Almost two months ago, the independence of the Irish Republic completed its 100th anniversary. This post is a tribute to this country. The recent Ireland's history is remarkable for the transformative power of the investment in education, in just few decades, this country that was once one of the poorest of Europe is now one of the richest. An example of good governance and capacity of its workforce to the world. This post is a summary three articles. The first with the incomplete title above, was published at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-singer/100th-anniversary-of-irel_b_9718596.html, The second was published at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland. The third was published at http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2006/06/how-ireland-became-the-celtic-tiger
April 24, is the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, the start of revolutionary activity that finally secured independence for Ireland. New York City commemoration includes a mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral followed by a piped procession to the office of the Irish Consul General on Park Avenue. A formal dinner will be held at the American Irish Historical Society located on the New York University campus also opens a four-month exhibit, "Her Exiled Children", based on its 1916 archives. On Easter Sunday 1916 nationalist leader Padraig Pearse, a local teacher, read a Proclamation, on the steps of the Dublin General Post Office declaring Irish independence from Great Britain. Pearse and the rebels demanded, "the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible" and pledged "our lives and the lives of our comrades in arms to the cause of its freedom, of its exaltation among the nations." After six days of fighting on Dublin streets and hundreds of civilian casualties, the rebellion was crushed by British troops and local police. Leaders who survived were summarily executed by the British military. But instead of ending the independence movement, the defeat stimulated a much broader campaign. In 1918, the Irish Sinn Fein political party which demanded an independent Ireland, won a majority of the Irish seats in the British Parliament and the next year the Irish Republican Army launched a guerrilla war against the British government. A 1921 treaty established the Irish Free State as a self-governing nation that eventually became the fully independent Republic of Ireland. New York City has always had close ties to the Irish nationalist movement. On August 20, 1916, The New York Times published an interview with Moira Regan, a young woman who participated in the Easter Rising. She was in New York raising support and funds for the rebel cause. This is from her accounts about the consequencies of events."The greatest result of the rising, the thing that will justify it even if it were the only good result, is the complete and amazing revival of Irish nationality. We have been awakened to the knowledge that there is a great difference between Ireland and England, that we are really a separate nation. Even the people that were not in sympathy with the rebels, feel this now. This feeling has spread all over Ireland. We were a province, and now we are a nation; we were British subjects, and now we are Irish. This is what the rising has done to Ireland".
Éire, also known as the Republic of Ireland is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin and whose metropolitan area is home to around a third of the country's 4.7 million inhabitants. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who is elected by the congress and appointed by the elected President. Ireland became a member of the U.N. in 1955. After joining the E.E.C. in 1973, Ireland enacted a series of economic policies that resulted in rapid economic growth. The country achieved considerable prosperity from 1995 to 2007, during which it became known as the Celtic Tiger. This was halted by the global financial crisis that began in 2008. However, as the Irish economy was the fastest growing in the E.U. in 2015, Ireland is again quickly ascending leagues tables comparing wealth and prosperity internationally. For example, in 2015, Ireland was ranked the sixth most developed country in the world by the U.N. Human Development Index. The state extends over an area of 70,273 km2. The highest point is Carrauntoohill with 1,038 m, located in the southwest. The river Shannon, which traverses the central lowlands, is the longest at 386 km. The Irish economy has transformed since the 1980s from being predominantly agricultural to a modern knowledge economy focused on high technology industries and services. Ireland adopted the Euro currency in 2002. The country is heavily reliant on Foreign Direct Investment and has attract several multinational corporations due to a highly educated workforce and a low corporation tax rate. Companies as Intel invested in Ireland during the late 1980s, followed by Microsoft and Google. Ireland has three levels of education: primary, secondary and higher education. Education is compulsory between the ages of six and fifteen years. There are around 3,300 primary schools and the vast majority, 90%, are under the patronage of the Catholic Church, but receiving public money, and can not discriminate pupils based upon religion or lack thereof. The PISA currently ranks Ireland as having the fourth highest reading score, ninth highest science score and thirteenth highest math score, among OECD countries. The country ranks in 8th place as world's top universities. Primary, secondary and higher education are all free. However, there are charges to cover some services and examinations. In addition, currently, 37% of Ireland population has a university degree. Ireland's culture was for centuries predominantly Gaelic, and it remains one of the six principal Celtic nations. Following the Anglo-Norman invasion in 12th century, and gradual British conquest and colonisation, beginning in the 16th century, Ireland became unfluenced by English culture. Ireland has made significant contribution to world literature. Modern Irish fiction began with the publishing of the 1726 novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, another well known writer is Bram Stoker author of the 1897 novel Dracula. James Joyce published his famous work Ulysses in 1922, which is an interpretation of the Odyssey set in Dublin. Ireland has two Nobel Prize in Literature laureates William Butler Yeats and Seamus Heaney. Ireland ranks fifth in the world in terms of gender equality and 2011, was ranked the second most charitable country in the world. Ireland became one of the first country to introduce a public smoking ban in 2004, and Ireland has the second highest rate of recycling in the E.U.
