reps finished

The_Conductor

alphamale 1 wrote: »

I know the IFA are plannig a demostration in the North west tomorrow from what i heard.

Farming is becoming an expensive hobby. Its time that the processors start playing ball.

The government will be taken down i think within 6 months. No way it will survivve board snip, lisbon 2, next budget,

The processors aren't the problem- its the buying power of the multinationals that are causing everyone heartache. We know what farmers are making (a pittance- if they're even profitable at all, and thats inclusive of the SFP, REPS and all other direct payments), the processors are up the creek too (look at Glanbias or some of the cooperatives latest results for example)- yet Tesco and their ilk refuse pointedly to tell anyone what their Irish margins are. Even their latest campaign in the media- where they show a 1/3 reduction in a notional trolley of goods- is not hurting their bottom line one little bit- the manufacturers and processors are being made pay for it......

We need to break the stranglehold the retail chains have on the Irish grocery trade. We need farmers to establish a direct link with their end consumers- without expensive middlemen. We need firm proposals on how to get from A to B.

The government assisted in this situation- with the abolition of the groceries order........

Farming always was an expensive business- in the past with production aids we did not have to face up to the reality of the true cost of putting a plate of food on the table. Now that we have freedom to produce as we choose- its a lot more obvious just what a rotten deal we're getting. The funds farmers receive are directly padding the pockets of Tesco shareholders.

Personally I don't think the government is going to fall. I think they will publish the McCarthy report- or leak it, and then use him as a scapegoat for any nasty medicine they have to dole out. It will turn into a blame game- or rather- a blame someone else game. McCarthy himself will be rescued when the Commission on Taxation report lands in September.

The government doesn't have the balls to make hard decisions and sell them to the electorate. Its a case of promoting their own little pet projects- and if something goes wrong- blaming someone else- the media, the civil servants, the public sector, the unpatriotic public for shopping in northern ireland- it always someone else........

Look at it this way- the government falls- then what? We listen to Enda Kenny and his wonderful platitudes for a few weeks- the foreign investors who are actually running this country (keep in mind we borrowed just under 26 billion this year- which isn't a million miles off 60% of entire budget)- run scared and the IMF gets called in.

I'm not saying the government deserve to stay- I'm saying that if you think Enda and friends can unravel the mess- that you're in for a shock........

djmc

I think we should demand a new law that ties purchace price to a percentage of sale price eg minimum 40 per cent for milk of final sale price.
So if farmers are looseing money so are supermarkets and middle men
Lobby everyone on this IFA TDs and a proper tractor protest also
The french block all lanes of the moterway and drive in 1st low all the way
Not like IFA drive to dublin and home again and the goverment just laugh at it

Rujib1

smccarrick wrote: »

The processors aren't the problem- its the buying power of the multinationals that are causing everyone heartache. We know what farmers are making (a pittance- if they're even profitable at all, and thats inclusive of the SFP, REPS and all other direct payments), the processors are up the creek too (look at Glanbias or some of the cooperatives latest results for example)- yet Tesco and their ilk refuse pointedly to tell anyone what their Irish margins are. Even their latest campaign in the media- where they show a 1/3 reduction in a notional trolley of goods- is not hurting their bottom line one little bit- the manufacturers and processors are being made pay for it......

We need to break the stranglehold the retail chains have on the Irish grocery trade. We need farmers to establish a direct link with their end consumers- without expensive middlemen. We need firm proposals on how to get from A to B.

The government assisted in this situation- with the abolition of the groceries order........

Farming always was an expensive business- in the past with production aids we did not have to face up to the reality of the true cost of putting a plate of food on the table. Now that we have freedom to produce as we choose- its a lot more obvious just what a rotten deal we're getting. The funds farmers receive are directly padding the pockets of Tesco shareholders.

Personally I don't think the government is going to fall. I think they will publish the McCarthy report- or leak it, and then use him as a scapegoat for any nasty medicine they have to dole out. It will turn into a blame game- or rather- a blame someone else game. McCarthy himself will be rescued when the Commission on Taxation report lands in September.

