On Tue, 20 Jul 1999, Dennis R Redmond wrote:
>Well, prudence had little to do with it. Ireland was the recipient of
>massive subsidies from the EU for years and years -- around 3-5% of GDP in
>terms of loans, grants, etc. This was spent on Good Things, like schools,
>transport, telecom upgrades, etc. instead of the Swiss chalets of
>comprador elites.
Prudence may well have had something to do with it. The investments in schooling and other good things go back to well before Ireland joined the (then) EEC in 1973. The origin of these policies are usually associated with T.K. Whittaker and Lemass's government in the late 1950s. The commitment to education in particular was pretty consistent through subsequent governments, although very much favouring the upper fifth of the population in its benefits
And I doubt that Charles Haughey, to name only the most prominent example among Irish politicians who enriched themselves in office, had much to learn from comprador elites about insuring that he got his cut of whatever was happening economically -- but he possibly could have taught a few lessons in not being *too* greedy, keeping the geese laying.
K. Mickey