Ireland still a 1st world country??

Celly Smunt · 19-12-2012 06:27PM

davet82 wrote: »

we're ranked in the top twenty in the world for standard of living...

i'll try find the link, i think we came in around 13th.

The report takes everything from education, weather, disasters, econmic, social and compiles them and compares them to other developed countries

middle field of the best is around 13th

seamus · 19-12-2012 06:27PM

"Are we still a 1st world country?"

Bloody drama queens. "I can only afford the basic sky package now, this is a humanitarian disaster".

WanabeOlympian · 19-12-2012 06:30PM

Yes we are really quite wealthy still even in this economic downturn/disaster. Kind of a weird question.

Where To · 19-12-2012 06:30PM

http://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/ireland/

Looks first world to me.

davet82 · 19-12-2012 06:31PM

pmcmahon wrote: »

middle field of the best is around 13th

not out of over 100 countries... :pac:

seriously though the UN runs the Human Development Index and in 2011 we finish 7th on that list from a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income

bobo26b · 19-12-2012 06:32PM

pmcmahon wrote: »

That wouldn't have benefitted the country at all,in fact it would have cost more to house them up in hotel mountjoy.

Then you can pay it,so pay it.For those who can't it's their own fault,nobody forced them to use their credit card.Their credit card debt is also in the last line of things that have to be paid.If they can pay all their bills and not pay their credit card they aren't too bad off in the grand scheme of things.

Interestingly enough Brazil's growing middle class is running into problems of being debt and largely to do with credit cards, mainly due to the fact that they have not been educated on how credit cards work with their terms and conditions. I wonder if you could compare this to when the Irish first started running into money with a growing middle class. Had we been made more aware of the dangers of borrowing would we be a more money aware society.

Difference Engine · 19-12-2012 06:34PM

We are ranked 7th in the Human Development Index by the UN. Link here

We have our problems but we have it very good compared to the rest of the world.

Edit: davet82 beat me to it.

2ndcoming · 19-12-2012 07:04PM

Am I really gonna waste my 500th post replying to a question this stupid??

james142 · 19-12-2012 07:27PM

Keno 92 wrote: »

Absolutely. Having to walk about 10 feet to the fridge to get bottled water is starting to take its toll.

Where is our Concern eh?

Whats this 'bottled water' you speak of?

Capt'n Midnight · 19-12-2012 07:35PM

Interesting.
All those people who voted 2nd world without knowing what it meant.

Because we've never been a 2nd world country by any stretch of the imagination.

Seaneh · 19-12-2012 07:43PM

bobo26b wrote: »

Just wondering with all the sh*te that has gone on in Ireland over the last few years, can we still call ourselves a 1st world country. Is it possible that we may have slid into being some sort of 2nd tier 1st world country or 2nd world country.

Lads were talking about this in the pub the other night most thought we were still a 1st world country, I'm not sure I think we could have slipped a bit into some form of 2nd tier group.

So what do ye think??

We, luckily, still have one of the highest standards of living in the world.

If you'd ever even been to one of the poorer EU countries, you'd see that. Go visit rural Romania for a start. Then you have the poorer Non-EU countries, like Albania or Macedonia, you want to see what a developing European country looks like and the standard of living for poor people there, go. Both are beautiful countries but visiting some of the smaller villages will give you some idea of the gulf in the standards we live in and they live in.

Then you have the developing South American countries like Ecuador and Especially Bolivia, where it's perfectly normal for people to live in rubish dumps.
Entire communities of people who live in landfills and make their money from recycling stuff from the rubbish. I volunteered with a charity in Portoveijo Ecuador who delivered water and meds to families on two of the cities landfills, every few days we'd load massive water tanks into the back of a few pick up trucks and drive to the dumps and fill the families water bottles/jerry cans/buckets/etc.
And this wasn't water that is safe to drink, this Ecuadorian tap water, you can't even brush your teeth with it or you'd have the ****s for a week and these families had this as their only source of water, for drinking, cooking bathing, everything!

If you want to see just how lucky we are here, go to one of those countries and get some ****ing perspective.

BTW, I haven't even mentioned Sub Saharan Africa...

p.s.
The terms First world and Third World haven't been used since the 80's, there are Developed Countries and Developing countries and different levels of both.

Higher end of developed: German,, The US, The UK, Ireland, Japan, Canada, Australia, etc
Lower end of developed: Portugal, Romania, Croatia, South Africa, etc.

Higher end of Developing: Peru, Albania, Jamica, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Morocco , etc
Lower end of Developing, Southern Sudan, Mali, Malawi, Swaziland, Lesotho, Nepal, etc

areyawell · 19-12-2012 07:53PM

When Ireland stops paying 188 euro to people on the dole, when children are dying of starvation, when theres no clean water for miles, when the land turns to desert, when you are living in shanty towns then maybe could discuss it like Ethiopia and third world countries.

Go to Moldova,Albania, Ukraine,Bosnia if you want to witness a "second world country". Christ people in Ireland have no clue how handy they have it!

Icepick · 19-12-2012 07:54PM

'Still' implies that there was some kind of pinnacle of development Ireland achieved and is sliding from.

