INBOX THIS TIGER WONT EAT YOU

摘要

I write regarding your article "One hungry tiger" (3 December, page 32). As in most reports about Ireland's economic woes these days, the writer stated that the once-mighty Celtic tiger has accepted an ￡80bn bailout. The truth is that it has been forced to accept a loan from the EU and the IMF, for which it will pay some ￡8bn-10bn in interest. This equates to the average household in Ireland contributing about €7,500 (￡6,385) a year for the period of the loan and a savaging of the living standard of ordinary citizens, most of whom had nothing to do with the mismanagement of the economy. The author also fails to mention that, during the Celtic tiger years, Ireland provided jobs for tens of thousands of UK and other European construction workers which in turn benefited many UK families, the UK economy and in particular the economies of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.