Politicians - trips abroad for Paddys

DeeFox said:
Am I the only one who hopes they won't come back?:)
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They are not long back from their Xmas holidays and then they go gallivanting again at taxpayers expense on foreign jaunts. What a shower.
 
Have to laugh at all these junkets.

As someone suggested on the radio yesterday, if they want to promote us around the world, why don't they fly foreign leaders INTO Ireland during the St. Patricks weekend to show them OUR country.

Would make more sense.

And I have to laugh at the crowd we have in NI. Jeffrey Donaldson, who is probably one of the most 'I'm not Irish, I'm British' politicians you could ever meet is jetting off to the US (Boston or New York I believe) with Martin McGuinness for the Paddys Day junket. Finds it hard to sit at the same table as him, but will jet off to a 5 star hotel at the tax-payers expense with him;)
 
rabbit said:
They are not long back from their Xmas holidays and then they go gallivanting again at taxpayers expense on foreign jaunts. What a shower.
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At who's expense should our elected representatives be sent abroad to promote our country? It's difficult to believe the amount of 'shock horror' that has emerged from RTE's 'investigative journalism' that 'discovered' (a) ministers actually went abroad to promote Ireland on Paddy's day (b) they actually had the nerve to stay in hotels (c) they hired a car to bring them about. What is it we expect our Ministers to do when they are representing us abroad? Hire an auld banger and drive themselves about to meet with the local business leaders... sit down in ecomony wedged in for the long-haul ..... and perhaps stay in a run-down hotel in a dodgy part of town? If you are abroad looking for hundreds of millions of foreign direct investment, you have to create a good impression. Short and simple. Penny-pinching on the cost of car hire and hotels is about as short-sighted as it gets.
 
At who's expense should our elected representatives be sent abroad to promote our country? It's difficult to believe the amount of 'shock horror' that has emerged from RTE's 'investigative journalism' that 'discovered' (a) ministers actually went abroad to promote Ireland on Paddy's day (b) they actually had the nerve to stay in hotels (c) they hired a car to bring them about. What is it we expect our Ministers to do when they are representing us abroad?
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What do they mean, promoting us abroad? - I'd rather they didn't.
The money would be far, far better spend given to small companies so that they could really promote themselves abroad, rather than clueless TDs. (for example)
Actually, the money would be of better use for virtually anything else, including toilet paper.
 
roland said:
At who's expense should our elected representatives be sent abroad to promote our country? It's difficult to believe the amount of 'shock horror' that has emerged from RTE's 'investigative journalism' that 'discovered' (a) ministers actually went abroad to promote Ireland on Paddy's day (b) they actually had the nerve to stay in hotels (c) they hired a car to bring them about. What is it we expect our Ministers to do when they are representing us abroad? Hire an auld banger and drive themselves about to meet with the local business leaders... sit down in ecomony wedged in for the long-haul ..... and perhaps stay in a run-down hotel in a dodgy part of town? If you are abroad looking for hundreds of millions of foreign direct investment, you have to create a good impression. Short and simple. Penny-pinching on the cost of car hire and hotels is about as short-sighted as it gets.
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I agree with you. Politicians work long and hard and get little but abuse for their efforts. I'm sure most of them would rather be at home for the weekend.
 
roland said:
What is it we expect our Ministers to do when they are representing us abroad? .......Penny-pinching on the cost of car hire and hotels is about as short-sighted as it gets.
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I expect them to be able to get a hotel room for less than 1500 per night. But it's okay, sure they're promoting us.
 
a trip for 5 for a few days to the states costing €75,000 seems a wee bit over the top. bet Warren would have done it for a fraction of the cost and attracted 1000 times the amount of interest in anything he was promoting.
 
Purple said:
I agree with you. Politicians work long and hard and get little but abuse for their efforts. I'm sure most of them would rather be at home for the weekend.
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Long + hard ? Sure they are not back from their Xmas holidays, and in another few months will be getting their long summer holidays.

