The moral of the century-old ditty ‘I’ve Got Sixpence, Jolly, Jolly Sixpence’ was that if the singer was too profligate with loaning and spending then there would not be enough left for family upkeep.
Perhaps this was what Paschal Donohoe, the Minister for Public Expenditure, had in mind when he said Budget 2024 will be “big” while he and Finance Minister Michael McGrath remain cautious about managing the public finances prudently.
The summer economic statement indicated a spending increase of just over 6%, although we should not be too shocked if it comes in higher than that.
There have already been some examples and hints of expenditure that would boost morale without breaking the bank. The extension of free GP care for children aged six and seven which came in yesterday was an encouraging step in the biggest expansion in eligibility — embracing some 500,000 people — in the history of the State.
If that represents progress with healthy bodies, the parallel requirement for healthy minds will also be assisted by undertakings to remove the Dickensian tradition of asking schoolchildren and their families to contribute towards the cost of the books that they need for their education.
While there was a welcome reminder from Education Minister Norma Foley that no parents or guardians can be compelled to make a “voluntary” contribution, the government’s €53m scheme for free books for primary pupils from September is another move away from a practice which has little in common with a modern and progressive education system designed to equip the citizens of tomorrow with the knowledge they need.
Extending this provision to the secondary level is likely to cost an additional €70m. A total of €125m to give books to schoolchildren seems a modest enough investment in the future.
Other matters are less tractable or seem to be beyond our wit to reconcile, irrespective of the financial demands they might pose. One such case involves school transport where we have been waiting for proposals to improve the system since it came under review in February 2021.
Primary children are eligible for transport when they attend their nearest national school and live not less than 3.2km away. For second-level pupils, the distance is 4.8km.
There was a surge in demand when the Government decided not to charge for tickets in the past academic year because of the cost-of-living crisis. In a not-entirely-unforeseen consequence, Bus Éireann says it has run out of capacity.
Although charges have been reintroduced potential passenger numbers are higher. Long-time users find themselves without a ticket for September. Parents say they have been told that Bus Éireann is precluded from increasing bus sizes or adding extra buses for concessionary pupils.
The process, says Cork East Labour TD Seán Sherlock, is “anachronistic”. And, for an industry that eco-campaigners declare is fundamental to the future of personal mobility, it’s difficult to argue.
Nowhere is the road to hell paved with more good intentions than the attempts to resolve the relentless trolley crisis at University Hospital Limerick, which is trapped by the reality that one emergency department is not adequate to serve a catchment area containing more than 400,000 people.
More than a year since Health Minister Stephen Donnelly deployed a specialist HSE team to address chronic overcrowding, the hospital had 100 patients on trolleys last week. At the start of the month, there were 110 waiting for a bed and we are yet to reach winter peak demand.
The resources required are not instantly available. An increase in GP training opportunities will not bring results for two to four years. Ambitions to provide affordable housing to assist recruitment and retention is another medium-term project. Homecare services are facing ‘collapse’ because they cannot recruit staff.
Some of these difficulties have their roots in the paralysing and distracting impact of the covid crisis. But money alone will not solve them. Modern society needs nimble and consistent management. We are off the pace.
A long drama
As the strike of writers and actors against the world’s major entertainment companies passed its 100th day this week, the lines that none of them seems prepared to deliver are: “Is this fight even winnable?”
We report in this morning’s Forum section on the impact of the standoff on Irish writers in a labour dispute which shows no sign of resolution, and which could drag on into the autumn. The previous longest conflict — over residual payments for shows broadcast outside the USA — lasted 22 weeks in 1988. This time the two sides are bitterly divided over the rapid shift to streaming and the potential for artificial intelligence to replace human talent.
Streaming series typically contain fewer episodes than a network TV show meaning less work and reward for writers.
There is a lot of product in the can, or on the computer. Cinema is basking in the huge financial success of Barbenheimer. Large companies are reporting strong profits. No production means no expenses. Enormous back catalogues can be monetised. The streaming giants have plans to increase subscription revenues. Hollywood loves a happy ending. The evidence suggests we may have to wait for this one.
Data breaches
Is there any greater contradiction in modern language than “data protection?” Barely a day goes by without news of one leak or another; some of them just embarrassing while others are potentially disastrous. On the back of the “monumental” data breach which exposed the names and ranks of every serving police officer in Northern Ireland, we learn there was an earlier leak of the names of hundreds of officers and staff.
In Scotland, a government genealogy website has disclosed the names of thousands of people adopted as children in the past 100 years. England’s Electoral Commission has revealed that a hostile cyberattack has been able to access the names and addresses of all voters registered between 2014 and 2022.
Putting networked computers at the centre of everyone’s lives and placing many terabytes of sensitive information on them. Who could have foreseen that going wrong?
