Good day,
I have very good experience with Codeigniter and have used a great amount of ajax in the applications i've built with it, i can help you with your permalinks if you can give me more details regarding how the function now and how you would like them to function,. specifically all the needed details to make the permalinks as required. Indeed it is a 10 minute job but only if we can agree upon the best solution for the situation at hand, i strive for the best solution and during my work i've always given the best solution possible for all parties involved, the client and the users of the site, not doing so, in my opinion, is worse than not delivering the product and taking the money.
If you're interested in getting the best result and achieving your intended result and being the best possible result please contact me with details and we can talk more about the results that you want and the possible solutions for that.
Best regards,
Corbu Roland