Green Party ministers jetting off for Paddy’s Day.

The exodus of our ministers for St Patrick’s Day is a well worn tradition at this stage. Normally it’s policy for a couple of ministers to stay at home to keep the lights on. Considering the Green Party are always telling us to reduce our carbon footprint I thought they would volunteer to stay at home, but no they are all heading abroad (3 of them).

Ok I thought, surely to partly practice what they preach, they must be only going to the UK or Western Europe? Actually it turns out Eamon Ryan is heading to Singapore, Catherine Martin is heading to the US West coast while Roderic O Gorman is going to India. F**k me, talk about ‘do as we say not as we do’. The Greens suffered electoral wipeout once. Its on the cards again with this type of behaviour IMO. What say ye AH?

farmingquestion

They're hypocrites, end of.

Pauline O'Reilly jetted off to the US to be a poll monitor for the US mid terms. You'd think in a country of 350m people, they wouldn't need to fly in people from Europe?

elperello

If they decided not to go there would be a thread criticising them for that.

They are in a coalition government it's part of the job they signed up for.

y0ssar1an22

is it eamonn that makes a big deal of cycling in, while a car runs the files behind him?

There is no other example of such a small country exercising soft power than our ministers and Taoiseach flying to countries around the world on St Patrick's Day. 200k was being mentioned in the papers as the overall cost of the exercise. Buttons.

For that we get pretty much an entire day of engagements with the US President, a bigwig dinner, and lots of coverage in the papers and on their news channels. We also get loads of countries to light up their national monument in green, meet other heads of state, fire in the Enterprise Ireland/IDA business card, and do a bit of plámásing.

I'm sure the Green Party ministers will offset their carbon emissions as a result of flying. If that's not already a thing the Government does.

Nothingburger outrage.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251013#Comment_120251013

Hypocrites alright. Eamon Ryan has no problem signing off on an interconnector with France that will supply power to Ireland and no doubt some of that will come from French nuclear power stations. Meanwhile here we have a law (Electricity Regulation Act 1999) that forbids nuclear power as a way to generate electricity. Nimbyism or what.

Trampas

Eamo will justify sitting at the front of the plane which increase his footprint and will get us to pay to “offset” it. So he can sleep comfortably in his bed. I thought he was giving a cross bar to o Gorman or he maybe he could have stood on his front nuts

alias no.9

Don't worry they will use taxpayers money to buy their indulgences carbon offset and be absolved of their sins and restored to 100% smugness

gary550

good lord what will the Singaporeans think of us when he arrives

farmingquestion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251110#Comment_120251110

And what does that get Ireland exactly?

If you think these meetings actually result in any FDI you are naive. .

Imagine for the next 10 years no one jets away for paddies day. Do you think we're going to see a noticeable hit to our tax intake or something?

Also offsetting emissions is just a scumbags approach. Why not just stay at home and "offset" the same amount of emissions, would be far better for the environment!

brokenbad

These guys take the term "junket" to the next level.......

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251092#Comment_120251092

source? or is this a tired old trope, as i suspect?

do ministers usually get followed around by people laden with paperwork?

Atlantic Dawn

Eamon Ryan heading to Beijing and Shanghai has to be a piss take on someone's part, the Chinese can show him how their clean burning coal power plants work.

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251597#Comment_120251597

Wrong in every way possible.

Furze99

Pure hypocrisy on behalf of the Greens in this instance. Indefensible.

micosoft

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058284585/green-party-ministers-jetting-off-for-paddy-s-day

There is a dictionary out there with the term false equivalence and your picture beside it. I suppose it's to be expected that people that don't care about the environment or the consequences of climate change will find any possible excuse to justify their appalling behavior but that unfortunately is part of human nature.

Olympush

Do as I say, not as I do!

Hopefully these morons will be no more after the next election.

micosoft

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251597#Comment_120251597

Yes. Yes we would. An enormous impact. That you don't understand the level of soft power Ireland excudes and the astonishing returns we have made from this says a lot about your own naivety tbh.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251860#Comment_120251860

Why is it false equivalence? The 3 GP ministers in question will be jetting off on long haul flights that will directly contribute to increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere. It's stuff that people will remember at election time if it's brought up.

