The new agriculture minister

brianthebard · 12-03-2011 02:45AM #1

So every other relevant forum (and some non relevant) have threads on this; why not farming?

What do ye all make of the new appointment of Coveney to agriculture? Personally I don't see what qualifications he has for the position, perhaps he may be better than Coughlan but that's not saying much. Most of the talk surrounding argiculture during the election was about agribusiness, do you think his politics means he will have a better/unique position on this that can help the farmers of the country?

thats interesting · 12-03-2011 07:28AM

He's probably the most qualified.
First he went to Gurteen Ag College, then he went to England to get a degree in Agricultural science and he has some related qualification from UCC. I think he also spent time farming for a bit too.

He'll be very good as Minister.

irishh_bob · 12-03-2011 10:13AM

always found coveny to be a gormless and unimpressive TD

Casinoking · 12-03-2011 11:16AM

brianthebard wrote: »

So every other relevant forum (and some non relevant) have threads on this; why not farming?

What do ye all make of the new appointment of Coveney to agriculture? Personally I don't see what qualifications he has for the position, perhaps he may be better than Coughlan but that's not saying much. Most of the talk surrounding argiculture during the election was about agribusiness, do you think his politics means he will have a better/unique position on this that can help the farmers of the country?

He's certainly the most qualified Minister for Agriculture I can remember, as has already been mentioned, and there was no-one else jumping out for the job

whelan1 · 12-03-2011 11:29AM

if we could get our discussion group payment this week i would say he is great:)

ihatetractors · 12-03-2011 12:06PM

Eu runs Ag in Ireland, What minister is there to impose their will is irrlevant realy

reilig · 12-03-2011 12:19PM

ihatetractors wrote: »

Eu runs Ag in Ireland, What minister is there to impose their will is irrlevant realy

Well if he only attends the EU agriculture ministers meetings he will be ahead of the last guy anyway!!

MidlandsM · 12-03-2011 12:22PM

irishh_bob wrote: »

always found coveny to be a gormless and unimpressive TD

god no, I always found him to be an informed, educated, intelligent man and articulate to when talking to the media. I think he'll serve the industry well.

alleyb · 12-03-2011 12:56PM

i hope he'll do well , i think he'll be a capable minister ,as long as the big farmers don't form his knowledge and thinking, remember ag degree is a plus but doesn't necessary guarantee a great minister. but 2 annoying things he does that may distract him, tweeting :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: and yachts:rolleyes:

irishh_bob · 12-03-2011 01:06PM

MidlandsM wrote: »

god no, I always found him to be an informed, educated, intelligent man and articulate to when talking to the media. I think he'll serve the industry well.

hes not a particulary confident speaker , slow , dull and slow on his feet IMO

Casinoking · 12-03-2011 01:22PM

irishh_bob wrote: »

hes not a particulary confident speaker , slow , dull and slow on his feet IMO

Bertie, of course, is top of a list of politicians who were the complete opposite. And we all know how well they served the people they were charged with representing.

brianthebard · 12-03-2011 01:38PM

thats interesting wrote: »

He's probably the most qualified.
First he went to Gurteen Ag College, then he went to England to get a degree in Agricultural science and he has some related qualification from UCC. I think he also spent time farming for a bit too.

He'll be very good as Minister.

I was not aware of that and thanks for the information. I hope for the sake of Irish farmers that he will be a useful minister, although I don't personally think of him as a particularly good politician.

What do you think of all the talk of agribusiness during the election, what can he deliver there?

Corsendonk · 12-03-2011 01:38PM

Not to forget the appointment of Shane McEntee to Junior Minister for Food, Horticulture and Food Safety. Wiki says he is an ex-farmer and former agriculture sales representative. Does anyone know what type of farming he did?

whelan1 · 12-03-2011 01:46PM

they had a big dairy farm near nobber in meath , mitchelstown farm , his brother is gerry mc entee of meath football fame

MidlandsM · 12-03-2011 02:50PM

irishh_bob wrote: »

hes not a particulary confident speaker , slow , dull and slow on his feet IMO

ahhh come on ,he's none of the above, I think you have a grudge.....are you pissed FF did'nt get back in power eventho' they grossly mismanaged and sold out the country and sh1t on generations to come?

whelan1 · 12-03-2011 03:13PM

after having brendan smith and mary coughlan i think simon coveney will do well in agriculture

MidlandsM · 12-03-2011 03:34PM

whelan1 wrote: »

after having brendan smith and mary coughlan i think simon coveney will do well in agriculture

put like that, yes.

Usually the saying is from BAD to WORSE, with going from Coughlan to Smith, its was WORSE to BAD!