The government doesn't have the balls to make hard decisions and sell them to the electorate. Its a case of promoting their own little pet projects- and if something goes wrong- blaming someone else- the media, the civil servants, the public sector, the unpatriotic public for shopping in northern ireland- it always someone else........

Look at it this way- the government falls- then what? We listen to Enda Kenny and his wonderful platitudes for a few weeks- the foreign investors who are actually running this country (keep in mind we borrowed just under 26 billion this year- which isn't a million miles off 60% of entire budget)- run scared and the IMF gets called in.

I'm not saying the government deserve to stay- I'm saying that if you think Enda and friends can unravel the mess- that you're in for a shock........

At long last a sensible post on reps. Good man! Does not matter one little whit, who wins the next election, the medicine will be the same. There is no other show in town.
The thing is, that bad and all as FF are, having the two Brian's stick a rusty needle in my arse, is somewhat less painfull than having Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore standing over me in two white coats :cool:

R

adne

Rujib1 wrote: »

The thing is, that bad and all as FF are, having the two Brian's stick a rusty needle in my arse, is somewhat less painfull than having Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore standing over me in two white coats :cool:

R

At the least some one else deserves a try... the FF Muppets have been in power for too long and we all know what they are capable of.... SFA..... :mad:

Time for a change.....

irish_bob

Rujib1 wrote: »

At long last a sensible post on reps. Good man! Does not matter one little whit, who wins the next election, the medicine will be the same. There is no other show in town.
The thing is, that bad and all as FF are, having the two Brian's stick a rusty needle in my arse, is somewhat less painfull than having Enda Kenny and Eamon Gilmore standing over me in two white coats :cool:

R

spoken like a true fianna failer

Keeperlit

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055617817


Shows the lack of respect the current goverment have......

Rujib1

irish_bob wrote: »

spoken like a true fianna failer

Sorry mate, I ain't no Fianna Failer
My opinion is that Bertie Ahearn and Charlie McCreevey in particular take a lot of the blame for our current predicament. Biffo, too has a lot to answer for, give he was in charge of finance for the past number of budgets.

I believe, Brian Lenihan, is proving to be a capable minister of finance given the awful position he has inherited.

I just cant see Enda Kenny, with Gilmore as his prop, having the necessary balls to do what needs doing.

My general election voting policy, has always been to vote for the opposition, just to ensure we do not get complacent government and opposition parties, inexperienced in government.
That is how I voted in the past several elections, so yes I voted fine Gael.

However in next election I will vote for the existing government as I believe, Kenny and Gilmore have not acted with the future of the country in mind given the awful circumstances we find ourselves in.

We need another Tallaght strategy!

Alan Dukes, deserves a lot of credit, for rescuing us from bankruptcy in the eighties. Pity Kenny cannot follow in his footsteps.

I believe he would be rewarded at the ballot box this time, unlike Dukes in the past.

R1

snowman707

Rujib1 wrote: »

Sorry mate, I ain't no Fianna Failer
My opinion is that Bertie Ahearn and Charlie McCreevey in particular take a lot of the blame for our current predicament. Biffo, too has a lot to answer for, give he was in charge of finance for the past number of budgets.

I believe, Brian Lenihan, is proving to be a capable minister of finance given the awful position he has inherited.

I just cant see Enda Kenny, with Gilmore as his prop, having the necessary balls to do what needs doing.

My general election voting policy, has always been to vote for the opposition, just to ensure we do not get complacent government and opposition parties, inexperienced in government.
That is how I voted in the past several elections, so yes I voted fine Gael.

However in next election I will vote for the existing government as I believe, Kenny and Gilmore have not acted with the future of the country in mind given the awful circumstances we find ourselves in.

We need another Tallaght strategy!

Alan Dukes, deserves a lot of credit, for rescuing us from bankruptcy in the eighties. Pity Kenny cannot follow in his footsteps.

I believe he would be rewarded at the ballot box this time, unlike Dukes in the past.

R1

getting off topic here, but if Kenny leads the next government ,it will be the finish of FG for decades, only man for the job is Richard Bruton,

reilig

A lads, its getting political around here now

Personally, I could not care who leads the government, just as long as they get us out of this mess. I'm as angry as anyone else with the current government, but I just cannot stand Kenny and I do not trust him. I don't think he's the man to lead the country. I'm not anti FG, I just don't like Kenny. I don't think he has what it takes to take the country out of this hole.

