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BEFORE WE START talking about the forthcoming Budget it is important to look back at where we were prior to the general election over two years ago.
Our economy was shattered, the country was bankrupt. In 2007, during the peak of the Celtic Tiger our gross expenditure was €63 billion and our gross receipts were €61 billion. This situation completely changed in the space of a three years to leave us with a deficit of €19 billion or 7 per cent of our national output.
As a result of mismanagement by the Fianna Fáil/Green coalition the country required an EU/IMF bailout that meant borrowing some €85 billion from these international lenders to fund our services such as doctors, nurses, emergency services, schools, the social welfare system and so on.
In return for that €85 billion there were terms and conditions that we had to and still have to abide by. There were targets to be reached by certain dates in order to exit the Troika agreement by the end of 2013. In order to do this there were strict budget adjustments that had to be made and reached every year and in the forthcoming budget, for 2014, that adjustment figure is €3.1billion.
There is much talk about where we can make savings and the three big departments that are spoken about are Health, Education and Social Welfare. In my opinion the €20 billion that is spent on social welfare year-on-year is not sustainable and needs to be addressed.
The best way of addressing this is getting people back to work as soon as possible. For every person in receipt of social welfare it is costing the state €20,000 and this is not sustainable.
The current unemployment rate is 13.7 per cent which for the first time in a long time has dropped to below 14 per cent. There must be incentives for returning to work, people must not be afraid to work in fear of losing their benefits. The gap between social welfare payments and wages must be widened so that it pays to work.
There has been much talk about the €1 billion savings made by as a result of the promissory note deal earlier in the year. Fortunately at present we are ahead of our targets and it is very important to continue to push ahead with the €3.1 billion specified adjustment.
Why? Because the sooner we can pay back the money we owe, the sooner we will have the opportunity to rebuild our economy in a more fair and equitable way. I believe it is essential to push ahead with the proposed target of €3.1 billion because the higher the deficit remains, the more exposed we are to international financial events beyond our own control.
We could then use our improved position to borrow for a once-off, modest stimulus package. This money could be used for shovel-ready projects or tax relief schemes, reinvigorating the construction industry where 250,000 people approximately have lost their jobs in the post-Celtic Tiger years. The projects could include development of schools, roads, and upgrading the structures and resources already in place.
For the approximately 1.8 million people working in this country it has to be noted that they are not in a position to pay any more tax. These people have made their contribution to society and the rebuilding of our economy.
Next year will be the first full year of the property tax, with water rates following in 2015 and I feel there is no more room for taxes. These people have to be able to see light at the end of the tunnel.
As the Chinese proverb states: “the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”. We have taken the first steps but let us not lose sight. We have set our goals and we cannot stop until they are achieved.
We must continue this difficult journey until we reach our goal: to regain our economic sovereignty and remove ourselves from the shackles of the Troika.
Pat Deering is a Fine Gael TD for Carlow-Kilkenny
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Mortifying!!!!!
You’ve got that right! How did that make sense to drive like that?! Fu€king eejit!
He should take a bow, he’ll have a hull of time explaining that one
Sometimes emigration has a silver lining, getting s moron like this out if the country is a silver lining.
Name & shame!
Best he stays there we have enough gobs*ite drivers in Ireland
I didn’t know enda Kenny was in New Zealand
Nice Steven, except that he’ll simply get away with a stern warning…
Give the lad a break, he thought he was back in Ireland travelling between fields on the farm where anything goes and “Safety Last” is the motto.
He must be used to driving on Ireland’s generously wide 6 lane highways.
Now they call him wingnut!
Doesn’t Tommy Tiernan have a joke about the types of irish that immigrated…? That the thick ones went to Australia, well this gobsh!t3 proved his point
Updated there – I’m not sure about this one – cops confirming? How about talking to the guy who is from auckland who claims to be this driver?
Um….. this is New Zealand?
@Falstaf looks like u should have taken Tommy”s advice and went to Oz then, cause the article clearly reads that this was NOT Australia but New Zealand
Is there a gap in the market for The Journal Awards – like the Darwin Awards but the people live.
This guy and the guy who got his head stuck in the bin ?
Badum tish ;)
This was an excellent case on how quickly we are prepared to run ourselves down and to see us as eejits – no wonder Europe is cleaning up here ….
