Re: Is Ireland a third world country?

Personally I think the only answer to better infrastructure in Ireland is time. I think that the poorer counties will take a long time to catch up and living there will continue to be challenging.
I suppose we have to remember that in the 1960's many parts of Ireland were still without electricity and even running water, that is not so long ago in the great scheme of things.

Re: Is Ireland a third world country?

To be fair Ania they are always on the ball getting the power back in Dublin, but living in the country is another kettle of fish. There is a battle raging between the new power companies trying to entice customers from the old established electricity supply board, we are besieged with sweet talking men in suits calling to the house offering all sorts of deals to switch over to them, normally I would have no say in this but when it’s something vital to todays living like electricity I put my foot down and won’t change, deals or no deals, there are a lot of fly by nights in the power game, remember how the people all got stung when the telecom shares went public?
When these chaps call to my door I always remember the famous old saying “Beware of geeks wearing quiffs” ( Yes I know it’s terrible, but at least it’s original)

Re: Is Ireland a third world country?

I think you are absolutely right. The first house I lived in here had just got "the electric" in the mid sixties - it had one ceiling bulb and a sacred heart lamp and that was it. Water was from a spring. I remember when TV arrived in the country almost every household had one, even if they did not have an indoor toilet or running water. That seems now like a sort of precedent to the subsequent extremely rapid growth and Celtic Tiger. Ireland almost overnight became a home to technology and advances that were in a way before their time. But it would seem that the infrastructure did not move at the same pace. I left for a while because I was so uncomfortable with the rate and nature of changes.
Having said that, it's still one of the best places in the world to live...most of the time.

Re: Is Ireland a third world country?

Jem, I know what you mean about the new guys. I did once have a chat with one of them, and once he had left I worked out the charges that he said would be saving me so much. They were more than the ESB! I just wish you could actually go into the old ESB office we used to have to sort out problems instead of having to use their 1850 number.
Progress, eh?