Texts & Emails Tuesday 17 Nov, 2009
Topic: Budget Alternatives: who knows what’s best for the country
Panelists: Senator Dan Boyle, Fr Sean Healy (Social Justice Ireland) and Fionnan Sheahan
Here is a selection of texts and emails received by the programme
its not an exageration to say there are echoes of the famine with this present crisis wealth and security for some and crumbs for the rest.
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the voters threw maire geoghan-quinn out. what is she doing there who is she representing ?
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Cut the bank chiefs to the Average Industrial Wage, maybe then they'd know how the poor Ordinary Joe has to struggle, Ivory towers or what!!! Not long ago one top banker's solution to economic difficulties was to cut people on Social Welfare while trousering over 500k. Tom
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Yourself and your programme, Richard Bruton, joan Burton, and Michael D. Higgins are the only people representing us & the Truth of our dilemma. What's going on?
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In which country do you gentleman live? did you know that child care in Germany cost less than100 per month. here is 160 per week and yes tax is more but everythin else is average 30 cheaper SHAME ON YOU HOW MUCH DO THE MINISTERS EARN?
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When are u going to get over the idea that we must spend the remnant of our distressed capital reserves on sunk consumption while ignoring the need to use our capital rump as working capital and investment in future income streams.
Secondly you are mixing up people with nominal asset which are not as fungible for sale so owner can't extract value from those assets because of no liquidity or credit.
Third you must not have been to many poor countries where there poor often for lack of capital.
Fourthly are you committing yourself stubbornly to your own destitution if your opinion is wrong.
Fifthly a lot of talented technical people which this countries needs for recovery would leave if a tax pogram was initiated against them. Thus for those reason manners must be put on the public finances.
Yours nigel mcgrath temppleudigan
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government said there would b a regime change presumably to ensure good governance. And yet the alow aib to combine two roles that separately support good governance in the form of separation of duties.
you miss the much larger point that is that one person now encompasses the power of two a man responsible for the mess .. It is a one smoke screen for lenihan to get in his sound bite!
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There should be a Referendum on pay for all the top paid in this country, ie- the Goverment minister's, Bankers and the top Civil Servants. No one is worth €500,000 i don’t care what they do. I would sell the goverment jet the limo's Time's are difficult and they're the one's who caused this mess they should be setting an example to ordinary people that they're prepared to take there share of the pain its only fair. Paul Co Wexford.
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the f.f party got back into power 10 or 12 years ago because they promised to remove property tax. Now the same party is bringing it back, do they take the tax payers for fools? Mary
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D Boyle is talking such utter rubbish its beyond belief. I feel that civil strife is now a great possibility. Brendan, Ballinasloe
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the reason the spin that the well - off can 't be taxed appears to have worked is that the whole tribe of politicians , broadcasters , economists , top civil servants , hack ministerial advisors ,newspaper editors and political correspondents - all , without exception have 6 figure salaries . Mike – wexford
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Social welfare recepeints are the ones putting their money back into the irish economy, every last cent of it. so do parents especially when you have to pay for child care on top of everything else. How can they justify reducing child benefit after already taking away our early child care supplement and cutting social welfare? Tax the rich leave social welfare alone cut the dail in half and stop expenses claims from fat ministers. Deborah in cork
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ask mr green party does he believe social justice? If he does why dont he an his party pull out of govt an collapse dis corupt regime, m keane
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that bankers wages would run our factory of 10 which may soon close good on u vincent
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i remember the green party before it became fianna fail's most shameless cheerleader. A sad decline. Ian in galway
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NAMA should have been put to the people, we are the stakeholders. Think FF and the Greens need to get in touch with those who pay THEIR inflated salaries and expenses.
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why are we listening to sean healy when he was used by bertie as a fig leaf for social justice in order to buy elections by ramping up spending. We have enough dangerous fools with agendas. I know you wont read this as you seem to want to tax us back to the stoneage! We paid and paid and paid and got nothing in return. Declan, Galway.