Don’t you all look like idiots now. Does any other nation hate its own people as much as the Irish?
Well said Dermot. Same sort of attitude we have when some does well in life, we always try to down them.
The NAZI’s nearly equalled the hatred towards their own people! Nearly! At least they didn’t mind when some of their own did well!
The link provided above as the source for the image is to a police site which STILL maintains the person is Irish!
Stupid Aussie
I was thinking an irishman would never drive on a public road with a dangerous loud on his vehicle like that
Mortifying for NZ now!!!! :)
It was Jonathan Waters whom is actually from Auckland in New Zealand.
https://www.facebook.com/jono.k.waters/posts/10154965141530584
Not Irish??… Feeling silly much there lads??
Canoe believe it!
Mortifying indeed.
Especially for the people who jumped on the “let’s hate all Irish people abroad” aspect of the story.
if you read the story you would realize he isn’t Irish and that he was in fact from New zealand.
if you read the story you would realize he isn’t Irish and that he was iif you read the story you would
Did you notice that the driver said he did not tie the kayak on like that: the wind blew it sideways, and he traveled no more than 15 meters with it like that.
Fair play to you Dermot, you somehow managed to create an angle on this story that made a dig at the Government. You’re bloody consistent!
Emigrated from, immigrated into
Cheers Michael – my enemies never leave my sight !
Tommy Tiernan was correct, the smart immigrants went to Canada and the idiots went to Oz and NZ apparently
I’m struggling here for a kayak joke, canoe?
Rapid
Pas de leur Rhone que nous…
Would this be the one you’re thinking about?
What a way to get in a Row with a police officer
I’ll buy you a new hat for Xmas, what capsize do you take…
*hangs head in shame*
He was driving down stream.
Oar was he??
Canoe please turn it around the other way!
They really coxed that up!!
Not an Irish person at all, NZ media got it wrong; a couple from NZ driving and kayak shifted in the wind to end up like this!
If you follow the link that comes with the picture above you will note that it links to a NZ police site: http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/what-were-you-thinking-police-ask-irish-tourist
So perhaps you’ve heard of another incident?
Bloody Kiwi’s, sullying our good name.
The basterds – what the hell are they doing then?!
My earlier post taken down as I named the two NEW ZEALAND people in the car; NO Irish involved at all!
Sean, do you have any links to prove this? I’m not disagreeing with you, just curious. Anything I found from googling just throws up stories saying it was an Irish tourist.
I posted link to the facebook status after searching for the names like you recommended but that was also removed
There definitely is a guy in NZ saying it was him
The updated article proves you right Sean. Sad to see how quick other media outlets jumped on the silly-Irish-bumpkin wagon. I suppose it fits the narrative they have of us around the world.
Well what do you know, Sean Masterson was right all along and there was me thinking it was his kayak sideways on the roof of the car.
I witnessed a wheelie bin being towed behind a car as a trailer in loughrea. Also, a man in Headford leaving a local hardware store with a 6×3 piece of corrugated metal sheeting on the roof of his car, no roof rack, then a concrete block on this and then his arm out the window holding it all. A lot of stupid people in this country I’m afraid.
Witnessed a guy cycling out of Heiton Steel on naas rd dual carriageway in Dublin with 6m lengths of steel strapped to his bike. Hilarious really.
It’ll be grand.
I can beat that.
My dad travelled back from the Birmingham through Scotland caught the ferry to northern Ireland towing a car on an a frame with a carpet on the roof and a bath on top of the carpet. The 2 jars were jammers with stuff he picked up at auction in Wales as well as stuff relatives gave him.
Worst bit was they thought we were IRA after a bomb went off in London breaking the ceasefire and we took the same ferry as the IRA did. We got stuck in with the lorries on the ferry as they held us up for an hour. They were going to search the cars but after identity checks they decided not too.
We also had a flat tyre so stopped in Belfast and slept in the car for the night. 6am the next morning the army were knocking on the windows with their guns.
Ah listen, you get eejits in every country. Thankfully they don’t represent the good majority!
Cant beat the Irish when they go abroad. Doing us proud:D
Yer not doin a bad job holding the fort in fairness …grand place
The Wide Load sign must have fallen down officer !
