Tuesday 30 November 2010
Financial Terrorism: The Irish Budget 2011
Tonight with Vincent Browne: Irish company's and investors at home and abroad have €1.2 trillion in assetts and cash invested in Ireland and abroad. One of the companies is Google whose company is based in Galway for tax reason's (12.5% Corporation Tax). Google made profits of €3.6 billion in 2008 and paid €18 million tax. Source: The Government of Ireland Central Statistics Office, Dublin. Meanwhile Dermott Ahern TD, Minister for Justice has announced his resignation from politics. He will receive €128k a year as a pension for his job as TD and €150k per year for a pension for his job as a Minister. Before he retires he will join with the rest of his Ministers on 7th December in introducing a budget which will reduce the minimum wage by 12% or €1. He will then bring those on the minimum wage into the tax net for the first time.
Monday 29 November 2010
Irish Budget 2011
The Austerity programme imposed on the poor in Irish society has made headlines all over the world. And what it has resulted in is greater abuse than ever of our refugee population. The conditions in which refugees live in Ireland under the Fianna Fail government is probably the greatest single human rights abuse record in Europe over the last twenty years. The abuse of children by this government is in fact unprecedented in Ireland ever. The first thing the new government elected in January/February 2011 must do is announce a total amnesty for all those held in refugee concentration camps in Ireland. For all children to be released from Mountjoy jail. For Human Rights Legislation to be introduced that would protect ANY child living or visiting Ireland. In other words the child being held in Butlins Concentration Camp in Drogheda would have exactly the same rights as a child born in Cavan Area Hospital to parents from St Martins Estate in Cavan. That's what our missionaries went all over the world to promote. Now we the Irish people must hang our Celtic Tiger heads in shame that we have created our own concentration camps in this country.
Sunday 28 November 2010
Ireland's Budget 2011 continued.
A major mistake I believe Ireland has made in their trading and fiscal policies is to depend too much on the European Union. Ireland has friends in every country in the world and we should not have to rely so much on Europe. We have huge trade with the United States so why not with China? Why not more trade and international agreements with India, Pakistan, Dubai, Suadia Arabia and Middle East Countries? With regard to China if we could get agreements on trade and travel with China it would mean a massive boost to our economy. Except for Student exchanges we do not even allow Chinese citizens to travel to Ireland and we have a very narrow visa arrangement with that country. One of my proposals to boost the economy was to build a new all Ireland railway system which would make trains available to every city, town and village in this country. To comply with the new green and climate controls this country will have to implement we need to drastically reduce the use of the car. So where are we going to get the money to build such a network? Well we tender for the network in China. But in order for Chinese contractors to come to Ireland we will have to relax our travel restrictions on China. China would be invited to build this railway network and to take the profits from fares collected when it is up and running. In return for China's entry into the Irish economy China would be asked to take 50% of its employees from the Irish population. There would be a considerable saving to the Irish economy as this programme progresses. Less private transport would be needed so there would be less cars on the road. So great savings would be made in the economy by cutting back on road building. The green house gases would be reduced. Motor vehicle tax should be increased substantially over the next 20 years to encourage people off the roads. Grants from Government and the EU and maybe even from the Chinese Government would be made available to build this railway system and other public transport systems. This plan would provide thousands of jobs, bring us into line with Climate regulations, boost the economy by bringing new people into Ireland. Many other projects could be set up with other countries. The USA is an example of how a country has built a healthy economy by making it easy to emigrate into their country. So why not Ireland?
