Enda bigs up Irish beef

The Dealer was in attendance at last Saturday’s Fine Gael annual presidential dinner held in Dublin’s Burlington Hotel. Not one to have any political allegiance, the Dealer was there, rather to see what emphasis Taoiseach Enda Kenny would give to Irish agriculture.

After a few minutes of talking about how his government has staved off the troika, as if they were some sort of disease, and the importance of cloud computing, Kenny moved on to agriculture.

He said he will lead a State visit to Japan in the first week of December where he is expected to announce the details of how Irish and EU beef will be exported to the country.

He also said that he has expectations of ‘Irish beef entering the Chinese market’ next November when that country’s prime minister will visit Ireland. He said he hopes to sign an agreement with the prime minister.

Enda reserved praise for Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney saying he had led a recent trade mission of Irish food producers to the Middle East.

If you were to believe a number of the Fine Gael heads in attendance, the Department of Agriculture will be looking for a new minister next year should there be a Cabinet reshuffle. Those who claim to be in the know said Coveney is keen on a more senior portfolio to show his leadership credentials when the position of party leader becomes available in the coming years.

warm-up

In the warm-up speech for Enda, Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald made the startling revelation that our Taoiseach was christened as James Enda Kenny.

A number of the quick witted members of the audience rebranded the Taoiseach JEK, in homage to former US president John Fitzgerald Kennedy, or JFK.

JEK also rode to the rescue of embattled Health Minister Dr James Reilly who has taken considerable flack since his appointment in 2011. ‘Reilly’, as Enda called him, has the ‘most envious’ job in government and that he’s a ‘good man’.

Kenny also created a metaphor that would have made even former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern proud, highlighting the enormity of the task facing Dr Reilly in his position.

“In a way, it’s like trying to change the front wheel of an artic truck driving to Cork, it’s not easy to do this while you’re at the wheel,” he said.