As Bertie explained in his infamous interview he did not return any favours for the money he received , though some of his “friends” were on state boards. (No one in the mainstream media followed up on this)

Way back when Eircom was Telecom Eireann, the board was stuffed with “friends”. The quality of decision making was poor to say the least and there was limited understanding of the crucial nature of technology in the economy.
There was no understanding of the need to influence and educate politicans and civil servants on future strategy and the principle of telecoms as a key enabler to a better economy and society.

There was none of the healthy debate that characterises a mature society. For example it is much more expensive to provide broadband in one off developments yet this type of housing is a major feature in planning permissions over the last 10 years.

Fianna Fail/PD’s considered stacking the board with friends was ok for the tax payer. Keeps their supporters happy and means challenging questions won’t be raised. (Like who is going to pay for the extra cost of providing one off broadband)

However when Eircom went from being a state owned entity to being sold off, the Government asked the existing “friends” on the board to resign. All bar one (the PD fella) did. The Government justified this by saying they needed people with a good profile and suitable experience! So the Board was good enough for the tax payer but not good enough for the investor!

We all know what happened next, Eircom has been asset stripped with constant change of owners and appalling broadband availability . The Government is now setting up an alternative MAN’s with another huge learning curve for the local authorities/other parties involved. Most of it at tax payers expense.

What’s surprising is no one has picked up on this link between political
favouritism/croneyism and the lack of broadband.

And it’s not just broadband.

The lack of good leadership at board level impacts all the way though out an organisation and in all sectors of our society. Remember the blood bank -women’s health ruined though Anti D contamination, PPARs- millions wasted on payroll system whilst people spend days on trollies. Ianrod Eireann- inadequate train service- can’t even carry freight and treats passengers like cattle

Any competent board would have good corporate governance in place that would have picked up and acted on these issues well before they became a major crisis.

In one part of Ireland (the north) people have to submit their CV’s and be interviewed for Board positions. There is competition for Board memberships. Interviews are not fail safe for selecting suitable board members but it’s better than the system here.

At the moment the outgoing government are busily filling Board vacancies with their “friends”.

So why not ask election candidates their position on an independent commission for selecting experienced suitable people for boards and vote accordingly.

Expand the current free telephone rental scheme by providing for free broadband for older people.

Nothing concrete though but it means the state would pay for broadband, they way they pay for a basic phone service at the moment.

Does anyone know anything about this ?????