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Tue 12 Dec 2009North and South can only progress together
THE ECONOMIST magazine recently described Ireland as a “sometimes inward-looking island nation”. Have we become more insular and parochial as a country since the onset of the recession? Has economic insecurity bred introspective short-term sectional thinking? asks ELAINE BYRNE
For instance, the run-up to the Budget was dominated by what Colm McCarthy described as the temporary “band-aid” proposals by the unions to cut the public sector pay bill through unpaid leave. The constituency hospital deals promised to Jackie Healy-Rae, Michael Lowry, Jimmy Devins and Eamon Scanlon also grabbed media attention. So too did Noel Grealish’s petition for extra flood relief measures.
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