Housing, Europe and AirBnB

A while back, Irish and other news outlets reported that Irish efforts to tackle the housing crisis by restricting short-lets such as AIrBnB ran into an EU roadblock. You can read a typical report on the story here. So I decided to send a request to the EU Commission under the Aarhus convention access to… Continue reading Housing, Europe and AirBnB

The Jobbridge database

The Jobbridge database [Version One] courtesy  of a Freedom of Information request. [Since the Excel XLSX file is rather large at over 14Mb, there may be problems in formatting etc. Any suggestions for improving usability gratefully received.] Version Two Jobbridge database in Socrata (from a suggestion by Steve White) Update- Version Three: Jobridge database as… Continue reading The Jobbridge database

Jobbridge and Freedom of Information

Jobbridge: Does exactly what it says on the tin

Victory of a sort…but mostly not In March 2012, I sent a Freedom of Information request to the Department of Social Protection (DSP), looking for the Jobbridge database. By July of the same year, DSP had replied with some of what I sought, but I had some problems, and so an appeals process began. My… Continue reading Jobbridge and Freedom of Information

RTE, BAI, and the marriage referendum

In response to a letter from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland about coverage of same sex marriage, RTE politely responded that it knew how balance worked. I previously published a copy of the BAI’s letter to RTE, which I obtained from the BAI itself. Below are the letter and the official RTE response, obtained through… Continue reading RTE, BAI, and the marriage referendum

What’s wrong with this graph?

It’s been niggling me since the result was announced, but there were other things to do, so it took me a few days to sit down and scratch this itch. The headline is simple. Older voters defeated the Scottish independence referendum, as illustrated by this graph breaking down voter intentions. But data journalism can be… Continue reading What’s wrong with this graph?

Kildare Street: Questions for the Oireachtas

On Tuesday, the Oireachtas website changed how it operates, effectively shutting down KildareStreet.com. Simon McGarr outlines the issues here. I send an email to the Oireachtas yesterday, containing several questions as follows: Can you supply me with a statement re operation of Oireachtas debates website, and recent changes to the site which have apparently rendered… Continue reading Kildare Street: Questions for the Oireachtas

JobBridge: The Story So Far

Jobbridge

Back in March 2012, I sent a Freedom of Information request to FÁS and the Department of Social Protection (DSP) seeking two items: (1) Records maintained by FÁS relating to the number of jobbridge positions accepted by participants, how many jobbridge programmes have been completed, and relating to what happened afterwards to participants. (2) Records… Continue reading JobBridge: The Story So Far

Jobbridgers used to clear citizenship backlog

Jobbridge: Does exactly what it says on the tin

Yesterday, I received a Freedom of Information file containing (part of) the Jobbridge database. Showing it to a friend, I ran a trivial search: Who sought the greatest number of jobbridgers? Three organisations requested 30 “interns”. For now, I can only tell you one of them. Step forward, Citizenship Division, Department of Justice and Equality.… Continue reading Jobbridgers used to clear citizenship backlog

What’s my line?

A barman, a TV repairman, four trade union officials, five solicitors, a salesman, a stockbroker, a publican, a post office clerk, two postmasters, a political advisor, four political party officials, an operations manager, a plant hire company owner, a painter/decorator, a newsagent, a management consultant, a fisherman, a FAS community employment scheme supervisor, fourteen farmers,… Continue reading What’s my line?

Numbers game

It’s been bothering me for a while, but until tonight I never bothered to do any research on it. Here’s Brian Lenihan’s version of it, as paraphrased by The Journal earlier today: “The Finance Minister said Ireland’s taxation system was no longer “fit for purpose”, saying that the upper 8% of taxpayers accounted for 60%… Continue reading Numbers game