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28-08-2005 9:19am#1
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Hi lomb,
Very nice numbers and 1980 feels like yesterday to me
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Ireland 1980, for anyone in their late teens / early 20's could have been described as a lonely or sad place, their future was at best a place to stay if a relation or friends had moved to the USA before them.
Small business could not borrow money from the banks because the Govt. had imposed a restricted lending rule to try to bring an out of control economy back on track, this meant an "Approved Overdraft" was costing 20% but an unofficial extension of your credit cost an extra 6%.
To buy any of the properties on sale you joined a que at the many (mutual) Building Societies and with most you had to save at least the repayment amount for a year to get loan approval.
Having obtained loan approval you could "Shop" for your dream home, a three bed semi in D.15 would set you back around £20 > 22,000, but the loan approval meant you joined a que to get the loan so you could have a further wait of up to six months or get "Bridging Finance" from the bank at around £80.00 per week.
The pay for a good "time served" carpenter / tradesman was around £180.00 per week if you could get any form of permanent employment, a Ford Cortina cost about £4,000.00 (radio / cassette player was an Extra).
Ireland 1990, late teens / early twenties were still taking the Aer Lingus flights to the USA or you went through London because UK planes didn't have as much US immigration checks especially if you had returned for a holiday or the usual to attend a funeral.
The small buisness man was paying in the high teens for his business overdraft and the banks were cautious about lending very often pawning you off to the higher cost subsidiaries.
We were still depending on the (mutual) Building Societies for home loans but they did have more to lend and the 3 or at a stretch 2.5 times your combined annual earnings determined the amount you could borrow.
The 3 bed semi in D.15 that you had purchased in 1980 was making in the order of £25 > 30,000.00, and the carpenter was earning around £240.00 per week but fleeced by the PAYE system.
A family car by now mostly Japanese could be purchased with a stereo as standard for around £12,000.00
Ireland 1995, the rise in lifestyles had begun albeit in a small way, but you didn't have to emmigrate unless you were well educated and wanted to travel.
The 3 bed semi you bought in 1980 was now making in excess of £50,000.00 and if you had been lucky enough to be able to keep it well there could be as much as an extra £10,000.00 in it but that may have needed an extension as well as aluminium windows.
The average "Family Car" still Japanese had risen to £17,000.00 but most were happy because there were signs of growth and stability both financial and political.
Ireland 2000, what a change, the average working class family now had one good car and one reasonably good car.
The banks were welcoming customers who wanted to borrow, in fact you were not popular if you had cash on deposit.
The 3 bed semi in D.15 was now selling for Lotto numbers €180 > 200,000.00 and the mutual Building Society was all but gone, the bank and the "Building Society" wanted you to make sure you were borrowing enough and of course they could add the cost of a new car into your home mortgage.
Flights to the USA were never cheaper but people were coming back after the two weeks in Florida ???
Extra flights were needed because something strange was happening, all the people who had left home out of necessity were looking at the new Ireland where they didn't have to pay for third level education...........
The car was now as much as you wanted to pay for it, "Per Week" !, the internet was here (big time) and big shopping centres had sprung up to accept the credit cards the banks sent you without even asking.
Ireland 2005,
The price of the house is dictated by how many arrive with pre approved loan certificates.
The banks don't know you exist except by a strange set of numbers called accounts and pin numbers, staff do not know your name and are encouraging you to put them out of a job by using the "Drink Link" cards open 24 hours seven days.
Your children are adults who can't afford to leave home, but at least they are educated
Do not find yourself in the Casualty Department, medical help is faster and cheaper throughout Europe.
I wonder was there a middle gound when we had the Ideal Ireland ?
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