Ireland: The Cost of Celtic Tiger

 

Language Level: Advanced

Source: Speak Up

Standard: British accent

The Cost of the Celtic Tiger

Only a generation ago the Republic of Ireland was considered a poor and relatively backward country, in the grasp of the Catholic Church. It lived in the shadow of its former colonial master, Great Britain, and it was losing its young people to immigration.

That all changed in the mid-1990s, with the advent of the “Celtic Tiger” economic boom. Today Ireland is one of the most dynamic, flexible and globalised economies in the world. It seems the Irish have never had it so good. According to a recent OECD (Organisation for Economic/ Cooperation and Development) report, Ireland is now the second richest country in the EU. Dublin is said to be the world’s sixteenth most expensive capital while, according to The Economist, it is – as a  place to live – the best city on our planet.

NEW MONEY

Ireland now has new immigration, mainly from Eastern Europe – some 8 per cent of the population are foreign-born. In his book The Pope’s Children –Ireland’s New Elite, David Mc Williams claims that the Irish middle-class has grown by an incredible 25 per cent in the past 10 years. Ireland’s young and highly qualified workforce work hard in the IT, (Information Technology) telecoms and service sectors, achieving the highest productivity in Europe. And yet, if they work hard, then they party even harder. So is this a success story with no sting in the tail? Perhaps not. Some people argue that Ireland is losing its soul, that the traditional values of Irish society – friendliness,   a laid-back attitude, a sense of community and charity – are threatened by this rush, for money and success. In order to find out more, Speak Up asked people in Dublin what they thought. The first to speak is Thomas Saunders, who works as a Senior Porter for a college:

Thomas Saunders:

(Irish accent)

It depends on yourself, how you’re going to…how you should act, how morally you should act, with money or money. The way it is…the way it is with, I think, money shouldn’t change people, really, their morals, but it does, unfortunately, you know, I think anyway. But in my case, probably no, I’m still the same person I was probably when I had no money.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Alan Markey is the owner of a menswear shop down the road. He feels that money has definitely changed the country’s values and that crime is now a major problem:

Alan Markey

(Irish accent):

Years ago everybody used to have the key in the door and neighbours would walk in and everything was the way it was, but now, you could never do that, you’d have to have on alarm on now or you’d be robbed.

Is the rise in crime, personal debt, obesity, drug-taking and suicides part of the price to pay? More mothers work than ever before: the second income is needed for a new Irish lifestyle, which features expensive restaurants, fancy holidays and second homes abroad. Ireland’s wealth is built on property – in the past decade, house prices have risen faster than in any other OECD country – and this bubble could burst. Poverty is still a real issue, while the health system system is struggling Ann Hart. For example, works ata n alternative health centre:

Ann Harty

(Irish accent)

I’ve just been here for the Celtic Tiger roaring its way through, and its been good, and it’s been, you know, bad. It has great positive things, I mean, the country has grown, the youth have a lot offered to them now, they have lots of courses they can do, there’s an awful lot happening. But, from my perspective, I would be dealing with health issues, and there’s a lot of stress.

DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY

Nevertheless the Irish still consider themselves to be among the happiest people in Europe. In the 2006 Euro-barometer survey, 82 per cent of the Irish interviewees said they were happy either “all” or “most of the time.” The Irish are second only to the Dutch, while the European average for “population happiness” is only 56 per cent. Maeve McLoughlin, a pharmacy manager in here early 30s, thinks that there’s more to life than money:

Maeve McLoughlin

(Irish accent):

I don’t think money is the be all and end all ether, as long as you’re happy and health, and for me, that’s what’s important so.

Fiacre Forde is retired, but volunteers at a local football club across the road from the pharmacy. He feels that things in the country have charged for the worse:

Fiacre Forde:

(Irish accent)

We’re losing all sorts of things, like our charitable concern for others, and I have to say we’re still very good that way, but it has to be a big deal, like it’s no longer a case of if Mrs. Matoney next door falls that we worry. We don’t, generally speaking, except among the older people: the younger people would probably step over her body!

