I’m delighted to see that the Macra na Feirme Know Your Neighbour initiative is still going strong after 11 years. When it started, the country was in the grip of the so-called Celtic Tiger and new housing developments were sprouting up at every crossroads. The feeling was that people just didn’t know their neighbours and extending the hand of welcome to the blow-ins was a lovely idea. It might seem like a small thing but a barbecue or a fun afternoon for children can help make people feel welcome and encourage them to get involved in their new community. That can only benefit everyone.

Voluntary effort

That same voluntary effort is also being put to good use right across the country now with show season in full swing.

Having entered bakery classes at Cappamore and Limerick shows, not to mention judging in Tullamore, I’m overawed by the extent of the voluntary commitment people give to these great community events. Every section is manned by volunteers and they depend on people taking the trouble to enter the huge number of classes. Sponsorship has to be sourced. Parking attendants is a whole other area. As is setting up all the stands and rings. Sourcing water, electricity, not to mention health and safety – the list is endless. Yet every year people sign up to the commitment and do it for the love of the event or their community.

And it’s not just Macra or the show committees that rely on voluntary effort. So does the GAA, the IFA, ICA, community games and the myriad charities that support health and social causes. How many of us have waved buckets and badges at people urging them to support a service we are passionate about? And so much of it is done on trust; the volunteers and the donors trust that their euros are being spent wisely and prudently, and are making a difference to the people they are intended to help.

Console spending

So, when the news came out about Console spending huge sums on cars, travel and expensive restaurants, it’s no wonder the cynics have a field day. It’s no wonder too that those who fundraise or give their time are left questioning what they do.

Irish people have a wonderful record of putting their hands in their pockets and supporting charitable causes. That goodness should not be jeopardised by inadequate regulation. I fail to understand how it was RTÉ One’s Prime Time that broke the news on Console and not the Charities Regulator, whose office was established two years ago. I am fed up hearing, after the event, that some regulator didn’t have the authority to ask questions and demand answers.

Why bother with any of them if they can’t do the simple job of ensuring that boards of directors are properly constituted? Or that audit reports are consistent for any given year?

Finally, here in Irish Country Living we depend on your entries to make the FBD National Farmyard Awards work, so please get your entries in to us. Katherine O’Leary has advice on page 10 and the competition details are on here.

And for you early planners, the Women & Agriculture Conference takes place in the Radisson Hotel, Sligo, on Thursday 27 October.