Person: Richard Prendergast

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

columnists

How have you reviewed public sector workers?

Richard Prendergast is very useful (Irish Examiner, December 14) in that he has informed readers that “there are hundreds of useless people in the public and civil service”.

Our public sector pension bill is a burden

No qualms about squandering money

Civil servants should not have jobs for life

A lack of leadership and ability has cost us dearly

Tolerance of absenteeism is damaging to economy

Creighton should advocate for those in mortgage arrears

As the banking inquiry winds its weary way on interrogating those it deems to be responsible for the financial chaos that developed during the dying days of the last Fianna Fail Government, it is managing to elicit from those concerned how lax the controls were on lending large sums of money to individuals whether it was for mortgages or other ventures.

Fri, 29 May, 2015

We need leaders who can manage government as a CEO would a firm

Managing the economy of a country is similar to managing a large company. The job or duty of a prime minister should be similar to that of a CEO of a company.

Mon, 25 May, 2015

No workplace has a bar. Why should the Dáil?

The State has laws to regulate the consumption of alcohol because of the dire effects of drinking above the prescribed limit.

Sat, 23 May, 2015

Racing world has a lesson for fiscal policy

Most citizens of Ireland are lucky, in that other than those living in Dublin, the size of their towns or cities does not deprive them of access to the countryside, or its way of life.

Mon, 11 May, 2015

Minimum wage rise will scupper ‘recovery’

Once again, a manufacturing company is being kicked to touch.

Wed, 11 Mar, 2015

Public sector and ministers immune from punishment for their mistakes

I agree with the teachers who object to assessing their own pupils. Apart from favouritism, there is the risk of a parent irate about a pupil’s low grade.

Mon, 09 Mar, 2015

Absenteeism in the HSE amounts to 10 days per worker in one year

I am reading about the extent of absenteeism in the Health Service Executive. A million days were lost during 2014, which averages 10 days for every employee.

Thu, 29 Jan, 2015

Catholic Church needs to return to its humble roots

Religion has historically been the cause of conflict. Until Jesus Christ, the belief was that many gods existed. 

Sat, 24 Jan, 2015

Our politics is in the gutter and I foresee a bleak future for Ireland

Over the past 30 years, politics in Ireland has descended into a stinking gutter. 

Thu, 11 Dec, 2014

We need tough decision-makers

I have made a number of attempts to discover the academic qualifications that are required to become a civil servant. Even a request by me to one local TD Seán Sherlock failed to earn an acknowledgement.

Mon, 23 Jun, 2014

Can anyone become a government adviser?

What qualifications are needed to be a civil servant or to be on a government advisory body, such as the ESRI?

Wed, 23 Apr, 2014

Offenders were never properly punished

As time goes by and one has time to reflect, what seemed like an unsurmountable problem turns out to be just a molehill, but sometimes to your chagrin, the reverse can occur.

Sat, 05 Apr, 2014

Government isn’t able to promote progress

I was amongst the thousands who emigrated in the late 1940s and early 1950s, destination England where I spent the next 46 years working for one company for 38 years during which time they had me working in 14 different countries over 22 of them.

Fri, 21 Feb, 2014

Irish Water costs opening a floodgate

How do we rate our Government and its individual ministers? Is it by the promises they make or by their performance? Why do we not put more pressure on ministers to save money?

Fri, 07 Feb, 2014

Education system should return to teaching ‘3Rs’

It was inevitable that it would eventually dawn on our education minister how poorly educated our school leavers were, even after a spell at secondary level, and he is going to have a go at correcting it.

Sat, 01 Feb, 2014

Bankers as accountable as a negligent doctor

On Thursday, Jan 2, the banking hierarchy threatened customers in arrears with their mortgage repayments to voluntarily surrender possession of their homes and hand the keys back to the bank.

Tue, 14 Jan, 2014

Health Minister should be business professional

Minister for Health, Dr James O’Reilly, is enduring criticism that might not be the justified.

