Your building contractor asks you for a 50% deposit of €20,000.00 up front for the window manufacturer on your new house project. What do you do? What if the builder goes out of business after you give him the money? What if the window manufacturer goes out of business? The window manufacturer doesn’t trust you or the builder and won’t even order materials until he has a 50% deposit as security. The builder doesn’t trust anyone, he’s suspicious of the Employer’s reticence in parting with his money and doesn’t want to pay his sub-contractors until he secures his own payments. Welcome to the post “Celtic Tiger” world of Irish Construction.

Town centres the length and breadth of our country, once the heart of thriving local business and social community have been decimated by the introduction to this country of the 'suburb located business park', and other such commercial centres. These parks and centres, housing 'chain style' international businesses, while welcome, have sucked the proverbial community life out of our towns, creating urban centres which are little more than traffic thoroughfares. Local business has died, local traders have sold up or moved on. The once vibrant location known as the 'town centre' has become bereft of community life, dimly lit, dank and soulless places, home only to banks, bookies, pound shops, struggling pubs, 'head shops' and tattoo parlors. This project is designed to 'reinvent' and 'redesign' the Irish town centre, to win back the small traders and other such entrepreneurs once more into the heart of communities. It aims to categorically reverse the community draining effects of the Ce More...

Economy and politics are no more going together Traditional policies to attract investments doesn't work anymore because the political word has lost its credibility The key for investments and business project is CONFIDENCE Being the first to adapt its institutions to the Digital technology would : -send a clear signal to investors -give a new legitimity to a public policy for investment - boost R&D for the new technologies Starting from the top, the first step could be to amend the Irish Constitution to take into account the direct expression of the citizens through Internet and then to open the public life to all the new technologies

THIS PROJECT IS ABOUT IRELAND IN THE WORLD, AND THE SEVENTY MILLION PEOPLE WORLD WIDE WHO ARE IRISH IN ANCESTERY OR HOLD IRISH PASSPORTS. MUINTIR CHANGES THE WAY WE BRAND IRELAND AND IRISH GOODS AND SERVICES, IT PROMOTES A CULTURAL SHIFT IN UNDERSTANDING THAT BEING IRISH BY BIRTH OR ANCESTRY, WE ARE A MIXTURE OF VARIED SETLTERS, VIKING, FRENCH, , WELSH ENGLISH, SCOTTISH, JEWISH, FLEMISH, IN THE PAST, AND IN RECENT TIMES, A NEW POPULATION HAS BEEN ADDED TO THAT MIX. OUR INDUSTRIAL AND CRAFT PRODUCTS ARE EQUALLY DIVERSE, AND MUINTIR TWINES THIS DIVERSITY INTO A NEW GLOBAL MARKET AND IRELAND SHOWCASE. IT’S A TWO WAY MARKETPLACE –COMPANIES OWNED OR STAFFED BY THE IRISH ABROAD WOULD HAVE AN EQUAL PLACE WITH INDIGENOUS COMPANIES, LEADING TO NEW LINKS, LEARNING AND PROFITIBILITY. ONE OF THE MAIN THEMES TO EMERGE FROM THE ATTENDEES AT THE GLOBAL IRISH ECONOMIC FORUM WAS THE IMPORTANCE OF IRISH CULTURE TO THE IMAGE OF THIS COUNTRY ABROAD.…. AS WE STRIVE TO PROMOTE IRISH CULTURE AND More...

Never before has our country been so disengaged and disillusioned with our government and never before have the fighting Irish appeared so beaten down. I feel it is time we pulled our boot straps up and got active as a people and honestly and effectively get our government to work 'with' us. I propose each minister allocates funds annually to a new inventive project with benefits for both public and private sector, the unemployed and most importantly regain some trust in our government. The thousands of talented young and 'not so young' energetic people on the dole needs to change. Those willing to work must be given a chance to work, to learn and to bring Ireland out of it's doom and gloom. Firstly... as mentioned each minister allocates funds on an annual basis which is used in the appropriate field to improve services and employment opportunities. Any public sector jobs assigned to these funds are ONLY allowed go towards individuals or companies who can offer learning or 'on the j More...

I propose a statue/ monument, visitor attraction be built at a prominent location in Ireland to commemorate a famous Irish American. Probably the best example I think of is John F. Kennedy, as his ancestors were Irish. This monument could be a viewing platform, visitor centre, etc. I think this tourist attraction would be ideal, as Ireland relies heavily on American tourists for trade, and this would link their history to ours, to perhaps develop a better link and increase American tourism to the country. As Ireland relies heavily on FDI and multinational business from America, it may also add another link to developing a better business relationship with the States, and remind them of their Irish heritage. If there is going to be a presidential visit, it would be magnificent if something like the above was built for President Obama to unveil, and remind him of the importance of the Irish, and their role in America.

This may seem wacky, but I propose a slightly new way of reducing the number of people who speed and in turn, hopefully save lives. I propose, ordinary Irish motorists be given the power to carry out speed checks on other cars. Basically, x number of these responsible drivers,(with proper training) could be employed on a casual basis per county, maybe the garda reserve could be used, etc. They would be given basic training, and would be required to do so many hours of speed controlling per month. Why might this work????? First and foremost, I think motorists are well aware of the speed checking areas, and are going to slow down when they see a big bright Garda car. However, if someone is undercover, dressed normally, in a normal car, I think this would worry drivers out there, and scare them into slowing down, as they could literally be stopped at any time. Thsee motorists could be like road ambassadors/ prefects. In Ireland, I doubt theres nearly a family who has not lost a rel More...

Put all government data on the web, i.e. all data sets: everything from hospital stats, through payments and tax, to maps. It has been done in Britain. It requires little by way of investment and calls for no new data creation. Essentially it makes existing, under-used raw material available for free to industry. It is impossible to estimate the potential in terms of jobs as this would be determined by the data released and the reaction of industry. However, the cost is very small. This is not a matter of a state IT project justified by claims to improve e-government. It is not a state IT project at all. However, it will indeed help citizens to obtain all manner of information but that’s not the reason it is suggested here. It is suggested here because it has the potential to unleash the “data-mashing” creativity of professional technologists and amateurs as private individuals AND as business. That is to say, public data would become raw material for innovation within the inf More...

This proposal is about attracting uniquely well-positioned public servants to create enterprises that displace public-sector-procured imported goods and services with domestically produced substitutes. The people being targeted will be dynamic, experienced senior public servants who have unique insights into the requirements that lead to these procurements in the first instance. They will include, for example, those with responsibilities for identifying, specifying, procuring, distributing and consuming imported goods and services. Who better to understand what exactly is needed to fulfil the public service requirements, whether with a replica replacement, or even more economically efficient alternative? The scheme will facilitate single projects involving multiple public servants, subject to meeting a maximum ratio against new additional new jobs in the enterprise being created. It will also focus on matching candidates from the public service of private sector entrepreneurs for t More...

I propose an investment fund that would invest in small and medium enterprises by way of loans and/or part ownership. Despite the downturn on our economy there are still many people who have cash to invest and are looking for a return on this. There is also a great level of pride among the people of Ireland who want to do their part in restoring the economy and helping their fellow citizens. With this initiative, ordinary people can invest their money in the fund. The fund will then lend to qualifying enterprises which show a sustainable business plan and create jobs. Each applicant would be reviewed by a credit approval board. The review process would be very tightly controlled to ensure that only high potential SMEs qualify: for example those who were already successful and want to expand but are curtailed by lack of lending from banks, or new enterprises with innovative ideas who can’t get investment through usual channels due to the downturn. The government can play their p More...