Breaking News - Gov Holed up In Mansion as Country Collapses

[grumpy]

@markf909

@Bigby

@gaius

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhsnauqlmhmh/rss2/
Unfortunate timing for a test of such a system. Can we expect Cowen to interrupt Coronation St sometime soon?

it sorta makes you wonder why our glorious leader feels the need to test the system at this time doesn’t it. One doubts that it is going to be to announce sunshine and lollipops and a chicken in every pot. I really don’t want to sound alarmist but the timing on this defies belief. Why on earth would he do something like that at a time like this? Talk about bad PR. What the hell was he thinking? A bit own-goal I would have said.

As someone who very seldom wears a tin foil hat, I was talking to a fireman on a retainer this evening who says there have been informal briefs about them being needed in the event of riots.

I asked him, what kind of riots.

He said “bank failures”

THE STATE’S radio and television airwaves fell silent early yesterday morning as part of a Government exercise on broadcasting urgent messages to the nation.

irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire … 13604.html

[Bostonorberlin]

Maybe they are trying to figure out how they spent 40 Million on a Website !!!
OpenWindow must be rolling in it if thats indicative of the going rate for one of these jobbies…

Irish Examiner
Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Pressure on Cowen over €40m web fiasco

By Shaun Connolly, Political Correspondent
PRESSURE was put on Brian Cowen last night to explain how the Government wasted €40 million on a computer fiasco exposed by the Irish Examiner.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore pressed the Taoiseach as to why costs for the system, intended to act as a central web-stop for all Government services, could have been allowed to spiral so high and then just be abandoned.

“If the Government cannot establish a website describing the way in which public services are integrated, what confidence do we have it will be able to integrate the services themselves?

“There was supposed to be a common website for all the public services. It was recommended and approved in 2003 and eventually delivered in 2005, some 16 months late. It cost three times more than the allocated budget.

“I understand it has cost approximately €40m to date and now it has been scrapped,” said Mr Gilmore.

“Given there is such an emphasis on e-Government and shared services, will the Taoiseach provide some explanation as to why it was so expensive in the first place?

“It is merely a website and €40m is a great deal to pay for a website,” Mr Gilmore said.

The Taoiseach refused to be drawn on the case, but insisted the Government was still committed to investing in web access.

“The questions relate to the public service transformation project in which we are now engaged. There are ongoing reforms in the public service.

“I make the point that e-Government certainly must improve. One major item to arise from the surveys on public satisfaction is that people are unable to get common information to the extent they would wish and that there are delays. Moreover, the level of available knowledge when people contact the public service is not as they would wish in some respects,” he said

[ewd3]

mmmmmmmmm

It was a bit more than a website it was a public services broker which was supposed to become a one stop shop and integration platform for interaction with the public service thereby streamlining services. As usual turf wars spec difficulties and technical challenges abouded

to describe it as a web site is to describe the titanic as a boat.

Not deffending it but the scale of what was envisioned was massive

similar projects in multi nationals of a similar size and scale would cost loads with no guarantee of failure. Usually they would get shot quicker. but there you go.

[Bigby]

irishtimes.com/newspaper/ire … 13604.html

The Department of Communications said the timing was chosen to test the response times of the broadcasters, as most stations are unmanned early in the morning.

Also because they didn’t want to panic people more than necessary. They wouldn’t be wrong either.

[onlyone]

The titanic was a boat, just a big one

[room305]

A letter to the government of Ireland …

Dear Government,

In future when embarking on an IT project of any hue please consider my open-ended offer to do it for half price. Yes, that’s right - half price! In these recessionary times nobody can turn their nose up at such an amazing bargain.

Simply get Deloitte, Accenture or whomever to cost your project and then contract me for a 50% discount on their lowest offer.

Instant savings for the public purse and barely a union strike or angry pensioner in sight.

Who knows, I might even complete one or two of them, anything is possible.

Yours,
Room305

EDIT: Incidentally, am I crazy to be thinking that the time to launch a website showing how you’ve integrated public services is after they’ve been integrated rather than before?

[Duisigh]

Really ? I’m looking for a an Oracle Financials 11ir10 DBA, immediate start in a Govt. Department. I will knock 10% off , give you 50% and trouser 40%

Ta much

Back in the real world most of the medium/large contracts and a lot of the small ones are on etenders.irlgov.ie - you can bid for them just like all the rest of us do in a free market

if you can do the job for 50% off your bid will probably win - go for it

[spqr64]

@Duisigh

Really ? I’m looking for a an Oracle Financials 11ir10 DBA, immediate start in a Govt. Department. I will knock 10% off , give you 50% and trouser 40%

Ta much

Back in the real world most of the medium/large contracts and a lot of the small ones are on etenders.irlgov.ie - you can bid for them just like all the rest of us do in a free market

if you can do the job for 50% off your bid will probably win - go for it

Are these the same type of contract that the guy rolled out by FG during their conference advised he had to have something like €185,000 persnoal liablity cover to tender for a 3 grand contract?

[Open_Window]

what about the site

verbaltendergov.pub

[Canny_Scot]

or the others:

brownbag.gov
backofafagpacket.gov.ie

[room305]

@Duisigh

Really ? I’m looking for a an Oracle Financials 11ir10 DBA, immediate start in a Govt. Department. I will knock 10% off , give you 50% and trouser 40%

That’s a job not a project.

@Duisigh

Back in the real world most of the medium/large contracts and a lot of the small ones are on etenders.irlgov.ie - you can bid for them just like all the rest of us do in a free market

if you can do the job for 50% off your bid will probably win - go for it

I’ve already bid. 50% off any contract whatsoever they were planning to take on. It may be for a project I’ve no competence in, any of that website design stuff makes me come out in a rash for example, but since none of these things ever come to anything anyway what’s the difference? At least by hiring me the government can be guaranteed to waste less money.

[Duisigh]

It may be for a project I’ve no competence in any of that website design stuff makes me come out in a rash for example

,

At least by hiring me the government can be guaranteed to waste less money.

That’s a job not a project

correct in the narrow sense however such jobs frequently appear for tender and are key resources in very large Government IT projects.

I know, I’m working a fair amount of time on one, have been on and off for a very successful large project for the last 5 years

[Septic_Crank]

I wonder what Gilmore was on about today when he claimed in the Dail he was holding back from spiling the beans on matters which “could do real damage”?

[yoganmahew]

@Septic Crank

I wonder what Gilmore was on about today when he claimed in the Dail he was holding back from spiling the beans on matters which “could do real damage”?

Apparently some Dail deputies are reneging on their milk kitty obligations and as a result the tea and biscuits that make Irish governance the power that it is and envy of the world is in danger of collapse in bitter recriminations. All such ponzi milk schemes run by little office demagogues are doomed to failure. The tribunal is already being planned. The guilty have already turned state’s evidence in return for a pardon.

[superpiper]

“The plan” is released tomoz,

Any predictions?

I predict the sum of fuck all tommorow will be the result.

This goverment is ignoring the ass off this economy…

[Persius]

2nd that. Just like the “bank recapitilisation plan” it’s all about wishy-washy statements with f-all detail. And the reason is… they haven’t a clue about the detail.

[Sidewinder]

@Duisigh

I know, I’m working a fair amount of time on one, have been on and off for a very successful large project for the last 5 years

You seem to have a strange definition of “success” if the project has been trundling along for 5 whole feckin years!!!

Unless by “success” you mean “It’s been great for my bank balance, cheers!”