Year: 2012

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Irish Among the Busiest Texters as World Marks Twentieth Anniversary

Michael Green

The twentieth anniversary of the first ever text message being sent has now passed. It is a mere two decades since UK engineer Neil Papworth sent his ‘Merry Christmas’ message to a colleague. It is hard to imagine that the telecom companies knew what would follow. Hundreds of Billions of messages later and the Irish are among the most prodigious texters in the world, sending over a billion messages every month in 2012 so far. It is an astonishing statistic that the Irish send an average of at least 142 message per person every month. So the next time you are … Continue reading Irish Among the Busiest Texters as World Marks Twentieth Anniversary

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Huge Public Support in Ireland for Abortion Legislation in X-Case

Michael Green

The X-case in Ireland refers to an Irish Supreme Court case that established that Irish women are entitled to an abortion if their life is in danger, including in danger from the risk of suicide. The 1992 ruling caused decades of controversy and although the decision was handed down by the Court successive Irish Governments have never provided legislation to specifically detail how the judgment may be used. Abortion is illegal in Ireland unless the life of the mother is in peril. For the last two decades it has been left to medical staff to make individual judgements on a … Continue reading Huge Public Support in Ireland for Abortion Legislation in X-Case

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35 things you never knew about Dublin

Michael Green

by David Carey 1. Dublin’s O’Connell Bridge was originally made of rope and could only carry one man and a donkey at a time. It was replaced with a wooden structure in 1801. The current concrete bridge was built in 1863 and was first called ‘Carlisle Bridge’. 2. O’Connell Bridge is the only traffic bridge in Europe which is wider than it is long and Dublin’s second O’Connell Bridge is across the pond in St. Stephen’s Green.  3. Dublin Corporation planted 43,765 deciduous trees in the Greater Dublin area in 1998. 4. Dublin’s oldest workhouse closed its doors for the … Continue reading 35 things you never knew about Dublin

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Ireland is Twelfth Best Country to be Born in During 2013

Michael Green

A survey released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has revealed the best countries in the world to be born in during 2013. The results mirror a recent OECD ‘Better Life Index’ which listed Ireland as the fifteenth happiest country in which to live. That survey placed Ireland behind Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Australia, Canada and Sweden while the US placed twelfth and the UK fourteenth. It is no great surprise that the Scandinavian countries once again dominate the EIU list but it is Switzerland that tops the list on this occasion. Canada and Australia also placed highly … Continue reading Ireland is Twelfth Best Country to be Born in During 2013

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Ireland is Tenth Best Educated Country in OECD

Michael Green

One of the many consequences of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economic boom in Ireland during the late nineties and early part of the new century was that there was a lot of investment in education. A recent report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) measured the extent to which the population of a country held a college or college equivalent degree. Between the years 2000 and 2010 the percentage of people with a higher level qualification in Ireland almost doubled, increasing at an annualized average rate of 7.3% – an amazing increase by any standard and this is … Continue reading Ireland is Tenth Best Educated Country in OECD

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Unfinished ‘Ghost Estates’ a Huge Problem in Ireland

Michael Green

The property boom that gripped Ireland during the 1990’s and the early part of the new century had a dreadful far-reaching effect when property prices crashed. The leading banks in Ireland had to go cap-in-hand to the Government for a bail-out which in turn bankrupted the economy and resulted in extensive loans being required from the EU/IMF ECB troika. On a wider perspective the property crash decimated the economy but also caused a lot of problems on a micro level too. Many Irish couples bought starter apartments in the hope that they could move to a bigger house when their … Continue reading Unfinished ‘Ghost Estates’ a Huge Problem in Ireland

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Further Crackdown on Welfare on the Way

Michael Green

It is a sign of the economic times that social welfare is again being targeted by a broke Irish government. Years of austerity, cutbacks and tax hikes have not yet been enough to balance the books in Ireland so the next target is those people who have already lost their jobs. The ‘Jobseekers Allowance’ is usually paid for 12 months after unemployment begins but it is likely this will be cut to 9 months after which time the allowance will become subject to a ‘means test’. Such an individual examination of a persons income is likely to result in the … Continue reading Further Crackdown on Welfare on the Way