Justice Proposals
This country spends far too much money on fighting crime. For the same reasons as we don't have an efficient transport and rail system, a useless health system, a corrupt financial system. Ireland needs to implement, no, create a justice system because we don't really have one. Firstly we need to make up our minds what we want our justice system to do? I studied A level law many years ago and was surprised when my lecturer announced that governments don't necessarily want to defeat crime. Crime, he explained is an industry, a vital part of the British economy. It employs tens if not hundreds of thousands of British people, police officers, prison officers, Court officers, Social Services, medical staff. So do we need crime as part of our legal system to reduce the dole queues or do we aim for ending crime in Ireland. What do we want to do with the criminal? Do we want to rehabilitate criminals in the criminal justice system, make them better people and let them back into society?. Do we want to get revenge against the criminal, lock them up for eternity, punish them? Well I have an opinion on this subject. I don't regard crime, law and order as an essential part of our industrial base to reduce the dole queues. Many criminals if not most of them are beyond rehabilitation, so I rule out too much molly coddling if for no other reason that we can't spend money on better conditions for criminals before we spend money on special needs children, paediatric nurses and primary school eduction. Where a prisoner seeks help to better themselves then that help should be given. My policy would not be to rehabilitate, to take revenge or to punish. I want to separate the criminal from the rest of society. If someone commits a crime and their punishment is ten years in jail then that's what they should serve. If that person commits a crime again and is given a ten year sentence that sentence would be doubled. If criminals knew this was the policy they would stop. Crimes of violence would mean in my policy that the person committing the violent crime would be likely to spend most of their lives in prison. Separated from society. I would also differentiate between victims of crime. And Ireland already do this in that its a life sentence for murder, supposed to be 25 years and for the murder of a police officer its 35 or 45 years. The tariffs on all crime need to be reviewed and amended. For instance a crime of violence against a 25 year old man which draws a 10 year sentence would draw a twenty five year sentence for the same crime against a 6 year old child. Rape of a 25 year old person should draw a life sentence which ends up about 12.5 years. Rape of a child under 16 years would draw a 45 year sentence. Violence against the elderly, infirm or special needs persons would attract a much higher sentence. Three convictions for any crime of violence would result in a 45 year sentence to run consecutively. It would be my intention to end crime, not create an industry out of it.
I will of course be criticised by human rights campaigners who don't believe in human rights for child rape victims, pensioners, medical staff, police officers, fire officers or the 90% of people who are not involved in crime. I will also be criticised because it will cost too much to keep all these criminals locked up. Well I have the answer to that too. On 1st January 2011 there would be a general amnesty for all prisoners held in prisons in the Republic of Ireland. The only exception to this rule would be those convicted of murder, rape and grievous bodily harm or other serious crimes of violence. Violent prisoners who have less than one year of their sentence to serve can apply to be considered for parole and be released under the amnesty if a special group of experts support their application. Any person released under the amnesty who is convicted within ten years of their release of a similar offence or another serious offence would serve their new sentence and any previous sentence handed down in the past ten years. Prisons have to be paid for and I suggest innovative and radical ways of paying for them. Firstly, I believe income tax itself is a counter productive method of paying for any of our services. So either with or separately from income tax there should be a Justice and Prison Levy if for no other reason to make the taxpayer realise that we have a problem that needs to be addressed. The Irish recession has resulted in some 360,000 empty houses on ghost estates being left to rot on the Irish landscape. Mountjoy Prison must be closed down and four or five or as many as required of these estates would get planning permission to become new open prisons. Dangerous prisoners would be transferred to Portlaoise prison and four new prisons would be built over a ten year period. These prisons would be state of the art prisons which would require very little officer supervision. In fact they would be so state of the art that the entire care of prisoners would be carried out by remote control. A new policy of allowing and encouraging prisoners to work, earn money, pay tax etc, separated from society on the outside world but allowed to have their own human rights, their own separate society within the prisons system. All prison systems would be controlled by automated locking systems, CCTV, Audio instructions etc. Three prison officers could control a prison with 1,000 prisoners at night. Prisoners would volunteer to complete the Ghost estates and would be paid a special prison rate for their work. You see there would be many more prisoners in the first two to three years of all this new justice policy change. Then crime would fall off dramatically as repeat offenders would no longer be released. Crime classes for the young prisoner would end because the crime teachers would no longer be on the outside. They would not be released.
