What is the future for Northern Ireland

[james ds]

Northern Ireland will prosper along with the rest of the UK, the ulster first minister has accepted the result despite voting the opposite way unlike the Scottish nasty party!:'(

I hope it does because it has a long way to go to catch up with the south , it's 20 yrs behind .

 

[Wellytrack]

I hope it does because it has a long way to go to catch up with the south , it's 20 yrs behind .

Except Donegal - have you seen the state it's in?

it hasn't received the same level of investment into infrastructure compared to county's in the Midlands..

 

[james ds]

I'm not talking about roads, I'm talking about cash in the pocket

 

[Wellytrack]

I'm not talking about roads, I'm talking about cash in the pocket

Well I'm not taking about 'just' roads either, the investment in the Midlands, the West and Southwestern and Southeastern regions over the last 20 years has been to the detriment of the border counties even though they have pulled in Billions in revenue - most notably in legal cross border fuel trade.

Ireland has prospered from what it was, only in part to the E.U, I well remember what it was like, as I'm sure you do too..

Point I was making the wealth or cash has not exactly been shared out evenly..

 

[james ds]

Even the dole is three times better down here, the foreign investment has been huge, the North got none of it.

 

[Wellytrack]

Even the dole is three times better down here, the foreign investment has been huge, the North got none of it.

I'm not disagreeing there, but the R.O.I's loose taxation policy had a lot to say about that - whilst at the same time taxing its own citizens heavily and charging for everything.

 

[james ds]

Your right there, but the bottom line is there is a higher standard of living in the south, the average person in the south has more money in his pocket on a Friday

 

[Wellytrack]

Your right there, but the bottom line is there is a higher standard of living in the south, the average person in the south has more money in his pocket on a Friday

Well I hope that is indeed the case, all the more power and luck to them if so..

 

[jockthethistle]

Friend of mine has moved from UK to Eire. .. Works as a teacher .. Is left with less than 50% of salary as take home pay after taxes she says ..!? Thoughts. jtt.

 

[james ds]

Friend of mine has moved from UK to Eire. .. Works as a teacher .. Is left with less than 50% of salary as take home pay after taxes she says ..!? Thoughts. jtt.

That's correct , the tax rate is about 50% , but 50% of a big salary is a lot more than 70% of a small one . And for a 28 hr week , 34 weeks of the year. But gets paid for 52weeks.

 

[The Agrarian]

I think that the concept of being Northern Irish is gaining ground with both sides in NI.

Don't kid yourself.

 

[nivilla1982]

In some ways it is and in other ways it is not.

 

[The Agrarian]

Care to expand?

 

[nivilla1982]

Not the most the scientific answer, but small things, plenty of NI football tops in areas where you have thought NI wouldn't be popular. That type of thing.
West Tyrone in the most recent census had the highest amount of young Catholics in NI stating they felt Northern Irish, admit-tingly not a large number but a sign of small changes perhaps?


Obliviously there are parts of NI where you have a better chance of convincing people that magpies are red and white than have them stating themselves as been Northern Irish.

 

[The Agrarian]

My take is somewhat different. The school system is allowing children's political views to be formed in a sectarian way from a young age. There is still a clear and deliberate strategy by those exerting religious and sporting influence in schools to shape children's view that there is one Ireland, with no border, and no other legitimate viewpoint. 'The north' is persistently etched on children's minds as the only permitted term for Northern Ireland.

For as long as this indoctrination is allowed to persist, there will be trouble. As far as being behind, northern Ireland is certainly a few decades behind the republic in loosening the shackles of institutional religion.

 

[nivilla1982]

It was a bad day when a strange alliance of the politicians and Protestant and Roman Catholic churches allowed education to be divided.

 

[Bones]

Young people getting up won't hold the same bitterness as there pier's, and won't have to go through the same crap either, so hopefully make them better people , as long as we don't press our one sided views on them ,which won't be easy to do ,

 

[The Agrarian]

You'd hope that would be the case. But I'm afraid I see no difference between now and twenty five years ago when I travelled on the school bus, in terms of active political and sectarian influence on children. If anything, our local village has become even more extreme. It used to be a mixed population, with one religion living at one end of the village with their flag, and the other religion at the other end with theirs. Today, one side has been all but pushed out, and the other religion flies their flag over the whole village, just to make sure that the remaining minority feel sufficiently uncomfortable and intimidated that they will leave too, and so that no one of their (minority) religion will want to buy their house from them.

 

[nivilla1982]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-37132024

 

[Wellytrack]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-37132024

Well that's a hiding to nothing..