Ireland's squeezed middle

In Ireland today, unemployment is growing and wealth is shrinking. But what about the people in the middle?

In a series of articles, Irish Times journalists Kathy Sheridan , Dan O'Brien, Paul Cullen, Sean Flynn and Carl O'Brien examine how Ireland's squeezed middle is coping with wage cuts, job losses and debt. Conor Pope presents a "recession survival kit": tips and strategies for money-management in hard times, and our experts explain why Ireland's middle class - society's traditional spenders and savers - are central to our economic revival.

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The poor, the middle, the rich Some households have experienced severe financial hardship and shuddering adjustments to living standards, while other have been more fortunate, writes COLM MCCARTHY
The politics of minding the middle OPINION: The middle classes don't have a welfare network to avail of and don't know where to turn, writes PAUL CULLEN
Coping skills learned from past recessions COMMENT: Don't underestimate the resilience of the middle classes, writesPAUL CULLEN
'The best attitude is just to get on with it.' CASE STUDY: Enda Whelton never planned on becoming a weekend dad, he tells CARL O'BRIEN
What is the health of the nation? Your health may be your wealth, but try telling that to cash-strapped people, writes CARL O'BRIEN
The recession survival guide 4 As part of our week-long series Ireland’s Squeezed Middle, CONOR POPE presents a survival guide on how to take control of your finances: Insurance products
The squeezed middle abroad: tales of toil and turmoil The squeezed middle in other countries. LARA MARLOWE, DEREK SCALLY and MARK HENNESSY report.
Back to prefabs and leaky roofs? The middle classes will soon be paying more money for a great deal less in education, writes SEAN FLYNN
'Colleagues retreated. A mix of embarrassment and fear of contagion. It hurt' Unemployment in today’s Ireland affects people at all levels of society. Speechwriter MIRIAM O'CALLAGHAN describes a period on social welfare in 2010.
The recession survival guide 3 As part of our week-long series Ireland’s Squeezed Middle, CONOR POPE presents a survival guide on how to take control of your finances: Personal banking
Positivity is no trival pursuit Far from being a simple distraction from solving your problems, positivity is crucial to survival in the face of adversity, writes MAUREEN GAFFNEY
The trapped and the priced out A view repeated by many relates to feeling stuck shouldering a lifetime of debt, writes CARL O'BRIEN
The recession survival guide 2 As part of our week-long series Ireland’s Squeezed Middle, CONOR POPE presents a survival guide on how to take control of your finances: Everyday spending
Lost generation tries to find its way With almost a third of males aged 20-24 jobless, this is no country for young men, writes CARL O'BRIEN
'I'm still a long way from where I'd like to be' CASE STUDY: University Graduate Paddy Duffy from Lifford, Co Donegal talks to CARL O'BRIEN
The recession survival guide 1 As part of our week-long series Ireland’s Squeezed Middle, CONOR POPE presents a survival guide on how to take control of your finances: An overview
Ireland's squeezed middle The "squeezed middle" describes one of the most pronounced social and economic trends of 21st-century life in the developed world, writes KEVIN O'SULLIVAN, Editor, The Irish Times
What now for the hopes and plans of Ireland's middle-earners? When Vivian Cummin, an architect, and his partner, Erney Breytenbach, were at the final stage of approval for becoming foster carers, a social worker felt bound to pose a serious concern, writes KATHY SHERIDAN
How one entrepreneurial family has fared When Noreen Watts (53) and her husband Peter (55) got married, they dreamed that, after working hard to save money and raise their family, they would ease into a life of comfortable retirement, writes CARL O'BRIEN
Ireland builds its own patterns of income and insecurity Americans, it is frequently observed, live in a new gilded age in which the incomes and wealth of the well-to-do soar while those in the middle and at the bottom endure stagnating wages and salaries, writes DAN O'BRIEN, Economics Editor
Serfs up . . . Why the middle class matters The middle class fought its way out of serfdom and into existence so long ago that the story is sometimes lost in the mists of time, writes DAN O'BRIEN