Mercedes Ministers response to crisis - let them eat cheese

Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith’s announcement that lots of cheese will be made available to poor people this Christmas is a gesture even Marie-Antoinette would have blushed at on saying out loud.

Just last week our Mercedes Minister’s lined up in their top of the range chauffeur driven cars to discuss how much to tax the lowest paid and cut from social welfare payments. And just when you think the political elite of the country couldn’t possibly be any more disconnected Brendan Smith steps out of his ivory tower to feed cheese to the poor. You just couldn’t make up this kind of political gesture. Fianna Fáil and Green party Mercedes Ministers response to Ireland’s economic crisis – let them eat cheese!

Bizarrely this scheme is being funded by the European Commission. Maybe this is some sort of peace offering by Olli Rehn in advance of his trip to Dublin on Sunday during which he will copper fasten Fianna Fáil and the Green’s regressive budgetary plans to reduce the deficit to 3% by 2014. Perhaps the Agriculture Minister could extend his plans to asking the ESB will they accept cheese as payment on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of families who now unemployed, impoverished and indebted thanks to his government’s policies?