[Neil kell]

Were a small export led open economy. We have attracted major multi nationals to set up base here in the last 10 - 15 years, Google, Intel and Pfizer to name but a few. True we do have a brain drain here again as we did in the 80s and 50s and the future is looking bleak for many. Lots of people emigrating to Oz, Canada and the States.
You quip about our biggest export over the last 200 years being our people is down trodden, racist muck by the way.

[mikecam]

Were a small export led open economy. We have attracted major multi nationals to set up base here in the last 10 - 15 years, Google, Intel and Pfizer to name but a few. True we do have a brain drain here again as we did in the 80s and 50s and the future is looking bleak for many. Lots of people emigrating to Oz, Canada and the States.
You quip about our biggest export over the last 200 years being our people is down trodden, racist muck by the way.

Is that so? It wasnt meant that way i meant it as a matter of fact and personal experience. Not sure why you'd take it like that ? I'd suggest you go check your history before you comment any further, just so as you can look like you know what you're talking about.

[Nameless Drudge]

Ireland sold its soul to Europe with the second yes vote(first being no) on the Lisbon treaty for fear of the gravy train ending,the biggest crook in Ireland (Bertie Ahern) was exposed as one,every one knew, but then he was voted  back into power as the PM(previous to this one),feeling was,yes we know he`s a villain but aren`t we all doing so well ourselves.
 Corporation tax of 12.5% made the country a tax haven for large companies,soon as that playing field is levelled the high employment costs mean the rats will be scampering off the sinking ship,leaving Ireland well and truly scuppered. However some people will be expected to remain to continue some form of infrastructure to enable Ireland to reach its final destination of a rural retreat for the euro elite to relax in.The police and security services will be the boom areas as they will be strengthened to contain the mass of umemployed undesirables in their slum areas.

[Nameless Drudge]

Final rant before bed,and just an example of how sick Capitalism has now become,the irish taxpayer is now indirectly paying  Chelsea Football Club`s bloated wage bill. Why?,because Abromovich has bought  the debts of banks,debts foolishly guaranteed by the Irish Government in a so called effort to prop up the banking sector,same as whats gone on in the uk and is happening in Portugal and Spain and us current taxpayers and our children(as these debts are so big)are having these debts transferred to us through the tax system and removal of services that our tax money might normally pay for.When the majority finally understand this swindle the civil unrest will begin and thats why the eurozone wants the unity crap so that eventually the downtrodden will be afraid to demonstrate against the all-powerful monster and in the meantime people are lulled into a false sense of hope that the creation of this monster means we are all eventually going to get a lovely place to live and be in. You see there is this massive pot of money for euro folk to share and we all get some if we behave ourselves and realise that living in poverty is ok as long as we get something to eat

[Londoner]

Were a small export led open economy. We have attracted major multi nationals to set up base here in the last 10 - 15 years, Google, Intel and Pfizer to name but a few. True we do have a brain drain here again as we did in the 80s and 50s and the future is looking bleak for many. Lots of people emigrating to Oz, Canada and the States.
You quip about our biggest export over the last 200 years being our people is down trodden, racist muck by the way.

There are more people in New York State alone who claim Irish decent than the whole population of Ireland. There is a big and thriving Irish community in every city in America with clubs, bars etc. Mind you a lot of them have pretty weird ideas about Ireland, they think everyone is still living in cottages with pigs and chickens and getting water from the well.

[bobby p]

thats very true about images of cottages etc /   take LITHUANIA ,i always thought it must be full of poverty ,folk hunting in the bleak forests for their next meal , but when i visited there(i had a lithu girlfriend) i was a tad disappointed to find they have far bigger and better shopping centres than here in blighty,i was taken far out into the backwoods to meet a family of subsistence farmers,the main man was barefoot ! and distilled his own vodka, but inside his house his wife was tapping away on the latest laptop and surrounded by trappings of wealth

[Neil kell]

Were a small export led open economy. We have attracted major multi nationals to set up base here in the last 10 - 15 years, Google, Intel and Pfizer to name but a few. True we do have a brain drain here again as we did in the 80s and 50s and the future is looking bleak for many. Lots of people emigrating to Oz, Canada and the States.
You quip about our biggest export over the last 200 years being our people is down trodden, racist muck by the way.

Is that so? It wasnt meant that way i meant it as a matter of fact and personal experience. Not sure why you'd take it like that ? I'd suggest you go check your history before you comment any further, just so as you can look like you know what you're talking about.

Personal experience, 200 years ago? We had the famine here 150 odd years ago, so all of those poor souls being scattered to the four corners of the earth were being exported were they? Were the black slaves from Africa "exported" when they were shipped like cargo to the States?

[davids3511]

That's simply not the same and an insult to those who were shipped from africa in cargo holds. We all know the Irish are feeling a little sensitive and defensive right now but keep it real.

Ireland changed over the the last 15 years, it lost its soul somewhat. The people I knew were only interested in telling you how much money they were making. It had to come, the country had got so greedy.

PS I am Irish myself, lived they until I was 23 and am one of the 'exported' Irish living in Manchester now.

