[ken21]

>Put bluntly, Ireland is being forced to roll back the welfare state and tighten fiscal policy in the midst of a savage economic contraction in order to uphold the deflation orthodoxies of Europe’s monetary union.<

ironic.

and we’re moving into a welfare state at high speed.

[jas3]

Get yer arses in gear, Danny Boy !

[stainlessbanner]

Celtic Tiger is no more. From what I understand, they can no longer set their own rates; they gave up economic sovereignty for membership in the EU. It paid off for a while, but recently the economy cooled and they're hurting.

Not much wealth in natural resources in Ireland, and the economy was propped up on inflated real estate.