Is Ireland really heading for a serious recession??

Question

Suddenly my husband and I are really struggling. He has a great painting and decorating business and always has work unlike alot of men in the same business. Its the outgoings that are a serious problem, our shopping, petrol, electricity, telephone.

I am quite good with money but this is ridiculous. How can any young family cope with the way Ireland is going? Its quite scary to think about what our country will be like for our children. Even if I go back to work the childcare costs is extortionate.

We dont go out, I dont go shopping like other women do, we dont smoke, etc!! Whats going on??

Answer 1

Tell me about it. When i first came here 16 years ago it was possible to get by on very little,then came the boom and everybody started taking the micky.The government introduced the German based NCT which resulted in having to buy an overpriced car every few years,the tourist trade was finished off by greedy B+B owners/Hoteliers that took the attitude that there was always another mug behind,the food retailers that raised prices in order to subsidise stores elsewhere. Even with the price of petrol it is cheaper to do a round trip of 100 miles to the North than to shop at my local Tescos. Yes it will get worse. House repos are going to grow exponentially (Have you seen the number of unsold houses there are in every town/village in Ireland?) The one place of refuge was the local pub which one cannot any longer smoke in nor can a youngster learn to involve themselves in live music. Have you not noticed that people are now more stressed and sick of being fleeced having quite happily been fleecing others for the last few years. The canny ones do their shopping on the internet where possible because everything from a new kettle to a tin of beans is more expensive here. Rip Off Republic

Answer 2

Have you thought about Oz or NZ?  Shortage of painter/decorators there, I believe.

Answer 3

It would appear so. The minimum wage here is very high, and economic times are tough. Thus, firms decide to locate elsewhere, and so many people lose their jobs. Look at the decline of workers in the construction industry. Our economy grew very quickly in such a short time, and it looks like the trouble in the world economy might hit us pretty hard.

Answer 4

Without getting too technical, Ireland was white hot economically, much more so than any other EU country, and like anything else that burns with this intensity, the cycle and lifespan was short.  While the boon times are ascending, it's easy to get the impression that the good times will not end, and even much easier to be oblivious to the fundamentals supporting this economic expansion or its lack thereof.

The rising tide that rose all the Irish ships was the burgeoning tech sector followed by it's inevitable effects on the housing market, making real estate the playground of wanton speculators.

The demand for goods and services that this dynamic created was almost entirely funded by elevated housing values that once the market cooled came crashing.  This downturn, will unfortunately last longer than the conditions that created it to begin with, as it is not easy to recover from spending yoursel into a defict based on money you though you could count on that simply evaporated with declining property values.  People who bought properties that now are worth less than the original selling price are stuck waiting for either a goverment bail out, or a new cycle of real estate speculation that would favor them, if they survive that long.  Basically it is that simple.