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TRAVEL IS PART and parcel of Richard Bruton’s ministerial portfolio and the Fine Gael TD headed off on his 20th trade mission in 38 months this morning.
The Jobs Minister will take in six cities over five days in the US. It will be his ninth visit to America since taking office.
His first stop is Texas where he will accompany 27 Enterprise Ireland companies. During his two days in Houston and Austin, he will attend 14 meetings and events targeting opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
From there, he will switch gear, hoping to woo and charm 10 multinational companies in the Chicago area.
Over the remaining three days, there will be one-on-one meetings with the global firms, which have a particular focus on pharma, medical devices and technology.
The government confirmed today that it has doubled the number of trade missions undertaken since it took office.
It said there will be a media blitz in the US “as part of the strategy to communicate Ireland’s recovery around the world”.
Bruton will also meet Texas Governor Rick Perry.
In the past three years, Bruton has visited India, Saudi Arabia, India, Canada, France, China, the Gulf, Singapore, Malaysia and Germany, as well as the US eight times.
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1 politician I can actually admit is doing a good job and doing what needs to be done. Not many multi-national business deals are done by text message
Sure he will stay in 5 star hotels . While the homeless in Ireland will sleep on the street !
Michael
What a thoroughly ignorant and uninformed contribution! Do you want the Minister to sleep in homeless shelters in the US cities he visits as a part of his work to attract foreign Companies to invest here and create jobs.
You would be better off attending some remedial education course rather than posting such complete drivel while also making a complete fool of yourself.
I can see where your coming from . As will the homeless . Thank you .
Loser.
@michael Are you suggesting we send homeless people abroad to drum up fdi? (Even by interney standards that’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.)
Well it’s your idea not mine .
And make sure to put those homeless people in 5star hotels while representing us.
But why ,shure arnt we part of this monster EU ,500 million members ,maybe he knows something our people dont dont know ,the breakup of this EU ,jeez it would be great ,reverse this invasion of our country ,revoke these happymeal Irish passports handout like confetti ,who knows
TheJournal love their tabloid headlines, “20th trip”. This is all to encourage comments and people giving out.
These trips have gained a lot of business for tourism and my only complaint is that he has only down twenty he should be on 50, we are an exporting economy and need to gain new markets all the time.
Hi Paul,
The headline isn’t framed as a negative – it’s an interesting line, given the government has doubled the number of trade trips since taking office. Which, as you have pointed to, has been seen as a positive in terms of job creation and investment.
Thanks
Sinéad
Then I’d suggest you don’t know your audience Sinead. Such a headline could only stir up the majority on here, who are anti any kind of effort made by the government to get us out of the mess we are in.
And why is it up to commenters to make the point that a doubling of efforts to secure jobs is a good thing?
Why not ‘Bruton to visit 6 cities in 5 days’?
Hi Alan, Donncha,
This isn’t an analysis or opinion piece. It’s just straight reportage of the facts – it would not be appropriate in such a report to put forward my view on whether it is a good thing or not.
Usually, there is a choice of headline Donncha. This being the 20th trip of his term in office was pointed out by his Department and is interesting.
Thanks
Sinead
Sinead
Personally speaking I wouldn’t have a problem with you or your colleagues expressing an opinion on any article.
If anything it could make for a better debate.
Tough audience today…
I really don’t see a problem. Bruton is travelling increase investment and employment; the high number is a credit to this venture.
“Personally speaking I wouldn’t have a problem with you or your colleagues expressing an opinion on any article.”
That’s because you don’t know the first thing about journalism and you get all your news from conspiracy sights that present opinion and fiction as fact.
sights=sites.
More cynical click bait. Paul your comment was vindicated when you read the opinions below. Lowest common denominator stuff here.
Hopefully he can being a few home.
Man’s working his ass off whatever you think of his government and its policies.
I have a lot of apathy for most politicians these days, but I’ve always liked Richard Bruton. Hopefully he’ll be reasonably successful in these trips he is doing.
Have to agree with you .I guess for a lot of the trade expos having a senior govt member on board helps open doors..Cant help but wonder what kind of taoiseach he would have been , had the heave been successful.
Most effective and competent for brief of Enterprise IMO. Horses for courses and all of that!
Whilst Richard Bruton would have made an excellent Taoiseach, I’m glad he is the Minister with Enterprise portfolio. He is a pragmatist, with an economist background, and fully appreciates and understands what has to be done internationally to get Ireland back on track, economically.
Less bulls**t attached to DOE role, which I’d say suits Richard.
Will all you FG lickasses read the article below this one on medical card and hang your heads in shame please !
@Michael; I’m not a Fine Gael lick-ass by any means, but that doesn’t mean credit isn’t deserved where credit is due.
Enda cheerleaders are in today obviously !
Texas is a tech state more so than most is it not ?
Is Enterprise Ireland not able to do its own job without having this clown with them? What are we paying them for if not?
They are mot mutually exclusive, the benefit of having the senior Minister there is obvious, even if you are biased.
If it was the senior minister of your favourite party that was going, would you feel differently ?
Michael
Foolishness on one subject generally makes you appear just as foolish on all others. Your comment on the competitive nature associated with foreign direct investment is ignorance at its worst.
The only way our economy can fully recover is with more jobs leading to more tax receipts which means less payments on Social Protection while the newly employed worker spends money on consumer items to further boos the economy.
