This year's Paddy's day junkets

recylingbin

This year's destinations for the ministers and the Attorney General include China, Russia, India, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Lesotho.

Nice work, if you can get it.

alwaysadub

Eh i thought they were cutting back on all their trips? Glad they picked countries that have such strong ties with Ireland though :rolleyes:

neilthefunkeone

Lesotho??

I had to actually look that up.. Its a land locked country in the middle of south africa.. WHY?

Pompey Magnus

recylingbin wrote: »

Nice work, if you can get it.

Finger's crossed the trip to Lesotho will prove fruitful and we can expect the giants of the Lesothan business world deciding to locate in Ireland in the near future :rolleyes:.

FUNKY LOVER

get as far away from this ****hole on paddys day,lesotho-cant really do better than that......

jd007

Charco wrote: »

Finger's crossed the trip to Lesotho will prove fruitful and we can expect the giants of the Lesothan business world deciding to locate in Ireland in the near future :rolleyes:.

I for one welcome our future Lesothan overlords.

Hagar

23 ministers and junior ministers are heading off. Who is minding us?

recylingbin

neilthefunkeone wrote: »

Lesotho??

I had to actually look that up.. Its a land locked country in the middle of south africa.. WHY?

Because south africa surrounds it.


I, genuinely, have no idea why it would be advantageous to go to Lesotho. Do they have diamod mines or something?

bonerm

69 wrote: »

23 ministers and junior ministers are heading off. Who is minding us?

Nanny of course.

pickarooney

Is Harney off to Lesotho? Best chance she has of picking up a husband I'd say, the king marries everyone.

(I refuse to believe she's actually married already)

Stuxnet

i refuse to believe she copulates...
maybe thats why the nation is in dire straits

AnonoBoy

Celebrate your country's patron saint by mainlining heroin! Yay!

m@cc@

neilthefunkeone wrote: »

Lesotho??

I had to actually look that up.. Its a land locked country in the middle of south africa.. WHY?

alwaysadub wrote: »

Glad they picked countries that have such strong ties with Ireland though

Lesotho has close ties with Ireland with it having Ireland’s longest running bilateral programme.

Hagar

m@cc@ wrote: »

Lesotho has close ties with Ireland with it having Ireland’s longest running bilateral programme.

Fair play to them, how long have they been sending us aid?

antodeco

Doesnt Lesotho do the Irish curriculum Leaving Certificate in schools?

who the fug

m@cc@ wrote: »

Lesotho has close ties with Ireland with it having Ireland’s longest running bilateral programme.

Did the ESB do a lot of work down there in the eighties

enda1

Do you actually think its extremely fun to spend Ireland's national holiday travelling on a busy business trip trying to sell Ireland?

Travelling to South Africa and Lesotho is Ireland's Junior Minister of foreign aid or whatever its called, so that is one of the few trips which is probably not related to improving trade relations, but perhaps more a trip of good relations and to see where our money is going!

Otherwise they are travelling to countries which Ireland has strong trade relations or wants to build them.

Really this type trip is no great shakes, have none of you travelled before? I know I'd prefer to be in Ireland enjoying my day off rather than on a high stress diplomatic trade mission!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

enda1 wrote: »

Do you actually think its extremely fun to spend Ireland's national holiday travelling on a busy business trip trying to sell Ireland?

Travelling to South Africa and Lesotho is Ireland's Junior Minister of foreign aid or whatever its called, so that is one of the few trips which is probably not related to improving trade relations, but perhaps more a trip of good relations and to see where our money is going!

Otherwise they are travelling to countries which Ireland has strong trade relations or wants to build them.

Really this type trip is no great shakes, have none of you travelled before? I know I'd prefer to be in Ireland enjoying my day off rather than on a high stress diplomatic trade mission!

Suit yourself, I¨ll taket he junket, thank you very much.

syklops

antodeco wrote: »

Doesnt Lesotho do the Irish curriculum Leaving Certificate in schools?

Your thinking of Libya.

Teddy Chips

Tbf all these trips will include a trade element.

mikom

neilthefunkeone wrote: »

Lesotho??

I had to actually look that up.. Its a land locked country in the middle of south africa.. WHY?

You been in a taxi recently?

IvyTheTerrible

enda1 wrote: »

Do you actually think its extremely fun to spend Ireland's national holiday travelling on a busy business trip trying to sell Ireland?

Travelling to South Africa and Lesotho is Ireland's Junior Minister of foreign aid or whatever its called, so that is one of the few trips which is probably not related to improving trade relations, but perhaps more a trip of good relations and to see where our money is going!

Otherwise they are travelling to countries which Ireland has strong trade relations or wants to build them.

Really this type trip is no great shakes, have none of you travelled before? I know I'd prefer to be in Ireland enjoying my day off rather than on a high stress diplomatic trade mission!

I travel a fair bit for my job for conferences and meetings and such. While we work hard when we are away, we don't work 24 hours, we get lots of time to do touristy stuff (all out of own pockets though). So I find it hard to believe the the politicians going on these junkets will be doing nothing but working.

Also, they won't be travelling on the day, mostly they will be staying a few days at least.

flowersagogo

Teddy Chips wrote: »

Tbf all these trips will include a trade element.

guinness?

Calibos

syklops wrote: »

Your thinking of Libya.

Jaysus, no wonder Gaddafi had it in for the British for so long and supported the IRA with arms. The Bloody Irish History Curriculem.

A few classes on the Napoleonic wars, a bit about the unification of the German states by Bismark, a bit about the world wars and months and months of classes on the 800 years of opression by the ould enemy, did ya hear the murdering bast@rds walked around the villages with the heads of babies and kittens on their pikes!!!........

:rolleyes:

MayoForSam

Maybe they have been invited to Lesotho for dinner but little do they know, the Lesothonians are fond of placing foreigners inside large black cooking pots and simmering for a number of hours.

If they think it's Mary Harney who's coming over then this fact would increase the likelihood of the cooking pot being whipped out.

Hagar

It would want to be some pot. :eek:

walshb

Paddy's day in Lesotho:p You couldn't make it up. I suppose we need to visit these places. Seeing as we ship them millions of Euro every year, it would be nice to pop by now and again.

Mr_Hat

Why is the AG going anywhere

walshb

69 wrote: »

Fair play to them, how long have they been sending us aid?

He/she meant one way aid:p

Hagar

It must have been the word "bilateral" that fooled me. Tricksy.

enda1

Here is the press release from the Dept. of Taoiseach

Unfortunately we can't see schedules but it is clearly stated about limousines, hotel suits, 1st class travel etc. not being allowed.

To the above poster who thinks the ministers will have the evenings off for the craic, I think not.

walshb

"The Taoiseach has instructed all Government Departments to ensure that costs are kept to a minimum. Unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, first class flights, limousines, hotel suites and VIP lounges will not be used by Ministers."

He may want to stress this to Peter Power, and tell him to leave the cheque book at home

BTW, compelling reasons? With this shower, being a politician is compelling enough