Hard lessons to learn

The boys of Coláiste Chríost Rí are all too aware of the harsh economic realities that face them after graduation, says Fiachra Ó Cionnaith

I AM AT Foreign Minister Micheál Martin’s alma mater, Coláiste Chríost Rí, in Cork city, book-ended by the Government’s four-year plan and the imminent budget, a classroom full of junior certificate pupils are discussing the realities of the deepening economic crisis.

They may just be 14 and 15 years old, been more celtic kittens than Celtic Tigers at the height of the boom, and not yet be members of the workforce, but they have as much — if not more — right than anyone to speak about what is happening to our economy.