what happened to the west Clare

[Broithe]

20 minutes ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

What sport besides rugby are New Zealand extremely competitive at?

Cricket.

[Mayner]

1 hour ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

What sport besides rugby are New Zealand extremely competitive at?

When it comes to sport a fairly laid back lot really: About 20 minutes devoted to sports on the 6 Oclock news.

Rugby Union, Rugby League, Cricket (Black Ferns), Basket Ball (Tall Backs) Netball (White Ferns), Soccer, Rowing, Sailing, Winter Sports. Motor Racing 

There is an old saying that New Zealanders will support the National Team and anyone that's playing against Australia.

Last year hosted Womens World Cup, hosted 12 races in 2020 Americas Cup World Series Regata

20 medals 2020 Summer Olympics---7 Gold 6 Silver 7 Bronze

5 Rowing 3 Canoeing, 2 each Rugby Sevens, Cycling and Athletics, one each Sailing, Golf, Boxing, Trampolining, Tennis and Triatlon

 

 

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

1 hour ago, Broithe said:

Cricket.

Ok they can play it but so can we

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, Mayner said:

There is an old saying that New Zealanders will support the National Team and anyone that's playing against Australia.

 

Bit like us with England!

[Ironroad]

HI John, I cannot disagree with anything you have to say as regards incentives to developers and indeed their inclination to increase prices in line with incentives to the buyers. I've been a victim of that. I have often wondered why such schemes are perpetuated and do believe they are the manifestation of corruption no one wants to admit exists. That said I will defend mortgage interest relief as justifiable and that is one thing the  developers don't get their mitts on, but it is sad that this is not what it once was in Ireland. Believe it or not the US tax code provides for full mortgage interest relief and for tax relief on contributions to pension plans. But they catch you with with income tax on the resulting pension, There is a scheme whereby no tax relief is taken on the pension contributions and accordingly the draw downs at pension age are not subject to income tax. You may have been in the fortunate position that the absence of these reliefs was a quid pro quo but that is not the situation for everyone wherever they are. In truth such incentives make a lot of sense.

Interesting that the powers that be in NZ would think it unbecoming to offer tax incentives for foreign investment in financial services, when in reality the world stage is not a level playing field. I do not think that incentives have damaged Ireland's reputation, one iota. Quite the opposite in fact as I know Americans think it is a good place to do business and regard the Irish as pragmatic. It is only the great and mighty, that have hardly been dented by this, that complain, while at the same time in many cases hiding behind suspect practices in their own tax codes.( France??) In my time in the US I have met people from Enterprise Scotland and the IDA and know that the former  would give their right arm to be able to compete with their IDA counterparts. Now maybe if Scotland was independent that would be a different matter.

As for local authorities, I've said it before, they were rendered impotent in the 1980's with the abolition of rates and Dail Eireann is now more akin to a big county council than a national-government.

We seem to have strayed a long way from West Clare.

 

26 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Bit like us with England!

And anyone who isn't a Man U supporter

[GSR 800]

10 hours ago, Mayner said:

My comments were based on my experiences living and working in Ireland, Great Britain and New Zealand. Since the 60s the Irish Government has been very astute in setting up conditions (tax breaks, education system and IDA) to attract inward overseas investment which has been good for the country, the downside is that it earned Ireland the reputation of being a tax haven and unfair competition.

Living in Scotland during the 90s there was a belief that Scottish Enterprise was wasting their time in attempting to compete with the IDA to attract new industry, although the NZ Government considered setting up a financial service sector during the 2100s providing similar tax breaks to Ireland was considered politically unacceptable and potentially damaging to international relations.

Working in the construction sector Irish Government's policies of mortgage interest relief, home buyers grants and tax breaks to developers contributed directly to todays problems with housing affordability and high construction costs in Ireland. The ending of price control (Certificate of Reasonable Value) and the introduction of 1st time buyer grants during the 70s lead to a shift from building what we now term 'affordable homes" (3 bed terrace) to larger more expensive homes, the builders simply pocketed the £1000 1st time buyer grant (7% cost avg new home 1976) by increasing the price by £1000 and pocketing subsequent increases as the grant was increased to £4,000. The company I worked for shifted from building £14,000 to slightly smaller nos or £48,000 houses in 3 years as grants and increasing rates of mortgage relief came into effect.

Developer tax breaks introduced from the late 80s onwards became were more insidious as already viable developments did not take place without a tax break, investors withdrawing their stake once they received their tax break potentially leaving the business with insufficient working capital to continue operation. I built a 150 bedroom hotel in a prominent Dublin location under one of these schemes during the late 90s, the Irish owners selling their stake upon completion. 

The Tralee and Blennerville appears to have been built under such a scheme, the original investors apparently able to walk away leaving Tralee Council with the liability of a disused railway when the business ran out of working capital.

