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 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 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.