The Irish Economy

It has been very strange living In Ireland in recent times. Ireland is a country which even at the best of times experiences a great deal of rainfall. And during summer 2009 we had one of the wettest Summers on record. Then in November the country experienced some of the worst floods in living memory. This was followed - starting in mid-December - by a long spell of snow and ice. Yet after all this we are experiencing great problems with our water supply. For example in Dublin many houses have been cut off for several days. In many others water supply has been greatly restricted. What on Earth is happening? Unfortunately heavy rainfall does not necessarily translate into a properly functioning water supply. Like so much other infrastructure, insufficient attention has been paid to the maintenance of the water system in Dublin and elsewhere in the country. Most of the underground piping that serves Dublin was laid in the late 19th century (when the population of the city

I have been reading David McWilliam’s most recent book "Follow the Money". It provides a gripping account of the nature of our recent economics problems with the mania for property and easy money being likened by him to a serious drug problem! However what is always a little weaker in accounts such as this are practical suggestions as to how the problem might be eventually alleviated. Just as the drug addict becomes especially prone to need the constant "quick fix" solution, popular commentators such McWilliams often fall into the same trap of creating the impression that there are likewise "quick fix" solutions to be found (if only the authorities could fully embrace the author's own particular pet scheme of the moment). So in the final stages of the book, McWilliams offers as his key solution to the present recessionary crisis in Ireland that we should leave the Euro. Now to be fair I would not completely deride this suggestion as the validi