the next evolutionary step for "your local pub". "YOUR LOCAL HUB". what exactly is that ? it is the amalgamation of all those needs and wants in any village or town under one roof. a place where people can stay connected offline and online. the local pub has taken a massive hit in the last 6 years, especially in rural areas, and as a result, more and more of them have closed and as a consequence, done a lot of serious damage to the social fabric of irish society. the Local Hub can restore all of that and more. it can be a synthesis of all that is necessary and wanted in terms of social and economic functions in any given community. local hubs would be located all over the island of ireland, literally thousands and thousands of them ; a physical and digital network, all enabled and connected by the power of the internet. there would be no such thing as having no job as there would always be a job down in your local hub ; paid, subsidised, or voluntary. and while you're down there, you c More...

Creating 'Nota Bene : Evolutionary Thinking Creatives', (NB:ETC) will be an International Network which creates a strong community resource, of Political education, communication and inspiration for collectively responding to the challenges of our time. NB:ETC works to embrace the creative intelligence of our communities Internationally from grass-root citizens to chief executive officers to creatively brain-storm on how we can best solve the challenges of our time; economic, ecological and resource optimization etc. NB:ETC works to inspire, empower, educate, strengthen and connect the possibilities of each person in our society. ETC works to engage the public in these challenges in how we can best improve our collective Political Economy as one team in creating an optimum Holistic & Scientific Society that can best continue to grow sustainably in the 21st Century. We are one Planet, we need to become one People to Optimise Our Lives.

The aim of this proposal is to show that changing a single fundamental concept of social welfare would cause a ripple effect, resulting in the following benefits to the Irish nation: • Eliminate the need for a minimum wage – Making Ireland a very competitive place for companies to locate to. • Eliminates the “I could earn more by not working” trap – Thus encouraging (and not penalizing) people for joining the workforce. • Eliminate the need for a minimum age to receive state pension – In fact this proposal would make the concept of state pension redundant.

I believe that you should work for your unemployment benefit. Want I mean by this is that you have to do a few hours of work in the week for some various voluntary organisations, (charitable/ Sports) and public sector. This would only be a few hours as the person that is unemployed still needs time to look for their aspired job. If the person does not fur fill their required hours their unemployment benefit would be reduce accordantly. Ideally the unemployed person does unemployment work similar to their previous employment, qualification or skill. E.g. plumber fixes a leek in public building. What this does for the unemployed person • Give them a purpose to their week • They are learning a skill • It may stop them getting use to doing nothing thus may motivate them to get a job • Work experience as many of the unemployed are under 25 For the government • Their are so many jobs in the public sector that an extra hand in the week can ease the pressure • Help keep Irelan More...

'SOS' is a Social Outdoor Space for Transition year and Senior students of Secondary schools. SOS is a generically designed space that can be installed on all Secondary School Campuses. 'SOS' - The universal plea for help. Social Learning is an important aspect of development which is often forgotten about but is an essential part of how we communicate and exist together. 'SOS' = break / rest period / interval / (gaelic) We note that the Irish Architecture Foundation is acknowledged as originator of the programme for which the idea was developed.

At a moment of economic upheaval, it's common wisdom to shore up strengths, and secure the storehouse of resources before proceeding in whole new directions. This is a time for Ireland to take such a “both/and” approach that recognizes the value of the nation's current cultural and economic assets while supporting new vision of what Ireland could become. Brand Ireland, even in times like these endures in the minds of people everywhere around the world. Its power to inspire and shape the aspirations of those who love the Irish culture, landscape and history is not to be underestimated. But like any brand in today's complex, competitive market, it needs to be protected, nurtured, evolved and marketed in new and powerful ways. This proposal offers a roadmap for bold, cutting-edge approaches to market Brand Ireland that would; 1.grow Ireland's tourism and traditional craft/apparel industry by fostering collaborative approaches that leverage the Craft/Arts/Tourism synergy 2.embra More...

While much attention and focus has been placed on the pre-school sector over the past two decades, the needs of parents for school-age and school-based childcare has largely remained unaddressed, despite some ‘local moves’. We have been successful in developing a working social enterprise model of school-based childcare which is commercially viable but as a not-for-profit contributes financially, materially and socially to the school and community. It has also created jobs, encouraged volunteering and provoked discussion on a wide range of issues of local importance. We suggest our model might be useful for other schools.

Ireland’s countryside has changed drastically in recent years, during which there was an unprecedented rise in the amount of single dwelling houses constructed. Ireland’s rural roads have become tributaries for these one off houses, whose occupants are heavily dependent on the car for mobility, with little or no public transport in these areas. Land that was once worked by farming families has now become home to a different type of country dweller. The new generation that now call the countryside “home” find themselves alienated in an environment that possesses only distant memories of the traditions, values and activities that made rural Ireland so appealing in the first place. Their regular commute to work and family ensures that their lives are spent in isolation. The arguments for and against one-off houses are lengthy, but little of them address the issue that these houses have been constructed with little regard to the impact on the surrounding communities, both today an More...

My proposal is with regard to the opportunities we have regarding NAMA and its growing portfolio and how it could possibly be capitalised on. It will take some tough decisions, more creative thinking and testing, faith in our ability as a country and countrymen and some selling skills to help market, publicise and secure financial aid and understanding, for something that I think will benefit us all and also many private companies who wish to tap into our financial and creative potential. All of which I believe we have the talents for within Ireland. My proposal is to utilize the properties now being secured by NAMA to develop our country in many ways and to help solve many social problems from homelessness to our reduced working and spending population that is coming down the line over the next 10 to 30 years and will not suffice to cover our expenses of looking after our growing elderly population never mind the multitude of other problems which we currently have. Along with reducin More...

I can solve the problem that many Irish people have in dealing with non-Irish nationals signing for social welfare and also receiving child benefit or children’s allowance in Ireland. The European Union did not foresee a problem with the free movement of EU members to live and work in each other’s countries. It is now time to review the present situation and discuss how we can overcome our difficulties in sustaining our economy and building a comfortable future under new social and new economic difficulties. We must welcome all people to our communities but without cost to our government and people. Under the EU Ireland accepts people of other EU countries to receive Social Welfare & Child Benefit. It is a reality and a consequence of EU membership. This unforeseen cost must be borne by the EU and not by a small Economy. The migration of people across Europe to a small Economy like Ireland and qualify for social welfare can only continue while the Irish Budget lasts. Then we wil More...