Editorial - Stepping back from the brink
Arising out of the Late Late Show discussion on politicians and the state of the nation, a number of specific proposals have been made which deserve to be outlined in more detail.
1. A constitutional amendment should be passed prohibiiting politicians borrowing more than a certain proportion of GNP for either capital or current purposes.
2. All politicians should be forced to state specifically how promises they make at election time (or indeed otherrwise) should be financed.
3. All schemes for public expenditure should be meticuulously analysed in advance and a special committee of the Dail should enquire in detail into the purpose, effectiveness and efficiency of each project before the Government can give it sanction. This should apply to both capital and currrent expenditure.
4. The Dail should sit five days each week for all but five weeks of the year and it should diligently undertake the ennquiry into all forms of public expenditure outlined above as well as get around to itself instigating legislation into several urgent areas and otherwise enquiring into the operation of the Government.
5. Proceedings of the Dail and Senate should be broaddcast on radio and television. The public is entitled to have as much access as is technologically possible into the goingsson of our legislature. Furthermore, televising the Dail would have a salutory effect on performances and particiipation there. Incidentally, Ireland is the only country in the democratic world that does not have proceedings in its Parliament broadcast, apart from India.
6. There should be a freeze in TDs salaries at least until all the necessary reforms are instituted and until they get around to a full work-load.
7. State cars for Ministers and Ministers of State should be withdrawn immediately as a signal of the Government's seriousness in coming to terms with our our economic difficulties and in particular with getting ostentatious and wasteful forms of public expenditure under control.
8. All candidates for general elections should be forced to disclose in detail from where and whom they obtained finance to fight elections - this should also apply to poliitical parties.
9. All members of public bodies should be forced to deeclare their full financial interests and where potential connflict of interest arises they should be forced to dispose of those interests or resign from public bodies.
10. CIE should be broken up immediately into its constiituent parts with a view to analysing which are the more innefficient sections of the company and which serve least social good.
11. For the forseeable future all public companies, notably Aer Lingus, should be denied "equity capital" (i.e free money from the taxpayer.)
12. Grants to third level education students should be endded immediately because of the social regressive ness of such expenditure and because of the high cost to the exchequer (£66 million per year) and a scheme of scholarships and loans instituted instead.
13. NET should be closed.
14. Irish Steel should be closed.
15. The electrification of the Howth-Bray railway line should be stopped immediately.
16. Equitable property taxes should be imposed.
17. Wealth taxes should be re-imposed and capital gains taxes increased.
18. Income tax should remain at least at its present level - at least for the higher income groups.
19. Tax loopholes on expenses, company cars etc. should be closed.
20. Mortgage interest tax relief and mortgage interest subbsidies should be phased out.
21. There should be considerably higher expenditure on roads.
22. Expenditure on the telephones system should be reeviewed, especially the installation charges of private teleephones.
23. A system of tax credits should be introduced to replace much of the social welfare benefits, as outlined in the NESC report No. 37.
24. A Freedom of Information Act should be passed by which to ensure genuinely open Government and the full disclosure of all material relevant to the public discussion of all major issues. (We are not entitled to know at the moment even what Aer Lingus want £50 million equity for.)