What happened to Ireland?

[Pufflette]

Okay, unemployment has increased everywhere but according to Eurostat Ireland's unemployment now sits at 12.5%. This is such a far cry from 9 years or so ago when Ireland was wonder economy and had full employment. What happened?

[jake-the-peg]

Well you know what happened in the UK where there was a house price spiral and everybody was borrowing off of the rise in property prices?

Well tripple it and you begin to get some sort of an idea

[buildersmate]

Confucius, he say 'the faster you rise, the harder you fall'.

[jake-the-peg]

I think Lucy is probably the first person I have heard manage to blame the EU for the recession

Well done!

Shame the Bookerprize for fiction has already been decided - I guess there's always next year

[New Judge]

I don’t think lucy did any such thing, jake.

She simply told it how it was. Ireland did receive massive grants from the EU which artificially inflated its economy to unsustainable levels. Those grants stopped (because presumably the money was needed to artificially boost economies elsewhere – mainly the “poorer” new members) and Ireland’s economy suffered as a result. Couple this with the recent financial crises and Ireland suffered a double whammy. So whilst the EU did not cause the recession, it certainly exacerbated Ireland’s problems.

The intriguing thing is that although the Irish people must have realised this (they are far more intelligent than the jokes made about them suggest) they have voted for an even closer tie to the EU – the very institution that caused much of their current problems.

I suppose they think (and they are probably right) that being “poor” again they will qualify for more EU handouts. But the trouble with artificial economic stimulation is that it creates a false impression. Rather like individuals being given money for nothing. They buy a big house, but as soon as the donations cease they cannot afford to pay the Council Tax,

[jake-the-peg]

Not a fact, not a link not a single piece of data eh?

Well lets address that shall we?

Between 1989 and 1999 Ireland got roughly 3 billion a year from the Eu structural fund in a country with a GDP of about $180 billion.

And you are expecting us to believe that this massive influx of 2% into the Irish economy drove the Celtic tiger?

Although please do supply the figures that you used to arrive at your opinion

[New Judge]

That may well be, jake. But the vast majority of people interviewed before the latest Irish vote who said they had changed from "No" to "Yes" firmly believed that the nation's salvation (for which I read influx of funds) would rest with the EU.

There is a clear expectation in Ireland that the EU will again pump funds into their ailing economy and it is my view that this strategy, whilst it may paper over some cracks in the short tern, will not lead the country to long term prosperity.