Over centralisation with successive Governments stripping Councils of their powers and CIEs monopoly position on surface public transport has not helped to preservation movement. In many Countries Regional and City Councils have responsibility for funding and operating public transport services and have bought and leased closed railway lines to preservation groups and private operators. The position with Youghal or Fenit Branches could have been radically different had Councils powers to acquire and operate closed railway lines.

One of the lightbulb moments after settling in New Zealand was the realising that I was paying roughly the same amount of net tax as I paid in Ireland or the UK without the same deductible expenses (National Insurance, Mortgage Interest, Health Insurance, Pension contributions).

I won't get into sport New Zealander are extremely competitive in all sporting disciplines, though Munster and Ireland both considered a force to be reckoned with and an Honourable Opponent in Rugby Union

I agree with much of this, though one must consider the inflationary impact low-interest rates (along with deregulation) have had on upward pressure on residential property markets and cause overall increased inequality as housing detached rapido from the average income. These are more international trends, certainly in the West. Something I find personally interesting, especially given the current debate regarding agriculture across the EU, is NZs approach which would probably be completely unacceptable but has proven productive for agriculture in NZ.

What I will disagree on is the omission of Leinster and Connaught as a force to be reckoned with in Rugby! 

Edited February 8, 2024 by GSR 800

[minister_for_hardship]

Re councils and railways, if CIE didn't have a monopoly and councils got a disused line or trackbed for free in this country, it would likely be handed out / sold / rented to surrounding landowners/"friends and family" in days of yore or made into the current in-thing now, greenways.

Again, there's more interest in "what can you do for me?" clientelism here, and that's usually something that can be turned into a thing that makes money with minimum effort. Quickly.

Railway preservation can add value to a locality, but it's a slow burn.

Edited February 8, 2024 by minister_for_hardship

[Mayner]

9 hours ago, minister_for_hardship said:

Re councils and railways, if CIE didn't have a monopoly and councils got a disused line or trackbed for free in this country, it would likely be handed out / sold / rented to surrounding landowners/"friends and family" in days of yore or made into the current in-thing now, greenways.

Again, there's more interest in "what can you do for me?" clientelism here, and that's usually something that can be turned into a thing that makes money with minimum effort. Quickly.

Railway preservation can add value to a locality, but it's a slow burn.

The provision (in the UK and elsewhere to give Councils 1st refusal on abandoned railway apparently tied in with the Councils transport and economic development functions and allowed the railways to transfer their liabilities for closed lines to the Councils/local communities.  I had a friend who worked in the liabilities section of BR York for many years whose main duty was trying to transfer liabilities on abandoned lines to councils and extinguish right of ways. Up to the 70s CIEs normal practice was to transfer ownership of sections of abandoned lines to adjoining landowners often paying the landowners legal fees in return for extinguishing claims for future liabilities. 

Can understand the reluctance of Irish Councils to take over abandoned lines huge potential liabilities and no income from property rates from an abandoned line.

[Rian]

On 30/1/2024 at 1:10 PM, Mike 84C said:

I wonder if all the non ferrous parts were put under lock and key? If bearings and injectors have been stolen then restoration just gets harder and vastly more expensive. Trajic No 5 is in that condition.

Yes bit late on this but i was there recently thankfully 2 chains guard the door to the shed and the track and coaches are in restorable condition but for the Loco when i looked at the back of it i mistaked it for a flatbed car when i fist looked in (limited view as the door is closed)

[A. K.]

Any update on the WCR since? I passed it while travelling up that area with family today and man, depressing state things are in. The website has no information other than it’s ‘closed until further notice’. Shame one of if not the only heritage lines this side of the country is rotting away. You can see how bad the condition is of the rolling stock and loco’s on google maps

[Wexford70]

@A. K. I believe it is closed permanently. A new home is being sought for the steam loco. Too big to go to the likes of WSVR. Hopefully the items in the collection can be preserved. 

Edited Tuesday at 12:00 by Wexford70

[Tractionman]

The latest issue of The Irish Mail from the ITG has an urgent fundraising call to assist with relocating their locos from Moyasta to Downpatrick.

 

Anyone wishing to assist financially can find a donate page on the ITG web-site (www.irishtraction.com). (edit, see below!)

 

cheers,

 

Keith

 

Edited Tuesday at 15:50 by Tractionman
wrong URL

[Mike Beckett]

1 hour ago, Tractionman said:

The latest issue of The Irish Mail from the ITG has an urgent fundraising call to assist with relocating their locos from Moyasta to Downpatrick.

 

Anyone wishing to assist financially can find a donate page on the ITG web-site (www.irishtraction.com).

 

cheers,

 

Keith

 

 

There’s also some wibblings from yours truly about the reasons for the relocation.

The website is actually this, but I’ll not hold my breath: https://www.irishtractiongroup.com/donate

Edited Tuesday at 14:46 by Mike Beckett

[Wexford70]

2 hours ago, Tractionman said:

The latest issue of The Irish Mail from the ITG has an urgent fundraising call to assist with relocating their locos from Moyasta to Downpatrick.

