The Irish Model

[Dinner]

Isn't anyone going to post a picture of a cute Irish model?

[Dinner]

Damn, Did I ever miss that one.

[Sikander]

Originally posted by C0ckney
THE irish model -

miss world 2003.

Nice save!

[Gibsie]

My friends in Ireland absolutely hate the way the place is run. Boo, I say (as opposed to Boo-urns).

[CerberusIV]

Having moved to Ireland (but not working here yet) I can say that I like it as a country. But the economic miracle is more apparent than real.

our_man is right about the education system. It's not bad (they haven't messed the primary and secondary level schools around for the last 40 years the way the UK has) but the college/university level isn't funded well enough to good.

Ireland made good use of the EU money on infrastructure, probably better than anyone else in europe.

Ireland never really had an industrial revolution so they aren't now left with the legacies of structural unemployment and vast swathes of derelict land.

There are two economic problems/issues though. Firstly tourism outside Dublin is currently in a decline. A lot of that employment goes to eastern europeans in the hotel and catering trades. Unless they can turn that around and get more visitors to go beyond Dublin city breaks there will be serious reductions in income in many areas.

The second problem is the gradual decline in agricultural employment coupled with runaway growth in construction which has taken on those people. There are a lot of new houses standing empty and sooner or later there will be a slowdown in construction and a lot of those out of work as a consequence will not be skilled to take on the high tech jobs in IT, bio-technology and the like.

Irelands problems are far less than those of Germany, France or even the UK but part of its success is due to a different culture here that doesn't really translate to other parts of europe I think.

As for how the country is run, the truth seems to be that it isn't.

[Tingkai]

A better question is why it took so long for Ireland to become economically successful.

[Drake Tungsten]

Originally posted by Tingkai
A better question is why it took so long for Ireland to become economically successful.

The English. Booze. Potato-based economy. Tricksy leprechauns.

[CerberusIV]

Originally posted by Tingkai
A better question is why it took so long for Ireland to become economically successful.

Take your pick from -

The legacies of centuries of British occupation.

The time it has taken to get a decent education system together in a predominantly agricultural economy.

A lack of belief that it could be done (back in the 80's when Haughey was Taishoch the myth was that Ireland had a 3rd world economy somehow - rubbish idea even then).

Overseas investment deterred by the idea that all of the island was affected by the conflict in the North.

That the people who had the skills to turn things around emigrated.


The last one has some truth but interestingly both people who left for the UK a decade ago and the children of those who left in the 60's and 70's are coming back because they prefer the quality of life here, particularly for bringing up families.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by CerberusIV
The legacies of centuries of British occupation.

What do you see as the major legacy that hampered economic growth? Asking out of curiosity.

Originally posted by CerberusIV
The time it has taken to get a decent education system together in a predominantly agricultural economy.

How so?

Originally posted by CerberusIV
Overseas investment deterred by the idea that all of the island was affected by the conflict in the North.

But surely the successful Irish Americans would have known better. No?

[MikeH]

This thread needs more hot irish chick pictures - fact

[CerberusIV]

Originally posted by Tingkai
What do you see as the major legacy that hampered economic growth? Asking out of curiosity.

I don't, but it is cited as a factor.

How so?

In most agricultural societies the kids leave school at an early age to help on the farm. It takes time to change that and it was the case in Ireland until after 1945 at least.

But surely the successful Irish Americans would have known better. No?

The same people happily donating money to the IRA?

Seriously, Ireland has done a good job of attracting investment since it joined the EU. Northern Ireland (and to some extent the border counties of the Republic) have done less well.

[Atahualpa]

Originally posted by MikeH
This thread needs more hot irish chick pictures - fact

I hate this thread spamming with chick pictures, Markos should give you all a babe thread and keep the babes out of the serious threads

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Shi Huangdi
It's more then EU Subsidies- Portugal and Greece get more subsidies then Ireland. While Ireland is Rich, Portugal and Greece lag far behind the rest of Europe.

That's because they're full of Portugese and Greeks, respectively.

[our_man]

In my view one of the major reasons Ireland took off in the 90's is due to reform of the tax system and intense privatization: the removal of government barriers that previously stilted growth.

I'm old enough to remember my parents having to hand over more than half their income to the government for tax, which as you can imagine is quite a disincentive to work, especially considering the pathetic state of the country's infrastructure and services up until the early 90's. I'm not saying it's good still - the last time it was checked Northern Ireland had more kilometres of motorways than the South!

We weren't quite 3rd world in the 1980's, but we weren't far off. Things have drastically improved since.

As for the pictures of Rosanna Davison... she's hotter in person. But I know a lot of even prettier girls in Ireland.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Atahualpa

I hate this thread spamming with chick pictures, Markos should give you all a babe thread and keep the babes out of the serious threads

I bet you're gay.

[/Monty Python & the Holy Grail]