The Ghost of C.J.H. is not yet exorcised from the body politic

by Voice of Reason Mon Jul 19, 2004 12:28

We simply cant all live in One Off Housing with a back garden because many parts of Ireland (the entire East Coast) would turn in to a giant housing estate/suburb.

by Newswatch Sat Jul 17, 2004 00:57

Reply to
john mcdermott - R.F.F.P.

This information is available on the BBC Web Site as shown

There is a lot of info on the Rowntree [Joseph] Charitable Trust available on the Yahoo search engine

by donal Mon Jul 12, 2004 20:13 donaldonal at hotmail dot com

one off housing is fantastic, it allows ordinary rural people to control an essential part of their everyday lives in a way few elsewhere in europe can achieve. It also short changes big builders of their developers premiums and alllows people to decide for themselves whats apt, appropriate an desirable in and on their own homes. as a westerner (western irelander) living in london its easy to appreciate the psychological bounce that the one off house embodies. the so called boom in rural housing is a result of the reversal of historic underdevelopment (emmigrants didin't build houses) and the demographics that see young marrieds as a major element in Irish life, each of these distinguishes Ireland from our neighbours. The equivilent of the coalition of country squirarchy and 'objective' professionals which halted the spread of rural one-offs in the UK between the W Wars (prefering the historic resonance of tithe cottages and quasi-feudal mock tutor county council developments) had very little sway in ireland here to fore. the scenic impact of rural one offs would be very much lessoned if professional planners had not demanded that houses sit on roadsides and had trusted people to tuck their homes more safely on comfortably off the roads.

by john mcdermott - R.F.F.P.(p-----g into the wind?) Sun Jul 11, 2004 22:28

Newswatch,-has Bertie 's crew achieved international recognition at last,or are you taking the mickey(tomas el pelo?)if it is true where do we get the data of this 'Report'?

by Newswatch Sun Jul 11, 2004 00:40

The Republic of Ireland has been branded "one of the most corrupt countries in Europe" in a report commissioned by a British-based charitable trust.
The report declared that corruption was a central theme of life in Ireland and that human rights standards were below international levels.

Commissioned by the British-based Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the report said: "Ireland is now regarded as one of the more corrupt European states - and to have lost a considerable amount of foreign investment because of its international reputation."

The report, prepared by independent social researcher Brian Harvey, was published on Thursday following a baseline study almost a decade ago.


Former Taoiseach Charles Haughey faced cash allegations

It coincided with continuing proceedings at tribunals of inquiry into payments made to Irish politicians - including three-times former Prime Minister Charles Haughey - and alleged planning irregularities also implicating senior political figures, as well as a number of scandals.

But Mr Harvey found that while the continuing investigations had "done much to determine the nature of corruption, changes to improve the political and administrative system have been minimal".

"The fact that the problem is systemic has yet to be fully recognised. It is a serious gap in the modernisation of Irish governments," he added.

Mr Harvey called for the establishment of a special independent body to monitor corruption and cronyism in public life.

'Widening inequality'

His report also said the Irish Republic had "widening levels of inequality, extraordinarily low levels of investment in public services, and a depressing record on environmental protection".


He said that despite years of "unprecedented wealth" in the Republic of Ireland, resources had been squandered with many public services, especially health, in a worse state than ever.

The report also said the state was in breach of five international agreements related to the treatment of mentally-ill prisoners.

"It's unacceptable in the face of evidence about the widespread abuse of human rights that many would have characterised as being a feature of the Soviet system many years ago," Mr Harvey added.

Mr Harvey said problems requiring "urgent action" included:

A lack of police accountability to the government or the public
The "taboo subject" of links between the judiciary and political parties
Public appointments to state-run bodies.

Guess what - the same dudes are leading us into the EU Constitution now! Concerned?

by john mcdermott - R.F.F.P Sat Jul 10, 2004 22:18

Yes your arguments are,on the face of it wonderful,Dunaree .You should think of a public relations job with the Soldiers of Destiny Press Office. The economic boom is all around us..undeniably...Vincent de Paul report a few weakling tigers ,,,but as Christ said'The poor you will always have with you'
There are more fat tigers than starving kittens about,and judging by the size of the investment that companies like Intel have made..it is going to be at least 5 years more before the shit hits the fan.
There are however about 8 other countries in the new Europe on our tail with similiar tax free goodies for multi-nationals in this hectic 'race to the bottom'to see who ends up the cheapest supermarket for multinationals in Europe,,(China maybe?)
The thousands of septic tanks,unserviced,leaking and polluting the groundwater is probably not as big a problem as environmentalists prophesize..We can always import bottled water for drinking,or better still put a few barrels outside the gutterdrainpipe,and harvest the rainfall.
Bertie can send Joe Higgins to jail again to cool his heels while he increases the bin tax to pay for your school buses.
and if all the rubbish that surly rural folk are dumping in the farmers fields at present to avoid paying their way is a problem,well,the air is full of rubbish anyhow-whats a little more here or there!