The media in Ireland have had pretty much a free ride on crime and criminals. News stories in the tabloids have made billions from crime stories both in the courts and from people locked up in prisons for horrific crimes against Irish and British citizens. Famous and infamous prisoners would be allowed to publish their stories, books etc so long as no offence is given to a victim. A newspaper would be allowed to visit a prison to interview a mass murderer. If the going rate for such a story, say by the News of the World was €2m. Well the prisoner would be paid €10k, the victim(s) would be paid 50% of the €2m and the prison authorities and the Courts and Justice system would take the remainder. The media could and should get back to providing a service to the Irish people. Billions of Revenue could be collected from Newspapers, Television and Radio for opening up the prison and justice systems in this country. I'm positive that there are many, many ways of financing the Irish Justice system. We have become such a stuck in the mud, set in our ways society that rejects change and carry out our affairs at a snails pace. We need an electric shock to our whole governance. I'm available to pull the switch.
Tuesday 23 November 2010
Myra Hindley
I said I would comment on Carol Ann Lees book on Myra Hindley. My opinion has always been that Hindley should have been treated like any other life prisoner. I must admit after reading Carol Ann's book I can understand why there was a reluctance to release her. The wicked torture and murder and the tapes of that act published in this book was traumatic reading. However Hindleys detention after her life sentence was complete was an abuse of the legal system. And if we accept the law as the law then her detention was illegal and unfair. However Hindley was a deceptive and devious woman who lied, lied and lied throughout her life. Coming clean at the beginning after sentence may have meant she would have been released earlier. I accept now that she truly was an evil person and if she changed at all it was only at the very lates stage of her life.
The New Dictatorship: Budget Continued.
Well I proposed a Military takeover of the Republic of Ireland in my last blog. But events have overtaken me and the country. Because the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have already taken over Ireland. Still I'll put my tuppence worth on the table as an alternative budget for 2011.
The proposal from Brian Cowan and Brian Lenihan is to create a four year plan to reduce Ireland's deficit from 14% to 3%. The first year of this plan, 2011, would have €6 billion sucked out of the economy. Now anyone who knows anything about paying off a debt, such as a mortgage, knows you don't volunteer to pay off a 25 year mortgage in twelve years. Because that would lead to bankruptcy. So firstly I would reduce the deficit to 5% in six years. I am absolutely convinced that the Irish government whoever they turn out to be will not be able to achieve 3% by 2014. Secondly, it would appear that the Fianna Fail - Green coalition will attempt to achieve this years targets with €4 billion of cuts from the sick, the poor, the elderly and children. The other €2 billion will come from adjusting taxes on the middle class and reducing the wages, pensions, and numbers in the public services. Now I would do some of those things too. But I would reverse the 4-2 in favour of taxing the billionaires and millionaires by €5 billion and cutting services and social welfare by €1 billion per year for three years and then carry out a review.
So here is a quick list of taxes and cuts that would be in my budget for 2011.
1. Shut down the Irish Senate.
2. Shut down 50% of all County Councils and Urban Councils.
3. Cut the FAS training agency by 50%.
4. Abolish the Health Service Executive completely. Now this time it must be abolished in it's entirety. When the HSE was set up the Health Boards were to close down. What actually happened was the Health boards are still there. My solution would be to create a new Health Service that would be built around One Patient, One Doctor and One Nurse. The present health service has a foundation that rests on 27,000 Administrators. I will give an example. North Eastern Health Board Kells Co Meath. There is no hospital or medical services in Kells Co Meath. But this monolithic Administrative centre employing thousands of people (most would never have any direct involvement in patient care.) So I would close the old health boards down. Start all over again. To do this a team would go round all the hospitals asking doctors, nurses and patients what staff back up they need. Obviously we need radiographers, porters, domestics, ward clerks etc. But all those people work in a hospital setting, taking care of patients. So in fact more people may need to be employed to work with patients and those not working with patients would be made redundant. I propose to reduce Health Service staff by 4000 per year over the next six years. No staff who work directly with patients should lose their jobs. High paid non medical consultants and Civil Servants should be made redundant or have their wages reduced by 50%.
