Salt Exported from Ireland
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Sunday January 10, 2010 19:04
by Oswald Bastable
John Gormley may be striving to secure salt supplies from abroad but meanwhile salt is being exported from Ireland!
As the snow continues to fall there are fears that there is not enough salt for the roads as people return to work on Monday morning.
The county council says new supplies of salt are to be delivered to Cornwall Council’s highways service on Wednesday, January 13.
The council had ordered additional supplies of the salt needed to carry out precautionary salting runs on the county’s roads from a supplier in Ireland more than three weeks ago. Although the supplier had sufficient quantities of salt in stock to meet the Council’s order, they were having problems identifying a boat to transport the material to Cornwall.
This delay, coupled with the severe weather conditions, had resulted in the Council using existing salt stocks at a quicker rate than anticipated, creating concerns among Highways staff. In order to preserve stocks the Council has prioritised precautionary salt runs on the A and B roads.
The Council’s suppliers Irish Salt Sales Ltd has now confirmed that a boatload of salt will arrive in Cornwall on Wednesday, 13 January. This is expected to contain around 4,000 tonnes of salt. Under normal conditions this should provide enough stock to carry out precautionary salting on the A and B road network for the next three weeks or for around 10 to 14 days if the extreme weather conditions continue.
Comments (12 of 12)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12On prime time TV ( filling in for devious Dempsey ) He claimed this was the main problem: importing enough salt. Meanwhile we are exporting it.
Conclusion: either our government are incompetent or are using this salt factor as a reason to pass the buck (i.e. they are liars)
(or maybe both?)
I think its just incompetence at this stage. But really serious incompetence. I only came across this report by accident in a local Cornwall online paper.
This info should be passed on though to let people know about the ineptitude of the FF/GP coalition.
This company is based in Carrickfergus. Not yet in this state.
The 4000 tons had been sold.
It was not therefore available
Despite their order Cornwall were a day or two away from running out
As we were.
After all the British imported food from Ireland during the famine. Why not take Irish salt when we need it to grit our roads? Globalisation? empire? Whats the difference any more?
Nice work Didimus.
Oswald, way to research the issue properly before posting.
Citizen, since when is it a colonialist/globilisation problem when a company that exports salt fulfils an order? What do you want the govt to do? Force the UK to give us back 'our' salt? Invade NI and nationalise the salt companies?
We havent had a freeze this bad in over 20 years. I'm sure if it didn't happen that you would be jumping up and down shouting about govt misappropriation of funds for useless salt and storage.
I was following up on what I read online. An understandable mistake I would argue: you wont find very many companies in Carrickfergus with "Irish" in their name!
I was simply making the point that globalisation often means that countries export products they actually need themselves. Most inefficient and stupid.
This has an interesting analogy to how the British empire exported Irish food from us during the famine while many of us starved. Also very stupid (that we let them!)
It is absurd and highly inefficient that we import salt from countries as far away as the US with all the extra "salt miles" this entails in these days where we talk of nothing else but climate change and Co2 reduction (and I assume you don't dare to contradict the Co2 mantra for fear of evisceration do you mr man?)
I dislike the race to the bottom and absurd use of resources caused by globalisation. Our economy is in the toilet, yet we import things we need from far away and don't support local business. So much for the free market. You're free all right. Free to shoot yourself in the foot. Especially if you have greedy idiots in government.
Yes, damn right we should invade NI and regain all our natural resources (gold / diamonds / salt etc to name but a few) . Maybe invade mayo and regain those natural resources stolen by foreign corporations too.
Oh and BTW F*&*& you too Mr Man.
Now now, no need to be abusive just because your argument is a fallacy based on your misconception of what is and isn't in Rep. of Ireland. Just so you get it, as you seem a bit slow on the uptake, i'll put some caps and emphasis in.
Carrickfergus - IS part of UK. Republic of Ireland - NOT part of UK.
And more...
UK and Rep. of Ireland - NOT tinpot socialist states that can control any industry on a whim.
UK and Rep. of Ireland - NOT in the business of forcing companies to cancel legal contracts
UK rape of Ireland during famine time NOT analogous to private company in UK selling salt for profit.
In time of emergency, governments DO have certain special powers which could allow them to override certain vested interests in the national interest. Even capitalist governments have such powers. In fact the US was able to take a piss on their bill of rights on the basis of national emergency. You wouldn't call them a tinpot socialist dictatorship would you. (even though it might be quite accurate if you mean socialism for the wealthy)
Carrickfergus is on the Island of Ireland
Sending thousands of tons of salt from US requires a long boat journey of thousands of miles expelling loads of CO2
Sending thousands of tons of salt by road or ship from Carrickfergus to dublin / cork / galway uses FAR LESS CO2
Much more efficient.
Therefore current strategy due to daft global business logistics = rather stupid in CO2 terms / efficiency terms
Also, supporting a business in USA as opposed to one on the island of Ireland is also economically stupid in the longer term.
If you support this kind of carry on you are a short term thinker and a chicago school free market cheerleader numbskull. We all know now where that fake free market crap leads to. A race to the bottom and major socialism for the rich when the shit finally hits the fan, paid for of course by the children of the working classes.
"UK rape of Ireland during famine time NOT analogous to private company in UK selling salt for profit."
well, something we really needed on this island was exported to people who probably needed it less on the British mainland, because of the inaction of a government who couldn't give a shit about the Irish people.....I see a bit of an analogy here
Perhaps if I put it in capitals for you it might be easier to see the parallel? You do seem a bit slow yourself and you seem to think that helps. Personally I prefer a cogent argument to a person stating something "authoritatively" in capital letters. And it makes no sense to me why big letters should help somebody who is mentally slow (as opposed to somebody with bad eyesight) to understand something, but such is the wacky logic of people who are slow. Who am I to argue?
"well, something we really needed on this island was exported to people who probably needed it less on the British mainland, because of the inaction of a government who couldn't give a shit about the Irish people.....I see a bit of an analogy here"
Yes, if you are dim. Nice how you try to move the goalposts by using 'island' rather than 'different country'. If NI was short of salt and they were exporting THEN there would be a tenuous analogy.
"And it makes no sense to me why big letters should help somebody"
Sometimes dim people need emphasis. I bet a lot of things don't make sense to you.
"Carrickfergus is on the Island of Ireland blah blah blah Co2"
And? I wasn't doubting the CO2 impact of globalisation.
"In time of emergency, governments DO have certain special powers which could allow them to override certain vested interests"
Do they have power to take stuff from neighbouring countries? Notice how I qualified my answer with 'on a whim' ?
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