Is Ireland "Too Small" to run itself ?

iMax

In light of everything that's happened over the last number of years.

Everything that's happened in the last 90 odd years since independence has led us to this point, We've spent the decades gouging & scamming each other, rewarding the wrong people etc.

We've had a recent influx of UK retailers who we've welcomed with open arms.

Do you think we're to small to cope with running ourselves ? Other smaller countries have managed to do it, but not us, probably because we're only running ourselves for less then a hundred years.

Maybe we should get the UK to take over the running of the country (oooh political!), adopt sterling & just get on with it... ?

digme

iMax wrote: »

In light of everything that's happened over the last number of years.

Everything that's happened in the last 90 odd years since independence has led us to this point, We've spent the decades gouging & scamming each other, rewarding the wrong people etc.

We've had a recent influx of UK retailers who we've welcomed with open arms.

Do you think we're to small to cope with running ourselves ? Other smaller companies have managed to do it, but not us, probably because we're only running ourselves for less then a hundred years.

Maybe we should get the UK to take over the running of the country (oooh political!), adopt sterling & just get on with it... ?

Do you lack self confidence?

Frank Black

iMax wrote: »

In light of everything that's happened over the last number of years.

Everything that's happened in the last 90 odd years since independence has led us to this point, We've spent the decades gouging & scamming each other, rewarding the wrong people etc.

We've had a recent influx of UK retailers who we've welcomed with open arms.

Do you think we're to small to cope with running ourselves ? Other smaller companies have managed to do it, but not us, probably because we're only running ourselves for less then a hundred years.

Maybe we should get the UK to take over the running of the country (oooh political!), adopt sterling & just get on with it... ?

We could ask.

I'm pretty sure they'd say 'no thanks' though.

Messi2

Youre right and I agree with you.

SO far as a nation on our own we have been failure. However with the chip on the shoulder of most Irish towards the British cant see us ever going back into a UK system.

A shame because as I said weve been a failure as a nation and would do much better under the wings of the UK.

Sykk

Get your flame retardant jacket, OP.

iMax

digme wrote: »

Do you lack self confidence?

What's that got to do with anything ?

And no, if anything I'm over confident.

SEPT 23 1989

Two words Fianna Fail

Lux23

Too useless, yes. Bring back the Brits!!

Thatnastyboy

Oh goody, "another Ireland is sh!t, why are we the only country in the world with problems" thread :pac:

Seriously though, its not THAT bad,

Yeah we've high unemployment and the finances are a bit of a mess, but its not anarchy like, most people are doing ok in the scheme of things.

Now, the likes of Somalia, they're a country that - regardless of size, cant run itself.

We aren't a faliure, we're doing pretty damn good as far as im concerned.

FuCK you, Ireland bashers.


^^(not directed at anyone particular, just a rant, I will not go back to non-sensical comments thank you)

ScumLord

Ireland did some great things in the 50s, you have to remember Ireland was pretty much a 3rd world country when we got independence.

Most the great civilisations in the past like those that built the pyramids where cities of at most 50,000 people and look what they achieved.

There's no such thing as to small when it comes to human groups.

FatherLen

just close this thread PLEASE...

iMax

For clarification & full disclosure reasons: There's a lot I love about Ireland & a lot I hate.

Personally I think we screwed it up, I think because of the decisions made in the past by people with money & power, we've lost it. I have a child who probably doesn't have a future in this country, I'd rather see her go & succeed elsewhere than be stuck here saddled with debts she had absolutely nothing to do with.

In this "great" country there are people serving jail time (not much but they are) for not having a TV licence while the people who bankrupted the country & are most probably minimising the taxes they pay walk free.

The government can create or change legislation overnight to enforce pay deductions, yet cannot stop paying bonuses or excessively high salaries because they're "legally contracted" to.

It's no wonder we failed, we weren't watching what was going on because we were too busy screwing each other.

Nodin

iMax wrote: »

.........

Maybe we should get the UK to take over the running of the country (oooh political!), adopt sterling & just get on with it... ?

No.

Krusader

If you don't like Ireland, fúck off elsewhere
Most of the Western World is on the brink of collapse, we're not the only country with problems

Blazer

[QUOTE=ScumLord;73369264
Most the great civilisations in the past like those that built the pyramids where cities of at most 50,000 people and look what they achieved.
[/QUOTE]
Christ man , by the time Ireland completed a pyramid Mars would have about 20 of them.