 The Celtic Tiger:  

The Cost of the Celtic Tiger

Only a generation ago the Republic of Ireland was considered a poor and relatively backward country, in the grasp of the Catholic Church. It lived in the shadow of its former colonial master, Great Britain, and it was losing its young people to immigration.

That all changed in the mid-1990s, with the advent of the “Celtic Tiger” economic boom. Today Ireland is one of the most dynamic, flexible and globalised economies in the world. It seems the Irish have never had it so good. According to a recent OECD (Organisation for Economic/ Cooperation and Development) report, Ireland is now the second richest country in the EU. Dublin is said to be the world’s sixteenth most expensive capital while, according to The Economist, it is – as a  place to live – the best city on our planet.

NEW MONEY

Ireland now has new immigration, mainly from Eastern Europe – some 8 per cent of the population are foreign-born. In his book The Pope’s Children –Ireland’s New Elite, David Mc Williams claims that the Irish middle-class has grown by an incredible 25 per cent in the past 10 years. Ireland’s young and highly qualified workforce work hard in the IT, (Information Technology) telecoms and service sectors, achieving the highest productivity in Europe. And yet, if they work hard, then they party even harder. So is this a success story with no sting in the tail? Perhaps not. Some people argue that Ireland is losing its soul, that the traditional values of Irish society – friendliness,   a laid-back attitude, a sense of community and charity – are threatened by this rush, for money and success. In order to find out more, Speak Up asked people in Dublin what they thought. The first to speak is Thomas Saunders, who works as a Senior Porter for a college:

Thomas Saunders:

(Irish accent)

It depends on yourself, how you’re going to…how you should act, how morally you should act, with money or money. The way it is…the way it is with, I think, money shouldn’t change people, really, their morals, but it does, unfortunately, you know, I think anyway. But in my case, probably no, I’m still the same person I was probably when I had no money.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Alan Markey is the owner of a menswear shop down the road. He feels that money has definitely changed the country’s values and that crime is now a major problem:

Alan Markey

(Irish accent):

Years ago everybody used to have the key in the door and neighbours would walk in and everything was the way it was, but now, you could never do that, you’d have to have on alarm on now or you’d be robbed.

Is the rise in crime, personal debt, obesity, drug-taking and suicides part of the price to pay? More mothers work than ever before: the second income is needed for a new Irish lifestyle, which features expensive restaurants, fancy holidays and second homes abroad. Ireland’s wealth is built on property – in the past decade, house prices have risen faster than in any other OECD country – and this bubble could burst. Poverty is still a real issue, while the health system system is struggling Ann Hart. For example, works ata n alternative health centre:

Ann Harty

(Irish accent)

I’ve just been here for the Celtic Tiger roaring its way through, and its been good, and it’s been, you know, bad. It has great positive things, I mean, the country has grown, the youth have a lot offered to them now, they have lots of courses they can do, there’s an awful lot happening. But, from my perspective, I would be dealing with health issues, and there’s a lot of stress.

DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY

Nevertheless the Irish still consider themselves to be among the happiest people in Europe. In the 2006 Euro-barometer survey, 82 per cent of the Irish interviewees said they were happy either “all” or “most of the time.” The Irish are second only to the Dutch, while the European average for “population happiness” is only 56 per cent. Maeve McLoughlin, a pharmacy manager in here early 30s, thinks that there’s more to life than money:

Maeve McLoughlin

(Irish accent):

I don’t think money is the be all and end all ether, as long as you’re happy and health, and for me, that’s what’s important so.

Fiacre Forde is retired, but volunteers at a local football club across the road from the pharmacy. He feels that things in the country have charged for the worse:

Fiacre Forde:

(Irish accent)

We’re losing all sorts of things, like our charitable concern for others, and I have to say we’re still very good that way, but it has to be a big deal, like it’s no longer a case of if Mrs. Matoney next door falls that we worry. We don’t, generally speaking, except among the older people: the younger people would probably step over her body!

 Celtic Tiger is a term used to describe the economy of Ireland during a period of rapid economic growth between 1995–2007, which underwent a dramatic reversal by 2008, with a GDPcontraction of 14%^[1] and unemployment levels at 14% by 2010.

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