Dear Sir, – In a recent conversation with my youthful barber, I was reminded of the dire difficulties faced by the population in Ireland today. We ended up discussing the extraordinary rental cost he is burdened with for a modest flat. He revealed that his partner resides with her family but spends the weekends with him.
Such tales are likely prevalent all over the nation, repeated numerous times.
The rapid economic surge in Ireland is constraining individuals like my barber and numerous others who cannot seem to escape the snare of towering rent and inflating property prices. There appears to be a conspicuous absence of dissent, querying, “Would it not be better to opt for more controlled growth with improved balance?”
It wouldn’t be wrong to assume that our economy might stagnate if each parish doesn’t boast its own data centre, and the transformation of North Dublin into an airport takes precedence over being a residential area. Those advocating aggressive growth, unmindful of the socio-environmental consequences, seem to dominate the discourse.
There appears to be little government support for a more balanced approach as it seems preoccupied with presenting an excessively generous budget.
During the Celtic Tiger years, any critique of Ireland’s growth pattern and thriving property market was ridiculed. The former prime minister Bertie Ahern is remembered for his infamous line “the boom is getting boomer”, while another proclamation by the then finance minister, Charlie McCreevy, about his financial strategy as “When I have it, I spend it”, still resonates as the state treasury was overflowing from the escalating property market. That was promptly followed by a world financial crisis and a collapse of the Irish economic and banking system.
Presently, our economy is flourishing, the treasury is overflowing with funds. With the impending budget and general elections, we find ourselves in a similar situation. History tends not to exactly replicate but it always resonates in new situations. A Groundhog Day, perhaps? – Yours, etc.
“From Brian O’Loughlin, in Dublin 14.”