Anthony McG

Watched the final part of David McWilliams‘ documentary on the Irish economy tonight. The programme has been running in one hour segments for the past three weeks and has sought to shine a light on where our economy is and where it’s going. Overall, I really enjoyed it. It’s nice to see someone who is realistic in terms of our economic future and as one of the titular “Pope’s Children” I know there’s a time when our economy will decline. It’s an economic certainty and one which could hit Ireland particularly hard.

In the final programme he spoke to the M.D. of Microsoft Ireland in terms of their investment in the country. He pointed out that Microsoft accounts for 5% of our GDP and if you factor in HP and Intel that figure rises to 20%. With the emergence of China and India, two future economic superpowers, Ireland must be aware of the risk of these companies re-locating to the aforementioned havens in the East. Lucan, the town in which I live, is located just a couple of miles from Leixlip where Intel are based. Any rumour of job cuts has the community on edge and four of my close friends work in the plant itself in various capacities. I’m not an economist so I don’t pretend to be any type of expert but I did enjoy the series as it sought to engage those who may not be aware of what is driving this ageing Celtic Tiger.

It’s strange how one sentence can define a night or in this case, parody it. Saturday night was Aido’s birthday so we headed along to Captain America’s for dinner. Afterwards we made our way down to McThurcalls, a late bar which wouldn’t be too crowded and has a nice atmosphere. Little did we know however that Ais and Ro would go and request Rod Stewart from the DJ, and worse still, he played it. It was at that time that the lads pronounced that we ‘should have gone to the Baller’. For those who weren’t there, the Ball Alley is our local pub, affectionately referred to as the Baller. A good night was had by all in the end though.

Most of the Irish bloggers have been picking up on the spate of road deaths lately and suggestions have been asked for my the various authorities with responsibility for Irish roads. The current discussion has been prompted by the horrific crash two weeks ago in Monaghan where 5 young men died. Councillor Damien Blake has asked for suggestions from bloggers so he can prepare a report for the relevant agencies.

Prime Time on RTE One dealt with the issue and brought various parties together to discuss what could be done. The most poignant segment of the program was an interview with a seventeen year old lad who has been left paralysed after he crashed his dad’s car at speed. The lad will spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair but instead of being depressed about it he’s trying to be positive. He said the only thing that would have got through to him, in terms of not speeding, was someone in his position now. Isn’t it sad that we’ve got to this stage?

I’ve yet to start driving myself but any person in Ireland (or any country) can list off examples of bad driving that they’ve experienced. So where does the root of the problem lie for Ireland? Education needs to be improved for certain. Teenagers in Transition Year need to be taught basic driving skills akin to “Driver’s Ed” in the US. It’s way too easy for young people to get on the road without sufficient knowledge of what damage they can do to themselves and others.

There’s also the drink factor in all of this. The majority of the weekend accidents take place when the pubs and clubs close. You’re not going to convince anyone that these lads doing ridiculous speeds down dark country roads have been drinking 7-Up all night. Despite all the ads and warnings it’s still acceptable to drink and drive in some parts of rural Ireland. If it’s ok for John, the middle-aged doctor to have a few pints and drive home cos he can “handle” it, what’s to say that Tom, a 25-year-old labourer shouldn’t do the same? If your caught drinking and driving more than once you should be suspended from driving for three years. Simple as.

You can read what other Irish bloggers are saying about the problem here.

Some things just strike me as unnecessary. A recent example is the St. Edmunds housing development podcast. Yes, that’s right, a podcast for a housing development. There’s quite a bit of advertising around for it since it’s planned to sit beside the Liffey Valley shopping centre and is being touted as a great development for “young professionals”. They’ve even hired two voiceover people to fill us in on how hip this place will be. I can only assume that by producing a podcast the place will be even hipper. The website itself is rubbish. Why not spend money on a proper site instead of sticking up two pdf documents, an mp3 podcast and three pictures? Even a Google map to show people where the place is would be a step forward.