Can you sing Ámhrán na bFiann? Do you konw at least two verses of it?? Can the children of this nation sing this anthem? We take it forgranted that our children have learned our National Anthem or our county songs. Yet have you heard The Fields of Athenry sung in full at any match??? NO!! All you get is a mumbled first verse and resounding chorus. This is repeated many times throughout the match. Really, are we loosing our national identity?

I envisage a web trading portal which provides a central point for connecting thousands of small suppliers of Irish cultural skills and know-how, from sean-nos dance to making soda bread, with millions of people who will pay a small fee to learn those skills or experience the know-how (a micro-payments business model similar to iTunes and the App Store). The portal would provide a single common platform for delivering high quality digital content to subscribers, retaining a small percentage of the fee for technology development and marketing purposes, and passing the majority back to the content providers, thereby creating a whole new indigenous industry exporting Irish culture and thousands of new jobs as a result.

A national conversation at every level of society about who we are and where we, as a nation, want to go. To become a nation united in common cause by a visionary purpose that is an example to the wider world.

Ireland is renowned world wide for its culture and arts including a vibrant and talanted film industry. Over the past number of years, the Irish film industry has suffered due to lack of investment and competition from lower cost locations. I would suggest that the government would invest solely or in partnership to take control of MGM studios. MGM is a worldwide brand and our control and investment in this business would mean that: - We could immediately start to transfer the production processes (pre-production, filming and post production) of major films to this country generating substantial employment throughout the country in a very short space of time. - Build on the talent and expertise we already have in this country both in front and behind the camera and create a world centre of excellence for film making. - By producing the films in Ireland, images of this magnificent country would appear in many films which would boost our tourist industry. - We would instant access to More...

We need excellence in mathematics and science - creative problem-solving skills and cutting-edge knowledge - if we are to develop a smart economy. We can generate jobs now and build the basis for jobs going forward, if we develop companies and products that enable learners to develop this excellence. It is proposed that there is significant potential to do so within current technologies, and a number of key product development areas are outlined. Such products would be innovative, making Ireland a market leader with significant potential for export sales and significant employment. If we are to benefit maximally in terms of the development of the skills of our students/learners, then, the development of such an industry must take place within a broader process aimed at developing a culture of excellence that involves collaboration between the public/governmental and the private, taking in the industrial and educational sectors. The proposal details such a process and its mutually benef More...

'CELEBRATE IRELAND' We have a unique culture and identity, which is recognised and celebrated globally. As a small nation, we have achieved greatness. We have firmly established our deserved position on the world stage. The time has come to re-ignite the hope and confidence of our great nation, to recapture the spirit of ‘Irishness’, to remind us of the courage we possess in adversity, to reaffirm our skills and talents to the world and to remember the outstanding achievements of our fellow countrymen in the past and present. In order to inaugurate this plan ‘Celebrate Ireland’ and in doing so re-establish a lucrative tourism industry, I propose the creation of a ‘Meitheal’, a gathering of all our achievements as a nation. This online and real space experience would be a celebration of all our achievements in all areas, Arts, Literature, Music, Theatre, Sport, Engineering, Medical, and New Technologies. The creation of this expression of Irishness would be accessible t More...

A realisable Vision for Ireland in 2025

The proposal is to teach and enable every single household in Ireland to become a sustainable consumer and to demonstrate the benefits to them, their health, their wealth, and the planet in doing so. The goal is to achieve a minimum of 5% of all household expenditure on sustainable products, serviced by Irish companies and with a long-term goal of getting up to 80% expenditure among the most ambitious households. If every Irish household spent only an additional €10 of their weekly budget on sustainable goods and services that adds up to an annual €880 million and if they spent up to €50 per week on sustainable goods and services that equates to €4.4billion per year. That equates to many long-term sustainable jobs.

I propose a Quality Mark which will be attached to Irish goods and services. Making Ireland synonymous with, organic, low carbon, renewable resources, corporate responsibility, a duty of care to the environment, consideration for local communities and economies and ethical work practices.

I propose a Quality Mark which will be attached to Irish goods and services. Making Ireland synonymous with, organic, low carbon, renewable resources, corporate responsibility, a duty of care to the environment, consideration for local communities and economies and ethical work practices.