Yesterday was the closing date for submissions to Your Country, Your Call. But how viable are the most popular proposals?
THAT’S it, everybody, pencils down. The deadline for the Your Country, Your Call competition passed yesterday, and if you haven’t contributed your stupendous idea for saving the nation, well, it’s too late now.
Almost 7,000 ideas were entered during the course of the competition, some of them clearly bonkers, many of them eminently sensible. With the filtering process about to begin, the judges will be expected to sort the duds from the diamonds before coming up with a shortlist in June.
In the meantime, here are the eight ideas with the most support from visitors to the yourcountryyourcall.com website (where readers can opt to click on proposals they like). We asked some experts for their views on whether the ideas could work, and looked at the punter comments online.
1 THE IDEA:HELP SAVE THE HSE AND MILLIONS OF LIVES
John Donnelly proposes that low-dose naltrexone (LDN), a drug used in other countries to treat auto-immune-related illnesses such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Crohn’s disease and cancer, should be introduced and prescribed at low levels “by every doctor in Ireland”. “The cost of drugs which do very little for people with MS and other conditions cost the country millions every month,” says Donnelly.
THE EXPERT VIEW:Dr Muiris Houston, health columnist with The Irish Times, says he would not support the idea. "When you see something recommended as a cure for such a wide range of diseases, a little alarm bell goes off in your head," he says.
He points out that while a number of trials for LDN have begun to appear in reputable medical journals in recent years, the number of patients involved was too low to make the results scientifically robust.
THE PUNTER COMMENT:"I have been using this drug for only a few months and I can now feel my hands and feet when I couldn't before. My head is clear now too! It's cheaper than other drugs used for MS and other problems.
“It should be made easy for people to get this from the doctor,” writes Kacey on yourcountryyourcall.com.
2 THE IDEA:WORK FOR WELFARE PAYMENTS
Force those in receipt of certain social welfare payments to work in under-resourced areas of government, proposes TP2010. It would, TP2010 suggests, improve workers’ skills and offer an alternative to “becoming depressed sitting at home”.
THE EXPERT VIEW:"This idea shows a complete lack of awareness of the work already done by unemployed people within the voluntary and community sector in areas such as community employment schemes," says Brid O'Brien, head of policy with the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed. She believes it would be more useful to expand the existing schemes. "People are entitled to their social welfare payments and it is very important that this entitlement is not undermined."
THE PUNTER COMMENT:"Loada rubbish. Harks back to the days of the workhouse and puts people out of work. Why employ people on a reasonable wage when we can get free slaves from the welfare system. Catch yourself on," writes Csullie on yourcountryyourcall.com.
3 THE IDEA:STEAL THE UK COMPUTER GAMES INDUSTRY
This submission, by DamienDamien, suggests reclassifying developers of computer games as artists under the existing income tax exemption rules for artists. Tempt the big names in computer games with free office space, suggests the proposer, and get game developer Dave Perry involved.
THE EXPERT VIEW:Dave Gargan, vice-president of engineering with games developer Havok, offers cautious support for the idea.
“Ireland certainly has a unique combination of technical skill and artistic talent that has the potential to support the development of outstanding games, but the challenge will be to build up critical mass in this area,” he says. “Improving personal taxation rates for the games industry workforce could certainly be a step in the right direction but this would need to be supported by a focused initiative.”
THE PUNTER COMMENT:"It's a good idea, but you've shot yourself in the foot with the title. I can't imagine the competition panel would be too impressed with the idea of 'stealing' jobs," writes Jack The Lad on yourcountryyourcall.com.
4 THE IDEA:IRELAND WEST 2020 – A BRIGHT GREEN FUTURE
This idea was submitted by the Engineering the West team, who are proposing an Ireland West 2020 partnership which, working from a “sustainable framework”, would unlock the potential of the region in terms of natural and human resources. The proposers say: “Economic plans must be based on the strengths and resources of our region and based on world-class economic clusters as the key to economic recovery.”
THE EXPERT VIEW:"This is a great idea," says Eddie O'Connor, chief executive of Mainstream Renewable Power. "It has a strong visionary component which is necessary for all big ideas to succeed. Oil and gas are at their peak, and Europe has to find alternatives to them both. The wind we know about and the technology already exists."
On the other hand, O’Connor points out, ocean technologies do not exist commercially yet but could be developed if more money was spent on research and development. He adds that there is no doubt we could move out of the present crisis if the Government were to work with their European partners to build the electrical infrastructure which could be used to export renewable energy generated into the UK market.
