Buy Irish and spend your money here

[Captain Obvious]

Another Dunnes Stores slogan?

[Maguire01]

Dr Crokes had an amended motion passed which called for every effort be made to have All-ireland championship tickets printed in Ireland.

All- Ireland Final tickets are presently printed in America with all other Championship tickets printed in Italy. Delegates were informed that each the Croke Park puts the ticket printing contract out to tender but so far Irish companies have been priced out of the job.

Well if they're inviting international companies to tender, they've already decided that 'buying Irish' isn't a priority.

[Eamonnca1]

Do clubs use Adidas / Umbro / Puma etc?

None that I'm aware of.

Is there any case where the rule would have to be enforced?

None that I'm aware of.

Well in that case, this comment:

I can't remember the last time that rule was enforced. It's an anachronism.

...makes no sense.

Huh? I'm not aware of the rule being enforced, I don't know of it needing to be enforced either. How is that a contradiction?

[Eamonnca1]

Is it not a bigger disgrace that Irish companies can't compete?

Here's a thought experiment. Company I (based in Ireland) sells sliothars for €10, company P (based in Pakistan) sells them for €2. 10 clubs buy ten sliothars each.  If they buy them from Company I then the clubs spend €1,000, if they buy from Company P then they spend €200. 

The the first scenario the clubs are out of pocket and an uncompetitive business is artificially supported.

In the second scenario the country might be €200 worse off but the clubs are €700 better off and can spend the money on something productive, probably supporting competitive local companies that deserve to be kept in business.

[AZOffaly]

If quality is not an issue, then it's hard to argue with that logic alright. I suppose if the local company are gouging then it's even more reason to buy from someone else.

However, as an addendum to your thought experiment, let's say that the reason the local company is more expensive is valid. In other words their costs are high, because of working conditions in Ireland, and overheads relating to that. Would you feel that is sufficient reason to give them the business?

At what point does 'buy Irish' become stupid? And when is it valid to eat a bit of cost just to support a local business that is more expensive for valid reasons.

Is it always a case of 'Cheapest wins' or should we be looking at a bigger picture.

(Let's assume the quality is the same. In my opinion the cheap sliotars are muck but that's a different story).

[imtommygunn]

Also is there not a certain irony in pricing your tickets based on the cost of living of the country you're in but not using their labour because the cost of their labour is too expensive due to the cost of living...

[muppet]

Is it not a bigger disgrace that Irish companies can't compete?

Here's a thought experiment. Company I (based in Ireland) sells sliothars for €10, company P (based in Pakistan) sells them for €2. 10 clubs buy ten sliothars each.  If they buy them from Company I then the clubs spend €1,000, if they buy from Company P then they spend €200. 

The the first scenario the clubs are out of pocket and an uncompetitive business is artificially supported.

In the second scenario the country might be €200 worse off but the clubs are €700 better off and can spend the money on something productive, probably supporting competitive local companies that deserve to be kept in business.

In the second scenario the club would save money on the sliothars but lose the rest on a trip out to Pakistan and collect them.

[seafoid]

Is it not a bigger disgrace that Irish companies can't compete?

Here's a thought experiment. Company I (based in Ireland) sells sliothars for €10, company P (based in Pakistan) sells them for €2. 10 clubs buy ten sliothars each.  If they buy them from Company I then the clubs spend €1,000, if they buy from Company P then they spend €200. 

The the first scenario the clubs are out of pocket and an uncompetitive business is artificially supported.

In the second scenario the country might be €200 worse off but the clubs are €700 better off and can spend the money on something productive, probably supporting competitive local companies that deserve to be kept in business.

I doubt they make sliotars in Pakistan but Hurling is very close to what they call aawaargi


http://wordsalsofeel.blogspot.com/2011/03/aawaargi-yeh-dil-to-pagal-dil-mera.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt9SmLmcx3Q

[heffo]

Apparently the only irish company that tendered for the job were 10 times the price of the lowest tenderer.

Correct. If they had of used an uncompetitive Irish supplier there would have been more outrage.

[orangeman]

Apparently the only irish company that tendered for the job were 10 times the price of the lowest tenderer.