[patwoods]

lets face it guys whole world in debt england owe what is it £4.8 trillion!! i found it a laugh 6mths ago Éire gve greece a loan!
But here is the good news going to get a lot worse b4 it gets better...we aint seen nothing yet both in the small island of ireland and Great britian

[squeek clean]

'' How much is enough ? ''  memorable words from one of the best movies ever! Only watched the DVD recently on a wet stormy day here in Dublin. Gordon Gecco's message in Wall Street that  '' greed is good '' but ultimately as it turned out screws US ALL is a poigniant and bitter lesson for us here in Ireland - including me.

'dont know what we were on over the past few years. Should have stuck to the black stuff!!  but we got intoxicated on money and the easy availability of loans for tens of thousands to buy houses we couldn't afford, cars we didn't need and hoidays times 3 or 4 times a year. I always thought after living for 5 years in London that keeping up with the jonses was an English past time - we were ten times worse.
Yeah there are several of our '  leaders ' past & present that should go the way of the dodo ( or worse ),   and they are mostly  to blame for the crap we're in and will be for God knows how long  but at the end of the day for a short but regrettable few years,  we were an arrogant ship of fools.
Thers no way out now but to go begging cap in hand and face the humiliation of borrowing of the rich cousins. 10 > 15 years from now our kids will see a TV programme on Ireland in the Celtic Tiger years and say how did they f***k it up?!!
Anyway.. tomorrows another day Scarlet!
Ray

[Clive McDonald]

Quality of Irish psoting, superb.

Your history is oppression and the pototoa famine was desperate. easily on a par with forms of servitude if not worst.

[squeek clean]

cheers Slump, if it wasnt for rock,  7 a side footie on a Friday night followed by a gallon of porter with the lads and the beautifull shape that is Woman ( oh and my fantastic wife and kids ), I'd be up there with Elvis and John Lennon or down there with Jim Morrison and Oliver Reed!!   Either way its all good
Keep on Rockin
Ray

[mikecam]

Were a small export led open economy. We have attracted major multi nationals to set up base here in the last 10 - 15 years, Google, Intel and Pfizer to name but a few. True we do have a brain drain here again as we did in the 80s and 50s and the future is looking bleak for many. Lots of people emigrating to Oz, Canada and the States.
You quip about our biggest export over the last 200 years being our people is down trodden, racist muck by the way.

Is that so? It wasnt meant that way i meant it as a matter of fact and personal experience. Not sure why you'd take it like that ? I'd suggest you go check your history before you comment any further, just so as you can look like you know what you're talking about.

Personal experience, 200 years ago? We had the famine here 150 odd years ago, so all of those poor souls being scattered to the four corners of the earth were being exported were they? Were the black slaves from Africa "exported" when they were shipped like cargo to the States?

For your information the last 15 years or so maybe the only time in relativeley recent history there hasn't been a flow of people leaving the country. As loveley as it is,its predominantley rural, many left (and still do)  to seek their fortunes elswhere. Of course you'll know that already. You think what you wanna think, i aint trying to educate ya, but a racist comment it certainley was not.

[Steve_c]

What's so great about the £.     We have the biggest deficit in Europe.  I would have the Euro every time.

You cant be serious

[clearlyclean]

my kids use Euro as play money because that all it is good for.

[G Griffin]

Alan Patridge`s views are interesting: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QRlR0ctjNE
 

[Londoner]

A lot of Irish who went to America were treated no better than slaves were. In the Southern states before the Civil War Irish worked in the fields alongside the slaves harvesting the cotton. The rednecks.

Many just worked for food and board. Lots of Irish men joined the American Army to escape the conditions in the fields. Thats why on old films like John Wayne's Seventh Cavalry all the Sergents were Irish.

My first wife was Irish, from Cork, when her sister went to San Francisco to visit relatives something was said about television. The person she was talking to was amazed they acually had television in Ireland.

[mci services]

Alan Patridge`s views are interesting: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QRlR0ctjNE
 

very good

[andrew66]

Your question in the beginning was how have window cleaners in the republic coped with the catastrophic slump in the economy, well if you saw the warning signs that were there for all to see you prepared, as a company we diversified , we bought carpet cleaning equipment then took on gutter vac equip, canvassing all the time in all areas, like a squirrel getting its nuts ready for winter, we deliberatly made an efffort to get way too much work to deal with, now in the depth of economic hell we are busy still all the time, the moral or the lesson to be learned is prepare for the future, get as much work as possible now cos when the BIG slump hits the uk you will lose customers, to think that you are in a ressecion proof buisness as a window cleaner is just madness, when people are looking to save a few euro they cut non essentials and believe it or not and this may be heresy clean windows are not essential.
   some of the biggest contracts we lost were garages and legal firms, our domestic work dipped by 10% but due to the fact that we had prepared we had the work to replace it. times are hard here that is for sure but its not the depression thta you would be led to believe by sky news im still stuck in traffic every morning by all the people going to work the shops are still jammed coming up to xmas people have money they are just careful with it!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Londoner]

Window cleaning is not recession proof far from it but the damage is not absolute. If you work for a company and get made redundant you go from all to nothing.

We may lose 25% of our business but we still keep the other 75%. The advantage for us is that we don't have to cover any big overheads like rent on a shop, stock etc so we are much more flexible.

Most businesses losing 25% of their turnover would go under and fail but we don't. We just have to tighten our belts.

This recession is going to hit badly in the new year. I have no doubt on that but we will get by, many others won't.