5. This country has too many hospitals. All cottage hospitals should be closed down over the next 25 years. Twelve hospitals would be built over that period in the Republic of Ireland. All of about the size of Belfast's Royal Victoria and City Hospitals put together. They would be strategically placed to cover all of the country. An air ambulance service would be set up and would eventually take all emergency service calls to the twelve hospitals. Ambulance services on the ground would be reduced at a rate of five per cent per year over the first six years. Non urgent patient transport would continue as now and a road transport ambulance service would be on standby for major incidents.
6. All top Civil Servants such as Judges, Higher Civil Servants, advisers etc would have their salaries reduced by 10% in 2011 and 5% per year over the next three years. Government Ministers to have their salaries reduced by 25% in 2011 and 5% per year over the next three years. RTE employees on higher salaries such as broadcasters would take a salary cut of 25% in 2011 and 5% per year over the next three years. Anyone earning over €100k annually would make a one off tax payment in 2011 of 25%. The fiction that we won't be able to attract the best people if we don't pay them millions for their services is false. This country has half a million unemployed, plenty of well educated graduates to take the place of Pat Kenny or the head of the HSE. An example of where I would look for money would be from those who withdrew €10 billion from the AIB in August and September. Tax payers lodged €7 billion through Brian Lenihan into AIB in 2010. The government must take hold of the banks and prevent a run on the banks by declaring a national emergency. Transfers of money out of Ireland must be stopped for three months until the budget is passed and the 4-6 year plan is implemented.
7. A wealth tax which would be based not just on cash but on assetts and property.
8. A property tax on properties worth more than 400k. Those with more than three houses would pay at a higher rate than those with one. Protection for certain categories of people who are living solely on benefits or pensions would mean many would not pay the property tax. Those who have more than €1million in property assetts would be penalised the most. Someone or some company who owns €100m in property would be forced to sell €25m worth for a one off payment to Revenue in 2011-2012.
9. Probably the single most important change needed in the 2011 budget is parliamentary reform. The Dail should have a working body of members working in the parliament five days a week, fifty two weeks of the year. The parliament must be seen to work harder, work quicker and work longer and more efficiently. More emergency legislation to address the problems of this country is vital. If there is a crisis the Irish Parliament must be be prepared to be in the Dail even at 3 a.m on a Sunday. TDs pay should be cut by 40%.
10. All Social Welfare payments should be reduced by 1% per year for the next three years. Exemptions from these reductions would be allowed only for pensioners over 85 years of age and Special Needs children. All public service pay to be reduced by 1% per year for the next three years. Minimum wage to be frozen at this years rate for two years and then reviewed.
11. The Government should set up a State bank which would be run like any other Government Department. All other banks should be nationalised and sold off over the next five years. A levy would be put on all private financial institutions until the €140 billion lost by banks is paid off over the next 25 to 50 years.
