Irish Miracle ?

[Louis VI the Fat]

How do you explain my post then ?

By you being a cynical old fart your all too pessimistic perspective on things?

All the tigers, be they Asian or Celtic, suffer setbacks once they've caught up. Catching up from behind is in fact surprisingly easy in economic terms. Low wages, long hours, poor social and environmental standards and lots of unbridled foreign investment do the trick every time.

Once you've caught up though, you will have to reform your economy again into a fully functioning first world economy. Ireland still has work to do. It's your turn now to watch in despair as those low-wage jobs are being outsourced and that foreign capital flees your country on it's way to China. Welcome to the big boys club, hey?

But as for long term results, surely the modern Irish Republic is a far cry from the island of misery it was but a generation ago?