Look at the M50, proposed in 1971, started in 1987 and completed in 2010.

Then you look at the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in China. It's a bridge 26 miles long built over the sea.
It took 4 years to complete.
Apparently we need about 20 different quangos to tell us how to build a motorway, then billions to pay for the overpriced land, then the muppets build it over a bog etc and so on and so on..and then it's 20 years later and you're wondering "wtf are these clowns doing"?

iMax

Crosáidí wrote: »

If you don't like Ireland, fúck off elsewhere

Can tell by your handle & location that you're proud to be Irish & congratulations to you for being able to be.

Unfortunately if I were to show the same patriotism of say the US by hanging a flag off my house it would mean one of three things:

1. I live in a government owned building
2. There's a football match on
3. I support the IRA

1 & 3 are not true & 2 only applies certain days of the year. If you can't lay claim to your national flag, you haven't much to be proud of.

Nodin

iMax wrote: »

Can tell by your handle & location that you're proud to be Irish & congratulations to you for being able to be.

Unfortunately if I were to show the same patriotism of say the US by hanging a flag off my house it would mean one of three things:

1. I live in a government owned building
2. There's a football match on
3. I support the IRA

1 & 3 are not true & 2 only applies certain days of the year. If you can't lay claim to your national flag, you haven't much to be proud of.

If you want to cave into stereotypes, thats your problem. However don't project on the rest of us.

iMax

It's not stereotypes, it's true.

Brian CivilEng

Shall I get the spray can and start the ball rolling on the new form of graffiti that we'll see all over the country:

"BRITS IN!"

We've screwed up a little, but so have our saintly neighbours. So have the Americans. So have many other places in the world, some slightly more than others. But get this, there are not millions dying because of it. We are living in what is pretty much the best time ever to be alive, no major wars, no famines in this part of the world, no disease. Standard of living is higher than it was 10 years ago, life expectancy highest it's ever been, we have iPads! Ok, we still don't have hoverboards but they are bound to come soon. Stop complaining.

Krusader

iMax wrote: »

It's not stereotypes, it's true.

So having a tri-colour outside your house means you support the IRA :rolleyes:

charlemont

Ireland itself isn't too small but the Republic is..

Opelfruit

iMax wrote: »

In light of everything that's happened over the last number of years....

...maybe we should get the UK to take over the running of the country (oooh political!), adopt sterling & just get on with it... ?

Pick up any newspaper (besides one owned by News Corp), the UK is far from perfect!

iMax

Crosáidí wrote: »

So having a tri-colour outside your house means you support the IRA :rolleyes:

Or one of the other two choices

Sanjuro

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Two words Fianna Fail

Are two words all you're capable of, or would you care to elaborate on the tired old cliche of just saying Fianna Fail and expecting that to be the extent of your argument?

Krusader

iMax wrote: »

Or one of the other two choices

Fail

iMax

Everyone's entitled to an opinion

The Scientician

I think the opposite, I think we're small enough that with a transparent, open, government we should tick along nicely like other small prosperous developed states. The apparatus needs to be set in place that the corruption etc. endemic in the last decades are not repeated. We have a small population, it shouldn't take much for us to quietly prosper.
We also have various "aces", non-threatening weather most of the time, good agricultural land, plenty of water, and a middlingly educated workforce.

getz

ScumLord wrote: »

Ireland did some great things in the 50s, you have to remember Ireland was pretty much a 3rd world country when we got independence.

Most the great civilisations in the past like those that built the pyramids where cities of at most 50,000 people and look what they achieved.

There's no such thing as to small when it comes to human groups.

you forget that ireland has never been able to suport its own workforce,[even today],if other countries had not taken in irish workers,and families, just think of the mess ireland would have been in.

LordSutch

iMax wrote: »

Maybe we should get the UK to take over the running of the country (oooh political!), adopt sterling & just get on with it... ?

Exactly, and that's one of the reasons Northern Ireland stayed within the Union & why Scotland will also vote to stay within the UK. Re joining Streling would also make a lot of sense for a tiny economy like ours, and while were at it we should re join the Commonwealth! but alas I suspect I'm a lone voice down here, apart from maybe Eoghan Harris?

