The Dealer was slightly bemused by the news that Micheál Martin had taken time out from his busy schedule to officially open a boardroom for the Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI).

The move brought to mind the decision by Charlie Haughey in 1980 to open an extension to a milking parlour in Limerick for his then Fianna Fáil junior minister Michael J Noonan.

Last week the VCI maintained that the opening of the new boardroom represented a “significant step in the continued modernisation of Ireland’s veterinary regulatory framework”.

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In 1980, then minister Noonan claimed his new milking parlour represented a significant step in the continued modernisation of his farmyard.

Two milestone moments for Irish agriculture, obviously.