The United Kingdom of Great britain and Northern Ireland - the UK.

Remind me, Northern where?
And who exactly administers it? Would they be Irish people by any chance? Born in Ireland? Raised and living in Ireland?

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This really boils my piss!

Taxpayers money should not be going abroad for these contracts. Even if they are 15-20% more expensive here the net effect on the economy would outweigh the additional cost. The tenders can be written to the advantage of Irish companies.....tenders are targeted to specific vendors in the private sector all the time.

Which State has legal juristiction over Northern Ireland?
I think you will find that it is not the Gov't of the Republic of Ireland, ie. not the shower we have in Dáil Eireann.

As to printing in Ireland of items for Irish users, particularly State bodies, the printing should be done here.

Personally, any print jobs I can't handle for myself, I farm out to local printers. Even if it's a bit more expensive than a foreign printer. Reason? I can easily speak face-to-face with the printer here to get exactly what I want. Plus, it's faster to get the finished product.

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The enemy of my enemy is the enemy of my enemy.

Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action.

There are lies, damn lies and debatable points. "I'm not shouting, I'm making an assertive point." M. Martin

The word our Minister for Finance used was " unpatriotic" if we did not shop local...

I agree its not unpatriotic to shop in the north, most people think the same! It is sarcasm directed at the Minister for saying that..

Newry & Mourne/Co Louth work together to promote cross border trade, as far as I am aware as do most border counties, it is just a bit rediculous for the Chamber of Commerce to come out with a statement to promote shop local and they themselves dont get their material printed locally.. Its a contradiction...
They should have said shop in both areas..

Never ceases to amaze me how so many supposedly cosmopolitan people in Ireland can be so parochial - and I'm looking at you, Mr. Cochrane. If it's the loss of tax revenue due to taxes on the printing going to the British state, that might indeed be a - tiny - issue.

The idea that Irish people are only "really" Irish by virtue of inhabiting the 26 counties might come as something of a surprise to the many emmigrants among the diaspora in other countries. Or rather, actually it wouldn't. Eaten bread is soon forgotten and all that.

It's pretty perverse to consider that patriotism now consists of completely ignoring the deep historical, and cultural ties (not to mention political - even FG calls itself the "United Ireland Party") across the traditional national territory. You're actually proud of being that senslessly parochial, of worshipping the limitations the state, as opposed to respecting the natural hinterlands of people? Greasy fingers in the till, indeed.

It's like a bad Cork joke - real patriots don't shop in Kerry. But you take this seriously?

[Edit]
And just to clarify: if you are going to encourage people to shop local, then you should lead by example and shop local. Getting two quotes "down South" (this is Dixieland?) in Cork and Offaly for example, doesn't necessarily imply that - any more than if they got it in Belfast. But the Big Bad Alien North and their Strange Foreigners is arguably a lot closer to Dundalk than much of the rest of Ireland.

Dundalk is a crap town anyway.

Stupid, stupid sensationalist journalism.

Look, the State (or taxpayer as the anti public service crowd here call them) is legally obliged to takes the best offer from any tender from an EU member state. The best being, most economically advantageous tender. It cannot award tenders to firms just becasue they are in Ireland. It's illegal.

If astate body, OPW being the one quoted, are involved, then its a legal pre-requiste. If it was the Chamers (private group??), then the rules don't apply.

OPW have no other legal option but to award it to best tender or risk getting sued.

Not very patriotic of them.

Are you talking about the civil servants or the Govt? Most powers of govt still reside with Westminister, Stormont has fewer powers than a German regional govt.

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