Public Responds To Prime Minister’s Call For Cost-Cutting Ideas

The public has submitted hundreds of suggestions after the Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir called for cost-saving tips from citizens in her New Year’s address, reports RÚV.

Suggestions include changes to Icelandic embassies abroad, reductions in ministerial assistants, adjustments to housing and travel expenses for parliament members, revisions to artist grants, reevaluation of the Borgarlína public transport project, and cuts to environmental spending, among other areas. Approximately 250 proposals were submitted via the government’s consultation portal within just over three hours of opening for public input.

Simplifying systems for efficiency

Many submissions advocate for streamlining public systems. Proposals include modernising government IT infrastructure to reduce reliance on expensive third-party services and implementing fully digital application processes to enhance efficiency and cut costs. In healthcare, suggestions focus on expanding access to specialists in rural areas and enabling a broader range of healthcare professionals to perform certain tasks, reducing pressure on doctors and improving service delivery.

Rethinking political spending

A significant number of contributors directed their proposals at government and parliamentary spending. Suggestions include reducing the number of ministerial assistants, cutting housing allowances for parliament members who reside near Alþingi, and abolishing luxury items such as ministerial cars.

One particularly bold suggestion called for adjusting MPs’ pensions to align with the national minimum wage. Others proposed lowering public funding for political parties and rethinking financial support for retired public servants.

Fewer embassies, less foreign spending

Calls to downsize Iceland’s diplomatic presence were prominent, with some suggesting the closure of embassies in less critical regions or sharing embassy operations with other Nordic countries. A handful of submissions proposed Iceland withdraw from NATO and reduce its financial contributions to Ukraine’s defense.

Cultural and transportation projects in the crosshairs

Some proposals targeted cultural funding, with calls to reform or eliminate artist grants. Critics suggested tying grants to income levels or transforming them into competitive innovation awards for new talent.

On the infrastructure side, multiple contributors called for abandoning the Borgarlína public transport project in favour of cheaper alternatives for improving transportation, including scaled-down solutions for bridges over Ölfus and Fossvogur.

Mergers and consolidations

A recurring theme was the consolidation of public institutions. Suggestions ranged from merging cultural and educational agencies into a single entity to creating a unified infrastructure organisation by combining agencies such as Vegagerðin, Isavia, and Landsnet.

Some proposed merging fisheries research institutions or combining social insurance and healthcare agencies to eliminate redundancies.

Diverse and unusual proposals

Not all submissions were conventional. One contributor suggested turning Grindavík into a tourist site, branding it as Iceland’s Pompeii, while another advocated for reviving the long-defunct Building Research Institute to address inefficiencies in construction practices.

Another proposed adopting Sweden’s approach to sick leave, where employees are unpaid for the first few days of illness, claiming it could save significant funds while reducing unnecessary medical visits.

Some submissions were to the point, with one asking: “Wait, you don’t already have a plan?”