by John Sat Jul 10, 2004 21:43

Obviously you are very depressed about the current economic situation in Ireland. You could try having some Prozac, or simply listen to some facts: (1) the economy is growing this year at 6%, 4 times the EU average (2) the number of tourists this year is a record - people have been saying rural housing will drive away tourists since about 1960 - foreign tourists don't give a fig about rural housing (3) the number at work increased by 3% in the year to February - the number at work fell in the same period in Germany, France, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands (4) unemployment is the second lowest in the OECD, after Luxembourg (5) an EU report published in the Irish Times last Saturday showed Ireland to be the least-taxed country in the 25-member EU (6) Ireland is the third largest exporter of food per capita in the world (7) Ireland is one of the least densely populated countries in the world - the percentage of the country's land needed for housing is minute (8) the small additional costs of delivering postal services etc to rural housing is outweighed by the health and social benefits - with such housing children get fresh air, sunshine and room to play around - thats one of the reasons why the crime rate in Ireland is so low compared to countries where most of the population are cooped up in urban tower blocks (and thank God the only continental-type tower blocks ever built for housing in Ireland were demolished today in Ballymun) (9) did it ever occur to you that one of the reasons that Intel, IBM are here might be precisely because there is an abundance of golf courses for their executives to play on? People like you want to turn Ireland into another Scotland, with its empty countryside, still massive emigration (so unlike Ireland) and falling population (again so unlike Ireland). So, get a grip on yourself man and cheer up. And tell your friends in the FIE to find something more important than golf courses to campaign against. They are actually quite good for the health of the population and bring in lots of revenue from American tourists. If the facts I just outlined don't cheer you up, you better try the Prozac after all.

by john mcdermott - R.F.F.P. Sat Jul 10, 2004 19:27 dublin

. Rural land prices, which are already tracking the housing market in anticipation of this bonanza for
developers, are currently the highest in Europe. Genuine farmers cannot compete ,or invest in land in this situation.This is heralding the
death knell for irish agricultural production in the new europe where subsidies will continue ,-of necessity- to diminish.
The cost of supplying essential and government subsidized services such as postal deliveries,refuse collection,child school transport,etc
will soar. The brunt of extra taxation to pay these bills, will be unfairly borne by the citizens who live in economically efficient
groupings such as towns and cities.I will not discuss the implications for tourism,an important industry ,if and when agriculture and
industry diminishes as a result of rising prices,(many of which are fuelled by state taxation )and consequent uncompetitiveness.
The only other country in Europe as expensive as Ireland-Switzerland-has; fabulous unspoiled scenery;clean lakes for swimming;numerous rambling and cycle paths,and of course snow in winter for skiing tourism!
Ireland on the contrary offers; sileage and fertilizer polluted rivers,barbed wire fences,and holiday homes scarring the landscape, on every hilltop.
Perhaps we should not be unduly concerned.As long as I.B.M and Intel stay on side.
The only losers from the disappearance of tourists, will be in the main,hoteliers,publicans,and other big business interests,not the common people.

Only the golf course hoteliers will continue to thrive.A limited number of ‘K-Club’ type establishments will continue to attract non-cost –conscious, big spending, players who will have their rooms serviced by imported cheap labour- Phillipino chambermaids- and so forth, generating steady profits for the super rich. The new Ireland,thanks to the Soldiers of Destiny.
I

by John Sat Jul 10, 2004 15:39

One third of all new houses are of the one-off variety? Is that all? I thought it was forty per cent. How disappointing. FF must be slipping. I do hope they can get it back up to forty per cent soon. Then fifty per cent. Then sixty per cent. The sky's the limit.

What's your problem with one-off housing? Are you jealous of people who live in one-off houses? I live in one. Its the best form of housing yet developed. Ideally, everyone should have one. No noise from the people in the appartment above. Don't have to listen to the couple next door having sex. A small garden where I can practise my golf swing. Ideal for barbecues in summer. No need to worry about lifts being out of order. Can lie in the sun all day. And my dog much prefers it to an appartment block.

Its called freedom of choice. In this country people choose the types of houses they want to live in, not the Government. No Frank McDonalds or Green Party apparatchiks telling them they have to live in whatever types of houses they approve of. Its how the market system works.

Find something more worthy of your anger than one-off houses. How about this? Its in the Irish Times today that the Left/Green Government in Germany has cut social wefare benefits - not simply cut them a little, but absolutely slashed them. The biggest cuts anywhere in Europe since World War 2, they are described as. They are now barely sixty per cent of what they are in Ireland in many cases. Thats because they are running a crap economy and are going bankrupt. How they could do with a Charlie McCreevy to run their economy.