Is there anything worth moving? I was really saddened by the state of rolling stock the last time I was there some time ago. 

[DJ Dangerous]

1 hour ago, Mike Beckett said:

 

There’s also some wibblings from yours truly about the reasons for the relocation.

The website is actually this, but I’ll not hold my breath: https://www.irishtractiongroup.com/donate

How does one subscribe to The Irish Mail?

I have a recurring monthly donation of €10 to the ITG, but I don’t remember any options for subscribing to the magazine at the time I started donating.

[Tractionman]

9 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

How does one subscribe to The Irish Mail?

I have a recurring monthly donation of €10 to the ITG, but I don’t remember any options for subscribing to the magazine at the time I started donating.

I joined the ITG as a member and get the Mail as part of the membership package.

 

cheers,

 

Keith

[DJ Dangerous]

3 minutes ago, Tractionman said:

I joined the ITG as a member and get the Mail as part of the membership package.

 

cheers,

 

Keith

I should really cancel my donation and become a member instead, so!

[GSWR 90]

12 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

I should really cancel my donation and become a member instead, so!

If you cancelled your monthly donation and got a membership instead, you'd donate about €80 less to the ITG per year. The ITG needs donations, if the above posts are anything to go by. You could perhaps buy a membership and donate e.g. €7 a month instead of €10?  I say this as someone who is also fairly generous to heritage groups

Edited Tuesday at 16:32 by GSWR 90

[DJ Dangerous]

5 minutes ago, GSWR 90 said:

If you cancelled your monthly donation and got a membership instead, you'd donate about €80 less to the ITG per year. The ITG needs donations, if the above posts are anything to go by. You could perhaps buy a membership and donate e.g. €7 a month instead of €10?  I say this as someone who is also fairly generous to heritage groups

Wait, so membership is cheaper than donating, and they get the magazine and I don’t?

I had assumed that membership was more.

[Mike Beckett]

43 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

How does one subscribe to The Irish Mail?

I have a recurring monthly donation of €10 to the ITG, but I don’t remember any options for subscribing to the magazine at the time I started donating.

You need to become a member to get that - there’s email and postal options for the journal. TBF it’s not always exciting (unless numbers are your thing) but we give fairly comprehensive details on the locos and work on them, and what they get up to at Downpatrick etc.

 

Look on it as £40 (or whatever it is) as a commitment/donation and a free newsletter four times a year!

 

And you can still donate as well!

Edited Tuesday at 16:49 by Mike Beckett

[Mike Beckett]

Short version: While we are very grateful to Jackie & the WCR for hosting our strategic reserve for so long, the time has come to move on, and reviewing the situation in conjunction with Downpatrick has led to the planned moves. Viable spare locos (albeit after a fair bit of work) and a good source of spares are needed to safeguard the operation there.

 

You may have noticed we have been doing a fair bit of track laying recently... now the secret is out!

[DJ Dangerous]

18 hours ago, Mike Beckett said:

You need to become a member to get that - there’s email and postal options for the journal. TBF it’s not always exciting (unless numbers are your thing) but we give fairly comprehensive details on the locos and work on them, and what they get up to at Downpatrick etc.

 

Look on it as £40 (or whatever it is) as a commitment/donation and a free newsletter four times a year!

 

And you can still donate as well!

I’ll probably leave things as they are, to avoid unnecessary complications.

From a budgeting perspective, and being heavily involved in charity work, I understand the importance of regular income such as monthly donations.

The ITG should re-think their membership benefits, as there is currently a disincentive to donate monthly, and more than the yearly membership fee.

Either automatic membership once somebody donates the required amount, or expanding membership benefits to those donating.

I mean this as constructive criticism, nothing more.

[Westcorkrailway]

20 hours ago, Mike Beckett said:

Short version: While we are very grateful to Jackie & the WCR for hosting our strategic reserve for so long, the time has come to move on, and reviewing the situation in conjunction with Downpatrick has led to the planned moves. Viable spare locos (albeit after a fair bit of work) and a good source of spares are needed to safeguard the operation there.

 

You may have noticed we have been doing a fair bit of track laying recently... now the secret is out!

Damn, I was going to steal them. The evil ITG fooled my plan again

23 hours ago, Wexford70 said:

Is there anything worth moving? I was really saddened by the state of rolling stock the last time I was there some time ago. 

Indeed the ITG’s locos are holding up well enough considering what they have been subjected too. 124 is very good while 190, A3r and 152 are in solid condition. All of them would need a big restoration yes, but far from unrestorable. (Aside from 152 which was always meant to be the spares dump) 

 

The rest of the stock is not ITG owned and therefore is not moving. They are in much poorer condition. The EX-HST mark 3 could probobly be staticky restored if the right buyer came along, though in all honesty. I don’t think anyone likes the mark 3s that much . Just moving it at this stage would be an incredibly costly venture, all this for a coach that can’t even run!