Sir, – John Collison’s article in The Irish Times last weekend (“Ireland is going backwards. Here’s how to get it moving”, Weekend, October 25th) was the main talking point among my friends. All of us – aged between 25 and 45 – are in full agreement. He captured something we’ve felt for years but rarely said so clearly: Ireland has become a country where it’s incredibly hard to get things done.
I work in finance, in my mid-30s, putting in 70-hour weeks. I’m grateful to have opportunities, to work with great people, and to contribute to a growing economy. But when I look at how the Government applies itself compared to the pace and effort expected in the private sector, it’s worlds apart. There’s no urgency, no accountability, and no sign that the people running the country feel the same pressure the rest of us live under – in the real world!
We’ve a housing crisis that has persisted for a decade, infrastructure that’s outdated before it’s built and transport systems that make daily life harder, not easier. The result is a generation working harder than ever, yet struggling to plan a life – to buy a home, raise children, or simply stay rooted here.
That’s what Collison’s piece tapped into: not entitlement, but exasperation. Ireland has the talent, energy, and capital to thrive, but bureaucracy and complacency keep holding us back. When success stories like Stripe – or thousands of smaller Irish firms – show what’s possible through focus and delivery, it only highlights how far the Government has drifted from that standard.
RM Block
Then came John McManus’s response this week (“Collison’s analysis of Irish problems is a little naive”, Business, October29th) describing Collison’s view as “a little naive..” To me, it reads like the voice of a certain Ireland that instinctively dismisses ambition. It’s the same mindset that objects to housing developments, drags progress into endless consultation, and measures success by the absence of change. It’s not Collison who’s naive – it’s those who think Ireland can keep coasting on good fortune while driving away the people who make it work.
If things don’t change, people like me – and many of my friends – will quietly decide to leave. Not out of anger, but out of fatigue. Ireland has all the raw materials for success. What it lacks is the will to use them. – Yours, etc,
Conor Martin
Dundalk
Co Louth
