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ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S most respected economists has criticised the government’s retirement scheme for public sector workers, saying it had been “poorly designed and poorly executed”.
Colm McCarthy, the UCD economist who chaired the previous government’s ‘Bord Snip Nua’, was responding to figures suggesting that the public sector could be set to lose as many as 8,000 staff in a month’s time when a retirement deal kicks in.
Staff taking the option to retire before February 29 would receive pensions and lump sums calculated on the basis of their salaries from 2009, which have since been heavily deducted through public sector pension levies as well as other general charges.
The retirement of almost three per cent of the workforce is expected to pose major problems for the public service, particularly given that the majority of departing staff are at senior grades with management experience.
“I think it’s been very poorly designed,” McCarthy told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, saying the scheme offered by the government was a “ham-fisted way of doing things”.
“An ordinary business, faced with the problem of having payroll costs that are too high, would not embark on a programme which said people could self-select to go off and retire early.”
The scheme also posed a major financial liability for the government, McCarthy said, because of the massive financial obligation of the pensions it would now have to meet.
A recent report from the Comptroller and Auditor General, he said, had shown the “unfunded long-term liability” for public sector pensions to be close to €120 billion.
“That’s hanging there, it hasn’t been addressed,” McCarthy said, describing its financial setup as akin to a “Ponzi scheme”.
The scheme would also be cash-negative in the first years, given the large lump sums people were receiving, which were not subject to tax, he said.
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Fantastic idea! Well done!
Self built personal terminators?
Can I just tell these kids they make me embarrassed to be an adult! Good job and keep thinking. A lot of children could benefit from this. Special mention to your teacher who I think could be also very special.
Well done kids! Great to see a solution to the problem developed by those closest to it. Let’s hope it catches on.
Well done them.
Fantastic idea as long as the concept of bullying is taught properly in the first instance. Parents often use the word bullying to describe instances that are in fact just two kids disagreeing with eachother. Children need to be allowed to develop resilience and should be explicitly taught problem solving skills in order to try to figure out such disagreements for themselves without the now ever-constant intervention of parents. Parents are doing their children no favours at all with the “mommy will fix everything” approach. Where genuine bullying is occurring I think this invention could really help open dialogue and would certainly remedy the problem that many teachers face in that often no report is made to teachers when something happens and they know nothing until a parent shows up at the door 3 days later.
Well done, amazing solution! I want one!!
Unfortunately anyone wearing a bully bug is likely to be bullied for it
Or your mates will be pushing the button for you, so you’ll end up having to have chats with the teacher later.
I agree
After being bullied as a kid I do agree. The kids are trying to help bless their good intentions, but I wonder how many have been bullied?
I know I never confided in a teacher, parents or any adult, only myself and the other girl that was bullied confided in each other.
I left the school and she was tormented for years after I left verbally and by exclusion. She still carries the scars as do I. She still lives in the area and never talks to any of her old class.
If they really want to help build a friends network to support those who are victims of bullying, give them a safe space where they can be themselves, have fun and not feel threatened.
Nice idea but in my experience bullying is only accepted as such by teachers if it physical. This App is indeed great in that situation but I have spoken to kids that felt they were bullied by the words and actions of other kids, told teachers and yet nothing was done about it. Teachers played it down. They tried to “reassure” ie convince the child it wasn’t bullying. Every kid in the school knew it was bullying but the teachers never did anything to address it.( Laziness or fear of approaching parents? )Not a word about bullying or treating others good or anything. What good is a bully alarm in that situation? Attitudes to what bullying is have to change first and how it affects the children has to be taken seriously before it can be tackled.
Well done all the same kids. It’s great to see innovation from a young age. I hope it encourages the girls to think seriously about studying science/ engineering/ maths where it is seen mainly as a boys career.
Great idea solutions requires to recognise bullying and not blame it on some mitigating factor.
and what mitigating factor is being blamed? A solution to half a problem is not a solution.
Super proud of these kids and even more proud to be one of there parents alot hard work and dedication went into this project from them they can’t believe how far they have come
It’s called a fist
Sean, I think your idea to stop bullying has quite a lot of merit, though I’d hit the parents of bullies where it hurts, in their wallets
Super proud of these kids I’m even more proud to say one of them is my daughter they have worked so hard for this they can’t believe how far they have come
Super proud of these kids and even more proud to be one of there parents alot hard work and dedication went into this project from them they can’t believe how far they have come
So bullying is getting more common then?
Fair play to these kids making a stand.on bullying these kids a credit to their school teacher and parents well done St Audeons
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