Miners rescued - Inspirational example of resilience

WHAT uplifting joy it is to wake to good news.

A person would have to have a heart of granite not to be moved by the pictures of what must be the most dramatic rescue of modern times when most of the 33 Chilean miners were reunited with their families after more than two months buried and powerless in a collapsed mine shaft.

Though the great drama in the Atacama desert, which began on August 5 when 720-metre deep San Jose gold and copper mine collapsed, played out thousands of miles from this small island it would be hard not to be suspicious of anyone who said that the epic of emotion, determination, courage and human resilience left them cold.

In a world where cynicism, or at the very least scepticism, is almost our lingua franca it was — and it will remain — uplifting to see how a united and determined effort can succeed in the face of such terrible and seemingly intractable odds.

A society was challenged and through its efforts and the help of others — including the Shannon-based company Mincon and their workers who supplied some of the equipment used in the rescue — they prevailed. The parallels with our own situation are almost too obvious to mention. And, there is a second parallel. As such powerful emotions played out in South America, we have a reason to for a modest celebration too.

Though it would be recklessly premature to break out the champagne the news that a ratings agency — today’s equivalent of a thumbs up or a thumbs down in a Roman arena — Standard and Poor’s has predicted that Ireland will recover more quickly than some European countries and may have already “turned the corner” must give us some cause for optimism, especially as the analysis was endorsed by international economists.

Speaking in New York the agency said that commentary on our fiscal and political risks were unnecessarily pessimistic and that Ireland’s “competitiveness was improving because the labour market is flexible; they’re cutting wages and salaries. So we think that among the peripheral countries they will be the first to recover”, said the agency’s chief economist David Beer.

This must be encouraging news especially as AIB warned yesterday afternoon that further downgrades from ratings agencies could have a “materially negative impact” on the bank. AIB conceded that its trading conditions are “increasingly challenging” but that they expect a decision on its restructuring plan by “late 2010/early 2011”.

Of course it is sobering, even on the brightest of mornings, that the country’s largest bank admits to such vulnerability but as events at San Jose have shown even the most daunting situation can be overcome.

As we approach the December Budget a new air of realism seems to be in the air. It would, however, as was so spectacularly shown in Chile, be a mistake to confuse realism with resignation.

Sacrifices made today are made with the objective of recovering lost ground. Just as well-founded hope sustained Los 33 we have to belive that the sacrifices we are making, and will be asked to make in December, will in time rescue us all.