The ‘I am an idiot’ sign fell down with it…
Idiot
The best bit is that he can see nothing wrong. And people say that teaching is easy……
Was that a Kerry reg
Nah has to be a Dub
Neeneee are yer mad? Has to be a Roscommon driver!
Why has his nationality got anything to do with it. Idiots are idiots regardless of where they come from.
Talking out of turn? That’s a paddlin’.
Lookin’ out the window? That’s a paddlin’.
Staring at my sandals? That’s a paddlin’.
Strapping your kayak sideways on a car? Oh, you better believe that’s a paddlin’.
He was on his way up to sh!t creek.
Kerry man on holiday!
I thought it was only tabloids and gutter press that sensationalise headlines. This is the official New Zealand Police website. Shocking. It also has more than a slight whiff of Racism about it if you ask me.
More worryingly the article is still on the website and hasn’t been removed.
Looks like its a false story, lets hope the journal issues an apology
Ya don’t know how he managed to row that kayak with the car strapped onto it
Just goe’s to show you can’t have your kayak and eat it.
Heart Attack?
Has the officer recovered?
that’s an impressive headline!
This has been handled disgracefully. An individual did something stupid, not a whole country (whatever nationality the person was). What reason did a professional police force have to even mention the perceived nationality of the person?
His passport and citizenship should be removed
This has to be a joke
“He was instead instructed to drive to the nearest town, fix his roof rack, and secure his kayak properly”. No policeman would be stupid enough to say so. Or would they?
Saw a programme where a garda stopped a car with kids who had no seat belts. After giving the woman the lecture about how dangerous it was to have children unrestrained in a car I couldn’t believe when he let her drive off home.
Actually, Bill, a policeman would. Town’s probably close, road’s narrow, why wouldn’t he?
Wasn’t even paddy at all then. Typical ozzies trying to blame someone else for their own mishaps.
Do you think New Zealand is a state of Australia or something?
Sorry, but this has to be a joke… nobodys that thick ..except Kenny & Hogan..there thick alright
So they didn’t ask for ID and now say he wasn’t Irish? How do they know? Are they merely saying that to avoid a diplomatic incident there is no evidence to support that he was Irish save his accent?
I notice after their apology they did not say where he was from—- perhaps New Zealand?????
Auckland to be precise!
Apparently, he spoke English clearly and intelligibly so naturally the copper thought he was foreign.
Did anyone have a heart attack?
No, didn’t think so.
Im glad we exported this one!
He must have been from Clare …
Ah sure tis grand, don’t we all think New Zealand is part if Australia!
Definitely rocks my boat ……………….
I bet they feel stupid.
What do u expect from a shower who are named after a hairy green fruit!
Hairy green fruit? A bird, you plonker.
It’s not “all black ” you know – Kiwis can’t tell Poms from Paddies!
Yeah they can. They probably couldn’t tell a paddy from an American though.
Most of us can, unfortunately we have our fair share of idiots too.
There IS a reason for all those Irish jokes!
He would have to be Irish.
One way to get yourself into “white water ” with the police!
The land of ‘saints in scholars’??
I think not, don’t be fooled the motorist was green blooded Irish!
What a moron
2 Watt Bulb
Could not believe he thought this was okay. Jayus
Did anyone commenting on the article read it?
Yes, I read it.
I’d say he probably paddled it sideways too.
I was under the impression that the actions of Fine Gael (& Fianna Fail before them) was only resulting in our “bright young people” leaving the country…!
Maybe she was trying to make the car fly lol
I hope they gave him the dope test.
It is incredioulous that you would put it on the car in this way in the first place. The police were deadright.
Dope!
Why would anybody be offended by this? Are people mad?
Name and shame!!
(shakes head in Disbelief with a face slap)
Dope…..
Gas man
Horrible people new zealanders
Still a Dope!
http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/what-were-you-thinking-police-ask-irish-tourist its a real link with a real police force in a real country with real tourists of all nationalities having driving “issues”.
A real police force that doesn’t ask for ID when they pull over a dangerous driver and then post a false statement online. Right…
Give a man a uniform…..
Priceless
Seen someone shifted out of a pub in a horse box cuz he crappd himself hahaha
Jesus typical irish thing to do!! “Sure it’ll do righthly”
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