Has The Celtic Tiger turned on its cubs, Part the Millionth.

A heavily advertised piece on Ireland's boombastic economy in the current Newsweek  deviates, in some small measure, from the usual ochón go deo garment-rending 'feel' pieces that fill our print and broadcast media with nauseating regularity.    It's boilerplate stuff that smacks of the US obsession with fact-checking e.g. for every Joe Higgins bleat, there's a counterblast from Constantin Gurdgiev  but it's nice to see the current administration get a little love:

And Ireland's government—the ruling Fianna Fail (Soldiers of Destiny) Party, in power for most of the last 20 years—deserves plenty of credit. If the Celtic tiger roars, it's partly because of smart, enterprise-friendly policies. Those big investors, from Dell to Intel, aren't interested in the dreamy green landscapes of Olde Eire. They like Europe's lowest corporate taxes—just 12.5 percent—and a clever work force. Ireland also plowed much of its EU development cash into overhauling an antiquated education system. Now only Japan's work force boasts a higher proportion of scientists and engineers.

Mind, if the likes of 'Fast' Eddie Hobbs think  it's only the under 35s that  are getting shafted on indirect taxes and the like, he's evidently never seen my pay slip and any ailing working stiff in Ireland has long since paid his subs to a private health insurer.

Comments

[anon]

"Ireland also plowed much of its EU development cash into overhauling an antiquated education system"

excuse me! what are they talking about?

[Neilo]

If I were to guess I'd say the writer means that a lot of EU resources from the Social Fund and Development have gone into student assistance and facilities upgrading, like Dundalk Institute of Technology, whose campus - urban wind turbine and all - is becoming town-like in size. My guess clearly doesn't cover primary schoolkids huddling in damp Portakabins, though.

[nemo]

Dundalk Institute of Technology? Another gateway to excellence... just an example of 17th century government policy on development - if a local duke builds a castle, peasants will come.