God Save Us From Government Websites

Dáil Bar.

A website for the controlling of information, being input on The Household Charge, ended up last week with the children of households & dead persons receiving threatening communications. Postage alone for these reminders has cost the tax payer in excess of €14,000. This correspondence also required those who had already paid the charge to contact a lo-call number to tell those compiling this database, that they had already paid.

Now another new website is to be launched today to fulfil the commitment under the Programme for Government & which will supposedly measure the Government’s performance across a number of key areas. Areas to be measured include in particular our countries progress on the economy, transport, innovation and the environment.

The website we are told will make the workings of Government more transparent and will use data gathered across the public service. (Where are they going to get the staff ?)
This pilot site, Ireland Stat, will show what the present Government has achieved, how much it cost and how Ireland compares overall internationally. (I wonder will it include the cost of so called ‘job creation.’) Health & Education should also make interesting reading when data is eventually uploaded.

Education:

Some 50,000 third-level students are still waiting to hear whether they have qualified for a grant, even though their academic year started last month. The Irish Independent reports that SUSI, latter the new on-line system website used to process Student Grant Applications, is in chaos. The system was designed to speed up the Student Grant process, but today’s news claims only one in 16 grant applications has been so far approved.

Health:

The Tipperary Star Newspaper also reports this week that ten respite beds in the Hospital of the Assumption, promised for last Friday, will remain closed and have no prospect of being reopened possibly before 2014. This is despite a public promise from Tipperary Fine Gael TD Noel Coonan, at a public meeting in the Thurles Tipperary Institute three weeks ago. Obviously Noel forgot to check the facts with Minister for Health Dr. James Reilly, before stunning a packed lecture theatre with his statement, which everyone else present was aware hadn’t a hope in hell of being sanctioned. Will this health statistic failure be now ‘etched,’ on this new pilot site?

Heard A Good Joke Today:
It seems a Tipperary T.D died and went to heaven. He stood in front of the Pearly Gates & while queuing, noticed a large wall of clocks in the reception area behind St. Peter.
While being checked in the T.D asked curiously “Peter why all the clocks?”
St. Peter answered, “Those are Deceiver-Clocks. It is not publicly known on earth, but everyone who has ever lived has a Deceiver-Clock. Every time you lie, the hands move on your particular personal private clock.”
Oh, said the T.D, shocked “Whose clock is that then?”
“That clock is owned by mother Teresa,” replied St. Peter. “Note the hands have never moved, which would indicates that she has never told a lie.”
“This is truly incredible,” said the T.D, “and who owns that clock?” he pointed.
St. Peter replied, “That is President Abraham Lincoln’s clock, note the hands have moved only twice, thus informing us that Abraham only told two lies in his entire life.”
“Where is my clock?” asked the T.D.
St Peter replied. “Jesus has it in his office. He is currently controlling the temperature by using it as a ceiling fan.”