In just over a generation, Ireland has evolved from one of the poorest countries in Europe to one of the most successful. It has reversed the persistent emigration of its best and brightest and achieved an enviable reputation as a thriving, knowledge-driven economy. As a result of sustained efforts over many years, the past of declining population, poor living standards, and economic stagnation has been left behind. Ireland now has the second highest GDP per capita within E.U. (after Luxemboutg). One of the biggest successes of the Irish economy has been new job creation. In one year alone (2005) employment increased by 5%. Ireland is now seen as the land of opportunity by many workers. Its unemployment rate of 4% is less than half the E.U. average. Public budgets are in balance. Ireland achieved this success through a combination of sensible policies and pragmatism. At the heart of these policies was a belief in economic openness to global markets, low tax rates, and investment in education. Ireland's transformation was national in scope, with individuals, businesses, institutions, and government sharing the same ambition. It envolved parents deciding that their children would have choices that they did not have and would not be forced to leace their home because of economic necessity. The OECD sponsored an influential report on education, Investment in Education, which was published in 1965. This report emphasized that education was key to the future of Ireland's society and economy. Attempts were made to adjust to the new openness. The National Industrial and Economic Council, comprising government, business, and other interests, discussed the challenges of restructuring industry now faced with free-trade competition. Underlying the extensive processes of consultation and engagement was aclear commitment to change, even if that change had inevitable problems and costs. Industrial Development Authority (IDA) played a central role in the new drive for success. While still funded by the state, the IDA was established with its own board, staff, and operating freedoms, separate from government. It was the first dedicated state agency in the world to undertaken a massive and sustained campaign to establish a modern manufacturing base by attracting large-scale foreign investment. The IDA adopted pragmatic, business-like methods. The key decision was to focus on industries that represented the future-high technology, high output, and high skills. The main target included the computer industry, pharmaceuticals, and medical technology, followed by international services. Soon investments were won from leading companies. All of these companies were persuaded of using Ireland as an export platform to serve Europe and other markets. All of this happened against a backdrop of high inflation, which averaged 13.6% per year in the 1970s and was driven partly by international factors and partly by an expansionary fiscal policy. Unsolved, the economic problems of the 1970s rolled over into the 1980s, producing disappointment. The consequencies were the return of high unemployment, emigration, steady worsening of the public finances, and the seeming inability of any government to find a solution to the situation. Between 1980 and 1986, total government expenditure grew from 54% to 62% of GDP, and public debt increased from 87% to 120% of GDP, while annual budget deficits exceeded 10% of GDP. In 1987 a new government started a program of cuts in expenditure accompained for development measures. Within a few years, these steps began to show dividends, helped by a coincidence of other factors. Developments steps in financial services and other sectors were assisted by a series of investments in telecommunications from the 1980s onward, although the sector remained largely state-owned until the late 1990s. Late entry to heavy investment in this sector ultimately served Ireland well in that it provided the most advanced and comprehensive digital nerwork in Europe ( much as the relevance of the education system was also greater as a result of its late expansion).
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