We’re building new homes alright, but for cars, not people

HAVE you noticed, on your travels around Ireland these days, that virtually every town in the country has at least three things in common with every other town? No matter where you go — on the Cork to Dublin road, through the towns in the midlands or the west or the northeast, down south of Limerick and into Kerry, or through Carlow, Kilkenny and into the southeast — they’re all the same.

Every single town has a new hotel on its outskirts, sometimes one on each corner of the town — and all the hotels have enormous signs outside, advertising the cheapest prices you’ve ever seen and the most attractive possible amenities. After you’ve seen the signs, you’d never want to stay anywhere else — until you see the next sign.

Second, every town is ringed by new apartment blocks. They’re all luxurious, they’re all exclusive, they’re all dripping with prestige. You have to be ready to snap them up, because they’re all “almost” sold out. Generally speaking, they tend to be surrounded by scaffolding, and they’re usually built so close to the road that it’s hard to visualise the gardens and the play areas that must be associated with such luxury and prestige. But, sure, no doubt all that is coming.