Putting your best team forward at the Departmental and Political level is the provable way wo win such investment and jobs.
On the subject of your posting I am reminded by my mothers expression…..Never argue with a fool as the onlookers may not be able to tell the difference!
Michael, for once I agree with Richard Rodgers which says a lot about your comment. Big companies like to see big shots coming to see them so if wheeling in a Government Minister is what it takes to get jobs over here then so be it. 14 meetings in 2 days is pretty hard going for anyone so I have to admire the work load that everyone is taking on.
Lads, ignore the fool. His entire ideology rests on less jobs being created because more jobs means we are on the road to recovery and we couldn’t have that now, could we?
It looks like the government is responsive to business needs if the minister is with them.
Jaysus all he seems to be doing is going on trips at the expense of tax payers money It’s a joke!
Not really – I have to admit that the IDA is one body that are worth their weight in gold.
No, the joke is on you biting the headline bait. If he hadn’t gone anywhere you’d probably be complaining about that too. Instead of running with the herd, why not engage in a little critical thinking for a change?
True. “Minister responsible for creating jobs goes on trip to try secure jobs” – shocker!
P.S. – NOT a FG voter – but I would expect it of whoever holds that particular ministerial portfolio.
We have to fight for the jobs they don’t simply appear out of thin air.
What do you think should happen Mike, that all of those business leaders and companies come to us?
Way to go, Richard. It’s harder to hit a moving target – keep it up!
Did Richard Bruton Fly, or did he use the Job bridge to get out of the country??????…
How many jobs did he create for the middle class? Not one. He along with all the rest of those ‘politicians’ are spongers of the irish taxpayer and completely useless!
Actually I think the figures are somewhere closer to 60,000 or something ….. But yeah….
Get real. He doesn’t create jobs He persuades businesses that do to do so in Ireland.
What, exactly, is a middle class job?
59,000 of which are costing the taxpayer an extra 50 euros a week. so a net cost of 3 million a week
Does anyone know exactly how many people are engaged in JobBridge schemes? It’s less than 5000 anyway, I think. Definitely a fraction of 59000.
Don’t let reality get in the way of your rant though, joe soap.
I’m astounded… for once there seems to be a little but of engagement and critical thinking instead of the usual uneducated, ignorant, anti government, anti progress drivel that we’ve all grown accustomed to. I’d love to see some of these guys try to do a minister’s job for a week – they’d soon realise it’s not a bed of roses!
There’s lots of back slapping going on here for this minister? Why? Because he is doing his extremely well if not over paid job somewhat correctly compared to other ministers ?. Next thing ye know people will say he deserves a bonus and pension top up?
Calm down…
Well I just said he was 1 politician who is doing his job. In a country where the 3 main political parties have been in charge during a major recession and it’s people have felt anger towards them for piling tax after tax on top of us,giving high ranking jobs to the boys and bonuses to bankers that ruined us,I think sometimes it’s probably a good thing to point out when one of these politicians is seen to be doing his job and making an effort. That’s ok I hope
Doing his job isn’t a call for party he gets well paid to do it.
I will point out also his election promise of 100,000 jobs in first 2 years of government which he failed at btw.
He many be doing his job better when compared to the other ministers tho he has lied to his voters and championed austerity like the rest of them. Big supporter of Phil hogans property charge as I remember too.
It was 100000 during the first term.
Giuseppe go back to defending murders and leave the economics to adults.
Burke could back up that stupid comment with a link showing or quoting me ever defending any murders.???
I know what assumption your trying to make about me is tho your wrong. Look even more left…
100000 during the first term. I know enda acts like a dictator, but this is still a democracy. one term of this current setup is more than enough
In FG Reg are your pointing to the €11bn 4year stimulus plan to create 100000 jobs by the ministers in April 2013. ???
I’m pointing to FG Ard Fheis 2009 where Enda stated on stage that if FG got elected into government (2011 which they did) they would create 100000 jobs by the end of 2013. That’s fact it’s in public domain, look it up.
2011-2013 = 2yrs 100000 jobs failed to happen fact.
why does he go. sure these jobs would sell themselves. come to Ireland and pay no rent or taxes. Just say that you came because of the great educated workforce and then bring in a heap of foreigners to do the work.
Oil and gas – that can only mean one thing then – fracking! The Fine Gael-led government is gung-ho for fracking, make no mistake about it. I wonder if Richard Bruton is aware of how much resistance there is to fracking in Texas, a state with long experience of the oil and gas industry. So much resistance, in fact, that the towns of Dallas and Fort Worth have now banned fracking. if Richard Bruton thinks he’s doing something positive by forging links with the frackers in Texas, he has another thing coming.
Franking is done out in the country is towns banning is a bit pointless
The ‘town’ of Dallas is in fact a city with a metro population greater than the Island of Ireland … I wonder if someone who doesn’t know this basic fact is really a person who’s opinions in regards to a complex scientific process such natural resource extraction can be considered ‘informed’.
Apparently politicians and other top brass in public sector get up to all sorts of entertainment in these trips. Heard stories from the horses mouth last year. Bloody tossers.
Jades it’s terrible we have no phonetic faxs or computers he has to go by sailing ship what a waste no wonder the country’s broke
Dont forget your sun block
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