How Ireland rebounded after Europe’s debt crisis
Radio interview with Stephen Beard of Marketplace.org
European Union leaders gather in Brussels this week to talk about — among other things — Brexit and Ireland. Britain’s departure from the bloc could cause big problems for the Irish since the United Kingdom is its second-largest export market and it ships a lot of its exports to the rest of the European Union via Britain. That trade could be hampered if the U.K. fails to secure a comprehensive free trade deal with the EU before it leaves the bloc.
Such worries represent a cloud on an otherwise rather sunny horizon for Ireland. The country has recovered strongly from the debt crisis that flared up at the end of 2009, engulfing several Eurozone member states, including Greece and Portugal, that were unable to repay or refinance their government debt.
Having been one of the hardest hit by that crisis, the Irish economy is today the fastest-growing in Europe.
How did the Irish pull off this extraordinary turnaround? And is it sustainable?
If you want to see the Irish recovery in action, consider the case of Jillian Godsil.
In the crisis, she lost her home, her marketing business, her marriage broke up and she went bankrupt.
“I never contemplated suicide, but I felt that total absence of hope … total absence … that dark, dark pit,” Godsil said.
Today, she’s in a very different place. She’s brimming over with optimism, enthusing about her new and lucrative role marketing blockchain, the technology behind cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
“I give talks at conferences around the world. The Middle East and Texas and Russia, Sri Lanka. I’m going to London next week to do one. And I also act as an adviser,” she said.
Godsil’s economic revival reflects the whole country’s recovery. Many other workers and their employers have shown the same stoicism, energy, intelligence and readiness to plug into the global economy. Exporting has been a key component of Ireland’s salvation. Not to mention sheer doggedness.
“We are a very determined race. A very determined race,” she said.
