Messages

Correct.  As the public sector is the major employer the tax revenue is simply recycled.  The pay bill for the public sector must be huge.

My question was, what exactly do these people do extra that other places do not have?

Then there is the NHS, which could never be replicated or maintained in a UI situation given its scope and service provision and that does not begin to look at the cost of the social care provision we currently have regardless of how bad we might consider it to be.

Health is only one part of expenditure, it is the ability to afford the overall envelope that is the problem, not the details of one thing or the other.

We have 1.8 million people and we have three layers of government, local councils, local assembly, UK parliament in any other UK region this would be reduced to 2 layers, councils and parliament.  Taking just two areas of health and education you can see complexities:

In health, we have 6 health trusts with an overarching board (5 regions and one for ambulance service) and then a Dept of Health in Stormont.

In education, we have had some reduction but this hasn't made a huge difference. Dept of Education oversees Education Authority which oversees all controlled schools and maintained schools but CCMS still is the employing authority for Catholic maintained schools.  Dept of Education still administers voluntary grammars and integrated schools.

In GB a metropolitan council would run everything we have in N.Ireland for even more people, e.g. Manchester 2.6m people.

Is Brokenshire offering another election to help out his mates in the DUP?  Could be worth £5m of our money to him and the DUP?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-39218555

I still cannot believe that Tuam is the only place that such inhumanity occurred as the attitudes in society, the all Ireland Church and government of the time.

Of course it wasn't.
The political culture was built around land and small farmers. Women were chattel.

I don't mean inhumanity in general but in terms of there being more institutions like that of the Bon Secours nuns in a number of other parts of the country which need more investigation.

This week FF proposed taking all hospitals away from the religious orders, e.g. St Vincent's and the Mater.  What should they be doing with the private hospital business related to the Bon Secours nuns:

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/234812/bon-secours-group-acquires-limerick-private-hospital.html

[exactly]

Funding is gonna be a big factor having that said Imm fed up with people from the republic coming out with "we can't afford you" as a lazy Unresearched excuse for the status quo
Britain is leaking 80 odd million a year in deficit terms contributing to their 1.5 trillion debt
I can't believe N Ireland is responsible 9 of that even with a top heavy civil service
Would love to see some real figures and how much GB would contribute anualy and for how long just to get shot of us once and for all

It is hardly unreasoned. After having what had been the most prosperous part of the country at partition, the British should not be allowed hand it over in rag order so that Irish people have to fix it up.
However I would like to see the calculations, NI is supposed to have a lot of public expenditure, yet services are not all that stellar. Where exactly does the money go? I suspect the problem is on the other side of the balance sheet, in that no enough tax is collected.

Correct.  As the public sector is the major employer the tax revenue is simply recycled.  The pay bill for the public sector must be huge.

Govt pays public sector employees and retains at least 30% of this amount in direct taxes.  These employees spend their money and a significant portion trickles back to govt via indirect taxes such as rates, VAT and duties on goods.  Business rates are a significant source of income in GB, about 4% or £25bn pa.  In N.Ireland this is a very small return. Corporation tax makes a poor return and this is seen by proposals to cut it were only going to cost £200m pa to block grant. The benefits system also allows some degree of recycling of payments.

Then there is the NHS, which could never be replicated or maintained in a UI situation given its scope and service provision and that does not begin to look at the cost of the social care provision we currently have regardless of how bad we might consider it to be.

To replace a block grant of £10bn, it would require a huge tax recovery from the private sector which it could never sustain because it is so small compared to the public sector in terms of its industrial out and pay to its employees.

I still cannot believe that Tuam is the only place that such inhumanity occurred as the attitudes in society, the all Ireland Church and government of the time.

In what way? I was earning more than my wife but couldn't get a mortgage because I didn't have a permanent job at the time.

There are many like you across the country due to temporary employment being used as a strategy by employers in a range of situations.

A very good analysis of the SF strategy....

http://sluggerotoole.com/2017/03/08/after-ae17-sinn-fein/?utm_content=bufferfee93&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

[Major blow to 240 teachers!]

Major blow to 240 teachers!

A scheme to allow 120 teachers over 55 to retire without any reduction of their pensions and to employ 120 teachers in their place has been suspended after the 120 retiring teachers had been informed that they could leave.  Not sure if any teachers had already left or new teachers employed.

A key element of the scheme was that the new teacher had to be qualified no earlier than 2012 in order to ensure that a cost saving could be realised to pay towards the cost of the scheme.  The cost would be huge as normally pensions are actuarially reduced by 5% per year for each year a teacher retires before 60, potentially reducing the teachers pension by 25% to take account of them not contributing until they were 60 and then drawing their pension for an additional 5 years before retirement age.

It appears that a teacher who was excluded from being employed in the scheme because they were qualified before 2012 has sought a judicial review of the scheme criteria for employment.  The DE civil servants have decided in the absence of a minister to halt the whole scheme while this legal situation is resolved.  No hope of a minister in place in the foreseeable future to make a decision on the scheme.

Also 120 teachers were counting on permanent jobs, young ones hoping to get mortgages and move on.  A disaster for them as the budgets in schools are about to crash down and major job losses just around the corner.  So, no hope of permanent employment.

Imagine having been given the OK to take early retirement on the full amount of the pension you had accrued (no actuarial reduction), planning for getting out the door and now being told that it was cancelled.  Oh dear, 120 teachers already mentally left the building are not going to be happy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-39208077

Which party had the most successful election in terms of improving its first preference votes compared to the May 2016?

It was Alliance who increased their vote by 50% in 8 months.

Could SF or the DUP form a government  by forming a coalition with the smaller parties? Can't see either SF or DUP backing down.

It is mandatory coalition according to D'hondt. 10 ministries divided up.

This would mean 5 each for DUP and SF if no one else joins executive - DUP would attempt 4 DUP, 3 SF and 1 Independent for Justice essentially a 5:3 unionist:nationalist split as DUP have refused to allocate Justice to a nationalist.

It could also go 3 DUP, 3 SF, 1 SDLP, 1 UUP or 3 DUP, 2 SF, 1 SDLP, 1 UUP and 1 Alliance for Justice.

Jim Allister is promoting a voluntary coalition of the willing but with power sharing. No one is listening.

Wow! Now that's definitely a story worth sharing with a 9 year old mad into her swimming.

Michelle Smyth

Which party had the most successful election in terms of improving its first preference votes compared to the May 2016?

I thought 'potterin about' was things women do when they go off to the shops for an hour or two whilst you go to the pub!

Added caveat of this taking place on holidays!

That's my interpretation of potterin
I live in the north but my wife is a Dub, when I come in the house and ask her what's she been up to she says "oh just potterin"
When I look round and the place is the same mess as when I left I took it for code as " I have been in a state of motion but really have done f..k all"

She's not on the Board then?

Unchanged team for Wales but with Tommy Bowe on the bench.