Rastaguytoday

t2p and other Irish Residents.

I'm seeing a lot of internet news stories on the economic woes of Ireland.

When I can remember, I watch a PBS (US public television) program called "Out of Ireland". It's not a travel show, rather it's a news show from Ireland about Ireland.

I'm just trying to figure what's going on financially.

Tony2phones

Ireland like lots of other countries got too far ahead of itself fed by European money and the greed of the banks. Then some US based money lender went bang in a big way and the world collapsed.

We have had the rough we are being screwed by the IMF about paying back a loan which was larger than was wanted/needed but no different than the rest of the world. It is easy for the US press to focus on the problems elsewhere diverting attention from their own problems. I feel sorry for the UK where the needy are being really knocked by a government hiding its financial woes by selling off its gold reserves then printing money.. easy with an independent currency to hide, not so easy with the Euro nor with the Dollar. I would imagine there are states in the US who are really struggling and being "assisted" by the other nation states.

We are down but not beaten and unlike some other places we just smile and get on with it. There have been big cuts, extra taxes and restrictions and who in the world is happy in a financial sense these days.

Ackislander

We flew Aer Lingus to/from Dublin in May, though we just transmitted.

We heard a very long and interesting conversation between an Irish visitor to the US and an Irish expat who had not been home since the Glory Days ended. She tried to prepare him for the differences, and much of the discussion seemed to focus on empty housing that was never occupied and that may be bulldozed without ever being occupied. Sounds a lot like Spain and Las Vegas.

Tony2phones

The Anoying thing about these "Ghost" estates of part built even completed but abandoned new houses is that they have been put into central administration rather than handed to local councils who need social housing for desperate and homeless. better to have a property occupied and rental income than sitting empty getting vandalised costing the general population to keep it.

Rastaguytoday

T2p, I totally agree about the UK. They had probably the greatest economist of the 20th Century in Lord John Maynard Keynes, yet they totally ignore what is needed. Austerity is the last thing any European Country needs.

In the U.S., the "nation states" don't help each other. It's an "I got mine, screw you." attitude.

The Out of Ireland TV show does not hold many punches, and gives an outsider a pretty good view of the situation there.

My bookings for an upcoming August trip don't show any discounts, per se. I also look at menus in various towns and cities, and find them more expensive than most U.S. (California) eateries.

Luckily, I have hotel points for my 3 night stay in Dublin.

I suspect that it will be a lot of pub food for me on this trip.

Tony2phones

Eating out always has been expensive over here, Accommodation, we pay the same now as we have done for probably the last 10 years and it's half the price of the cheapest in Huntingdon UK. Good pub food starts around €10 for a main, don't pay more than €5 for soup unless it's Chowder. A full Irish will keep you going with a snack lunch then pub grub evening meal. We have been known to grab a takeaway meal and eat in the car or hotel room.

Rastaguytoday

T2p - thanks. I'm mostly in B&Bs.

I've researched a full Irish, and I agree with you.

I very much enjoy pub grub, but convincing my wife....

Cowboy1968

As T2P wrote, eating out has always been expensive. Actually, I think that dining out is now less expensive than before the crisis. Unless you plan to eat at the finer high end restaurants, I think that most/ many pub meals can match a regular restaurant's quality of food easily.
Hotels and B&Bs offer more "special rates" these days IME.
Petrol has become more expensive - but as a tourist you will probably use your rental car for a few hundred kms anyway. So there should be no meaningful impact on anyone's travel budget.
As a tourist, you will probably hardly ever see or notice a "ghost estate", as you will probably spend not much time in residential areas anyway. These are much less visible than in Spain, where it's often tourist timeshares or holiday apartment buildings which remain uncompleted and in plain sight for tourists in those resort towns.
Some malls will have more vacant stores than before, but it's not really that visible to the outsider. Other - more budget-oriented stores like Aldi or Lidl supermarkets still open at more and more locations.

On the contrary, many infrastructure projects have been completed sucessfully before or during the crisis, like the completion of the motorways to the West or SE, the Shannon Tunnel, upgrades of national roads and train lines, broadband/ DSL in rural areas, the new terminal at Dublin airport etc.
So much will look indeed "better" for those who have not been to Ireland for 5-10 years. While the real problems will be more under the surface and effect locals in their daily lifes.

Nlingenfel

It's been 10 years since my last trip. Really looking forward to returning. We have a wonderful vacation, and we stay in the small towns and b&b's. Thanks for all the reports.