I was given quite the ring-around last Friday. Unfortunately, yours truly is one of only 4,000 farmers not to receive their 70% advanced BPS payment. With a couple of bills beginning to stack up, I decided to contact the Department of Agriculture for an update.
What followed will leave Mrs Dealer wondering what caused the spike in the phone bill. Attempt one was a call to the main line, where someone at reception put me through to someone in payments. There my call was not answered until the third attempt.
Once through, I was told I needed to speak to someone in the Portlaoise office. I was transferred through, where my call again went unanswered. On attempt two, I received an answer. Unfortunately, my perseverance was without reward as I was told that I was part of a stack and when I was cleared for payment, I would receive my payment.
So much for good things coming to those who wait.
May: the leader without followers
UK prime minister Theresa May can often be heard saying “leadership is about making decisions”.
But she is in a different orbit to the rest of the Conservative party and the UK, former CEO of Kerry Group Denis Brosnan told the Nuffield conference last Friday.
“Leadership is about bringing all the followers with you to believe in the decisions. If all the followers are left behind, they can hardly be the right decisions,” Brosnan said.
“If you think you are a leader but you are not influencing people or no one is following you, there is no point in living in that cloud by yourself.”
Strong words coming from a man who spent 30 years building Kerry Group into the leading food ingredient supplier worldwide.
If you think you are a leader but ... no one is following you, there is no point in living in that cloud by yourself – Denis Brosnan.
Overcoming Holy Communion flashbacks
Public speaking can put the fear of God into the most practised politician, so I would like to commend Limerick farmer Mick Costello, who told a Biological Farming Conference recently: “The last time I gave a talk to a roomful of people it was for a prayer of the faithful at my Holy Communion.” As it turned out he and his fellow speakers had little need for divine intervention and gave a solid account of the facts and figures around biological farming.
I hear that Sean Farrell, who has headed up the agri division of Bank of Ireland for the last seven years, is moving on to pastures new at the end of the year.
He is to take up a new position as head of product development with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland.
In the new role, he will be responsible for developing new funding for the agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprise sectors.
Sean Farrell is moving from Bank of Ireland to SBCI.
Apparently Santa’s four-legged helpers have incredibly sensitive stomachs, as The Dealer recently saw “magic” reindeer hay for sale in a Kilkenny shop.
Retailing at €10/bale, with an average reindeer bale size a fraction of the size of an average small square bale, it would appear that reindeer not only have a delicate constitution but an expensive palate.
The bale itself appears to be a little rushy, but maybe that’s just how Rudolph and Co like it.
Kepak will donate 4.2t of meat to the Simon Community over the winter, providing the centrepiece of 45,000 meals served by the charity to homeless people in Dublin, Limerick and Cork.
This will reduce the Simon Community’s meat costs by almost 30% and allow savings to be redirected to other much-needed services, such as housing and healthcare for the growing population affected by the continuing homelessness crisis.
It seems Revenue is taking away allowances from PAYE workers. The flat-rate expenses allowance is long established and recognises the costs incurred in the purchase of uniforms and work equipment. Among the first to be targeted are agricultural advisers, with the likes of nurses and retail workers also in the firing line.
An allowance for overalls and wellies – that’s what broke the country 10 years ago. It definitely wasn’t the billionaire builders or the banks.
Up to 300 student gardaí are to put their shoulder to the plough in a bid to raise money for the mental health charity, the Samaritans.
The charity plough event will take place at the end of this month in Gurteen Agricultural College and is guaranteed to be a day for the history books. Mr and Mrs Dealer already have plans to make a day trip of it.
I was in a rush last weekend to get the farm sorted before heading out for the anniversary dinner with Mrs Dealer.
Leaving the stock chomping on their dinner, I took myself upstairs. Arriving down in grand style – and only five minutes late – I expected my good lady wife to be overcome with marital emotion. Not so.
The discerning Mrs Dealer wrinkled her nose. It seems the splash of eau de cologne hadn’t quite managed to conceal the eau de silage.
