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Volume 1 (1999/2000)
Issue
1 (March 1999)
Issue
2 (Nov. 1999)
Issue 3 (Dec. 1999)
Issue 4 (Feb. 2000)
Issue 5 (March 2000)
Issue 6 (April 2000)
Issue
7 (May 2000)
Volume 2 (2000/2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2000)
Issue 2 (Oct. 2000)
Issue 3 (Jan. 2001)
Issue 4 (March 2001)
Issue 5 (April 2001)
Issue 6 (May 2001)
Volume 3 (2001)
Issue 1 (Sept. 2001)
Issue 2 (Nov. 2001)
Categories
Sport: 1
2 3
Lifestyles: 1 2
3
Commentary: 1 2
3
Review: 1 2
3
Writing: 1 2
3
Event: 1 2
3
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Patrick Nulty
Riversdale Community College
Over the last few years the so-called "Celtic Tiger"
economy has apparently gone from strength to strength, that is if you
believe the mainstream media as well as our Politicians. However most
people realise that the reality is somewhat different. In reality the
quality of life for many Irish people has begun to decrease in recent
years. Problems like housing, traffic congestion and grossly underfunded
public services have all been largely ignored by the ruling classes in
Irish life.
First of all, the problems in the housing market have reached
crisis point. It has reached a stage now where even a couple, both with
reasonably well paid jobs, still cannot afford to buy a house. This problem
can only be solved by a massive investment in affordable public housing
that will prove to be a valuable long-term investment.
Anyone who has been in and around Dublin City as well as
our other urban centres will surely realise that traffic congestion is
a major problem and adds a huge degree of stress and frustration to people's
lives. Again, there is a solution to this problem and again it involves
considerable investment. Public transport is the only solution to this
problem with particular attention being paid to the increase in rail services
and, in my opinion, an underground transport system would dramatically
decrease traffic problems in the long term.
Ireland's health care and education system are two of the
finest in the world however this may reflect more on the lack of quality
services in this area globally rather than any particular merit in our
own system. It is a disgrace in a country with huge budget surpluses that
most of our young children are in classes over thirty, which means that
it is almost impossible for them to receive the attention they need. More
investment and improvements in school facilities can resolve this problem.
I believe that it is also important that people like teachers, nurses
and the police receive proper remuneration for the valuable work they
do.
To conclude, these are just a few of the problems facing
Irish society today and to some people my solutions may seem radical.
However I do not believe them to be radical at all; to me they are common
sense. If people believe that reasonably priced housing, adequate public
transport and properly funded health and education systems are radical
then perhaps we as a people have more problems than I would care to imagine.
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