12. Many people find it hard to understand why goods and services in N. Ireland are mostly between twice the price of the Republic and fifteen times the price of the Republic. Many of the problems we face today were created by greed. Even if we go back to the eighties or nineties ordinary goods in the shops were often 15 or twenty times that of the North. There were never such difference of costs such as minimum wage or electricity which are 10% and 15% respectively. To address this problem I propose that a Prices Commission be set up. The head of this Commission should be an ex senior member of the Gardai. The commission should investigate prices in both N. Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. If the government can introduce a sensible pricing policy in Ireland then there is no reason why Social Welfare and Health costs could not be reduced. The very basic goods purchased every day by people to feed their families in the south are costing enormous amounts in comparison to the North. As a small example: Daily Mirror North 45 p; South €1; Fruit scone Co Monaghan 85c; Co Antrim 15p; 16 Panadol County Antrim 15p; County Mayo €1.89; Packet of brand bacon Antrim £1.59; Cavan €5. Litre of Whiskey South €49.50; North £18.99. 2 litre milk South €1.89; North 90p. Excessive profiteering would be investigated by the new Prices Commission. The Commission would have a right to order a company to reduce it's prices in particular where a company is selling a product in N. Ireland manufactured in the Irish Republic for half the price in the North. And this is a common occurrence. It would have an advisory capacity as well to help industry and the retail trade by comparing the price structures in the two areas. Broadcaster Pat Kenny highlighted where a drug for epilepsy cost €4.80 in a small village in Spain. It sells in Ireland for €50. The Commission would have teeth and could impose heavy fines or remove a licence to trade from a company or retail outlet. The Commission would widely publish its findings in order to dissuade business from unfair practices and profiteering.
13. Bond holders would have to be identified by having their licences published in local papers once a year. The Irish people have a right to know who is controlling their economic well being. All millionaires and billionaires would have to be identified annually in National papers in Ireland. Whether individuals or companies. The 7% of the population who control the wealth of Ireland will have their masks removed in my budget.
14. Those involved in fraud over the past thirteen years must be arrested, charged and tried. Legislation should be enacted and if necessary back dated to see that Ireland jail those who caused the crisis Ireland is now in. A method of speeding up the prosecuting process must be implemented as part of the 2011 budget.
15. Shell Gas in Mayo to be Nationalised.
16. Water rates to be brought in over a five year period using water metres. Payment of water rates would be means tested to protect those who could not afford them.
17. Corporation Tax to be increased to 15%, still the lowest in Europe.
18. Finally I have a plan for a massive boost to the Irish economy on both sides of the border by using the border as an economic platform to turn this Island into a multi billion euro investment destination. That problem of differences in cross border prices would be solved. The depression caused on both sides of the border because it is an unequal international frontier would be ended and replaced by a vibrant economy. I propose that the authorities on both sides of the border set up a Free Enterprise Zone along the whole 300 mile stretch of the Irish border. It would be a six mile band, three miles on either side of the border where taxes would be low, perhaps only 5% income tax, 5% Corporation tax, 10% VAT etc. The EU would be asked to help fund and support the project. International companies would be invited to set up industries and develop the infrastructure of the zone bringing huge prosperity to the whole country over the next 25 years. The area could be widened over a period and this would attract people from surrounding areas into the zone. There would be no border restrictions on the old Irish border, no customs and the six mile band would be jointly policed by security services from both sides of the border. The new border would be all of the six mile band. The Prices Commission would strictly control prices inside the Zone and all goods would have to sell at the same price throughout the zone ending the profiteering on the southern side of the zone. This would have the effect of stabilising prices and the economy would be contaminated by the new surge inside the zone throughout the Island over a period of years.
The proposal from Brian Cowan and Brian Lenihan is to create a four year plan to reduce Ireland's deficit from 14% to 3%. The first year of this plan, 2011, would have €6 billion sucked out of the economy. Now anyone who knows anything about paying off a debt, such as a mortgage, knows you don't volunteer to pay off a 25 year mortgage in twelve years. Because that would lead to bankruptcy. So firstly I would reduce the deficit to 5% in six years. I am absolutely convinced that the Irish government whoever they turn out to be will not be able to achieve 3% by 2014. Secondly, it would appear that the Fianna Fail - Green coalition will attempt to achieve this years targets with €4 billion of cuts from the sick, the poor, the elderly and children. The other €2 billion will come from adjusting taxes on the middle class and reducing the wages, pensions, and numbers in the public services. Now I would do some of those things too. But I would reverse the 4-2 in favour of taxing the billionaires and millionaires by €5 billion and cutting services and social welfare by €1 billion per year for three years and then carry out a review.
