Ireland is hideously expensive. I wonder how people survive here. Perhaps the money is still around from the Celtic Tiger (Ireland's major economic boom) years, but I don’t think it can last. 450,000 people on the dole, out of a population of 4.5 million. The dole is very generous here; a single person gets about $300 a week. For as long as a person isn’t working. More money if you have kids. You don’t have to try and find a job, no one checks. I know people here who have been on the dole for years, and have no real intention of finding a job. The government will pay for your schooling if you are unemployed, so why not keep going to school, or do whatever floats your boat? Yikes!
The money’s running out now, so the government is starting to crack down on welfare cheats and cut services. The roads are falling apart and coffee is $3-4 a cup! I mean, really.
Tried to get in and see the Immigration officers three times. Twice we ran out of time and once the office was closed for “unexpected reasons.” The way the government works is maddening at times. We can’t lease a flat if I can’t stay more than a few more weeks, much less buy a car.
So, the bloom is off the rose here and we are once again off for another locale. Scotland perhaps. Now where is my kilt?
We are off for Northern Ireland (I'll pretend I wasn't raised a Catholic and try not to get shot), to see Kirsty's granny, then on the ferry back to England. Stay tuned my friends!
$3-4 for a cup of coffee! Darn, that sounds like a certain oversized corporate coffee behemoth I've heard of. Maybe you know of it? :-)
ReplyDeleteThat was for a wee cup o'coffee, not my Starbucks' Venti size. That would be about $8 if there was a Starbucks in Galway!
ReplyDelete