The state of the world being what it is, and is likely to be for the foreseeable future, means that the Finance post is more important to us than who we have as Taoiseach. Cowen, who has remained silent and inactive whilst the ISEQ and employment have been hammered, is well out of the job

Shane Ross today (Indo) suggests Dempsey for Minister of Finance
This is the man who has presided over disaster in each new post, and is in particular remembered for having doubled the cost of local government, leaving a hefty chain around our necks that will not be easy to get out of.
Is there anyone who would be less bad?

There was a lot of talk about him on the radio this morning as being a man not afraid to be innovative...

Mary Coughlan is a very able woman...?

Kate P wrote:

There was a lot of talk about him on the radio this morning as being a man not afraid to be innovative...

Mary Coughlan is a very able woman...?

In my view, a man not afraid of making a total f-up. When faced down backs down, when coughs up (our money) is "innovative". Every change he got in local government he bought at astronomic cost.

Micheál Martin I'd say will get it unless he expressly doesn't want it. Maybe Brian Lenihan will become Tánaiste and Finance Minister... either way they are going to have to pull a few rabbits out of hats. The Examiner was saying yesterday that Cowen is going to go for spending cuts and belt-tightening.

What about raising income tax in next year's budget? Wouldn't it be better to have a culture of adjusting our income tax upwards when needs be and lowering it in the years of plenty?

On the other hand, according to the Indo yesterday, the President of UCD earns 400,000 yoyos per year along with nine others like him - wtf?

400000 yo-yo's is some serious oscillation

youngdan wrote:

400000 yo-yo's is some serious oscillation

You are in the wrong job youngdan it is about 40,000 for a newly employed civil service graduate or planner - check out the nursing and teaching rates....

the president of UCD is on 400000. That is some money. If this is tax funded then he should have his belt tightened.

It appears that hospital consultants are looking for €300,000 - average european rates are in the 60,000-90,000 bracket. One decent consultant recently offered to fund an urgently needed extra midwife out of his salary.

cactus flower wrote:

It appears that hospital consultants are looking for €300,000 - average european rates are in the 60,000-90,000 bracket. One decent consultant recently offered to fund an urgently needed extra midwife out of his salary.

Germans pay €100 per month for health insurance or they don't get treatment - as far as I know there is no public health service there. It is untenable here - how do we afford what we're paying them?

I was wrong about the UCD president's salary it seems. We really need to get a list together of the 1000 top earners like this in this country and ask em how they can justify their salaries which seem over and above what they should be paid - by a factor of at least 200% it appears.

They are being paid these wages because of unions and cronyism and it's not seen as decorous for another party to start complaining about salaries (of TDs too) because the attitude is that in the end you would only save one tenth of a billion if you adjusted them downwards and that's really not going to make much of a difference...

Marc Coleman in today's Sindo gives an idea of what the new Finance Minister will be facing in to:

Government spending has gone up by 25% in the last two years, but the tax take is back down to the 2006 level: the budget for the election promises - tax cuts and increased spending - faces a shortfall of 9 billion euro. The General Government Deficit he projects at 6 billion euro for this year instead of the 1 billion planned for.

This would be nearly double the 3% of GDP allowed for by the EU Stability and Growth Pact. Squaring this circle would mean a lot of cuts in spending and/or tax increases.

Shouldn't this be in Business and Finance? That forum is more germane than Local/Regional Politics.

In my view, now that Brian Cowen is Taoiseach(ugh!) Charlie McCreevy would be the perfect choice. There's bound to be a bye-election in the near future and Charlie could be elected as an FF candidate. He has the flair, boldness and correct ideological disposition to lead Ireland through these uniquely challenging times.

Never quite sure where to put national politics - regional and local, or world?

<>Moved to B&F<>

I'd have no problem with Mary Coughlan.

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

<>Moved to B&F<>

I'd have no problem with Mary Coughlan.

Thanks!

