Celtic Tiger has bred selfishness, says minister

One of the by-products of the Celtic Tiger has been a new selfishness in Ireland, a Government minister said today.

Minister of State Sean Power said the Government should consider a structured programme of volunteering for young people to help gain an appreciation of the needs of others.

“One of the by-products of the Celtic Tiger has been a new selfishness in Ireland,” he said at the Leinster launch of projects for the Young Social Innovators programme.

“There has been a creeping individualisation.

“We had taken for granted the idea of neighbours rallying to support families afflicted by tragedy or crisis and of communities rising to a challenge at a time of a celebration or a sorrow.”

The minister said that while the generosity of Irish society was in evidence during the Special Olympics and the Asian tsunami, it was becoming the exception rather than the norm.

“In fact, the level of surprise amongst commentators at the generosity of Irish people during the tsunami indicated this,” Mr Power said.

“Normally, we would have taken this as a given but in our increasingly wealthy society, this is no longer a guarantee.

“People’s drive for bigger and better houses, cars and incomes is increasingly done in a blinkered fashion to those around them,” he said.

Mr Power told an audience of transition year students and teachers that Ireland should emulate the US government’s Peace Corps programme, at the end of second level or at third level education.

He said it would be good for everyone if they had an appreciation of the needs and hard lives of others.

He added that there were many pressures of modern life which worked against volunteering, and that commuting was the biggest single challenge to community involvement.

Rachel Collier, chief executive of Young Social Innovators (YSI), said that the YSI projects demonstrated the dedication of the country’s young people to tackling social issues.

“These young people have experienced something amazing – they have experienced what it is like to tackle a problem and to make a difference in their school and local communities.

“They will not forget that experience and we will reap the benefits of their experience in the future – I am sure of it,” Ms Collier said.

Mr Power commended the YSI initiative, which involves transition year students identifying social needs and developing strategies to address them.

Projects from Leinster will be participating in the National Young Social Innovators Showcase in Citywest next week, which will involve 1,800 students, 120 projects and 74 schools from across the country.