Journalists

[Rat Catcher]

The stated objective is to manage the spread of the virus so HSE frontline services can cope with demand. Obviously, as you have pointed out, a significantly higher tax to GDP ratio would have opened up more options, particularly at a strategic level. However, that's something that can't be addressed retrospectively.

We know that Sweden has experienced twice as many deaths per 1,000 cases as us and we know that our health service could not have coped with that level given that it has been close to capacity at half that level. Hence, from our starting point - not a hospital bed free in the entire nation - I think we can all agree that Government has managed the situation extremely well. Given the relatively substantial, no questions asked, welfare payments that many of us now claim I think it's safe to conclude that Government has demonstrated that it can and will look after us in difficult times. That's extremely important when we consider the observations from your published study on Scandinavia.

As we extrapolate your findings to include data from Denmark we see a very significantly lower death rate - 76 per million compared with 242 per million in Sweden. We could, of course, draw the obvious conclusion that Denmark's police State style "lockdown" presents a far better model than the Swedish less stringent approach. However, that would be somewhat disrespectful to the intellectual substance of your headline argument and would prematurely dismiss the potential benefits of community immunity.

At this juncture we can, however, conclude with little doubt that we can learn a lot from Scandinavian culture and, in particular, it's taxation culture. Swedes and Danes pay a lot of tax and, most interestingly, they are happy to do that because they know Govt will look after them when they need looking after. Our Govt has, during this pandemic, borrowed money to show us that it can and will look after us. Establishing that trust opens up a range of options including implementation of a radical review of taxation strategy going forward.

You have done your country some service.

[john m]

Grab yourself a Mug O Tae Rodent till I run this idea up the Flagpole and see who salutes .Are you sitting comfortablly ?Then Ill begin .The Good people of Sweden and Germany had one big advantage over the Irish and Italians .They are anti social ignorant cunts thats their National character .A few years ago meself herself Big Dommo and his Hen at the time went on Holiday to somewhere sunny and we were in an upmarket hotel with Swedes and Germans .Dommo is down by the pool getting gargle from the poolside bar and these two oul ones are standing at the bar waiting for Two halfs of Lager Dommo gives them the Big Hello and they looked at him wondering where was his carer .They couldnt believe that a stranger would just walk up to you in a Q and start talking . Thats what the Swedes were depending on they are ignorant insular cunts .Think about it .When was the last time you talked to anybody from Sweden or Germany ,they just get in the car show you a destination on a map or give you the hotel address .Nothing to do with their tax rate just their ignorance .Germans dont talk to each other in case somebody mentions the War .

[Rat Catcher]

Strange as it may seem you are to some - however insignificant - extent correct, erm. However, high taxation is part of that insular culture and it is the high tax to GDP ratio that affords them the luxury of having options when disaster hits. With our hospital beds overflowing onto trolleys we had no room to experiment with this pandemic. We had to slow the spread and then slow the spread again and that was after evicting 72% of patients from hospitals and stealing privately paid for beds from under the bottoms of sick people in supposedly private hospitals who thought they had health insurance.

Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance - the 5 Ps - is what we need to take from this whole experience. We need to tax more and transform the entire healthcare service into a Public system. We need to trust our Government to look after us and give them the resources (our money) to do that. The new "normal" probably will be more insular anyway with some form of social distancing incorporated. Higher taxation on alcohol, for example, could further erode our pub culture and introduce a degree of social distancing via the back door.

I think what CSD is getting at is that we need to learn from the Scandinavians whether we like them or not.

[Shallowhal]

6 bottles of selected wine in Tesco for €40!!

[Rat Catcher]

... if it was €80 you'd still buy it... at least as long as Govt is giving you 3 and a half ton a week.

[john m]

Strange as it may seem you are to some - however insignificant - extent correct, erm. However, high taxation is part of that insular culture and it is the high tax to GDP ratio that affords them the luxury of having options when disaster hits. With our hospital beds overflowing onto trolleys we had no room to experiment with this pandemic. We had to slow the spread and then slow the spread again and that was after evicting 72% of patients from hospitals and stealing privately paid for beds from under the bottoms of sick people in supposedly private hospitals who thought they had health insurance.

Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance - the 5 Ps - is what we need to take from this whole experience. We need to tax more and transform the entire healthcare service into a Public system. We need to trust our Government to look after us and give them the resources (our money) to do that. The new "normal" probably will be more insular anyway with some form of social distancing incorporated. Higher taxation on alcohol, for example, could further erode our pub culture and introduce a degree of social distancing via the back door.

I think what CSD is getting at is that we need to learn from the Scandinavians whether we like them or not.

Ah the accountant in you always making adjustments .....Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance - the 5 Ps ..How many Ps .

[Rat Catcher]

I taxed them.

[Shallowhal]

I taxed them.

Sure ye haven't got the ermy virus!!

[Rat Catcher]

 .Can you put that into paragraphs ?

[Shallowhal]

And no vaccine for it either!!

[Cool Boola]

Not a link to b seen

[Bob Shillin]

A dramatic cultural shift within the administration side of the health service is required before more money is thrown at it. Ther is huge waste in purchasing. I have no reason to disbelieve it, when told of staff getting their homes painted on the same invoice as ward painting. The RTE program a few years ago highlighted show management getting holidays in Spain for buying curtains at 10 times the available price.

[silverbullet]

A dramatic cultural shift within the administration side of the health service is required before more money is thrown at it. Ther is huge waste in purchasing. I have no reason to disbelieve it, when told of staff getting their homes painted on the same invoice as ward painting. The RTE program a few years ago highlighted show management getting holidays in Spain for buying curtains at 10 times the available price.

The senior manager at Beaumont Hospital is a former Porter allegedly, go figure.

[Cool Boola]

An......theres more

[stonethecrows]

6 bottles of selected wine in Tesco for €40!!

Better still , 6 bottles of selected wines at Tesco for €50