year-but live register figures overstate that problem by about 15%, that's why you should look at the CSO's QNHS to find out the real level of unemployment in Wicklow, which should be about 10% at the moment.

Lads yeer not doing yeer work around here on Machine Nation and bringing us the news. Haven't ye heard that 35000 people lost their jobs in January ??? CSO puts unemployment at 9.2%.

I'll have to replace some of ye with a horde of NewsBots

Biggest drop in 40 years ...
http://www.cso.ie/statistics/sasunemprates.htm

Assuming all these people are still unemployed at the end of the year, it will cost the exchequer at least 400 million this year

Quote :

IBEC have called on the Government to show urgency in tackling the increasingly rapid rate of job loss in the Irish economy as unemployment rose to 9.2% of the workforce, a rate not seen in over 11 years.

IBEC Chief Economist David Croughan said: "There is clear evidence that the number of job losses is accelerating sharply.

Mr Croughan said that businesses are suffering badly from a global recession, a financial crisis that has led to more restricted and expensive credit, and the sharp devaluation of sterling that is making exporting to the UK almost impossible.

IBEC called on Government to divert funds committed to the National Development Plan towards supporting business to improve their competitiveness.

Otherwise, job losses on a massive scale will ensue, they said.

Mr Croughan said: "Alleviation measures are needed to help businesses suffering from adverse currency movements and help in their medium-term restructuring, through higher grant assistance. Other measures needed include a temporary suspension of employers' PRSI, a reduction in energy costs, help in investing in energy efficient equipment, loan guarantees to free up access to credit and a State-backed guarantee scheme to provide export credit insurance, which has now dried up."

http://www.breakingnews.ie/business/mhsnqlgbmhsn/

All in denial. At present rate it would be 500,000 by the end of the year.

Cowen says "We must not wallow" got a standing ovation from the Dublin Chamber of Commerce tonight.

Ericssons are letting 300 people go ...

Spoilsport, there's nothing like a good wallow.

Quote :

there's nothing like a good wallow.

Exactly tonys. Don't knock it - it's the necessary fourth stage on the road to Acceptance in the "Kubler-Ross" stages of grief.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model

Quote :

Jobless claims surge to 626,000

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time surged unexpectedly to a seasonally adjusted 626,000 for the week ended Saturday, the Labor Department reported Thursday -- the highest level since October 1982.

The number of those applying for unemployment insurance jumped 35,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 591,000, the department said. Analysts had expected the initial jobless claims number to be no more than 583,000.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/05/jobless-claims-surge-626000/

Quote :

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bloomberg LP will cut 100 television and radio jobs in the first layoffs since it was founded in 1981 by now-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The news and financial data provider will cut the jobs in the United States, 45 of them from its newsroom staff, spokeswoman Judith Czelusniak said, adding Bloomberg might cut other jobs in Britain, Europe and Japan.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090205/media_nm/us_bloomberg_1

https://machinenation.forumakers.com/print-and-televisual-media-firebrand-cinema-f31/bertie-heckle-t1551.htm

Auditor #9 wrote:

Quote :

there's nothing like a good wallow.

Exactly tonys. Don't knock it - it's the necessary fourth stage on the road to Acceptance in the "Kubler-Ross" stages of grief.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model

Quote :

Jobless claims surge to 626,000

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time surged unexpectedly to a seasonally adjusted 626,000 for the week ended Saturday, the Labor Department reported Thursday -- the highest level since October 1982.

The number of those applying for unemployment insurance jumped 35,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 591,000, the department said. Analysts had expected the initial jobless claims number to be no more than 583,000.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/05/jobless-claims-surge-626000/

Quote :

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bloomberg LP will cut 100 television and radio jobs in the first layoffs since it was founded in 1981 by now-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The news and financial data provider will cut the jobs in the United States, 45 of them from its newsroom staff, spokeswoman Judith Czelusniak said, adding Bloomberg might cut other jobs in Britain, Europe and Japan.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090205/media_nm/us_bloomberg_1

https://machinenation.forumakers.com/print-and-televisual-media-firebrand-cinema-f31/bertie-heckle-t1551.htm

So long as it continues to do no good for anyone, I'll continue to knock it.
You can lose a match to a score line, but you were only beaten if you stopped trying.

This is a nicely scary graph - US, of course. Job losses in the current and last two recessions (red=2001, blue=1991) :

ibis wrote:

This is a nicely scary graph - US, of course. Job losses in the current and last two recessions (red=2001, blue=1991) :

That's sick .. looking at that you can almost feel your belly on the rollercoaster dip ..