Mick Clifford: Hospital fix requires political bravery

For some reason, an annual horror show of hospital overcrowding, which was flagged well in advance this year, was not the subject of forward planing, or at least not enough to alleviate needless suffering

An ambulance outside the Emergency Department of the Mater Hospital in Dublin. For some reason, an annual horror show of hospital overcrowding, which was flagged well in advance this year, was not the subject of forward planning, or at least not enough to alleviate needless suffering.

What a country. This week it was announced that the national purse was €5bn in the black for 2022. The rest of Europe is looking into the eye of a recession, but we’re doing not so bad at all. “The risks are to the downside but in the round, the overall forecast for Ireland is that we will grow next year,” minister for finance Michael McGrath said on Wednesday. “The Irish economy is in a good position to weather the storm.” We are officially world beaters in economic activity. Take a bow, Ireland.

The national coffers are not an outlier of such rude health. In November, the jobless rate was 4.4%, a level that is regarded as practically full employment and the lowest rate in twenty years. There is work for everybody and people are arriving on our shores to grab a piece of the action. Net migration into the country in April 2022 was 88,800, which would have included a relatively small number of refugees from the Ukrainian war. Overall though, the figures illustrate how the curse of immigration has been completely turned around. The country is economically and socially flying. According to the Central Statistics Office just over half of those in the 25 to 64 years-of-age category have a third level education, a greater proportion than in any other country in the 27 member EU.