Ireland politics (Part 1)

Similarily Micheal Martin was minister for health that helped set up the disaster that is the HSE and is leader of FF with eyes on becoming Taoiseach. They have been eerily quiet of late. No need for protestations really when you are part of a supply and confidence agreement and the other crowd are tripping over themselves at every turn.

The ministers do fuck all, regardless of who the face is its the same civil servants behind the scenes playing the same tune they always did.

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Ff cant afford to take the government down at the moment, particularly with a shit or bust moment around the corner with Brexit. However if a half decent Brexit deal is agreed then the likes of John McGuinness will.put serious heat on Martin to pull the plug.

The likes of John McGuinness has been putting ā€œserious heatā€ on MM, FF and anyone whoā€™ll listen for about 10 years now. I canā€™t imagine MM is exactly shitting himself about him at this stage.

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With a change of government is there not a change of advisers, civil servants etc? Cant imagine for instance FG retained the finance civil servants when they got elected into power in 2011. I know these days they like to keep journalists and spin doctors on the payroll but what happens the civil servants?

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No hes not but the childrenā€™s hospital thing has taken on a life of its own and ff are coming under pressure from their own to pull out.
Like I said before Brexit is the only thing keeping the government together atm.

We all.have jobs for life and gold plated pensions pal.

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Brexit is saving a lot these fuckers, Iā€™d say there would have been an election only for it.

Did meehole martin really make a fuck up of the HSE or was it because Bertie stuck his fat head in and said there would be no redundancies?

I was alerted to this musing from Milton Friedman:

There are four ways in which you can spend money. You can spend your own money on yourself. When you do that, why then you really watch out what youā€™re doing, and you try to get the most for your money. Then you can spend your own money on somebody else. For example, I buy a birthday present for someone. Well, then Iā€™m not so careful about the content of the present, but Iā€™m very careful about the cost. Then, I can spend somebody elseā€™s money on myself. And if I spend somebody elseā€™s money on myself, then Iā€™m sure going to have a good lunch! Finally, I can spend somebody elseā€™s money on somebody else. And if I spend somebody elseā€™s money on somebody else, Iā€™m not concerned about how much it is, and Iā€™m not concerned about what I get. And thatā€™s government.

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Iā€™m not what the reporting structure from the HSE to the department of health looks like.ir is even supposed to look like. Similar to the GardaĆ­ and the department of justice, I would guess there is little or no oversight coming from the department and hence minister.

Bertie wouldnā€™t have helped matters anyway. He was in bed with the unions.

He catfished them.

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Which is why what you always hear is we need to spend more (as long as itā€™s someone elseā€™s money). The reality is there is zero accountability in government, at any level. Spending on health care continues to increase in OECD countries with no improvement in outcomes, so the problem isnā€™t the amount spent.

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Sounds like the conversation you had with the wife before Christmas

Still no repercussions from that episode

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Sweep sweep

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Irish Health Service is one of the best funded in the world.

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Would i be wrong in my assumption that the staff in the various departments remain in place after a change of Government ?

Youā€™re not wrong.

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Of course they remain in situ. Imagine we fucked out everyone with any experience of how to do a job everyy few years? Theres a load of chafe (@glasagusban) there but half the politicians havenā€™t a breeze about their briefs. Or are acting on behalf of vested interests. You need a civil service to keep them in check.

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