TWICE THE SIZE - DIT Update - Dublin Institute of Technology

High land prices and generally inflated costs of living allow the best quality of life in the West
only for the very rich.
Politics
Progressively, throughout the first three decades of the 21 st century Ireland adopted the formula
made so successful by a pre-eminently powerful United States of America – privatise, liberalise,
deregulate, reduce public spending and generally unleash the forces of the open market. The
centre-right coalition that governed between 2010 and 2020 embraced the global market by
dropping tariffs, promoting exports and welcoming further foreign direct investment. A
backlash in 2020 returned a Social Democratic party whose fortunes failed after only four years,
and, since 2024, there has been a Progressive Liberal Party in office, which has consciously
reduced the role and influence of central government, whilst introducing a succession of
budgets aimed at promoting enterprise and fostering a risk-taking environment.
In common with most of the rest of Europe, the principal unit of political power is the city
region, and the most powerful political figures are their directly elected mayors. Competition
between these “city-states” is ruthless, with investment incentives and skilled labour the prime
lure. Co-operation through complementary clusters, however, also pays dividends for all. One
beneficial consequence of a weakened national government, and a dispersed municipal power
structure though, is that the boundaries between the North and South – physical, psychological
and political – have become increasingly blurred and largely irrelevant. The rewards of
economic collaboration now far outweigh the old cultural and constitutional tensions.
Competitiveness
By so whole-heartedly embracing the technological revolution, Ireland in 2030 has consolidated
its position as one of Europe’s wealthiest countries – but it is also one in which market forces
have been allowed to run wild, leading to vastly inflated property prices, stifling traffic
congestion and an overworked population. The government’s hands-off approach, moreover,
has had its drawbacks. Multi-nationals have taken away many things the Irish thought they
would have forever – their telecommunications companies, their airlines, and their financial
institutions. To most observers, it seems that the state has abdicated almost all responsibility,
allowing the market to determine just about everything.
Ireland’s main industries are located along the Eastern Conurbation, home to most of the
transnational corporations, many of which have Irish origins, which dominate and control so
much of the country’s everyday life. Irish industry, of course, is based on a knowledge society,
and little manufacturing remains. One of the areas in which Ireland excels, however, has
developed from the oldest productive activity of all – agriculture. Functional food research and
development has seen Ireland emerge as a world leader. Cork has also become the centre of
‘pharming’ for Europe – that is the clinical research, product development and ethical testing of
medical merchandise.
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