Irish Politicians - Profiles in Cowardice

[MichaelHennigan]

It has taken TCD agriculture professor Alan Matthews and EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel to challenge the scaremongering of the IFA on the current trade talks in Geneva.

The claims regarding potential job losses simply are not credible.

The politicians of the two main political parties are running scared of the IFA but is there any other national politician who would make a case for the 97% of exports that come from the manufacturing and services sectors?

Beyond, the current issue, it's indeed rare to find Irish politicians willing to sail against the wind and challenge conventional wisdom.

Collective power and wealth is what counts in getting the attention of politicians. The individual is simply left with the illusion of access via the daisy chain letter routine of the messenger boy clientism system.

Irish Farmers and Sacred Cows

[atlantic]

Don't the EU spent 70% of its budget on farmers?

It has taken TCD agriculture professor Alan Matthews and EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel to challenge the scaremongering of the IFA on the current trade talks in Geneva.

The claims regarding potential job losses simply are not credible.

The politicians of the two main political parties are running scared of the IFA but is there any other national politician who would make a case for the 97% of exports that come from the manufacturing and services sectors?

Beyond, the current issue, it's indeed rare to find Irish politicians willing to sail against the wind and challenge conventional wisdom.

Collective power and wealth is what counts in getting the attention of politicians. The individual is simply left with the illusion of access via the daisy chain letter routine of the messenger boy clientism system.

Irish Farmers and Sacred Cows

[soubresauts]

Good thread title!

[tonys]

Ah yes indeed, it’s because they’re Irish you see.

[Cael]

It seems incredible that wealthy landowners are compensated for being wealthy and landed, and the more wealthy and landed they are the more they are compensated. Ireland's top farm dole men recieve up to €400,000 each. The English royal family are among the top EU farm doleys. And we see foreign workers in Ireland, doing sh1t jobs and living three to a room in dirty damp flats, paying taxes to compensate these millionaires for being rich

[sparkey321]

It seems incredible that wealthy landowners are compensated for being wealthy and landed, and the more wealthy and landed they are the more they are compensated. Ireland's top farm dole men recieve up to €400,000 each. The English royal family are among the top EU farm doleys. And we see foreign workers in Ireland, doing sh1t jobs and living three to a room in dirty damp flats, paying taxes to compensate these millionaires for being rich

Cael

You never ever cease to amaze me with the crap you spout.

I am no fan of the farmers or the IFA but the vast majority of Irish Farmers are small farmers and far from millionaires. (even with the hugely inflated value of the land they farm most of them still don't qualify).

Your commie rhetoric is one thing but can you please try and keep at least within the same universe as reality.

[Cael]

It seems incredible that wealthy landowners are compensated for being wealthy and landed, and the more wealthy and landed they are the more they are compensated. Ireland's top farm dole men recieve up to €400,000 each. The English royal family are among the top EU farm doleys. And we see foreign workers in Ireland, doing sh1t jobs and living three to a room in dirty damp flats, paying taxes to compensate these millionaires for being rich

Cael

You never ever cease to amaze me with the crap you spout.

I am no fan of the farmers or the IFA but the vast majority of Irish Farmers are small farmers and far from millionaires. (even with the hugely inflated value of the land they farm most of them still don't qualify).

Your commie rhetoric is one thing but can you please try and keep at least within the same universe as reality.

Yes the majority of Irish farmers are small farmers, and there is a certain legal minimum amount every citizen is supposed to recieve per week. Something less than 200 euro per week I believe. If a farmer is not able to make this then I have no problem with him recieving the dole. However, many farmers are getting farmers dole of over €20,000 per year and some farmers are getting dole of up to €400,000 a year. The more landed wealth you have, the more farmers dole you get. Now given that only 8% of Irish farmers are under 35, I really dont see why young city dwellers, living in cramped flats, should be handing over their money to old and middle aged men living on hundreds of acres of land. I dont see any justice or social benefit to that. We have recently had a minister calling payments to single mothers into question. Well, as far as I know, no single mother is getting €400,000 a year in handouts, nor are single mothers using their dole to buy land in Germany and Britian (because they dont really need it and have nothing else to do with it.) And the funny thing is, coming from a rural backround myself, I know that farmers look down on the landless spailpíns who pay them these handouts.

[MichaelHennigan]

It seems incredible that wealthy landowners are compensated for being wealthy and landed, and the more wealthy and landed they are the more they are compensated. Ireland's top farm dole men recieve up to €400,000 each. The English royal family are among the top EU farm doleys. And we see foreign workers in Ireland, doing sh1t jobs and living three to a room in dirty damp flats, paying taxes to compensate these millionaires for being rich

Cael

You never ever cease to amaze me with the crap you spout.

I am no fan of the farmers or the IFA but the vast majority of Irish Farmers are small farmers and far from millionaires. (even with the hugely inflated value of the land they farm most of them still don't qualify).

Your commie rhetoric is one thing but can you please try and keep at least within the same universe as reality.

You may not be a fan of the IFA but you parrot a line that they have been successful in popularising.

There are 36,000 commercial farmers and to suggest that the €4.2 billion for roadbuilding land purchases and the multiple of that figure which farmers have collected from development land sales since 1990, is an inconsequential issue, is ridiculous.

Who pays for the huge sums that are transferred to farmers via the corrupt rezoning system?

Agricultural land is selling for €60,000 a hectare - €24,000 an acre - and there are many more millionaires than you imply.

The current system may not be communism but farmers on public welfare via the CAP, are able to command huge sums from sale of development land and are benefiting from a hybrid of socialism and crony capitalism.

BTW, the Kenny report from a group created by the Government recommended in 1973, that farmers selling development land should get the agricultural value plus 25% - not 100 or more times.

[Cael]

It seems to me that if farmers cannot survive without taxpayers money, then any money given to them should be in return for equity in their land. The urban taxpayer has already bought some of these farms many times over with the money they have handed over. Where is our equity? What are we paying for?

[atlantic]

It seems incredible that wealthy landowners are compensated for being wealthy and landed, and the more wealthy and landed they are the more they are compensated. Ireland's top farm dole men recieve up to €400,000 each. The English royal family are among the top EU farm doleys. And we see foreign workers in Ireland, doing sh1t jobs and living three to a room in dirty damp flats, paying taxes to compensate these millionaires for being rich

Cael

You never ever cease to amaze me with the crap you spout.

I am no fan of the farmers or the IFA but the vast majority of Irish Farmers are small farmers and far from millionaires. (even with the hugely inflated value of the land they farm most of them still don't qualify).

Your commie rhetoric is one thing but can you please try and keep at least within the same universe as reality.

You may not be a fan of the IFA but you parrot a line that they have been successful in popularising.
I was trying to find something to describe Ireland ,and you have hit the nail on the head.
There are 36,000 commercial farmers and to suggest that the €4.2 billion for roadbuilding land purchases and the multiple of that figure which farmers have collected from development land sales since 1990, is an inconsequential issue, is ridiculous.

Who pays for the huge sums that are transferred to farmers via the corrupt rezoning system?

Agricultural land is selling for €60,000 a hectare - €24,000 an acre - and there are many more millionaires than you imply.

The current system may not be communism but farmers on public welfare via the CAP, are able to command huge sums from sale of development land and are benefiting from a [color=#FF4000]hybrid of socialism and crony capitalism.[/color]

BTW, the Kenny report from a group created by the Government recommended in 1973, that farmers selling development land should get the agricultural value plus 25% - not 100 or more times.