Fri, 22 Nov, 2013

Catholic Church is on the road to nowhere

Is there not a risk that the Catholic Church in Ireland is following in the same trail as Waterford Crystal, Fruit of the Loom, the sugar beet industry, Youghal Carpets, etc. It seems that very soon one will have a better chance of meeting a druid than a Catholic priest. For years the Church has been dragging its way along the road to oblivion, even ex-communicating those from amongst its ranks who questioned the direction it was taking.

Sat, 26 Oct, 2013

All about affordability

The coming referendum should give voters the opportunity of getting our bureaucratic system reduced to what a country like ours can afford.

Thu, 26 Sep, 2013

Continued Budget austerity is horrific

The Troika says that due to a monthly deficit of €1bn between government income and expenditure, it is not possible to ease austerity in the forthcoming Budget.

Thu, 05 Sep, 2013

After 20 fiscal quarters, still no planning

It is amazing how time flies and so do the opportunities that may have occurred. It is nearly five years since it was discovered how broke the country was and the big rush to the panic stations — to do what?

Fri, 02 Aug, 2013

Public sector managers could learn from Gatland

The recent tour by the British and Irish Lions produced some very exciting rugby and plenty of criticism over the shock exclusion of Brian O’Driscoll.

Sat, 20 Jul, 2013

Blame poor education for low skills shortage

A few weeks ago the media informed us that there were 4,700 jobs which required varying levels of technology skills, waiting to be filled.

Sat, 15 Jun, 2013

Paying the price of union demands

When one joins a club and becomes a member one has to abide by the club’s rules and in some situations adjust one’s lifestyle to comply.

Wed, 27 Feb, 2013

Don’t blame frontline medical staff for absenteeism

I was very impressed recently when I was sent by my GP to the Emergency& Department of Cork Mercy Hospital.

Tue, 01 Jan, 2013

Suffering taxpayers should not pay burden

Budget day is fast approaching and the amount of time left for its architects to scrape together sources of revenue that might deflect the burden of heavy taxation away from at least some of our citizens is diminishing.

Thu, 15 Nov, 2012

Education system needs reform

It is the duty of the government of a civilised country that the children have a very good primary education.

Wed, 19 Sep, 2012

Reduce numbers of TDs, senators, but not welfare

‘Half a loaf is better then no bread’. This particular slogan has always been regarded as sound advice.

Sat, 15 Sep, 2012

Take note of how US treated abuse cover-up

It is very interesting how a judge in the US has sentenced a Catholic monsignor to six years in prison because he concealed from civil justice the sexual abuse of children by “monsters in clerical garb” (Jul 26).

Mon, 06 Aug, 2012

End the feather-bedding over sick leave days

Our beloved country is suffering from a serious fiscal depression and we are trying to talk our way out of it.

Thu, 28 Jun, 2012

Opponents of property tax launch campaign

A NATIONWIDE campaign against household and water charges was launched yesterday amid confusion over methods for paying the new property tax.

Thu, 12 Jan, 2012

Improve the civil service

WHEN the CEO of a private company receives a lot of complaints back from the retailers of the goods manufactured by his company and are remaining unsold on their shelves, it is his duty to discover and remedy the problem.

Sat, 19 Nov, 2011

Attacks on teachers are unfair and ill-founded

THE recent letter by Richard Prendergast (October 13) is unfair in its attack on professional Irish educators.

Sat, 15 Oct, 2011

Teachers failing to make the grade

IF ONE feeds chaff and low-quality grain into a flour mill, one cannot expect it to be able to produce top-quality flour.

Thu, 13 Oct, 2011

Sanity on cost structures badly needed

AS our Government struggles to restore some sanity to our cost structure, they are encountering pretty formidable opposition.

Mon, 15 Aug, 2011

Time to get white collar crooks

SINCE 1923, when she gained her independence, Old Mother Macree’s economic train has hit the buffers on a number of occasions and the seriousness of the crash depended on the type of cargo that she was carrying.

Thu, 16 Jun, 2011

We can’t afford to pay those who ruined us

MOST perpetrators of reckless behaviour that causes damage or hardship to others can be prosecuted if the victims engage the assistance of the law.

Tue, 05 Apr, 2011