By Owen Gleeson
We are in the midst of the worst economic crisis in decades. Every day there are job losses in Tralee, dole queues in Cork unparalleled emigration to Australia. If the recession hasn’t hit you yet then you will definitely feel it after the mini budget in April. Income levy rates doubled to 2%, 4% and 6% with people only noticing the hit in their pockets when looking at their latest pay slip.
There are many out there who think the government’s handling of the whole economic mess has been catastrophic. Is Europe the answer? In previous Years Ireland was seen as an adamant supporter of Europe. The star pupil who illustrated all that was right with an integrated Europe. Since joining the European Union in 1973, Ireland has transformed itself from a largely agricultural society into a modern, technologically advanced Celtic Tiger economy.
However, things have changed over the last several years. First it was the Nice treaty in 2001. Turnout for the referendum was one of the lowest in Irish history: 32.9% of 2.9 million registered voters. Of these, 46% voted yes, and 54% voted no. The Nice treaty was eventually voted in by the Irish in a second referendum. But not without the dismay of Taoisaech Bertie Ahern over the apathy of the Irish people with regard to Europe. This however has not meant that the Irish have a unified solidarity with Europe again. Ireland’s distrust of Europe was again shown up with the Lisbon treaty in 2008. Approximately 53% of the nation voted. The final referendum result showed there were 862,415 no votes to 752,451 yes votes, a majority of 109,964.
Gerry Adams said "They feel secure at the heart of Europe, but they want to ensure there’s maximum democratic power."
The problem for Europe in Ireland is that people stopped looking at what Europe had done for Ireland. During the boom times when we had our European built motorways we thought the Celtic Tiger was our own creation. We got too arrogant. We started believing in our own hype. Ireland must start looking at what Europe has done for our small country. For example, recently the European Union institutions agreed new measures which will substantially reduce the cost of roaming charges for consumers when using their mobile phones when travelling abroad. New rules have also been put in place which have ensured that airline cannot companies cannot engage in any misleading advertising when selling airline tickets over the internet.
In this recession we are effectively in a better position than the one in the 80s. We have better infrastructure and some of the most educated workforce in Europe. This can be attributed to the influence of Europe. So when voting in the European Elections next June consider what is the best way to get out of this mess. Is it with Europe or without Europe?
We are in the midst of the worst economic crisis in decades. Every day there are job losses in Tralee, dole queues in Cork unparalleled emigration to Australia. If the recession hasn’t hit you yet then you will definitely feel it after the mini budget in April. Income levy rates doubled to 2%, 4% and 6% with people only noticing the hit in their pockets when looking at their latest pay slip.
There are many out there who think the government’s handling of the whole economic mess has been catastrophic. Is Europe the answer? In previous Years Ireland was seen as an adamant supporter of Europe. The star pupil who illustrated all that was right with an integrated Europe. Since joining the European Union in 1973, Ireland has transformed itself from a largely agricultural society into a modern, technologically advanced Celtic Tiger economy.
However, things have changed over the last several years. First it was the Nice treaty in 2001. Turnout for the referendum was one of the lowest in Irish history: 32.9% of 2.9 million registered voters. Of these, 46% voted yes, and 54% voted no. The Nice treaty was eventually voted in by the Irish in a second referendum. But not without the dismay of Taoisaech Bertie Ahern over the apathy of the Irish people with regard to Europe. This however has not meant that the Irish have a unified solidarity with Europe again. Ireland’s distrust of Europe was again shown up with the Lisbon treaty in 2008. Approximately 53% of the nation voted. The final referendum result showed there were 862,415 no votes to 752,451 yes votes, a majority of 109,964.
Gerry Adams said "They feel secure at the heart of Europe, but they want to ensure there’s maximum democratic power."
The problem for Europe in Ireland is that people stopped looking at what Europe had done for Ireland. During the boom times when we had our European built motorways we thought the Celtic Tiger was our own creation. We got too arrogant. We started believing in our own hype. Ireland must start looking at what Europe has done for our small country. For example, recently the European Union institutions agreed new measures which will substantially reduce the cost of roaming charges for consumers when using their mobile phones when travelling abroad. New rules have also been put in place which have ensured that airline cannot companies cannot engage in any misleading advertising when selling airline tickets over the internet.
In this recession we are effectively in a better position than the one in the 80s. We have better infrastructure and some of the most educated workforce in Europe. This can be attributed to the influence of Europe. So when voting in the European Elections next June consider what is the best way to get out of this mess. Is it with Europe or without Europe?
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