"as Ciarín points out"

Ciarán had much the same to say...

dammit ;)

Ireland today is the richest country in the European Union after Luxembourg.

The Editor of NY Times can expect a strongly worded email from Willowfield.

Today is a milestone...

I was reading some of the begrudging, weak arguments raised when the Republic's success is held up... and guess what... I'd zero compulsion to argue the point! It's strangely liberating to know they cherish their views, and get solace from it, and so why try to disillusion them! :-)

"as Ciarín points out"

I had let that pass! Having spent years in England being pronounced as 'Syrian,' I'm perfectly happy as long as an accent appears somewhere!

Totally the fault of a keyboard malfunction, Ciarán. :)

Is that no the true meaning of peace-the ability to create a large enough narrative to include great differences. Perhaps, memembership in the EU creates a possibility of a eurocentered universe rather than a london based one.

The republic trained a lot of computing graduates a while back, while NI universities had a moritorium or training more for a while. And there is a young workforce in Ireland due to demographics.

The low corporation tax rate brings in a lot of companies wanting an english speaking toehold in the European Union. Was it twelve or twenty times the NI level of inward investment?

Socialised healthcare is also just more efficient than companies stumping up for private provision with extra billing, insurance and legal costs.

The EU co-funding will have made infrastructure spending more rational and effective, with less pork-barrel wastage than much local public spending.

Then the positive feedback effects kick in, with unproductive property assets dragged into play by rising values, existing infrastructure worked harder, existing businesses lifted into profitability by rising spending, working immigrants coming in with their childhood & educational costs already paid.

Local politicians are going to have to work hard to stop it happening here.

This is all good. With increased wealth, opportunities and standards of living there will be an increase of immigration into Ireland. This in turn will bring diversity and slowly dilute the status quo. Before you know it, there will be a significant section of the Irish population with no historical hangups and no interest in pushing the republican agenda in the North.
More wealth to the Republic.