I sometimes wonder when a high profile person "is in the news" for whatever reason the media will try and rake up everything they can about that person usually negative comment. I see Mr Shatter has broken the rules re use of the Government jet which i think is a possible example of what i have in mind. Maybe i am innocent.
Hounded by the Media ?
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Brendan Burgess
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I must say that I thought it was a non story as well. It might have been a bit of a story if he had used it to go on a holiday or to fly a family member somewhere.
What is more remarkable is that a government minister must get the personal approval of the Taoiseach before using a government jet.
Brendan
What is more remarkable is that a government minister must get the personal approval of the Taoiseach before using a government jet.
Brendan
Wasn't the 'Code of Practice governing the use of Ministerial Air Transport System' implemented following a previous rabble raised in the media about jet setting ministers?
The 2013 Programme For Government review hailed the 50% reduction in its use.
It matters a great deal to me and I would imagine many like me who are absolutely savaged with taxes.
Stealthy or unstealthy I want as much bang for my tax buck as can be gotten,I do not want one cent spent on the vanity nonsense that went on in previous Government.
What part of bankrupt,indebted, bailed out state are people having a problem with,it just aint there and I aint paying for it...regardless of the overall spend of Govt when put into context.
I really wish people who don't have a problem with it could elect to pay more in taxes for Govt jets,choppers and rolls royce pensions and leave the rest of us who very much do have an issue with waste and animal farm behaviour on a reduced tax rate.
We have the most inefficient health care system in the OECD. We spend 4 times as much per head as Germany on our Criminal Justice system. We have a massive Public and Civil Service pension overhang and we have higher welfare rates than almost anywhere in the world but still have high levels of social exclusion. These are the areas where we waste billions but instead of concerning ourselves with that we fill our newspapers and airwaves with nothing stories about a few hundred thousand Euro spent or saves on flights on a government jet. It’s is utterly irrelevant in the greater scheme of things but it’s easy to get upset about because it’s simple to understand (or misunderstand).
These stories appeal to the intellectually lazy and allow the rotten and inefficient bloated beast that is the state to rumble on unfettered by any real critical analysis by the media or the people.
This government is bad but it's far better than the last one so the party political sound-bites are tiresome.
The effective corporation tax rate paid by the vast majority of the corporate sector is 12.5%. They also pay payroll taxes and rates etc. on top of that.
Some American companies pay far less but that's as much a reflection of US and other countries tax systems as it is of ours.
The treatment of the self employed and the paye worker is at odds with the treatment of certain multi - nationals.
If certain rules were there with regard to the government jet - why did Shatter ignore these rules?
Both Labour and FG seem to be turning a blind eye to Shatter.
Really?
Why can't we close off Irish tax loop-holes?
Certain government ministers avoid the Media.
We have a Taoiseach that in the past does not turn up to National TV debates.
Are they now claiming being hounded by the Media ?
Joan Burton claimed that She was being harranged?
Victims indeed.
If certain rules were there with regard to the government jet - why did Shatter ignore these rules?
Both Labour and FG seem to be turning a blind eye to Shatter.
Really?
Why can't we close off Irish tax loop-holes?
Certain government ministers avoid the Media.
We have a Taoiseach that in the past does not turn up to National TV debates.
Are they now claiming being hounded by the Media ?
Joan Burton claimed that She was being harranged?
Victims indeed.
Speaking as a PAYE earner I agree. So what? The treatment of moderate earners and low earners are also at odds with each other. Nobody ever said we should all pay the same amount of tax (at least nobody that the political and civil service establishment listens to).
I don’t know and, in the context of the billions we waste, it doesn’t matter.
I agree, but that’s hardly a new thing. There is a whole host of mutton-heads in FF that were ignored when they were in office.
Because it’s not in our interests to do so. The only reason those companies are here, providing tens of thousands of jobs, is because of the tax situation. Anyone who believes that our “highly educated workforce” etc is a major factor is a fool.
I agree about Enda but he’s still better than Cowan and a million times better than that slime-ball that was there before him.
It's a complete non story but at the same time, I wouldn't write it off because the amount involved is so small in the greater scheme of things. A lot of small things add up to a big thing....
I recently heard a story about one of the biggest asset managers in the world who were in town. The CEO made the trip and they were staying in an upmarket hotel. Upon checkout, the guy who is personally a billionaire and his company makes billions got the itemised bill and went through it line by line asking his people to justify certain expenses. And apparently this is the norm. If you want to travel business class, you better have a very good reason. This sort of anal attention to every cost might be very irritating but it's not a bad way of thinking when you are basiclly spending clients or taxpayers money.
I recently heard a story about one of the biggest asset managers in the world who were in town. The CEO made the trip and they were staying in an upmarket hotel. Upon checkout, the guy who is personally a billionaire and his company makes billions got the itemised bill and went through it line by line asking his people to justify certain expenses. And apparently this is the norm. If you want to travel business class, you better have a very good reason. This sort of anal attention to every cost might be very irritating but it's not a bad way of thinking when you are basiclly spending clients or taxpayers money.
I agree.
In the scenario above if the employee was losing his firm tens millions but the only thing the CEO was looking at was what that employee charged to his room in a hotel then the hotel bill issue would actually be a welcome distraction for the employee.
Ahh that explains it,here I was getting hot under the collar at Mary Harney hair cut and the whole FAS fiasco,limousines waiting to ferry Ministers from planes to terminals,Mercedes cars complete with Garda drivers chasing after their Minister as they are ferried on Govt choppers from one end of the country to the other,politicians retired on full pensions at 50,report after utterly useless reports costing millions etc etc...
...and all this time it was my lazy intellect that was at fault.
How do I cultivate an intellect that allows one to sit back and calmly ignore this petty waste of tax payers money yet marvel in a resigned manner at the wretched state of the Departments they manage,the squandering of taxpayers money on a truly epic scale.
Do you not think there is a link between the petty and the epic waste?
I certainly do
Fás; Hundreds of millions in waste = a priority issue.Ahh that explains it,here I was getting hot under the collar at Mary Harney hair cut and the whole FAS fiasco,limousines waiting to ferry Ministers from planes to terminals,Mercedes cars complete with Garda drivers chasing after their Minister as they are ferried on Govt choppers from one end of the country to the other,politicians retired on full pensions at 50,report after utterly useless reports costing millions etc etc...
...and all this time it was my lazy intellect that was at fault.
How do I cultivate an intellect that allows one to sit back and calmly ignore this petty waste of tax payers money yet marvel in a resigned manner at the wretched state of the Departments they manage,the squandering of taxpayers money on a truly epic scale.
Do you not think there is a link between the petty and the epic waste?
I certainly do
Pensions; Billions of Euro of cost that we can’t afford = a priority issue.
Helicopters, government jets, ministerial cars, stamps, paperclips, mobile phones etc = minor issues.
Let’s concentrate on the things that screw up the country and then look at the things that are abuses of power/position/resources but have no real impact on the finances of the country or the tax burden under which we labour.
I believe the practice of sending the Limo ahead so that it would collect you from the regional airport was a specialty of Dick Spring. If it’s done while on state business then I see no problem with it.
Ministers run the country. They control hundreds of millions or billions of Euro of our money. I am far more concerned with how well they do their job than with whether they could make more frugal travel arrangements.
Edit: Mary Harney's haircut. That was the ultimate non-story. Should a man have to rent his own tux if he's going to a work event?