Biggins

iMax wrote: »

In light of everything that's happened over the last number of years.

Everything that's happened in the last 90 odd years since independence has led us to this point, We've spent the decades gouging & scamming each other, rewarding the wrong people etc.

We've had a recent influx of UK retailers who we've welcomed with open arms.

Do you think we're to small to cope with running ourselves ?

Switzerland, Liechtenstein... !!!

Crazy Horse 6

We THINK we are the bees knees of a country when in fact we are just and have always been a fck up of a nation.

RichieC

Rob Schneider derp de derp. Derp de derpity derpy derp. Until one day, the derpa derpa derpaderp. Derp de derp, da teedily dumb. From the creators of Der, and Tum Ta Tittaly Tum Ta Too, Rob Schneider is Da Derp Dee Derp Da Teetley Derpee Derpee Dumb. Rated PG-13.

Notorious97

Yes OP, yes indeed, because we prospered so well under British rule, worked a treat the last time we ‘tried’ it!

Noopti

Because Britain did a bang up job of running Ireland up until independence.... :rolleyes:

The size of the country has nothing to do with how easily it can be run. Can you not run your own household? Maybe it would be easier if you ran 50 households?

The Republic is a very young country, and it will always take a lot of good and bad things to happen before we get to a point where good and bad things still happen but we are more accustomed to dealing with them. We may need to peg a new Irish currency to sterling out of necessity, but claiming that another country is needed to run our own is ridiculous - it would make no difference.

Rented Mule

Perhaps we should let the Catholic Church run Ireland. They actually run a much smaller country, Vatican City, and seem to do OK. This way they can still pick and choose which laws they want to follow.

Wile E. Coyote

iMax wrote: »

For clarification & full disclosure reasons: There's a lot I love about Ireland & a lot I hate.

Personally I think we screwed it up, I think because of the decisions made in the past by people with money & power, we've lost it. I have a child who probably doesn't have a future in this country, I'd rather see her go & succeed elsewhere than be stuck here saddled with debts she had absolutely nothing to do with.

In this "great" country there are people serving jail time (not much but they are) for not having a TV licence while the people who bankrupted the country & are most probably minimising the taxes they pay walk free.

The government can create or change legislation overnight to enforce pay deductions, yet cannot stop paying bonuses or excessively high salaries because they're "legally contracted" to.

It's no wonder we failed, we weren't watching what was going on because we were too busy screwing each other.

If your daughter has the same defeatest attitude as you then I feel sorry for her cause she'll never succeed at anything.

When things go wrong you fix it and move forward. I'm sick and tired of these non stop bullsh*t threads about how bad this country is and how there's no hope for the children. Your children are tomorrows politicians and policy makers. Teach them now the difference between right and wrong and they won't need to carry the burden of todays mistakes because they'll have the sense and knowledge to change it!

Wile E. Coyote

Crazy Horse 6 wrote: »

We THINK we are the bees knees of a country when in fact we are just and have always been a fck up of a nation.

With the exception of the recession which has effected the entire world, and the useless politicians which WE elected. How have we been a f*ck up of a country?

drdeadlift

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

With the exception of the recession which has effected the entire world, and the useless politicians which WE elected. How have we been a f*ck up of a country?

you for real?

iMax

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

If your daughter has the same defeatest attitude as you then I feel sorry for her cause she'll never succeed at anything.

I'm far from defeatist, as is she, I'm very much a realist.

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

When things go wrong you fix it and move forward.

Yes, but I'm not seeing much moving forward going on, admittedly there's a lot of stuff that happens behind closed doors, that we will never be privy to, but all that's happening now is treading financial & political waters.

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

I'm sick and tired of these non stop bullsh*t threads about how bad this country is and how there's no hope for the children. Your children are tomorrows politicians and policy makers. Teach them now the difference between right and wrong and they won't need to carry the burden of todays mistakes because they'll have the sense and knowledge to change it!

But the fact is they will carry the burden, in the same way this current government (which on the whole I'm mostly impressed with) inherited it from the last lot.

We as a nation have been sold into indentured servitude for the foreseeable future.

