Why is Cowen at ploughing championships, should he have better things to be doing?

alb · 24-09-2010 01:46AM #1

Are you happy he's doing PR at some festival instead of spending a weekday doing work to fix the economic emergency the country is in? Is his main prerogative currying the vote of the farmer, or is there any other good reason that he should be spending time at this?

*sorry can't edit typo in thread title*

24-09-2010 01:53AM

Maybe there was free drink at it

Absurdum · 24-09-2010 06:41AM

alb wrote: »

instead of spending a weekday doing work to fix the economic emergency the country is in?

the further away he is from this, the better

Nijmegen · 24-09-2010 08:23AM

Ahh now, he was down there eating some pork and saying "That's the main thing!" when told they're Irish.

I suppose if we had another BSE outbreak he'd be a good man to go out and eat burgers up and down the countryside, reassuring us all.

irishconvert · 24-09-2010 08:27AM

I can see it now, lots of idiots slapping him on the back saying "fair play to ya Brian" in response to his drunken interview on Morning Ireland.

Nijmegen · 24-09-2010 08:32AM

irishconvert wrote: »

I can see it now, lots of idiots slapping him on the back saying "fair play to ya Brian" in response to his drunken interview on Morning Ireland.

Was listening to Newstalk, their reporter hung back and everyone said "Nice fella, but I won't be voting for him again."

You could see it as he was walking through the crowds, he's a nice fella, and the Irish are quite polite.

Nody · 24-09-2010 08:39AM

Personally I think going to a poughing championship is a good thing; it will show him how to properly plough down cash into the likes of AIB etc. instead of the current hogwash amateur way of doing it...

Tipp Man · 24-09-2010 09:04AM

Whether people like it or not agriculture is a vital part of our economy, particularly the rural economy. It employs tens of thousands of people, accounts for over 10% of our exports and is a major source of foreign income into this country, it is our largest indienous industry by a country mile, so from that point of view the very minimum that a leader of this country should do is be seen to support it and get a bit involved in it and spend a few hours down there

I have no problem with Cowen (or whoever the leader might be) attending this, and in fact i think it would be shocking if they weren't there

danbohan · 24-09-2010 09:10AM

alb wrote: »

Are you happy he's doing PR at some festival instead of spending a weekday doing work to fix the economic emergency the country is in? Is his main prerogative currying the vote of the farmer, or is there any other good reason that he should be spending time at this?

*sorry can't edit typo in thread title*

, he will do a lot less damage to the country if he went ploughing every day !

jmayo · 24-09-2010 10:55AM

alb wrote: »

Are you happy he's doing PR at some festival instead of spending a weekday doing work to fix the economic emergency the country is in? Is his main prerogative currying the vote of the farmer, or is there any other good reason that he should be spending time at this?

*sorry can't edit typo in thread title*

All party leaders attend including leaders of the so called left like Eamon Gilmore and gerry adams.
The event is offically opened by the president.
Close to 200,000 people attend the event and a lot of business is transacted through the event so stop trying to belittle it as some little festival. :mad:

And as Tipp Man quiet well describes the agriculture industry is a damm big industry for this country, even though some people have a superiority complex regarding farmers and anything related to farming.

When the Dells, HPs, Microsofts and Intels of this world up sticks to China, Poland, etc we still have Irish indigenous companies like The Kerry Group, Glanbia, Enfer, McHale, etc that are world leaders at what they do and bring income into the country rather than use it as a way of cutting tax.

The_Thing · 24-09-2010 11:23AM

A friend of mine who is in his mid twenties is an agricultural mechanic and also a very good welder. He has not been out of work at all due to his chosen trade and even gets phone calls in the middle of the night when some farmer is in need of assistance, and of course he can charge appropriately for the inconvenience of such call-outs.

If more young men had qualified in trades like his instead of hopping on the building boom band-wagon they wouldn't be in the situation they now find themselves in.

mikemac · 24-09-2010 12:56PM

I'm reading countless threads on the need to develop Irish companies that can export and market worldwide.
The Taosieach attends the main annual festival for this sector and it's "should he have better things to be doing?"

It isn't just "some festival"
Every party leader was there, they attend every year

And it's one of the largest area of foreign exports that Ireland has including huge companies like Kerry Group which started as a small local co-op, now trades on the London stock exchange.

And there are many other success stories too
Glenisk was a family owned dairy in Offaly making organic products and received investment from the corporate giant Danone.

Dawn Foods won a €700 million contract to supply Subway beating world wide competition.

Here's one thing we do well in Ireland and then market world-wide!

jmayo · 24-09-2010 04:34PM

In Mayo, a county not noted for industry, there are four agricultural machinery manufacturers.
These export throughout the world and the money they earn ends up back in Ireland and not destined for Silicon valley or Seattle.

Recently a trade mission was carried out by 11 Irish machinery manufacturers to improve exports to France.
These companies have turnovers in excess of €250 million and 60% of that is made up of exports.
It might not seem like much but all the world's big manufacturing conglomerates started off small and not overnight like the stupid yourcountryyourcall dream.

These are the types of companies that have stands at the Ploughing Championship.

It is about time people recognise that it is companies like these that will help pull us out of the sh** and not always running off trying to entice the next call centre in nor bad mouthing farmers at every opportunity.

dan_d · 24-09-2010 05:00PM

Meh.Why wouldn't he be?