Farming was always reliable. If you had a bit of land, you knew that you would survive, even if you lost your day job. But it doesn't look that way now. The next 6 months are going to be a tough 6 months for the country. Economists say that there are 250,000 jobs to be lost before things start to pick up again. Many construction workers that have lost their jobs already, especially outside the cities, have small farms and are relying on them to make ends meet. This round of cuts in agriculture is going to leave a lot of people on the bread line.

Farmers need to wake up and realise what the Govt has done to them. I haven't heard too many protests from other Political Parties. They have hurt us badly. Its time for us to hurt them too. We cannot just sit back and let them ruin agriculture in Ireland.

Towns and cities should be blocaded. Boycotts of supermarkets that are ruining the farming industry. I'm pro Europe and voted Yes on Lisbon last time around, but I feel that a no vote would hurt our government - and Europe should know why we are voting no. I will vote no, but 1 vote is not enough.
WE need to close this stable door before the horse bolts and brings our future with it.

The_Conductor

I voted no the last time- and will be voting no again this time round. I disagree with the dilution of Irish voting rights in Council and Commission- I do not agree that voting rights should be purely reflective of population levels. As the Polish so bluntly put it- they'd have a population twice that of Germany- had they not been invaded so many times. Similarly- the Irish population could well be 5 or 6 times its current level- if history had been kinder to us.......

This time round I'm voting no- because I believe we live in a democracy- and if the people make a democratic choice, it should be honoured by the government. Its the same as the Nice treaty- we are free to vote on it- but only if we vote the 'right' way. Bollox to that.....

Re: Kenny- personally I think he is a massive liability to FG, and I really don't understand why the party has not woken up to how unpopular he is nationally. Richard Bruton is competent, and has the guts to say what needs to be said.

What I really don't know though- is there a sufficient core of competent leaders in the Houses of the Oireachtais willing to put their differences aside in order to make the tough choices and decisions that need to be made- and capable of communicating with the public?

The current shower are playing off the different sectors against each other, and trying to ensure that they have a constant scapegoat in the wings. Thus we have McCarthy out in UCD who will be scapegoated over many of his proposals, and who in turn will be let off the hook by the Commission on Taxation- when they report in September.

Our borrowing this year comes to just under 26 billion- almost 56% of the total government budget (a more frightening statistic than the 12.5% of GNP they like to lob around in the media). All I know is that regardless of how badly we are hurting now- there is a whole lot more hurt in the pipeline.......

alphamale 1

Just heard Beverly Flynn on the Last word AGREEING with IFA president Padraig Walsh into the REPS CUTS. She suggested that the budget for REPS should be divided amongst all existing farmers in the scheme>

blue shimmering

reilig wrote: »

A lads, its getting political around here now

Personally, I could not care who leads the government, just as long as they get us out of this mess. I'm as angry as anyone else with the current government, but I just cannot stand Kenny and I do not trust him. I don't think he's the man to lead the country. I'm not anti FG, I just don't like Kenny. I don't think he has what it takes to take the country out of this hole.

Farming was always reliable. If you had a bit of land, you knew that you would survive, even if you lost your day job. But it doesn't look that way now. The next 6 months are going to be a tough 6 months for the country. Economists say that there are 250,000 jobs to be lost before things start to pick up again. Many construction workers that have lost their jobs already, especially outside the cities, have small farms and are relying on them to make ends meet. This round of cuts in agriculture is going to leave a lot of people on the bread line.

Farmers need to wake up and realise what the Govt has done to them. I haven't heard too many protests from other Political Parties. They have hurt us badly. Its time for us to hurt them too. We cannot just sit back and let them ruin agriculture in Ireland.

Towns and cities should be blocaded. Boycotts of supermarkets that are ruining the farming industry. I'm pro Europe and voted Yes on Lisbon last time around, but I feel that a no vote would hurt our government - and Europe should know why we are voting no. I will vote no, but 1 vote is not enough.
WE need to close this stable door before the horse bolts and brings our future with it.

