Things that make you go What the F**k?

[Franko]

Waste goes a lot higher

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern-ireland/companies-which-have-made-millions-from-delayed-a5-road-scheme/a7817510.html

The companies which have earned millions of pounds from the long-delayed A5 road scheme can today be revealed.
In one case, an infrastructure firm received more than £60m in consultancy fees.

Another contractor company has collected over £20m.

The total spend to date on the project - which was originally given the go-ahead in 2007, but has yet to start - has topped £150m.

The 58-mile road from Derry to Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone, has been hit by a series of delays.

It was approved again by the Executive in October last year, with the final cost now estimated at £1.7bn.

However, spending on the project has continued to rise, and now stands at £153.7m.

This includes £80.6m on consultants, £56.3m on contractors' fees, £5.8m on geotechnical and archaeology investigations and £5.7m on land costs.


In response to a Freedom of Information request, the department has now revealed the biggest earners from the scheme.

In our request, we asked for a list of those who had received £1m or more.

The biggest recipient is Mouchel Limited, which was later acquired by the WSP Group. Mouchel/WSP has received £63.8m in consultancy fees - more than a third of the total expenditure to date.

Three sets of contractors' fees were paid out to companies which collaborated at various stages of the project.

Around £11m was paid as part of a joint venture between Balfour Beatty, BAM and FP McCann for section one of the scheme, between New Buildings and Sion Mills.

The three civils companies I can almost understand, although no doubt they have filled their boots.

But almost £65million in consultancy fees?

I'd love to see the detail behind those invoices.

I'd also love to financially audit those involved in signing them off as the maths does not stack up here.


Lets go high and call it:

£2000/day for a consultant

There are approx. 250 working days/year

This outfit has invoiced 128 YEARS worth of work*

Or 6 people have been working on this project, full time, at £2k per day for 21 years?

Honestly, our civil service is a total farce.  £65m signed off to an outfit so incompetent, they have been left chasing their tails by a bunch of DUP farmers.


* And still missed the fact that the planning submission didn't mention the Climate Action Plan as it should have.

[Tony Baloney]

Who in the Road Service had family working in Mouchel?

[Munchie]

Said it many times the civil service in this place is not fit for purpose, there must be near total incompetence, there is zero accountability, and when you see things like this there has to be rampant corruption.

[Armagh18]

Waste goes a lot higher

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern-ireland/companies-which-have-made-millions-from-delayed-a5-road-scheme/a7817510.html

The companies which have earned millions of pounds from the long-delayed A5 road scheme can today be revealed.
In one case, an infrastructure firm received more than £60m in consultancy fees.

Another contractor company has collected over £20m.

The total spend to date on the project - which was originally given the go-ahead in 2007, but has yet to start - has topped £150m.

The 58-mile road from Derry to Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone, has been hit by a series of delays.

It was approved again by the Executive in October last year, with the final cost now estimated at £1.7bn.

However, spending on the project has continued to rise, and now stands at £153.7m.

This includes £80.6m on consultants, £56.3m on contractors' fees, £5.8m on geotechnical and archaeology investigations and £5.7m on land costs.


In response to a Freedom of Information request, the department has now revealed the biggest earners from the scheme.

In our request, we asked for a list of those who had received £1m or more.

The biggest recipient is Mouchel Limited, which was later acquired by the WSP Group. Mouchel/WSP has received £63.8m in consultancy fees - more than a third of the total expenditure to date.

Three sets of contractors' fees were paid out to companies which collaborated at various stages of the project.

Around £11m was paid as part of a joint venture between Balfour Beatty, BAM and FP McCann for section one of the scheme, between New Buildings and Sion Mills.

The three civils companies I can almost understand, although no doubt they have filled their boots.

But almost £65million in consultancy fees?

I'd love to see the detail behind those invoices.

I'd also love to financially audit those involved in signing them off as the maths does not stack up here.


Lets go high and call it:

£2000/day for a consultant

There are approx. 250 working days/year

This outfit has invoiced 128 YEARS worth of work*

Or 6 people have been working on this project, full time, at £2k per day for 21 years?

Honestly, our civil service is a total farce.  £65m signed off to an outfit so incompetent, they have been left chasing their tails by a bunch of DUP farmers.


* And still missed the fact that the planning submission didn't mention the Climate Action Plan as it should have.

Madness isn't it

[Munchie]

More Incompetence, but sure Michelle is going to stick it to the British PM today so we are all sorted.

[Armagh18]

Liz Truss blaming the "deep state" for her failure as PM, new show coming out where she reveals who was at fault for tanking the economy..

[Wildweasel74]

Bollacks put my mortage through the roof for couple of yrs there. f**k her!

[Wildweasel74]

Consultants costs are not per hour, only when there extra work. There cost are based on a % of the contract value, the higher it goes, the more they can reassess their cost as been undervalued. We get constant consultants looking fee increases for projects going ahead, which were delayed a few yrs.inflation cost you know. Personally I think the scale of the work hasn't changed so you shouldn't be allowed to look increased fees!

[seafoid]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/06/weight-loss-jabs-age-body-by-decade/

Using weight-loss jabs can age the body by a decade, experts have warned.
A review of global evidence on the medication found that loss of lean body mass could leave middle-aged and older people at risk of frailty and falls.
Around 2.5 million people in the UK are using the injections, data suggests

[seafoid]

https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/sam-mcbride/unionisms-lost-decade-how-a-flawed-decision-10-years-ago-precipitated-a-collapse-for-the-ideology-which-built-northern-ireland/a1476574852.html
For decades, the rate of unionist decline had been steady but unstartling.
Between 1997 and 2014, the percentage of council seats won by unionism declined modestly, falling from 53% of the vote to 51.4%.
But from that point the number of unionist councillors collapsed to just 40.2% in the 2023 election.
In the 2017 Westminster election, unionism took 49.2% of the vote; by 2024, that was down to just 43.3%.

[DaleCooper]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/06/weight-loss-jabs-age-body-by-decade/

Using weight-loss jabs can age the body by a decade, experts have warned.
A review of global evidence on the medication found that loss of lean body mass could leave middle-aged and older people at risk of frailty and falls.
Around 2.5 million people in the UK are using the injections, data suggests

There are some interesting new peptides being used by body builders in the US that arent as bad. Not legal to buy unless you have a research lab. [MOTS C PEPTIDE]

[Milltown Row2]

I've seen a few people recently that definitely have used jabs to lose weight, and while they look better for it, I'm not sure it can be a good long term health thing..

[DaleCooper]

The NHS probably has thousands just like him. Nigerian nurses were bragging online about faking qualifications or getting qualified relatives to pass exams for them.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crk72x7kmz4o

[Milltown Row2]

The NHS probably has thousands just like him. Nigerian nurses were bragging online about faking qualifications or getting qualified relatives to pass exams for them.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crk72x7kmz4o

This might be a shock but I know plenty in the day that had friends turn up and do tests for them..

It's a regular thing before it could be properly checked

[DaleCooper]

Did they subsequently defraud their employer whilst putting peoples lives at risk?