THE PUNTER COMMENT:"The proposal is real: seeks to build on real strengths, sustain a strategic focus and establish long term commitment. It can be done – let's do it!" writes Finbar Dolan on yourcountryyourcall.com.
5 THE IDEA:INTERNATIONAL HEALTHCARE SERVICES CENTRE (IHSC)
This involves the creation of an International Healthcare Services Centre (IHSC), an IFSC-style services centre dealing with exporting healthcare services overseas. The proposer, Joe Dalton, says due to factors such as ageing populations and the rise of chronic disease delivery, services worldwide “face meltdown” as the provision costs rise. Services would include smarter methods of healthcare delivery, such as telehealthcare and independent living systems.
THE EXPERT VIEW:"This sounds like a brilliant idea," says Dr Muiris Houston. "We certainly have the expertise and a strong base of young people coming through the education sector.
“The management of information in the sector is a huge issue which is only going to become more complex with the healthcare reform in the US.”
THE PUNTER COMMENT:"As a medical doctor I strongly support this idea. It combines the best of what Ireland has to offer in terms of RD, healthcare expertise and computing skills and knowledge," writes Maryc on yourcountryyourcall.com.
6 THE IDEA:GIVE JAIL INMATES WORK TO DO THAT IN SOME WAY BENEFITS SOCIETY
Shawshank, who proposed the idea, says the State should find ways to make prisoners work to offset the social and financial costs of crime. “Now, I don’t mean forced labour camps,” he says. “But even things as simple as cleaning graffiti or litter black spots.” He believes his idea would boost prisoners’ self-esteem and pay society back for the cost of keeping people in jail.
THE EXPERT VIEW:Paul Mooney, chief executive of Jobcare, which runs Trasna, an innovative work programme for ex-offenders, agrees that work can offer a route back to playing a positive role in society. "All the evidence shows that getting involved in meaningful work builds a better sense of self, rather than degrading and monotonous work that only reinforces a feeling of worthlessness. We have taken ex-offenders to build houses in Cape Town shanty towns and are putting more volunteer work into our programme because we see how transformative it can be. Indeed, it can actually motivate people to stop re-offending."
THE PUNTER COMMENT:"I think this is a good idea. We have a lot of capable individuals sitting around in cells, and by utilising them better, could save the country a lot of money on little jobs each year that seem to cost a fortune," writes SOC on yourcountryyourcall.com.
7 THE IDEA:POWERING EUROPE, EMPOWERING IRELAND
Use our two most powerful green energy sources – wind and sea – to make Ireland a green powerhouse in Europe, says Greenpower, proposer of this idea. The aspiration is to become the largest producer and supplier of energy in the EU, creating thousands of jobs and billions in revenue while delivering sustainable growth.
THE EXPERT VIEW:The idea is given the thumbs-up by Maria Moynihan Lee, of Let's Do It Galway, who points to the success of the 2009 Galway Volvo Ocean Race Stopover, which generated €55.8 million for the economy of Ireland and the West. "This proves that the potential of the sea doesn't just centre around industries such as fishing, natural resources and energy, but also in tourism and leisure," she says. "Let's Do It Galway, having proven what can be achieved by a great many people united around a common vision, welcomes every initiative to apply that formula to other sectors of the economy and society."
THE PUNTER COMMENT:"I'm all for wind energy but what exactly is innovative about this proposal?" asks Aidan CS on yourcountryyourcall.com.
8 THE IDEA:TAPPING INTO IRELAND'S MOST FAMOUS ASSET
Keith McCrory proposes setting up a new “St Patrick Foundation” to reinvent how our national day is celebrated around the world. The aim is to establish a unifying banner under which diverse communities could come together, provide inspiration and training for young people and leaders in the areas of justice, equality and reconciliation. St Patrick’s Day would not only continue to be a tremendous platform on which to showcase the talent, skills and strengths of our people, it would become one of the most significant justice and reconciliation events in the world calendar,” writes McCrory on yourcountryyourcall.com.
THE EXPERT VIEW:"We believe the opportunity and potential available to Ireland at the time of her national celebrations is a significant one," says Susan Kirby, CEO of the St Patrick's Day Festival. "Specifically in terms of the detail of this idea, it would require further exploration in terms of a realistic and achievable vision, and could benefit from partnership with the existing foundations, agencies and individuals who have a gra for all things Irish and particularly so at the time of our national celebrations."
THE PUNTER COMMENT:"St Patrick's Day needs to be seen as more than a holiday to celebrate the colour green outside of Ireland! This sounds great!" writes Carbrien on yourcountryyourcall.com.