5live · 12-03-2011 03:43PM

As a kerryman, i am delighted a corkman got the job. There is one thing cork farmers arent and that is silent when there is an issue to be resolved in agriculture. I am, however a bit concerned about his family connections with the agrifood sector. Our last cork minister had similar issues which, imo, compromised his impartiality. As to his alleged 'speaking impediments' mentioned previously, i for one would be quite happy if he stayed quiet and did his job rather than spouting inane nonsense and getting his picture taken with a bunch of half dressed models while opening a bag of crisps. Just my 2c worth.:)

irishh_bob · 12-03-2011 05:34PM

Corsendonk wrote: »

Not to forget the appointment of Shane McEntee to Junior Minister for Food, Horticulture and Food Safety. Wiki says he is an ex-farmer and former agriculture sales representative. Does anyone know what type of farming he did?

ive relatives in meath east , mc entee was well rewarded for his defense of enda during the heave last summer , agriculture will suit him but the man is a woefull public speaker

irishh_bob · 12-03-2011 05:35PM

MidlandsM wrote: »

ahhh come on ,he's none of the above, I think you have a grudge.....are you pissed FF did'nt get back in power eventho' they grossly mismanaged and sold out the country and sh1t on generations to come?

i voted FG and FG only

funny man · 12-03-2011 07:41PM

What dose a minister have to do to be classed as a good minister?

whelan1 · 12-03-2011 07:45PM

OUT OF INTEREST WHO WAS THE LAST JUNIOR MINISTER FOR FOOD , WAS THERE ONE ?

5live · 12-03-2011 07:50PM

whelan1 wrote: »

OUT OF INTEREST WHO WAS THE LAST JUNIOR MINISTER FOR FOOD , WAS THERE ONE ?

I believe one Trevor Sargent was minister for organic food before a little indescretion meant he was replaced by another green? Wee Trevor fairly neglected the non organic portion of his portfolio before he left. Was it Ciaran Cuffe that replaced him?

Corsendonk · 12-03-2011 08:30PM

5live wrote: »

I believe one Trevor Sargent was minister for organic food before a little indescretion meant he was replaced by another green? Wee Trevor fairly neglected the non organic portion of his portfolio before he left. Was it Ciaran Cuffe that replaced him?

Well his title was Junior Minister of State for Food and Horticulture but like you said he forgot about conventional food and concentrated on feeding the people of Ireland from farmers markets, Bord Bia scrambled around and produce a couple of suspicious reports on organic sales during his tenure, now we all know civil servants in state bodies wouldn't do that sort of thing to seek favour. Ciran Cuffe took over his brief.

So does McEntee have actually knowledge of the Horticulture brief? Sargent did nothing for the area apart from encourage people to grow their own.

keep going · 12-03-2011 10:24PM

out of curiosty what do you think he should do first. what do you see as the big issue he can do something about

Corsendonk · 13-03-2011 12:15AM

keep going wrote: »

out of curiosty what do you think he should do first. what do you see as the big issue he can do something about

Tackle the major supermarket multiples buying practices, I can't see it happening as they have too much political pull and role out how they create jobs do its at the expense of small retailers.

Birdnuts · 13-03-2011 12:38AM

Corsendonk wrote: »

Well his title was Junior Minister of State for Food and Horticulture but like you said he forgot about conventional food and concentrated on feeding the people of Ireland from farmers markets, Bord Bia scrambled around and produce a couple of suspicious reports on organic sales during his tenure, now we all know civil servants in state bodies wouldn't do that sort of thing to seek favour. Ciran Cuffe took over his brief.

.

A bit of a sweeping statement!! - Ireland is still well behind the curve on organic production compared to the rest of the EU - highlighted by the fact that tens of millions of euros of organics that could be produced here continue to be imported:( - Plus the world-wide market continues to grow in this area(and other added value products) on the back of food scares and increased spending power in developing countries.

PS: As a PT farmer, sportsman and conservationist I was hoping Andrew Doyle would get the gig for junior:(

brianthebard · 13-03-2011 12:41AM

funny man wrote: »

What dose a minister have to do to be classed as a good minister?

Be interested in the job, be willing to learn, to liase with different parties with an interest in his work, help to promote the sector they are working in and to improve or create efficiencies in the department and in the relationship between the department and the people who use the department. Those would be the big ones for me to start with.

snowman707 · 13-03-2011 10:05AM

brianthebard wrote: »

Be interested in the job, be willing to learn, to liase with different parties with an interest in his work, help to promote the sector they are working in and to improve or create efficiencies in the department and in the relationship between the department and the people who use the department. Those would be the big ones for me to start with.

Coveney needs to do a major clean out of the Dept, starting at the top, neither Smith or Coughlin had the ba**s (sorry Mary) to take them on ,

some tough negotiations coming up in Europe for SFP etc

I think given his options Kenny probably picked the best candidate for now, however if proven otherwise I hope kenny has the cop on to take him out

whelan1 · 13-03-2011 10:17AM

will be interesting also to see how james reilly does in health, major reforms needed there, there are alot of wasters in the health system

irishh_bob · 13-03-2011 10:32AM

snowman707 wrote: »

Coveney needs to do a major clean out of the Dept, starting at the top, neither Smith or Coughlin had the ba**s (sorry Mary) to take them on ,

some tough negotiations coming up in Europe for SFP etc

I think given his options Kenny probably picked the best candidate for now, however if proven otherwise I hope kenny has the cop on to take him out

dont expect coveny to rock the boat too much either , the man is no radical , thats for sure

The new agriculture minister

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