Why do you think Mary Coughlan should be Minister for Finance? She has run only the soft Departments like Social Welfare and Agriculture. I feel you should be Minister for a harder Department like Health or Justice before you can be Minister for Finance. You have to have a mean auld scrounger in you to excel. I feel Coughlan is too nice for the position.

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

<>Moved to B&F<>

I'd have no problem with Mary Coughlan.

Thanks!

Why do you think Mary Coughlan should be Minister for Finance? She has run only the soft Departments like Social Welfare and Agriculture. I feel you should be Minister for a harder Department like Health or Justice before you can be Minister for Finance. You have to have a mean auld scrounger in you to excel. I feel Coughlan is too nice for the position.

We are in such a pickle that we need someone not only tough but also creative, and most of all someone who will not drive people below the poverty line in the interests of "the common good".

cactus flower wrote:

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

<>Moved to B&F<>

I'd have no problem with Mary Coughlan.

Thanks!

Why do you think Mary Coughlan should be Minister for Finance? She has run only the soft Departments like Social Welfare and Agriculture. I feel you should be Minister for a harder Department like Health or Justice before you can be Minister for Finance. You have to have a mean auld scrounger in you to excel. I feel Coughlan is too nice for the position.

We are in such a pickle that we need someone not only tough but also creative, and most of all someone who will not drive people below the poverty line in the interests of "the common good".

And out of the potential FFers for the post, I think McCreevy is the best. If it was a choice amongst the whole Dáil, I'd gladly pick Ruairí Quinn. He delivered the first balanced budget, he kept inflation low, he reduced national debt, he was Minister for Finance when the boom was at its most febrile. He's the man.

But he's not in the pool, is he?

Kate P wrote:

But he's not in the pool, is he?

Ruairí? Nein, leider nicht.

Although McCreevy could be with a by-election.

Do you think an unknown benefactor might donate the cash to prize McCreery from his present position?

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

Although McCreevy could be with a by-election.

That would be fab. A Minister with cojones is something we haven't had since his departure in 2004. We must be brave and bold in these challenging times. Timidity is for the Italians. We shoudl go forth and strike. McCreevy is the man to do it. None of the current cabinet(except, possibly, Séamus Brennan) could do the same

cactus flower wrote:

Do you think an unknown benefactor might donate the cash to prize McCreery from his present position?

No use if he's not a TD.

Ard-Taoiseach wrote:

EvotingMachine0197 wrote:

<>Moved to B&F<>

I'd have no problem with Mary Coughlan.

Thanks!

Why do you think Mary Coughlan should be Minister for Finance? She has run only the soft Departments like Social Welfare and Agriculture. I feel you should be Minister for a harder Department like Health or Justice before you can be Minister for Finance. You have to have a mean auld scrounger in you to excel. I feel Coughlan is too nice for the position.

Bertie's second ministry was Finance, no reason why Mary Coughlan shouldn't be able for that.

Looking at the options, it's hard to see anyone good. We haven't really had a government over the last 10 years - there was so much money rolling in that no-one really had to take any hard decisions.

If it was up to me, I would make Mary O'Rourke Minister of Finance.
A) She is too old to have to worry about upsetting people
B) When she privatized Eircom, she obtained the best price possible, for the state, something that the eejits who were responsible for Aer Lingus didn't
I don't really expect it to happen, though.

DeGaulle wrote:

Looking at the options, it's hard to see anyone good. We haven't really had a government over the last 10 years - there was so much money rolling in that no-one really had to take any hard decisions.

If it was up to me, I would make Mary O'Rourke Minister of Finance.
A) She is too old to have to worry about upsetting people
B) When she privatized Eircom, she obtained the best price possible, for the state, something that the eejits who were responsible for Aer Lingus didn't
I don't really expect it to happen, though.

Interesting one DeGaulle. Apart from being a bare-faced liar (know from firsthand experience) she is brilliant entertainment value. I'll wait and see how she does in Celebrity Banisteoir.