I agree wholeheartedly with this but leaving politics out of this cannot really happen, the mess we are in has mostly been caused by the banks and the politicians (FF) who turned a blind eye and allowed the situation get worse and worse with the economy becoming very dependent on the construction industry! Who was the Minister for Finance - BC, what did he do.........................................NOTHING, just thought the money would continue to flow in!:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Who are they targeting to pay for this, our your people with introduction of Fees etc, old people with the withdrawal of Medical Cards (having to do a U-turn on it), slap us all with an INCOME LEVY, cut our payments in the last budget, THEN TO CAP IT ALL THEY JUST PULL OUR REPS 4 PAYMENTS! Action is need right now to let the government know that we will not take this lying down, why should be, do they think we can live on fresh air?

No notice at all, where is the farmers charter now? How on earth can we plan anything? No one in any other sector has income taken away with out due notice and subsequent negotiations, THAT IS WHAT WAS DONE TO US! What will they target next? We can be sure it will be US again and it will bring farming to its knees - do they not understand that if we do not have income coming in we will not be able to pay our debts, cover our living costs, as for purchasing anything - forget about it?

So what will happen, the country will go down the swanny much faster and it will take much longer for it to come back up again - if ever it does! I am so mad :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: about what they have done and will be voting No to Lisbon, like I did the last time because why give the government a mandate to stay on in government - believe me they will use it and a stepping stone if passed!

Oh, maybe this time there will be ballot papers that only have YES on the paper and if you do vote NO .....................................IT WILL BE A SPOILT VOTE - HAH, I wouldn't put it past them!

We need to get out there and protest by as many means that are open to us....................boycotting, blockading, protesting at our politicians doors, email them, have meetings to decide what we should do!

We need to do it NOW, right NOW.....................absolutely right NOW!

djmc

A tractor blockade on all lanes of every motorway in dublin and the country would be a good start
I would not be intrested if it were just the slow lane though
All lanes in first low a proper blockade for a fair price for food

The_Conductor

djmc wrote: »

A tractor blockade on all lanes of every motorway in dublin and the country would be a good start
I would not be intrested if it were just the slow lane though
All lanes in first low a proper blockade for a fair price for food

Playing devils advocate here- instead of simply protesting- how about coming up with solid proposals on how to get better food prices for farmers?

E.g.

• Should price controls be reintroduced?
• Should the national organisations be harnessed to organise farmers markets all over the country?
• Should ICOS and the cooperative organisations be pressurised into opening a retail chain to compete with the multinational supermarkets supplying fresh Irish produce to Irish consumers?

How do we want to get from point A to point B......?

Colmm23

I have to agree with Shane on this one, farming needs to a profitable business on a stand alone basis with out depending on the direct payments from the government. The reps payments are supposed to be used to keep the farm enviorenmentally friendly not prop up our profits.
Now dont get me wrong, the government needs to know the anger thats out there amongst the agricultural community and some form of protests do need to take place but the likes of Tesco, Dunnes et al need to be punished somewhat as well, who the hell do they think they are expecting farmers to produce quality products below cost.

This is the time for farmers to act together as a group and show that we need to be listened to, not just give out about it for a day, shrug the shoulders and move on. This time we wont be pushed aside.

Bitten & Hisses

smccarrick wrote: »

• Should price controls be reintroduced?
• Should the national organisations be harnessed to organise farmers markets all over the country?
• Should ICOS and the cooperative organisations be pressurised into opening a retail chain to compete with the multinational supermarkets supplying fresh Irish produce to Irish consumers?

I agree with you that protesting in itself may not achieve what is ultimately needed. I don't personally believe that farmers' markets are the answer to everything. For example, in the case of beef production, you'd need to have slaughtering and chilled storage and distribution to sell at a farmers market.
Price controls would probably be effective, but when the groceries order was in place, there was off-invoice discounting taking place to circumvent the legislation. That is why there was no initial change when the groceries order was repealed.
Opening a retail chain is capital intensive and not an easy thing to do. The marketing might of the existing multiples would be a formidable adversary.

In my opinion, there needs to be a consortium or other body, which will control the supply to the multiples. Think something like the IDB, but with all suppliers 100% on board, a body which will stand up to the multiples and let them go elsewhere if they try to screw the price excessively.