I was given quite the ring-around last Friday. Unfortunately, yours truly is one of only 4,000 farmers not to receive their 70% advanced BPS payment. With a couple of bills beginning to stack up, I decided to contact the Department of Agriculture for an update.
What followed will leave Mrs Dealer wondering what caused the spike in the phone bill. Attempt one was a call to the main line, where someone at reception put me through to someone in payments. There my call was not answered until the third attempt.
Once through, I was told I needed to speak to someone in the Portlaoise office. I was transferred through, where my call again went unanswered. On attempt two, I received an answer. Unfortunately, my perseverance was without reward as I was told that I was part of a stack and when I was cleared for payment, I would receive my payment.
So much for good things coming to those who wait.
May: the leader without followers
UK prime minister Theresa May can often be heard saying “leadership is about making decisions”.
But she is in a different orbit to the rest of the Conservative party and the UK, former CEO of Kerry Group Denis Brosnan told the Nuffield conference last Friday.
“Leadership is about bringing all the followers with you to believe in the decisions. If all the followers are left behind, they can hardly be the right decisions,” Brosnan said.
“If you think you are a leader but you are not influencing people or no one is following you, there is no point in living in that cloud by yourself.”
Strong words coming from a man who spent 30 years building Kerry Group into the leading food ingredient supplier worldwide.
If you think you are a leader but ... no one is following you, there is no point in living in that cloud by yourself – Denis Brosnan.
Overcoming Holy Communion flashbacks
Public speaking can put the fear of God into the most practised politician, so I would like to commend Limerick farmer Mick Costello, who told a Biological Farming Conference recently: “The last time I gave a talk to a roomful of people it was for a prayer of the faithful at my Holy Communion.” As it turned out he and his fellow speakers had little need for divine intervention and gave a solid account of the facts and figures around biological farming.
I hear that Sean Farrell, who has headed up the agri division of Bank of Ireland for the last seven years, is moving on to pastures new at the end of the year.
He is to take up a new position as head of product development with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland.
In the new role, he will be responsible for developing new funding for the agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprise sectors.
Sean Farrell is moving from Bank of Ireland to SBCI.
Apparently Santa’s four-legged helpers have incredibly sensitive stomachs, as The Dealer recently saw “magic” reindeer hay for sale in a Kilkenny shop.
Retailing at €10/bale, with an average reindeer bale size a fraction of the size of an average small square bale, it would appear that reindeer not only have a delicate constitution but an expensive palate.
The bale itself appears to be a little rushy, but maybe that’s just how Rudolph and Co like it.
Kepak will donate 4.2t of meat to the Simon Community over the winter, providing the centrepiece of 45,000 meals served by the charity to homeless people in Dublin, Limerick and Cork.
This will reduce the Simon Community’s meat costs by almost 30% and allow savings to be redirected to other much-needed services, such as housing and healthcare for the growing population affected by the continuing homelessness crisis.
It seems Revenue is taking away allowances from PAYE workers. The flat-rate expenses allowance is long established and recognises the costs incurred in the purchase of uniforms and work equipment. Among the first to be targeted are agricultural advisers, with the likes of nurses and retail workers also in the firing line.
An allowance for overalls and wellies – that’s what broke the country 10 years ago. It definitely wasn’t the billionaire builders or the banks.
Up to 300 student gardaí are to put their shoulder to the plough in a bid to raise money for the mental health charity, the Samaritans.
The charity plough event will take place at the end of this month in Gurteen Agricultural College and is guaranteed to be a day for the history books. Mr and Mrs Dealer already have plans to make a day trip of it.
I was in a rush last weekend to get the farm sorted before heading out for the anniversary dinner with Mrs Dealer.
Leaving the stock chomping on their dinner, I took myself upstairs. Arriving down in grand style – and only five minutes late – I expected my good lady wife to be overcome with marital emotion. Not so.
The discerning Mrs Dealer wrinkled her nose. It seems the splash of eau de cologne hadn’t quite managed to conceal the eau de silage.
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