BEST OF TIMES? THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE CELTIC TIGER IN IRELAND

Embargo: Thursday 28 June 2007 at 6.30 p.m.

Edited by Tony Fahey, Helen Russell, Christopher T. Whelan

Published By The Institute Of Public Administration

Critics of the Celtic Tiger often claim that it has enriched the economy but weakened society. They say that more money and goods have come at the cost of wider social inequality, declining community life, too much emphasis on work and competition, a more selfish, materialist approach to life, and many other social ills.

This gloomy view of the social consequences of Ireland's recent prosperity is not justified by the evidence. So claims a new book launched today by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Dublin. The book brings together the work of a number of social researchers from the ESRI and other research centres in Ireland. It presents and assesses the latest findings on the social impact of economic change in Ireland since the early 1990s.

Much of this research, according to the book, shows that the Celtic Tiger has brought important social gains as well as economic growth.

· Severe poverty has declined. While income inequality remains wide, even those at the bottom of the income ladder are better off than they used to be.

· The astonishing abundance of jobs and the decline in unemployment have involved undeniable social gain.

· The stresses of too much work and of juggling job and family life are less socially damaging than the stresses of too little work

· National morale is among the highest in Europe.

· Social mobility has increased, as more people from modest backgrounds ascend into white-collar occupations

· People are now flocking into the country for work rather than out of it.

· People are marrying and having children at a higher rate than fifteen years ago.

· Even though there are problems in the health services, people’s health has improved

· Social support networks and attachments to communities remain strong. The image of masses of people lost and isolated in anonymous housing estates is belied by how settled and at home people feel in the new suburbs.

Social problems and challenges remain:

· Social exclusion is still too common.

· The transport system and many public services could be better

· Certain kinds of crimes are a persistent problem

· Social integration and multiculturalism may yet give rise to social strains.

However, a balanced reading of evidence on social gains and losses over the past decade or so shows that the former clearly outweigh the latter. The Celtic Tiger has not just been about the economy: even on social grounds it deserves a clearly positive evaluation. 

For further information contact:

Christopher T. Whelan, ESRI, on (+353 1) 863 2020, or by email to chris.whelan@esri.ie;

Tony Fahey, UCD, on (+353 1) 716 8231, or by email to tony.fahey@ucd.ie.   

This book is published by the Institute of Public Administration, price €25, and is available from bookshops or direct from the IPA.