Farmers See Sense

I was reading today's Farming Independent (as you do) and saw hopeful signs of sense beginning to dawn among the sons of the soil - at least in Joe Barry's contribution in the 'Rural Living' section - where, while bemoaning the loss of REPS, he had the following to say:

"It is easy to point the finger of blame at the mismanagement of the Government finances in recent years. Criticism is easy and, while deserved, it gets us nowhere. Opposition politicians, and especially the members and leader of the Labour party, are strident in their criticism of government but are silent when it comes to making useful suggestions as to how we get ourselves out of this mess. Few will acknowledge the urgent need for huge cuts in social welfare, health and education expenditure. Even fewer will suggest the sale of the Government jet, the reduction in the number of TDs and county councillors, the closure of the Senate, the necessary cuts in child benefits and the essential need to face down the public sector unions. Can you imagine any politician suggesting the sensible idea that healthy, able-bodied people on the dole should give something in return, such as providing community service each week? Or questioning the wisdom of having welfare payments that are double those in Britain. So easier targets are identified initially and REPS was one of these despite its obvious financial and environmental benefits." (Joe Barry, Irish Independent, 11/8/09)

Of course, everything he says is blindingly obvious to everyone but the Government, members of the Dáil, and the public sector unions. But this is where I find Joe Barry's outrage, and by extension that of the farming lobby, to be a bit hard to stomach. Barry and his fellow farmers were only too happy to participate in the fraud on the public that was the social partnership process. As part of that process, they were only too happy to wave through the benchmarking fiasco - which no government minister has yet denied was an embezzling of money from the private sector to buy off the public sector unions. And the farmers were only too happy to hold the Irish environment to ransom until they were effectively bribed with European and Irish taxpayers' money to do what any decent person would have done as a matter of course, i.e. stop polluting the Irish countryside.

So come on Joe Barry, turn that forensic eye away from the faults of others and towards you and your fellow farmers' many failings. Perhaps then the Irish taxpayer may be more inclined to accept your help in the battle to save our money from wasters.