This thread has gone somewhat off topic. The simple fact is we've only ruled ourselves for less than a hundred years & we managed to screw it up spectacularly. If we were run the same way as Scotland, or NI, we'd probably be in a better position.

Wolfe Tone

I blame Kevin Myers for threads like this.

pragmatic1

Yeah because small countries like Switzerland and Luxembourg are in such a bad way.

iMax

Biggins wrote: »

Switzerland, Liechtenstein... !!!

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Yeah because small countries like Switzerland and Luxembourg are in such a bad way.

*Ahem*

From the original post:

iMax wrote: »

Other smaller countries have managed to do it, but not us, probably because we're only running ourselves for less then a hundred years.

pragmatic1

iMax wrote: »

*Ahem*

From the original post:

Yeah sorry. Must read OP fully before jumping in. I suppose most countries dont have our hateful history, culture of emigration (brain drain), and then theres the nefarious legacy of the catholic church and Fianna Fail.

Wile E. Coyote

iMax wrote: »

I'm far from defeatist, as is she, I'm very much a realist.

Your not defeatist??? A few bad years and your contemplating running back to the same country that raped and starved us for centuries. If you were a realist you'd realise that we've been here before as has every other country in the world. We'll get through it, we'll move on and like most other countries we'll probably be in the same position again as it wasn't just our mistakes that lead to this. Some things you just can't control

Yes, but I'm not seeing much moving forward going on, admittedly there's a lot of stuff that happens behind closed doors, that we will never be privy to, but all that's happening now is treading financial & political waters.

Your not seeing much now and being honest you probably won't for a while but that doesn't mean it's not happening. Good news in not reported in the national newspapers because good news doesn't sell. There's new jobs being announced every day but they get very little coverage. All we hear is the doom and gloom stories and the majority of those stories are either exaggerated or speculation.

The simple fact is we've only ruled ourselves for less than a hundred years & we managed to screw it up spectacularly. If we were run the same way as Scotland, or NI, we'd probably be in a better position.

There's that defeatist attitude again. How have we screwed it up? The recession brought things crashing back to reality but how many of us were honestly complaining when we were benefiting from it all? None. I don't know anyone who complained during the good times about having a job, getting paid good wages, taking foreign holidays etc etc.

7sr2z3fely84g5

i think if we where still under british rule there might be more of an angrier mentality on public waste and other fraud,i know there was outrage and downright disgust in uk when the ministers fraud expenses came to light,and unusually from an irish perspective they got prison.

There was alot of fraud and denial during the good times,some video and report-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFBfkusf8R0

Wright report showed the gov ignored the dangers- http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/ffpd-policy-to-blame-for-economic-ills-claims-report-2554051.html

Needler

iMax wrote: »

*Ahem*

From the original post:

I suppose we only have a bit to go before we reach the 100 years and things will improve greatly.

People are too quick to dismiss they are capable of anything worthwhile and quickly look to a massive government or company to sort it out instead.

Its possibly an effect of consumerism - people want to pay to make the problem go away because they see it as the easy option. Ah sure we'll outsource that to some massive company, sure just let the brits take care of this place so we won't have to worry about it.

dsmythy

Utopian Switzerland.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=73261118&postcount=17

I think I prefer Ireland's safety net....

Sc@recrow wrote: »

Then you look at the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in China. It's a bridge 26 miles long built over the sea.
It took 4 years to complete.
Apparently we need about 20 different quangos to tell us how to build a motorway, then billions to pay for the overpriced land, then the muppets build it over a bog etc and so on and so on..and then it's 20 years later and you're wondering "wtf are these clowns doing"?

Handy they can just take land at will. I wonder how much the workers got paid for it.

getz

is it to small ?i dont know,but in UK terms its like yorkshire going independent,both have the same population.

donutface

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3oIiH7BLmg

This probably has something to do with why we keep falling into the same old mess

2 stroke

Yes. We need to expand. We should invade France and Germany. We should probably take over the UK first, their ports could be useful.

getz

2 stroke wrote: »

Yes. We need to expand. We should invade France and Germany. We should probably take over the UK first, their ports could be useful.

you do not need to invade the UK,so many irish over here,just have a uprising,thats a good idea,then us english can go and live in a empty ireland,and make it work