Correct. If they had of used an uncompetitive Irish supplier there would have been more outrage.

Can you imagine the bitching there would have been had the contract been awarded to an Irish company that were 10 times ?. There would have been hell to pay and calls for heads to roll.

You can't win.

[Eamonnca1]

I doubt they make sliotars in Pakistan...

They've been making them in Pakistan for at least 5 years.  I was getting spammed by them regularly until one time I took the bait and asked them for a free sample.  They sent me 4 sliothars and I used them in training with a startup hurling club I was working on.  They were cheap all right, but after a couple of weeks of wear the skin became brittle and broke off like pieces of eggshell.  Probably good enough for training if you're the kind of club that loses a lot of sliothars in the hedge. Maybe they've improved since then, but I wouldn't know because I haven't used them since.

[Lar Naparka]

If quality is not an issue, then it's hard to argue with that logic alright. I suppose if the local company are gouging then it's even more reason to buy from someone else.

However, as an addendum to your thought experiment, let's say that the reason the local company is more expensive is valid. In other words their costs are high, because of working conditions in Ireland, and overheads relating to that. Would you feel that is sufficient reason to give them the business?

At what point does 'buy Irish' become stupid? And when is it valid to eat a bit of cost just to support a local business that is more expensive for valid reasons.

Is it always a case of 'Cheapest wins' or should we be looking at a bigger picture.

(Let's assume the quality is the same. In my opinion the cheap sliotars are muck but that's a different story).

Two years ago in the lead up to Christmas, the pros and cons of the 'Buy Irish' debate were getting one hell of an airing.
If you remember, we were treated to media reports and footage of traffic snarl ups stretching from Newry back to the border. Maybe it was the same at other border crossings but for some reason the media focus was on the weekend exodus of shoppers from the south converging on Newry.
Anyway, the usual arguments were flying back and forth as the usual suspects got down to worth and the craic was ninety for a few weeks.
Border towns were badly hit and Superquinn's store in Dundalk shut down with the loss of 400 jobs. But before he end of January Tesco had launched a campaign announcing the cutting of 1,000 prices throughout their stores in the republic.  Dunnes and others followed suit.
Traders in Dundalk mounted a co-operative campaign to reduce prices and the traffic to Newry eased off considerably.
Honestly, I haven't heard a single mention in any sort of media about shoppers heading north of the border since then. Even with all their publicised price cuts, traders down south are still oprating at a big profit.
RgData, the groceries' watchdog, reported in the interim that Tesco had a higher mark-up on goods in their stores in the south than in any other part of the British Isles. It just shows the profit margins Tesco and their competitors enjoyed before they were forced to lower their prices and improve their level of service.
I think consumers are perfectly entitled to go looking for the best value prices they can find. In the long term, it benefits the entire economy that traders offer competitive services and prices.
In any event, most of the profits multinationals rake in is sent straight out of the country with little or no benefit to the community.Given the higher operating costs down here, I'd not object to retail prices being a bit higher than outside the country but there are limits to what I'd consider 'a bit higher.'

[Bord na Mona man]

About 10 years ago I played against a club in the lower ranks of Dublin football that were wearing the Middlesbrough kit of the day - with just the sponsor and crest different. They were made by Errea and it turns out they had a connection working for the company who sourced it for them. It would have been in contravention of the rules, but you couldn't blame the club for getting the best deal.

Its not as if O'Neills make all their stuff in Ireland anyway.

[Maguire01]

In any event, most of the profits multinationals rake in is sent straight out of the country with little or no benefit to the community.

But the jobs and taxes are a significant benefit.

[Maguire01]

Do clubs use Adidas / Umbro / Puma etc?

None that I'm aware of.

Is there any case where the rule would have to be enforced?

None that I'm aware of.

Well in that case, this comment:

I can't remember the last time that rule was enforced. It's an anachronism.

...makes no sense.

Huh? I'm not aware of the rule being enforced, I don't know of it needing to be enforced either. How is that a contradiction?

Your first post implied that people weren't complying with the rule and that this non-compliance was being ignored. Your second post indicated that there is no evidence that the rule isn't being complied with, therefore there would be no need for enforcement.