A QUICK READ of several Irish Sunday papers throws up some ominous facts.
No Hope in Pandemic. Darina O'Flanagan, the head of the surveillance service for infectious diseases, says the Irish public health sector could not cope with a major outbreak of infectious disease. There is no detailed plan to protect citizens from a flu outbreak.
Danger of Tax Harmonisation. Intel chairman Craig Barrett , speaking for the company that employs more than 5000 people in Ireland, said Intel "scours the face of the earth" for best investments. Barrett will invest outside of the EU if the EU harmonises taxes.
Union rumblings. SIPTU opposes Aer Lingus privatisation and promises a summer filled with industrial action. If that happens, I don't believe the government will cancel their holidays to deal with an issue that needs to be resolved quickly for the good of the country. SIPTU need to cop this fact: any further delay of selling the state airline erodes the chance for their members to enjoy favourable handling of pension demands.
Another tax-funded fishing expedition. Irish politicians are setting into motion another expensive use of time and resources with public hearings into files found on Judge Brian Curtin's computer. What's the point in distracting State time from more pressing matters such as the rise of violent crime, the lack of broadband, un-coordinated links between traffic offenses and penalty points, people sleeping on hospital trollies and road works that just keep dribbling on?
Trading Down. Laura Noonan explains¹ how some on the property ladder have enjoyed a millionaire's rush by trading down. As interest rates ratchet up again this year, this could become a distinct trend and unsettle the Irish property market.
Ignoring a social network. Kathy Foley, who had to have known the writers behind Nua's thatch crew and the information architects who designed Local Ireland online, does "not understand the appeal of a virtual social network,nor how to go about getting involved in it." By her own admission, she had "one of those permanent and pensionable job involved writing about the internet all day, every day."² I have to wonder if she wants to engage in Ireland's blogosphere where many of her readers write, engage and ultimately meet face-to-face. Other columnists seem to comfortably engage their virtual audience.
Nukes. Who would want to trust the French with being Europe's only nuclear power? Britain's Ministry of Defence is nurturing a series of press releases about Trident nuclear weapons and they suggest a long and expensive upgrade process to its nuclear aresenal.
Police Resources. There are at least 15,000 outstanding arrest warrants in garda stations around Ireland.³ The strategy seems to be this: wait for the criminal to present himself. Not so with the Garda National Immigration Bureau--they quickly sweep up all non-nationals with warrants.
Ireland a slowcoach. Vint Cerf, the "father of the internet", visited Dublin and said Irish people are not getting the full benefits of being online because of the lack of always-on high speed access. O2 has documented that more than half of Irish owner-managers and senior executives do not have broadband at home. Personally, I believe all estate agents should have to state the availability of broadband in advertisements of hoomes for sale printed in newspapers.
¹Laura Noonan -- "Who wants to be a millionaire?" in the Sunday Business Post, March 12, 2006.
²Kathy Foley -- "He's old? I'm past it at 28." in The Sunday Times, March 12, 2006.
³Enda Leahy -- "Gun gangs laughing at the law" on the front page of The Sunday Times, March 12, 2006.
