Last Saturday  a group of farmrs staged a protest demonstration in Cavan town against the restrictions that have been put in place on the REPS scheme. They had hoped to meet minister for agriculture Brendan Smith, but the minister – he no show up senor.

Brendan probably feared that he would have got a rough reception, but he’s been in politics long enough to deal with harsh words. What’s more I’m sure that no matter how angry the farmers were he could have brought his personality (which has seen him constantly elected in this constituency) to bear on the situation.

But his non-appearance smacked of cowardice. Surely he wasn’t afraid of a crowd of farmers (probably from the arse=hole of God-knows-where)? What could they have done to him – shower him with pig shit?

Such no-shows are I fear a part of government policy. The people may be revolting but ministers are being told to ignore the whingers.. When they appear they do so with the “people who matter”, in whose interest the economy is being driven and who will pull the nation out of its economic difficulties, and who will get richer in the attempt anyway and may give us a few bob in recompense while they’re at it.

I believe the demonstrators then hung the minister in efegy, but it wouldn’t have been accurate unless they had castrated the dummy first.