St Patrick's Day foreign trips

murnhome · 12-03-2010 03:10AM

Breaking news Harney snapped sunbathing nude at Newzeland Resort. Follow link http://www.tvgasm.com/newsgasm/jabba.jpg Warning some viewers may find this disturbing:D

ballsymchugh · 12-03-2010 03:16AM

expectationlost wrote: »

they do, dervish!! nobody is against trips, or trade missions, but do these all need politicians? i know when there making big country to country deals they do but is that case in all these trips?

i agree, surely mary harney isn't the best person to send to check out new zealand's health system. wouldn't it be more appropriate to send the head of the HSE? since mary herself spends quite a lot of time fobbing off questions saying that they're a HSE matter..
i'm not sure who the best people to send are, since the heads of quangos are government appointed, but i don't think politicians are the right people.
there are the other lesser known foreign trips though, the various town and county councillors that go to new york to walk in the parade.. they really really serve no purpose, but we still pay for that too.

Jaysoose · 12-03-2010 09:21AM

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

Do you really think €10 on a transcontinental flight that cost upwards of €500 will be noticed? Only the low cost carriers oppose the tax because they have to absorb the charge to advertise fares below €10.
Think about it? would €10 really make you think twice about your holiday destination?

The Uk is irelands biggest market for tourism so using transcontinental flights to justify a €10 Tourist Tax is way off, if your paying 40-50 for your flights then a 20% tax is very significant. If your travelling inside Europe there are much cheaper alternatives than coming here for pretty much everything i.e. Food, drinks, activities so adding this tax was a ridiculous decision as Ireland is an Uncompetitive as it gets right now.

Sure its alright lads we will take a fortnight off and draw holiday destinations out of a hat, dont forget your bowl of shamrocks now. Its a fckin joke.

DirksDiggler · 12-03-2010 03:52PM

DeVore wrote: »

I think they SHOULD go abroad, genuinely. But 2 weeks is madness.

DeV.

Indeed. They should bloody well stay out there for all the good they are to us here.

Overheal · 12-03-2010 04:15PM

ClayDavis wrote: »

To be fair if she spends the time checking out their healthcare system, regarded as one of the best in the world, it'd be worth it.

Except she was in the states last year (or at least in interview) Touting Ireland as having one of the best healthcare systems in the world...

ugh.

skearon · 13-03-2010 06:43PM

Pappy o' daniel wrote: »

Whats worse is that we'll have to pay for 2 seats, one for each of her cheeks.

Precisely how does your pathetic, tabloid comment contribute anything to this debate?

skearon · 13-03-2010 06:48PM

Jaysoose wrote: »

Petty begrudgers...are you for real?

He should included the words ignorant and short sighted

Pappy o' daniel · 13-03-2010 07:49PM

skearon wrote: »

Precisely how does your pathetic, tabloid comment contribute anything to this debate?

It contributes by showing my displeasure at her continued existence as a minister.

Maybe you should remove your head from those cheeks, and see what a joke these trips are. Free holidays is what they are, sold to the public by calling them "fact finding missions".

Kiwi_knock · 13-03-2010 08:24PM

St Patricks Day is the one day a year that we Irish can promote ourselves worldwide, this necessarily involves sending our politicians to represent us abroad. I have no problem with them going to far flung places as long as they represent Irish interests and promote us. However I can not agree with the length of time each is allowed to spend abroad at the expense of us. It should be between 3-7 days depending on how far away they are travelling. Any more I dont believe can be justified.

skearon · 13-03-2010 08:38PM

Pappy o' daniel wrote: »

It contributes by showing my displeasure at her continued existence as a minister.

Maybe you should remove your head from those cheeks, and see what a joke these trips are. Free holidays is what they are, sold to the public by calling them "fact finding missions".

Congratulations on posting probably one of the most ignorant 'contributions' ever made here

skearon · 13-03-2010 08:39PM

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

St Patricks Day is the one day a year that we Irish can promote ourselves worldwide, this necessarily involves sending our politicians to represent us abroad. I have no problem with them going to far flung places as long as they represent Irish interests and promote us. However I can not agree with the length of time each is allowed to spend abroad at the expense of us. It should be between 3-7 days depending on how far away they are travelling. Any more I dont believe can be justified.

