Tag Archives: hibernia forum

nanny

Waaaaa!

Ireland’ ranks 4th in the league table of the worst places in the European Union to ‘eat, drink, smoke and vape’.

The EU Nanny State index, compiled by the Institute of Economic Affairs in London, in partnership with EPICENTRE (the European Policy Information Centre), is published in Ireland by the Hibernia Forum today.

Eamon Delaney of the Hibernia Forum, writes:

This is without even factoring in new measures, like proposed calorie counts on restaurant menus, a controversial sugar tax and ridiculous notions like reducing the playing of jingles on ice-cream vans to prevent children over-eating ice cream and getting obese….

Enough is never enough for the authorities, with smokers forced into virtual seclusion to partake of their (still legal) habit – and so far unable to avail of the ‘reduced risk’ smoking products which the Government appears unwilling to give them the alternative of.

This is a strange approach, and a hypocritical one, given that the government gets so much tax in actual cigarettes.

It is the same with alcohol, where the State takes over 50pc of the retail price in tax, despite preaching about its ills.

And the same prohibitive approach as was used on cigarettes is now focused on alcohol, with a mooted ban on the low-cost selling of alcohol in supermarkets, as well as a proposal by the Oireachtas health committee to raise the price of wine so that no bottle can be bought for less than €10, for ‘public health reasons’.

This is an utterly unfair sledgehammer approach which punishes the many for the sins of the few.

Plus, there is also absolutely no evidence that such punitive pricing will improve public health. Wine drinkers are hardly the problem end of the drinking culture. The experts must surely know this, but they press ahead regardless with what seems like yet another Nanny State edict, seized upon by attention-seeking politicians and quangos.

….The growing Nanny State issue is very important, as it goes to the heart of those who believe that the State, and government, should be tackling almost all of our problems, and those who believe that too much personal and parental responsibility is already being taken away.

Nanny State status a result of politicians who want to be seen ‘doing something’ (Eamon Delaney, Independent.ie)

The Nanny State Index

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Hibernians: Keith Redmond, Cormac Lucey and Eamon Delaney at the forum’s launch

The Hibernia Forum [advocacy group ‘dedicated to the principles of a free market’] will hold a press conference this afternoon to present a document entitled Ten Questions Our Politicians Must Answer.

Forum founder Eamon Delaney writes:

Not only are rash and reckless promises being made by all parties, despite the precarious global situation, but nothing is being done to address major structural long term problems in Irish society, such as the inefficient and high spending on health, the international threat to our low corporate tax and a massive future pension liability, which we cannot afford.

Public Pensions
Public pensions are accounted for on a pay-as-you-go basis. This means that pension contributions paid today do not fund investments to fund tomorrow’s liabilities: instead they fund today’s liabilities. This is the funding model of a pyramid or Ponzi scheme. If applied in the private sector it could result in the imprisonment of those responsible on grounds of fraud.

The Gap in PRSI System
A December 2010 actuarial review of the Social Insurance Fund carried out by KPMG for the Department of Social Protection concluded that the present value of the unfunded liabilities of the PRSI system was then €324 billion. Given that real interest rates have fallen significantly since 2010, it is likely that an updated actuarial estimate of this liability might be significantly higher than €324 billion.

The Gap in Public Sector Pensions
The total accrued liability in respect of Public Service occupational pensions was estimated at €98bn as at December 2012. Given that real interest rates have fallen significantly since 2012, it is likely that an updated actuarial estimate of this liability might be significantly higher than €98 billion notwithstanding the efforts of the Department of Public Spending and Reform to reduce it.

The National Debt
While reported national debt was about €183 billion at the end of 2015, the actual financial liabilities of the state were (if we add the unaccrued Social Insurance and Public Sector Pension liabilities) actually much higher at €636 billion.

Health spending
Relative to national income, Irish health spending is the second-highest in the world and yet we get a very poor outcome, as we know. We also spend a third more than the developed world average (9.3% of national income). The problem with Irish health spending is not lack of resources, but lack of management.

Political Reform
In order to promote the likelihood that general elections produce a stable government and in order to reduce the risk that governments may be forced to favour certain constituencies over others (in order to procure the votes of their Independent TDs) consideration should be given to reducing every Dáil constituency to just three seats.

Hibernia Forum

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Former Fine Gael Councillor Keith Redmond and Renua leader Lucinda Creighton at Leinster House this morning

Via Hibernia Forum:

The Councillor for Fine Gael in Fingal Country Council, Keith Redmond is to leave the Government party to join Renua.

Redmond is also a founder and director the liberal economic think-tank, Hibernia Forum, is fed up by the ‘nanny state tendencies’ of an increasingly centrist and ‘big State’ Fine Gael party, as well as the governing party’s lack of support for small business culture and prudent public spending.

Renua’s announcement of a Flat Tax system as a central part of its economic policy finally triggered the move away from Fine Gael is also a aim and ambition of the Hibernia Forum.

Fight!

Fine Gael councillor, and Hibernia Forum founder, Keith Redmond, to leave FG for new political party, Renua (Hibernia Forum)