So here is a quick list of taxes and cuts that would be in my budget for 2011.
1. Shut down the Irish Senate.
2. Shut down 50% of all County Councils and Urban Councils.
3. Cut the FAS training agency by 50%.
4. Abolish the Health Service Executive completely. Now this time it must be abolished in it's entirety. When the HSE was set up the Health Boards were to close down. What actually happened was the Health boards are still there. My solution would be to create a new Health Service that would be built around One Patient, One Doctor and One Nurse. The present health service has a foundation that rests on 27,000 Administrators. I will give an example. North Eastern Health Board Kells Co Meath. There is no hospital or medical services in Kells Co Meath. But this monolithic Administrative centre employing thousands of people (most would never have any direct involvement in patient care.) So I would close the old health boards down. Start all over again. To do this a team would go round all the hospitals asking doctors, nurses and patients what staff back up they need. Obviously we need radiographers, porters, domestics, ward clerks etc. But all those people work in a hospital setting, taking care of patients. So in fact more people may need to be employed to work with patients and those not working with patients would be made redundant. I propose to reduce Health Service staff by 4000 per year over the next six years. No staff who work directly with patients should lose their jobs. High paid non medical consultants and Civil Servants should be made redundant or have their wages reduced by 50%.
5. This country has too many hospitals. All cottage hospitals should be closed down over the next 25 years. Twelve hospitals would be built over that period in the Republic of Ireland. All of about the size of Belfast's Royal Victoria and City Hospitals put together. They would be strategically placed to cover all of the country. An air ambulance service would be set up and would eventually take all emergency service calls to the twelve hospitals. Ambulance services on the ground would be reduced at a rate of five per cent per year over the first six years. Non urgent patient transport would continue as now and a road transport ambulance service would be on standby for major incidents.
6. All top Civil Servants such as Judges, Higher Civil Servants, advisers etc would have their salaries reduced by 10% in 2011 and 5% per year over the next three years. Government Ministers to have their salaries reduced by 25% in 2011 and 5% per year over the next three years. RTE employees on higher salaries such as broadcasters would take a salary cut of 25% in 2011 and 5% per year over the next three years. Anyone earning over €100k annually would make a one off tax payment in 2011 of 25%. The fiction that we won't be able to attract the best people if we don't pay them millions for their services is false. This country has half a million unemployed, plenty of well educated graduates to take the place of Pat Kenny or the head of the HSE. An example of where I would look for money would be from those who withdrew €10 billion from the AIB in August and September. Tax payers lodged €7 billion through Brian Lenihan into AIB in 2010. The government must take hold of the banks and prevent a run on the banks by declaring a national emergency. Transfers of money out of Ireland must be stopped for three months until the budget is passed and the 4-6 year plan is implemented.
7. A wealth tax which would be based not just on cash but on assetts and property.
8. A property tax on properties worth more than 400k. Those with more than three houses would pay at a higher rate than those with one. Protection for certain categories of people who are living solely on benefits or pensions would mean many would not pay the property tax. Those who have more than €1million in property assetts would be penalised the most. Someone or some company who owns €100m in property would be forced to sell €25m worth for a one off payment to Revenue in 2011-2012.
9. Probably the single most important change needed in the 2011 budget is parliamentary reform. The Dail should have a working body of members working in the parliament five days a week, fifty two weeks of the year. The parliament must be seen to work harder, work quicker and work longer and more efficiently. More emergency legislation to address the problems of this country is vital. If there is a crisis the Irish Parliament must be be prepared to be in the Dail even at 3 a.m on a Sunday. TDs pay should be cut by 40%.
10. All Social Welfare payments should be reduced by 1% per year for the next three years. Exemptions from these reductions would be allowed only for pensioners over 85 years of age and Special Needs children. All public service pay to be reduced by 1% per year for the next three years. Minimum wage to be frozen at this years rate for two years and then reviewed.