Thelonious Monk

Did the Greens ask us not to fly or something? I don't get how this is hypocritical unless they asked us not to fly. Also top politicians flying for diplomatic reasons is probably different to a bunch of lads jetting off to Las Vegas for a Conor McGregor fight, maybe some flights are more important than others.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251082#Comment_120251082

A coalition means there are others who could make the trip instead, which would allow the "Greens" to stand by the courage of their convictions and abstain from unnecessary long haul journeys.

That they clearly don't stand by their convictions is rather the issue, is it not?

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120252378#Comment_120252378

There is now international consensus that we have just a decade to make the changes necessary to halt the warming of our planet and save our natural world. We need to rethink how we live, how we travel, how we work and how we consume.

Smee_Again

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251627#Comment_120251627

The gardai have made the decision that Ministers have personal protection and Ryan's will usually follow him on a bike, but may follow in a vehicle for operational reasons. It is not a ministerial car that is following him.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120252385#Comment_120252385

ah, so if the greens said 'we won't go, but you go in our place and cause the same amount of CO2 production', people wouldn't accuse them of hypocrisy?

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120252403#Comment_120252403

yes well they are making great strides on public transport and walking and cycling infrastructure in ireland, more public transport projects underway now than ever in the history of the state, so good news on that front and we will become far less car reliant with more options available. they haven't come up with an alternative to flying yet though and haven't asked anyone to stop flying.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120252385#Comment_120252385

Clearly sending someone else on the same journey wouldn't reduce the emissions.

Imagine the furore if they were insisting that members of other parties go on flights to ease their conscience.

They have a job to do on behalf of Ireland Inc. and the flight is just one of the tools they use to carry it out.

We live on an island so planes or ships are our only way to connect with other countries.

The government are just backing up the various state agencies who are always on every day of the year working to improve trade and get investment into the country.

The improvements to our economy mean more people can get jobs at home and they don't end up on planes.

bucketybuck

Imagine the furore if they were insisting that members of other parties go on flights to ease their conscience.

Who says they had to insist on anything? Who says they were forcing others to go?

All they had to do was do nothing, to say nothing, to sit quietly and let the numerous other people in government go off on the jolly instead.

Do nothing and they easily avoid this entire situation, it would have been the easiest possible way to stand by their principles. Nobody would have criticised them, probably nobody would even have noticed exactly what ministers went where, the job still gets done, everybody wins.

Instead they get to look like big fat hypocrites. Well done lads.

And to those saying the emissions would still exist if others went, you are rather missing the point. Nobody expects the greens to remove all emissions at a stroke, or to be responsible for all emissions. But if they want to lecture on these things then they need to be seen to be doing all they can on their own part. The look of the thing is often as important as the substance. This isn't exactly complicated.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120252794#Comment_120252794

That still doesn't reduce the emissions that you are so worried about.

Instead of being cute hoors as you suggest they shape up and go to work for the country and still get called hypocrites for their trouble.

As for being a jolly long haul flights are anything but jolly.

They will have a full programme of events organised and even allowing for the down time they will be working hard.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120252852#Comment_120252852

That still doesn't reduce the emissions that you are so worried about.

You haven't even read my posts, have you? Give it a go there.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120252892#Comment_120252892

Every word including the edit paragraph you added.

If there is anything else you want to add it will have my full attention.

Thelonious Monk

Travelling for work is horrible anyway. I used to think it'd be great and fun and glamorous but once you get sent away a few times it's just awful and screws with your life.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120252519#Comment_120252519

Ah come on, even diehard climate change sceptics know in their heart of hearts that flying around the world in jet planes uses substantial amounts of fuel. And that as it stands, it's unsustainable. Greens more than anyone know this. There can be no excuses. I'd expect them to do engagements closer to home.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120253244#Comment_120253244

yeah but those of us privileged enough to be able to fly, which is something like 5 to 10% of the world's population that fly once a year at least, wont be giving it up any time soon, green party or not

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120253595#Comment_120253595

As a small island nation on the fringe of Europe we simply cannot afford to ignore the importance of the aviation industry.

