Sarah Harte: Today’s mood music may be more optimistic than you’d think

One upbeat bulletin is that the Government has committed to spending €290m on walking and cycling infrastructure in 2023.

Last Saturday many of us opened our eyes, realised that he was gone, and felt a little flat.

There were one or two slightly churlish articles in the Irish press about our American visitor. And let’s not get started on the sour grapes in elements of the British media. Yet, the truth is that the majority of us, young and old, rural, and urban, threw our lot in behind Joe Biden’s visit.

We weren’t necessarily politically engaging with Biden, rather we were offering a welcome to somebody who palpably appreciated it. Everyone was in good spirits and we had uncomplicated, warm-hearted fun.

It seems likely that our enthusiasm went beyond Biden’s merits as a fundamentally decent human being (particularly when compared to his predecessor), or to an attachment to the Irish American diaspora.

Could it be related to the fact that good news stories have felt in markedly short supply?

US president Joe Biden at Carlingford Castle during his trip. Last Saturday many of us opened our eyes, realised that he was gone, and felt a little flat. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Sometimes focusing on the headlines can provoke the feeling that the human race is in terminal decline.

One existential crisis after another appears to loom on the horizon, viruses, war, eroding relations between world powers, and the accompanying spectre of nuclear war, artificial intelligence said to rip us apart, and climatic apocalypse.

According to a report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism 2023, 70% of news publishers worry about the growing trend of stark or selective news avoidance on the part of audiences for whom the news tanks their mood. Apparently watching nightly death bulletins during the pandemic has dampened our appetite for unwelcome news.

There's good news after all  

Of course, it’s debatable that headlines always give the comprehensive story. The news cycle tends to deal with the day-to-day, eliding long-term positive patterns.

So, not wishing to paint a Panglossian view, and accepting that as we navigate a complex reality that is often beyond our control there are no forgone conclusions, here is some positive news.

Last Wednesday the Irish Examiner led with a mood-boosting article reporting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that Ireland’s economy will power ahead in 2023 and 2024. Irish GDP will grow by 5.6% this year and then expand by 4% in 2024.

The IMF also sees inflationary pressures easing across major economies over the next two years. True, it has warned the flare-up of the banking market turmoil in recent weeks could jeopardize the recovery of the global economy. 

Core inflation surrounding food prices is worrying, and it was reported on Monday that a drop in diesel demand worldwide “may indicate future recession risk” so we’re not out of the woods yet. However late last year reports predicted a prolonged recession, so we’ll take it.

It was reported in March that Irish unemployment dropped to a new post-crash low of 4.3% causing chief economist for Grant Thornton Andrew Webb to comment, “The unemployment numbers provide yet more encouragement that the economy is weathering the challenges presented by inflation and doesn’t appear impacted by the tech jobs slowdown.”

Two weeks ago, the Government released figures that say as of 31 March, 15,282 Ukrainian pupils have been enrolled in Irish schools since the Russian invasion. The enrolment rate among Ukrainian children aged 5-18 in Ireland is estimated to be running at about 90%.

Two weeks ago, the Government released figures that say as of 31 March, 15,282 Ukrainian pupils have been enrolled in Irish schools since the Russian invasion. The enrolment rate among Ukrainian children aged 5-18 in Ireland is estimated to be running at about 90%.

According to a recent Unicef report, about 66% of displaced Ukrainian children are not enrolled in host countries’ education systems. So, we owe a debt of gratitude to our teachers. As Hubert Loftus, an assistant secretary general at the Department of Education commented, it’s “a great achievement for the school system”.

Sticking with inclusivity and integration, Ireland’s far-right has failed to get a proper foothold. Yes, recently there have been some bumps in the road, but there is scant evidence of anti-immigrant sentiment in our Government.

The same cannot be said of many European countries including Poland, Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Sweden, where over the last decade the right has surged ahead.  The ascension of the right has largely been attributed to the fallout from the vicious global recession crisis of 2008. Ireland took a major austerity bath which should have made our country fertile ground for extremists, but it didn’t happen.

According to the Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) annual progress report released five days ago, male life expectancy at birth in Ireland at 80.8 years was the highest in the EU for 2020, while female life expectancy at birth for Irish women was 84.4 years, which was 1.2 years above the EU average.

Positive climate moves

The latest figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that new electric vehicle registrations in Ireland have risen 49% in 2023. Our greenhouse gas emissions are per capita the second highest in the EU after Luxembourg so this is a positive trend.

Let’s have less of ‘the balloon has gone up’ talk and more restricting technological developments that result in increased greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. The more we reflect on the progress we have made, the more action we can take.

And there is some excellent news on that front. At the beginning of April, it emerged that UCC and Columbia University have developed a new method to improve climate policy. 

Their research will improve the accuracy of estimating future demands for passenger and freight transport that collectively account for 20 % of global greenhouse emissions. Given that the forecasted global population and economic growth will lead to increased demand for transport services, major kudos to Siddarth Joshi at UCC who led this research as part of his PhD in energy engineering.

Another upbeat bulletin is that recently the Government has committed to spending €290m on walking and cycling infrastructure in 2023.

It was reported last month that Ireland has been ranked as the 14th happiest country in the world according to the World Happiness Report for 2023. We slipped one place from 2022, but it’s good going by any metric.

The index measures life evaluations in terms of six variables which include GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and freedom from corruption.

The latest figures released by SIMI show new electric vehicle registrations in Ireland have risen 49% in 2023. Our greenhouse gas emissions are per capita the second highest in the EU after Luxembourg so this is a positive trend. Picture: John Walton

Trump is in trouble. Okay, Donaald Trump still has a lock on the Republican party and looks likely to win the Republican nomination.

Yet, in the last fortnight, it has been widely reported how the shenanigans surrounding his hush money trial have reminded independent voters in the USA of his toxic brand of extreme politics.

Around 40 % of American voters describe themselves as independent, with around two-thirds of independents estimated to be against Trump becoming president. They represent a crucial cohort in the outcome of the next American presidential election. 

It’s uncertain if Biden will definitely run again but the headline seems to be that many Independents who dislike Trump’s angry partisanship would vote for Peppa Pig if the alternative was Trump. So, fingers crossed because many of us psychologically just couldn’t take another four years of Trump.

Last week was a much-needed blast. And maybe the mood music is a little lighter than we think. Have a good day folks.