11. The Government should set up a State bank which would be run like any other Government Department. All other banks should be nationalised and sold off over the next five years. A levy would be put on all private financial institutions until the €140 billion lost by banks is paid off over the next 25 to 50 years.
12. Many people find it hard to understand why goods and services in N. Ireland are mostly between twice the price of the Republic and fifteen times the price of the Republic. Many of the problems we face today were created by greed. Even if we go back to the eighties or nineties ordinary goods in the shops were often 15 or twenty times that of the North. There were never such difference of costs such as minimum wage or electricity which are 10% and 15% respectively. To address this problem I propose that a Prices Commission be set up. The head of this Commission should be an ex senior member of the Gardai. The commission should investigate prices in both N. Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. If the government can introduce a sensible pricing policy in Ireland then there is no reason why Social Welfare and Health costs could not be reduced. The very basic goods purchased every day by people to feed their families in the south are costing enormous amounts in comparison to the North. As a small example: Daily Mirror North 45 p; South €1; Fruit scone Co Monaghan 85c; Co Antrim 15p; 16 Panadol County Antrim 15p; County Mayo €1.89; Packet of brand bacon Antrim £1.59; Cavan €5. Litre of Whiskey South €49.50; North £18.99. 2 litre milk South €1.89; North 90p. Excessive profiteering would be investigated by the new Prices Commission. The Commission would have a right to order a company to reduce it's prices in particular where a company is selling a product in N. Ireland manufactured in the Irish Republic for half the price in the North. And this is a common occurrence. It would have an advisory capacity as well to help industry and the retail trade by comparing the price structures in the two areas. Broadcaster Pat Kenny highlighted where a drug for epilepsy cost €4.80 in a small village in Spain. It sells in Ireland for €50. The Commission would have teeth and could impose heavy fines or remove a licence to trade from a company or retail outlet. The Commission would widely publish its findings in order to dissuade business from unfair practices and profiteering.
13. Bond holders would have to be identified by having their licences published in local papers once a year. The Irish people have a right to know who is controlling their economic well being. All millionaires and billionaires would have to be identified annually in National papers in Ireland. Whether individuals or companies. The 7% of the population who control the wealth of Ireland will have their masks removed in my budget.
14. Those involved in fraud over the past thirteen years must be arrested, charged and tried. Legislation should be enacted and if necessary back dated to see that Ireland jail those who caused the crisis Ireland is now in. A method of speeding up the prosecuting process must be implemented as part of the 2011 budget.
15. Shell Gas in Mayo to be Nationalised.
16. Water rates to be brought in over a five year period using water metres. Payment of water rates would be means tested to protect those who could not afford them.
17. Corporation Tax to be increased to 15%, still the lowest in Europe.
18. Finally I have a plan for a massive boost to the Irish economy on both sides of the border by using the border as an economic platform to turn this Island into a multi billion euro investment destination. That problem of differences in cross border prices would be solved. The depression caused on both sides of the border because it is an unequal international frontier would be ended and replaced by a vibrant economy. I propose that the authorities on both sides of the border set up a Free Enterprise Zone along the whole 300 mile stretch of the Irish border. It would be a six mile band, three miles on either side of the border where taxes would be low, perhaps only 5% income tax, 5% Corporation tax, 10% VAT etc. The EU would be asked to help fund and support the project. International companies would be invited to set up industries and develop the infrastructure of the zone bringing huge prosperity to the whole country over the next 25 years. The area could be widened over a period and this would attract people from surrounding areas into the zone. There would be no border restrictions on the old Irish border, no customs and the six mile band would be jointly policed by security services from both sides of the border. The new border would be all of the six mile band. The Prices Commission would strictly control prices inside the Zone and all goods would have to sell at the same price throughout the zone ending the profiteering on the southern side of the zone. This would have the effect of stabilising prices and the economy would be contaminated by the new surge inside the zone throughout the Island over a period of years.
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