Journalists await largesse of the Irish presidency

Date: 21/03/1996

We just cannot wait for the Irish presidency.

Many still speak fondly of the last time round when journalists returning from the Dublin summit in 1990 were laden with sides of smoked salmon, CDs and other unsolicited but very welcome gifts, all a cut above the usual matching pen and pencil set.

Now it looks as though Ireland is planning similar largesse after consulting Italy on this sensitive and of course crucially important question in the run up to its next presidency.

It was perhaps unfortunate that the faxed request to the Italians arrived during the Palermo informal foreign affairs meeting on a fax machine being used by the press.

It sought help with how to handle the media, how many phone lines to install, accreditation, and so on. But much more interestingly, it then raised the matter of whether or not to hand out gifts this time round.

It was very hard indeed for certain scribes to resist the temptation to save the Italian government a job and reply on its behalf. But what to ask for? We have had lavish hard-backed books, videos of scenic parts of Europe, framed prints, samples of local produce and an endless string of shoulder bags. Thanking you in advance, Ireland, how about a nice CD player to play all the summit CDs that have also been handed out over the years?