We need connectivity for a diaspora scattered to the four corners of the globe not to mention our tourist industry and so many other business's and services which rely on foreign workers.

deirdremf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120252519#Comment_120252519

How is the railway from Wexford to Waterford doing? Wexford to Rosslare?

When's the train line from Athenry to Tuam re-opening? Any plans to continue it to Claremorris?

deirdremf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251110#Comment_120251110

An entire day of engagements with the US president, that's surely worth something. It allows the most powerful president in the world to bend Ireland's official ear and keep them in line for another year. There'll be no new tax initiatives on MNCs this year either, so. Now, that's soft power.

The other countries? meh.

deirdremf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120253689#Comment_120253689

We need connectivity ...

I'd be interested in knowing how Ryan in Singapore will improve our connectivity with our diaspora. And it's not such a big country that we will gain a lot of tourists by him going there.

Just imagine Dozy advising the people of Singapore to plant lettuces on their south-facing windowsills!

Rustyman101

Maybe we can buy some more carbon credits for a couple million.

Absolute joke of a party they will be wiped out come next election, unfortunately a lot of damage already done Roddy.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120253903#Comment_120253903

maybe ask FF/FG why they ignored all this since the foundation of the state? you expect Big Eamon to have this sorted by now after FF/FG ignored it and let it all rot for 100 years? he inherited a total mess from the other clowns and still is currently doing more than they ever did.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120253934#Comment_120253934

Sorry I was replying to TM on a different point to do with flying.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120253934#Comment_120253934

Singapore is one of the most important cities for financial services in the world and we are very involved in this sector in Ireland

deirdremf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120254015#Comment_120254015

Yeah, - aren't we know as "the wild west" due to lack of regulation?

But never mind, let's send them a doozy who will advise them to plant lettuces. South-facing lettuces.Dozy probably doesn't even realise Singapore is on the equator.

deirdremf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120253955#Comment_120253955

The last time a green candidate came around looking for my vote, I specifically pointed out that until they got rid of the fools who wiped FF's ass for them 2007-2011 they needn't look for my vote. The candidate sheepishly agreed that it was a shame Ryan et al didn't just shove off.

So in brief, I expect nothing of Ryan. Mercury-filled bulbs and non-polluting Diesel cars he was shilling for back in 2008, now it's greenways and electric cars (now where does that lithium come from; & who organised a coup d'etat in Bolivia to get their hands on Bolivian Lithium?). Not to mention his own big diesel guzzler.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120253595#Comment_120253595

I suppose we absolutely need to be getting to footie tournaments somehow or other............

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120254099#Comment_120254099

E Ryan almost single handedly rebuilt the party after the 2011 election.

He even subsidised the organisation with his own money.

Did they make mistakes?

Yes of course they did but we are all flawed.

Life is full of compromises.

tayto lover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120254015#Comment_120254015

And Ryan is a financial genius ha ha.? Will he stay awake?

Donald Trump

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120251597#Comment_120251597

I'd have to disagree with you over the importance of those meetings. It is promoting "Brand Ireland" and is very important. Sometimes deals are done on those junkets, but even if not, they are still very important.

I am sure ,most people understand the concept of advertising. Turn on your TV and there will probably be an ad for Heineken or Guinness. It's not going to make you run out and buy 6 cans of each. But they do need to do it as part of the overall brand strategy. Stopping those meetings because people think they are "junkets" would be cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Jarhead_Tendler

Probably safer not to send St Rod to South East Asia anyway with the company he has kept in the past.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120255761#Comment_120255761

The only people who believe that nonsense are The National Party and The Irish Freedom Party.

pgj2015

I contacted Ryan lately about a very serious issue, they said they would get back to be, that was 4 weeks ago, useless and they don't even have the manners to reply to someone about an issue that he as minister for transport is responsible for. Always thought they were a joke but its worse than I thought.

Packrat

Anyone who is surprised by GP hypocrisy or how their religion only applies to the unwashed has been asleep for quite a while.

Few in that party and nobody in power there has any interest in mitigating climate change.

Eamonn Ryan and Roderick o Gorman are the two most dangerous people to the medium/long term interest of our country alive today.

It's all about dogma, power and control..

Same as every other religion.