It depends on the itinerary

Essexboy · 14-03-2010 07:09PM

Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach, as the Irish say, is expected to accompany Mayor Richard Daley to the festivities
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/03/beverly-hopes-to-please-kids-and-st-pats-revelers.html

This is what really happens. Biffo is in second place behind the mayor and gets a byline, much the same as a visit to your locality by the Slovenian minister of Agriculture!

murnhome · 15-03-2010 03:02PM

Fair enough if these "junkets" are trade missions please can we see the results of these missions, I have worked in sales all my life and i can tell you if i was sent to solicit business from a potential client my bosses would want to know who i met, what prospects of trade we had with them and if I followed up on all my leads.

Oh and By the way dose Harneys son not have any school to go to? 2 weeks off mid school year not good me thinks.

IrishTonyO · 15-03-2010 03:56PM

murnhome wrote: »

Fair enough if these "junkets" are trade missions please can we see the results of these missions, I have worked in sales all my life and i can tell you if i was sent to solicit business from a potential client my bosses would want to know who i met, what prospects of trade we had with them and if I followed up on all my leads.

Oh and By the way dose Harneys son not have any school to go to? 2 weeks off mid school year not good me thinks.

She doesn't have a son

anymore · 15-03-2010 08:11PM

murnhome wrote: »

Fair enough if these "junkets" are trade missions please can we see the results of these missions, I have worked in sales all my life and i can tell you if i was sent to solicit business from a potential client my bosses would want to know who i met, what prospects of trade we had with them and if I followed up on all my leads.

Oh and By the way dose Harneys son not have any school to go to? 2 weeks off mid school year not good me thinks.

In the case of New Zealand and Harney, this countrY is a major competitior of Ireland's agricultural industry so I am baffled as to what purpose is served in sending a Health Minister for two weeks ?

LookingFor · 18-03-2010 08:36PM

Just a note to register my dismay - yet again - at Brian Cowen's manner in holding himself at the Paddy's day events in the US.

Was the same last year.

He's clearly learned nothing about how to look and at least pretend to be dignified in the intervening year.

At the St. Patrick's luncheon he's there sitting with his back to the speaker, variously drinking and eating and scratching, tonguing his mouth for bits of food, etc. etc.:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In9KEeinMDc&feature=channel

And then at the Whitehouse, he looks like a schoolchild, face in various states of contortion, tongue out at times as he listens to the President.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TbXvB5LXlE

It's like he just can't keep a straight face, mouth closed for any appreciable length of time.

Can we take a little bit of all that money we spend on these guys and get them some elocution lessons before next year? Or preferably, before his next foreign trip? It's one expense I'd happily support.

anymore · 19-03-2010 12:33AM

The Irish Mail had a story on Connor Lenihan's junket to Vietnam and apparently a very happy time was had by all, lasting into the early hours.

Kingdom · 19-03-2010 12:30PM

I was reading the IT roundup of the various parades, and they made special mention of Buenos Aires having no official representation for the second year in a row, despite having the biggest parade in Latin America with some 40k people involved. Considering there is real ancesteral links with this country, and that some of our culture is actively celebrated on a continual basis by the locals, you'd think someone should be sent there from the Oireachtas.

JustinDee · 19-03-2010 12:41PM

Kingdom wrote: »

I was reading the IT roundup of the various parades, and they made special mention of Buenos Aires having no official representation for the second year in a row, despite having the biggest parade in Latin America with some 40k people involved. Considering there is real ancesteral links with this country, and that some of our culture is actively celebrated on a continual basis by the locals, you'd think someone should be sent there from the Oireachtas.

Paddy's Day junkets have bugger all to do with Irish culture.
A minister is abroad to do one thing and that is to sell what Ireland can offer business-wise. Thats all there is to it.

St Patrick's Day foreign trips

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