Can you point me to it, OP?

Statistically, the country looked richer in the past, but that was a bubble that we are paying for now.
Things might have seemed better in the past but that was because loads of things were not reported or covered up.

BBDBB · 19-12-2012 08:02PM

Here is an interesting analogy which gave me some perspective

If the world were a village of 100 people

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNnbO8x4JAY

edit, the financial stuff is towards the 3 minute mark

Seaneh · 19-12-2012 08:05PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNnbO8x4JAY

Downlinz · 19-12-2012 08:07PM

Threads like this is why we're such a pathetic group of people. We drop from top 5 to about 15th and half the country emigrate and liken our situation to Africa.

It's like living in South Park with the levels of hysteria.

YFlyer · 19-12-2012 08:08PM

Keno 92 wrote: »

Absolutely. Having to walk about 10 feet to the fridge to get bottled water is starting to take its toll.

Where is our Concern eh?

Yeah we're still a First World Country.

nocoverart · 19-12-2012 08:13PM

A recession is a first world problem, kind of ironic really

BBDBB · 19-12-2012 08:13PM

Just watched another Youtube 100 people village world

If you keep your food in a fridge, your clothes in a closet, sleep in a bed and have a roof over your head

you are richer than 75% of the population of the world

tdv123 · 19-12-2012 08:14PM

Well I personally feel like we are a 3rd world country, my huge HD TV takes up way too much space in my living room, I can only eat takeaway food 3 nights a week & the 10 minutes it takes me to to collect my weekly 188 is far too time consuming.

YFlyer · 19-12-2012 08:19PM

BBDBB wrote: »

Just watched another Youtube 100 people village world

If you keep your food in a fridge, your clothes in a closet, sleep in a bed and have a roof over your head

you are richer than 75% of the population of the world

My fridge is empty

dutopia · 19-12-2012 08:29PM

No, Ireland is ranked 4th in the Human Development Index.

But I won't be able to accept Ireland as being a truly modern social democratic country until:

The state separates from the church for good. Our public institutions such as hospitals and schools become secular.
We improve and maintain our infrastructure, we have outdated national roads, power, phone etc.
We overhaul the education system and upgrade all hospitals to become high tech.
We have a government that listens to its people instead of putting it's own interests first.
We get rid of skangers.

Downlinz · 19-12-2012 08:31PM

BBDBB wrote: »

Just watched another Youtube 100 people village world

If you keep your food in a fridge, your clothes in a closet, sleep in a bed and have a roof over your head

you are richer than 75% of the population of the world

It's sad as a country we can't reflect on the wonderful place we were fortunate to be brought up in rather than whine about the government taking the cherry off our cake. Nowhere else on the planet exemplifies "first world problems" like Ireland.

BBDBB · 19-12-2012 08:31PM

dutopia wrote: »

No, Ireland is ranked 4th in the Human Development Index.

But I won't be able to accept Ireland as being a truly modern social democratic country until:

The state separates from the church for good. Our public institutions such as hospitals and schools become secular.
We improve and maintain our infrastructure, we have outdated national roads, power, phone etc.
We overhaul the education system and upgrade all hospitals to become high tech.
We have a government that listens to its people instead of putting it's own interests first.
We get rid of skangers.

and fill YFlyers fridge

Mr. Nice · 19-12-2012 08:32PM

davet82 wrote: »

Go to Eastren Europe then, you'll find the same answer applies :rolleyes:

Have you travelled much in the region? Do you have an in-depth knowledge of Eastren (sic) Europe?

BBDBB · 19-12-2012 08:35PM

dutopia wrote: »

No, Ireland is ranked 4th in the Human Development Index.

But I won't be able to accept Ireland as being a truly modern social democratic country until:

The state separates from the church for good. Our public institutions such as hospitals and schools become secular.
We improve and maintain our infrastructure, we have outdated national roads, power, phone etc.
We overhaul the education system and upgrade all hospitals to become high tech.
We have a government that listens to its people instead of putting it's own interests first.
We get rid of skangers.

we wouldnt have skangers if we did as you suggest

keith16 · 19-12-2012 08:43PM

Surprised to see Eastern Europe to be viewed so negatively. It such a broad and simplistic term. Can anyone define it?

Poland for example could be viewed as Central Europe (look at a map). In any case, places like Poland, Ukraine, Estonia could hardly be described as third world. No doubt they are developing. But they are not that far behind Ireland.

For Forks Sake · 19-12-2012 08:43PM

Downlinz wrote: »

Threads like this is why we're such a pathetic group of people. We drop from top 5 to about 15th and half the country emigrate and liken our situation to Africa.

It's like living in South Park with the levels of hysteria.

DEY TERK ER JERBS !!!

MagicSean · 19-12-2012 08:47PM

Some people have no idea how good they have it here.

sink · 19-12-2012 09:04PM

It's seems many people in Ireland completely lack any perspective on poverty. For some enlightenment on how tough life can be outside our first world bubble I recommend watch these BBC documentaries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EWLQw9TiCM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_Ht_19N8Uw

Ireland still a 1st world country??

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