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If our public services were run efficiently and in a cost effective way by an honest competent and parsimonious government we would be happy to say more tax. David . Galway
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joke of d year: the only people who seem to be making money out of this recession are d people who are supposed 2 see it coming, economist's. The're on tv 24/7, now they tell us 2 take d medicine. Ironic r moronic? Paul in kingscourt.
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awesome speech by Richard Bruton, American style idealism in a sea of slease, greed and dressed-up filth. People (in Lilliput) could suffer if we thought dat fairness/honour, patriotism wud come to pass. 2 think every Easter dey stand on 1916 graves, wit straight back and do what dey do? And then we get Arthur? Wat was his banking solution? A balaclava? God promised Noah! Mayb d current greed has led 2 him changing his mind? Let them eat cake
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I started a new business in june and employed 7 local people 4 full time and 3 part time. I invested everthing i had and borrowed from bank and family and friends. I got no help,no grants, no incentives. No tax free or vat free period. Nothing. Why did i bother ? Why take the risk ? The future of this country is in the hands of people like me. 100 like me in every county is over 18,000 jobs. If a forign company offered 18,000 jobs then we'd have half of fas and half our goverment jet setting over to wine and dine them. We need to encourage small business. From little acorns the mighty oak grows
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Will FF be inviting Fr Healy to a socialist love-in like before? Have all the vestiges of the Celtic Tiger gone? Even socialist FF? Ruairi. Tullamore
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I have been on a 4 day since last jan and and down 20 percent in wages and have paid no tax because my earnings are so low i am married with 3 children how could i afford to pay tax. Joe pepper in dublin 24.
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the government have allowed €880 million in tax revenue go to the UK through the north. They need to reduce Vat to stop the loss of revenue to the UK. Alex in Laois
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We are taxed in so many other ways also. We pay for our bins 2 be collected. We pay vat on everything .Now they are talking about paying for our water. What next? Paying for existence?
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a paltry view deputy's present in the Chamber - heartening to see how interested TD's are in the future of the country! Clearly they're not in fear and dread of the forthcoming Budget - a lot they care about ordinary mortals. Pat Carolan.
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.A lot of the people on huge pay are employing hundreds of people and developing areas. What jobs do socialists create?
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How shameful to see the middle class shoving the working class away from the trough of state aid e.g refusing to accept means testing for 3rd level fees & child benefit-& helped by the labour party.mary in galway
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supposedly have to strike next tuesday im a nurse dont want to do it because patients could suffer!! how much will this whole strike cost? goin to have to work for free so it might save on something !!
why in a circular posted to asti members, were they only asked to picket between 8.30 am and 10am. A real strike or another day off? Does the union really represent what the majority of teachers think. Charlie watson dublin
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Overpaid bankers and politicians arent being crucified like our o.a.p,s but of course they have no union 2 look after them ? So who does ? Care what about the so called pension fund ?
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for a budget debate there was very few members in the Dail
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Where are our highly paid T. D.s by the many empty seat's in the dail. . many are not worried about this country's plight. .
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Its a bit rich hearing the govt complaining about bankers being overpaid when the Taoiseach is paid much more than his equivalents across the EU. James in Naas
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Why are people on welfare and in the public sector responsable for bailing out the banks when it was the private sector and and the wealtiest of society who caused the recession with the building boom and increased prices on the houses that are no different 2 the houses that they were building before the boom also why did those in goverment give themselves a rise of 3000 Euro back in may and cut welfare they new the state of the country but still took the rise Sinead in rathnew county Wicklow
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TODAY The CHEC PEOPLE ARE CELEBRATING A REVOLUTION IN which they got rid of THEiR DICTATORS MAYBE WE SHOULD DO THE SAME TO OUR GANG OF DiCTATORS JOHN MORRISON TRALEE CO KERRY