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The Daily PollTHEY SAY THERE are only two things for sure in life, death and taxes. Even if we didn’t have a ‘Budget day’, we’d still have to pay the latter.
The Government could still vote through the financial changes it wanted without the palaver of a briefcase and often largely rhetorical speeches. Plenty of other countries don’t have a specific budget day and they function just fine.
Other people may argue though that ‘Budget day’ serves a purpose because it focuses the attention on changes that may get less coverage if drip fed over the course of months.
So today’s poll, Should we scrap ‘Budget day’?
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At least with ‘Budget Day’ and the coverage it gets you know exactly were you stand and how you’re going to be shafted. If it was left to them to do in private we’d hear little or nothing about the increases till it was already taken from your wages.
It’s already done in private. Four goons (the EMC) sit down work out what they want tell government, then tell us and the dail on budget day. Democracy in action my arse
As far as I know the budget is calculated behind closed doors by a panel of under-qualified people, Joan, Enda, Noonan and Howlin am I right? If so, they are already over worked as is shown in the results of their work. This is far too big a job for them to take on as they are under qualified in life. Besides stating the obvious:- budget day, just like the angelus, is a relic but much much more important than the angelus. I think we need to keep it, it’s a little bit of transparency but we need to work on who and how it’s determined.
I think you’ll find that there are teams of civil servants working on the budget and not just Joan, Enda, Noonan and Howlin!
Thank you Doogle, never too old to learn and always appreciative of new information. I’ve been googling like mad to find out exactly who works on the budget, I mean there’s someone a single person who makes the ultimate decision, either way it is antiquarian in its presentation and it’s handed down by people who are untrustworthy so that’s worth a look at I think.
Suzanne, I think your understanding of how the budget is determined is slightly inaccurate.
I’m sure it is Inntalitarian, but I do know how to read and Brendan Howlin’s comments this morning re: the government reaching both economic and social targets over the last few very hard years are very hard to stomach. I am open to learning so whomever wants to explain to me how the budget is determined please do.
The civil servants put the budget together and the government deliver it
Kenny is not running this country is is just a puppet
When did Angela sign off on it?
Reg the teams of civil servants are directed by the goons do their bidding and bring back their work for approval. So it’s still 4 goons making the decisions. The civil servants do have some influence ( too much I think). Sorry about the delay getting back to you :/)
Enough things are hemmed through the Dáil without us knowning. The last thing we want is TDs passing legislation when the electorate is vulnerable.
I don’t like bad surprises rather get hit with it all at once as I’ve prepared for today to be a s**t day so get it over and done with!
The current budget is nothing but weeks of kite flying of how good/bad it will be.
Then on the day it’s not as bad.
It’s nothing but electioneering and modern day propaganda attempts
Nah, it’s a tradition.
Budget day is useful in focusing attention on what the government is up to. We have enough voter apathy without concealing budget changes within the day to day drip-feed of political drudgery.
Budget budget mo mudget bana nana fo fudget
Me my mo mudget
BUDGET!
Scrap the water meters
The only thing that should be scrapped are the Water charges im filling out my water app.begrudgingly I dont feel I have a choice so what am I to do
Josephine, I have decided not to send back my form, the whole set up is a shambles and I’d never use a company like IW if I had the choice, I steer clear of elitism and exclusivity normally, I’m not changing that now. I don’t know what lies ahead for me but I won’t begrudge you your freedom of choice because I understand how you feel. You’re being railroaded by IW’s threats and your conscience is telling you that maybe you should pay for water as most of the rest of the world do. This is a problem that’s been created by the cronies and the big boys/girls of the elitist society we live in and unfortunately it’s the people on the ground who are left scrapping with one another even though we hold the same core values for a just and fair society. A nation divided. Good luck with whatever you do but remember if you don’t send back your form you’re not on your own and if you do send back your not on your own.
No. Its my favourite day of the year to complain. Shower of bast@rds this, shower of bast@rds that. God I love budget day. Should be a bank holiday.
The budget gets earlier and earlier every other year. Used be end of January. Then December now October it’s practacatally a budget every 10 months the way they are at it now . Shifting time of the day just another Goverment con job
It used to be the end of January/February when the tax year ran from April to April. The tax year changed to the calender year at least ten years ago so the budget had to move to December. However December was too late to impliment tax changes, most of which would come into effect in January so it was moved back to October. So there you have it. You can put your tin foil hat away for the time being!
Budget day is bad for your health and what little wealth you have.
If we have a fixed day then at least we have a chance to make pre budget submissions and it could ( theoretically ) Influence budget decisions. Deadlines are good as they concentrate the mind. Everything in this country drags on eternally at snails pace apart from spending cuts so we do need to be on the ball in being able to have our say .
We couldn’t possibly scrap it! We love to moan about it! Myself included.
The bigger issue with the budget is that the process is not open or transparent and does not involve interested parties outside of the cabinet and government parties. Instead, there is kite flying directed by the Minister for Finance for the few weeks beforehand, whatever doesn’t cause a stink in the press gets in, and then they row back on one or two things after the big show. It’s an absurd way to run an economy, completely skewed towards the short-term expediency rather than long-term planning.
The basics of the budget are worked out weeks in advance, followed by a series of leaks and kite flying exercises to see what measures are the least/most politically damaging to the government. Then as budget day approaches it is tweaked to look better. For instance, I would say the allowance for water charges wasn’t there before the weekend and no doubt will disappear just as quickly.
FFS!! Is this what you guys in the office call journalism??!!
It’s a poll.
Scrap it as it is only a day for the idiots that run this county to tell us how good a job they think they are doing and to try and play auction politics
The only plus is it is the only day the house will be full but then they will all claim massive expensive and party the nigh away on the tax payers money
have your say