S1E4: Are civil servants the problem?

Why is entrenched poverty such an issue in some communities in Ireland and is there a way to actually change it instead of just treating the symptoms? Does our welfare state paper over the cracks instead of getting to the root causes of problems? What would getting to those root causes look like?Hosted by Keire Murphy and Aidan Regan.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GetShtDonePodSubstack: https://getshitdonepod.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getshitdonepod/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US midterms have brought the question of money and corporate power in politics to the forefront. What happens when very wealthy people or corporations start to control politics? Is this happening in Ireland or elsewhere? How do we prevent it?Hosted by Keire Murphy and Aidan Regan.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GetShtDonePodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/getshitdonepod/Substack: https://getshitdonepod.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland tends to take a legalistic approach to our problems, but is this holding us back? We talk the impacts of taking a legal approach to problems and talk about what changing it might look like.Hosted by Keire Murphy and Aidan Regan.Questions or feedback? [email protected]: https://www.youtube.com/@GetShtDonePodPatreon: https://patreon.com/GetShitDonePodcastSubstack: https://getshitdonepod.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, we talked about Ireland's public finances, the political wrangling that happens around them every year, and the stories we tell about them that aren't true. But does that miss a more important story - all the things that we could fix without spending any extra money? Are we just throwing money at problems instead of fixing their root cause? Keire talks to Seán Keyes who talks about some things we could fix for free that would have a big impact on Ireland's big problems.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GetShtDonePodSubstack: https://getshitdonepod.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's budget season, and that means one thing: a lot of analysis saying that Irish public spending is out of control, and that we're spending too much. But Ireland is the lowest spender in the EU, so how can that be true? What's fact and what's ideology in the analysis we all hear? And what's actually wrong with Irish public finances?Hosted by Keire Murphy and Aidan Regan.Questions or feedback? [email protected]: https://www.youtube.com/@GetShtDonePodPatreon: https://patreon.com/GetShitDonePodcastSubstack: https://getshitdonepod.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland effectively has two economies: the international economy, where wages and purchasing power is higher, and the domestic economy, where wages are lower. Some of the international economy is real, and some of it is fake - but we are highly dependent on it. This creates major social and governance challenges. Hosted by Keire Murphy and Aidan Regan.Questions or feedback? [email protected]: https://www.youtube.com/@GetShtDonePodPatreon: https://patreon.com/GetShitDonePodcastSubstack: https://getshitdonepod.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Getting shit done means having the people to do it. But the Irish civil service is a bit of a black box. In this episode, we talk about how the civil service works, its strengths and weaknesses, and how it could work better. Hosted by Keire Murphy and Aidan Regan.Questions or feedback? [email protected]: https://www.youtube.com/@GetShtDonePodPatreon: https://patreon.com/GetShitDonePodcastSubstack: https://getshitdonepod.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dermot McCarthy has held two of the three most senior roles in the civil service: Secretary General to the Government of Ireland and Secretary General of the Department of An Taoiseach. He played a significant role in the social partnership process, and previously served as the director of the National Economic and Social Council. He retired in 2011.We talk to Dermot about how the civil service works, its strengths and weaknesses, and how it could work better.Questions or feedback? [email protected]: https://www.youtube.com/@GetShtDonePodPatreon: https://patreon.com/GetShitDonePodcastSubstack: https://getshitdonepod.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland is the most centralised country in the EU. That is a disaster for getting shit done, our democracy, and our politics. How centralised are we? What does that mean? And how can we fix it?Hosted by Keire Murphy and Aidan Regan.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GetShtDonePodPatreon: https://patreon.com/GetShitDonePodcastSubstack: https://getshitdonepod.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nat O'Connor has 25 years of policy and research experience. He has been Executive Director at Tasc, Assistant Professor in UCD, Senior Public Affairs and Policy Specialist at Age Action Ireland, and Political Director at the Labour Party, among many other roles in public and academic life. He joins Keire to talk about the problem of centralisation in Ireland.YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GetShtDonePodPatreon: https://patreon.com/GetShitDonePodcastSubstack: https://getshitdonepod.substack.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.