Bigger picture. I don't think a day at the ploughing championships is going to cause any harm.

dunsandin · 24-09-2010 05:41PM

Perhaps the title "ploughing championships" is misleading some people(cough cough townies cough) - the ploughing is a side-show to a massive trade convention for the farming and Agri sector, and the farming community will be there long after the smart-ar5e-economy has evaporated.
I too have a friend who is a tractor mechanic, and he works 14 hour days pretty much 7 days a week and still can't get ahead of the work needed to be done, no recession there.
Cowen would have done well to spend three days at the ploughing, because he would have been meeting the cream of Real Irish industry as well as possibly picking up a few tips from people who have to have a rather more down to earth attitude than the flush to bust mugs he usually surrounds himself with.

agriculturally, DS.

hypermuse · 25-09-2010 06:36PM

have to laugh at how every1 thinks Cowen is an absolute disaster... "ah Brian Cowen is shhite.. I dont really no why but it must be all his fault"

What makes you such an expert.. I mean.. What would you do???

An old person would decrease age of retirement and increase pensions

A student would decrease fees and increase grants

An unemployed person would increase the dole

Every1 is just out to look after themselves so perhaps people who dont have a clue what they are shhitting on about should shut up and let the chap do his job! It aint easy doing what he has to in times like this!! there's no right or correct decision to make.. If there was then there wouldnt be a recession!!

If he's at the ploughing championships.. who cares!! He still a human and allowed to attend these things!! plus agriculture is important to Ireland.. unfortunately alot of people cant see that!!!

RANT over!!:)

danjo-xx · 25-09-2010 09:07PM

The Clown should be going around the A/E departments of our hospitals and seeing how the other half are struggling to survive.:mad:

btw is Mary Harney dead!

Awful_Bliss · 25-09-2010 09:20PM

It was like Mary Hanafin pretending to give a sh!te about Katie Taylor winning the world title by turning up at the airport. Makes you sick.

paulaa · 28-09-2010 08:39AM

The man should have been ashamed to show his face at the Ploughing match.
He, his predecessor and the Party's Princess, Coughlin sold out Irish farmers in Europe. Coughlin was a disaster as Min for Agriculture. She did absolutely nothing to stop us losing our sugarbeet industry, she was too busy partying in Brussels.

They favoured the construction industry over farming and as a result of their lack of interest, except when looking for votes, I hold them responsible for the huge rise in suicides by small farmers

jmayo · 28-09-2010 09:04AM

dunsandin wrote: »

Perhaps the title "ploughing championships" is misleading some people(cough cough townies cough) - the ploughing is a side-show to a massive trade convention for the farming and Agri sector, and the farming community will be there long after the smart-ar5e-economy has evaporated.
I too have a friend who is a tractor mechanic, and he works 14 hour days pretty much 7 days a week and still can't get ahead of the work needed to be done, no recession there.
Cowen would have done well to spend three days at the ploughing, because he would have been meeting the cream of Real Irish industry as well as possibly picking up a few tips from people who have to have a rather more down to earth attitude than the flush to bust mugs he usually surrounds himself with.

agriculturally, DS.

It's not that there isn't a recession, it is just fixing farm machines and tractors is kinda essential.
Also it could be pointed out he is busying fixing old machiens and keeping them going because farmers just cannot afford to buy new machines.

hypermuse wrote: »

have to laugh at how every1 thinks Cowen is an absolute disaster... "ah Brian Cowen is shhite.. I dont really no why but it must be all his fault"

What makes you such an expert.. I mean.. What would you do???

An old person would decrease age of retirement and increase pensions

A student would decrease fees and increase grants

An unemployed person would increase the dole

Every1 is just out to look after themselves so perhaps people who dont have a clue what they are shhitting on about should shut up and let the chap do his job! It aint easy doing what he has to in times like this!! there's no right or correct decision to make.. If there was then there wouldnt be a recession!!

If he's at the ploughing championships.. who cares!! He still a human and allowed to attend these things!! plus agriculture is important to Ireland.. unfortunately alot of people cant see that!!!

RANT over!!:)

I agree with most of your post except your defence of a useless eejit who has run this country into the ground.

BTW the word is EVERYONE. :mad:

paulaa wrote: »

The man should have been ashamed to show his face at the Ploughing match.
He, his predecessor and the Party's Princess, Coughlin sold out Irish farmers in Europe. Coughlin was a disaster as Min for Agriculture. She did absolutely nothing to stop us losing our sugarbeet industry, she was too busy partying in Brussels.

They favoured the construction industry over farming and as a result of their lack of interest, except when looking for votes, I hold them responsible for the huge rise in suicides by small farmers

Remember how the IFA had to threaten to vote against Lisbon before they would get off their ars*s and state they would veto the World Trade agreement ala Mendelson.

What really pi**es me off about letting the sugar beet industry go, which it probably was doomed anyway, was that they did not decide to divert the use the factories and the farmers to biofuels.
Thye could have pushed for use of biofuels for state owned public transport and they had ready market for it.

Instead they reward Greencore and decide the best use of the two factories was more appartments and shopping centres/retail parks.

I definetly know Carlow didn't need any more hosuing or more shopping centres/retail parks.

hypermuse · 30-09-2010 12:15PM

jmayo wrote: »

BTW the word is EVERYONE. :mad:

hahahaha!!! a pet hate is it???

flutered · 30-09-2010 08:02PM

if clowen cowen had stayed in offaly 24/7 for the last 15 years me thinks this country would not be as badly off.

Why is Cowen at ploughing championships, should he have better things to be doing?

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