I remember a foreign manager of a multinational here chatting to me about our country once, and he compared most of our politicians to third world politians. Certainly the corruption, junkets and 1500 dollar a night foreign hotel stays did not impress him. Even the county councillors down the country go abroad at taxpayers expense. After all, Ireland is a small little country, about the same size as many cities the world.
 
cole said:
I expect them to be able to get a hotel room for less than 1500 per night. But it's okay, sure they're promoting us.
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Sure, take one extreme example, without any context given, and use that as a stick to beat the whole government. Charming.

For example, did RTE investigate and explain if there was any wider context to the expensive suite? Oh God no, sure that might require them to actually do some proper investigation. Perhaps the Minister was meeting important business people, and used the suite as the meeting place. Did RTE investigate if others hired less expensive hotel rooms, but then went on to hire other meeting rooms separately? How many people used the suite? Would it have been better to stay out of town in a cheap motel so the headline room rate is kept low for the RTE hacks, but then spend money to get in and out of town?

Would you prefer that nobody promotes us abroad or how do you propose it's done?
 
rabbit said:
Long + hard ? Sure they are not back from their Xmas holidays, and in another few months will be getting their long summer holidays.
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This is another old turkey dragged up by RTE and the Daily Star when they can't fill their news slots.....and then fed to masses looking for the next reason to throw their eyes up to heaven at the politicians they elected. Do you actually know any politicians and the hours they work? The Dail might be at recess during these periods, but this doesn't equate to 'holidays'. If it's so attractive and life was so easy being a politician, why the hell isn't the whole nation clambouring to be elected? You know damn well why they aren't - most of us wouldn't touch the job with a barge pole.
 
Would you prefer that nobody promotes us abroad or how do you propose it's done?
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I would prefer to spend my own money promoting my own company abroad, rather than be forced to pay for some TD's junket.
 
roland said:
This is another old turkey dragged up by RTE and the Daily Star when they can't fill their news slots.....and then fed to masses looking for the next reason to throw their eyes up to heaven at the politicians they elected. Do you actually know any politicians and the hours they work? The Dail might be at recess during these periods, but this doesn't equate to 'holidays'. If it's so attractive and life was so easy being a politician, why the hell isn't the whole nation clambouring to be elected? You know damn well why they aren't - most of us wouldn't touch the job with a barge pole.
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Agreed.

leghorn said:
I would prefer to spend my own money promoting my own company abroad, rather than be forced to pay for some TD's junket.
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Considering the billions which are being spent handing people new homes in Dublin and Limerick because they wrecked their old ones, and all the other vast waste of public money which takes place every day, I have no problem with a tiny proportion of tax payers money being spent promoting Ireland and Irish companies abroad.
 
cuchulainn said:
bet Warren would have done it for a fraction of the cost and attracted 1000 times the amount of interest in anything he was promoting.
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Eh . . Warren Buffett ? :confused:

Purple said:
Agreed.


Considering the billions which are being spent handing people new homes in Dublin and Limerick because they wrecked their old ones,
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Are you referring to Council dwellings ? :confused:
 
Considering the billions which are being spent handing people new homes in Dublin and Limerick because they wrecked their old ones, and all the other vast waste of public money which takes place every day, I have no problem with a tiny proportion of tax payers money being spent promoting Ireland and Irish companies abroad.
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Even though there is a 'vast waste of public money', you don't mind even more public money being wasted on what I would regard as TD's junkets?
I would prefer that no public money was wasted at all.
 
Complainer said:
Can I ask who the 'they' refers to in this sentence?
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The people who wrecked the homes in the areas of Limerick and Dublin that were given to them by the tax payers of this country which are now being knocked down and replaced by the same tax payers.
 
Purple said:
The people who wrecked the homes in the areas of Limerick and Dublin that were given to them by the tax payers of this country which are now being knocked down and replaced by the same tax payers.
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Seems to be lots of assumptions here, i.e.
- people who live in council houses don't pay tax
- people wrecked their own houses
 
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