Optimistic America can help us get back on the road to recovery

I FLEW back into Dublin on Monday after 10 days in the United States and my heart sank at coming home to Ireland, for the first time that I can remember. I normally look forward to returning, having enjoyed a break.

It was a dull, grey day: I was told subsequently that the sun had been shining for days beforehand and that it was unfortunate timing to return from the sun and heat of Orlando in Central Florida just when the weather had turned against us. It was also a public holiday, so many of the shops were shuttered which didn’t help the look of our capital city, although I know that many of them remained closed the following day after many others had re-opened.

Our 10-day family holiday in the US suggested a number of things to me. Firstly, I realised how lucky I was to be able to afford to bring the children to the Harry Potter theme park at Universal and go to Disney and the other attractions. Many children will not be getting any holidays this year, either foreign or domestic (much as I didn’t myself when I was a child and then teenager). Travelling to Orlando is a frippery that will be denied to many who would like to do so, or who once could afford it but cannot any longer.