High Irish GDP is an illusion, Ireland is not that rich

It's insanity the way they tax ETFs in this country even though some of the world's major ETFs are domiciled here. And this is definitely related to the topic at hand.

This has us below Romania and Lithuania so there's obvious anomalies.

I don't think it's a good metric. It has us too far off the likes of France and Germany and too close to Spain and Portugal. South Spain is quite poor. We're not that poor either.

I'd put us on the lower end of the Northern European countries and Scandinavian, but definitely above Eastern and Southern Europe.

Your graph on disposable income looks pretty accurate also. It might be the best metric I've seen. We're level with France and Finland and just below the traditionally wealthy countries.

I think if our economy remains relatively stable for next 20 years, we can solidify ourselves as a proper rich western country.

The crash in 07 really knocked us back on our ass for 10 years. Very hard to plan or invest in anything when you're in a crisis.

We can now invest properly in infrastructure, education, health, renewable energy, deprived communities etc.

I think in 20 years we could easily be exporting energy and also maybe 90% energy independent.

People spending so much on rent and housing isn't good for our economy either. It would be better if they were spending money in city centres and towns.

There is massive income inequality in ireland though, which is what most of us ignore when we dismiss stats like AIC.

Plenty of pensioners live in slum like accomodation (that they do own however) and Ireland still experience plenty of deaths due to fuel poverty.

In my experience that is not as common here in mainland Europe

Irish pensioners are well looked after, folks should try seeing what pensioners get in other countries they'll probably be shocked .

People on lower earnings can apply for housing subsidies and other supplementary welfare.

High earners get slaughtered with taxes, can't believe people claim high income inequality with a straight face here .

Ireland does not have high income inequality.

If the landscape in Ireland suits growing grass then this is the place to have ruminants. The products produced there are consumed in many places, it is ridiculous to attribute the emissions solely to Ireland.

People in Norway or Sweden often live in houses also. It isn't entirely a problem, a house has ample space for solar panels and for a ground source heat pump, so could be be more or less energy neutral. Heat pump usage can be increased. The energy efficiency standards of much housing is indeed a disgrace, there should have been strict insulation standards any time after the 1973 oil crisis, but this can be improved.

CT is not 50% of tax revenues.

More like 25%.

I can't take any metric seriously that puts us below Romania. There's not an economist in the world that would agree we've a lower standard of living than Romania. So for that reason I ignore AIC. Likewise any GDP or GNI figures I ignore as ours is so distorted.

Our personal debt isn't that bad. It's more around average. That might be due to mortgages.

France has a lot of wealth but lots of immigrant population live in poverty. Also lots of rural poverty hence the Yellow Vest protests.

By "Eastern Europe" I just mean the former communist/Soviet states that recently joined the EU. I know geographically they're central Europe.

I know Poland is catching up but we've a 30 year head start. Eastern European countries don't have good demographics either with low birth rates and low immigration so I don't think they'll pass us out any time soon.

If you look at any metric on salary such as median/average gross/net we're amongst the highest in the EU. We're in top 3 for these metrics. I know it's expensive here but that must count for something.

Italy is 2 different countries really. The north might be slightly wealthier than us but rural and Southern Italy is much poorer. Also their demographics is a ticking bomb. You can buy nice apartments in the center of Genoa for example for €20,000 to 30,000. Old people dying off with no replacement. Likewise Spain and Portugal have poor demographics.

Germany likewise is two countries. Western Germany is wealthier than us but we're definitely above Eastern Germany.

What Ireland has is a huge middle class and high earning working class. Granted lots of those are squeezed with cost of living like property and childcare etc.

I think the two maps above best sum up Irelands standard of living.

We're at the lower end of northern/Scandinavian European countries but above Eastern and Southern Europe and I think we're only moving in one direction.

This graph augurs well for the future.

That's why I think with good policy and investment we can cement ourselves as a proper western Europe wealthy country.

One of the other problems with that measurement is that it looks at consumption within a State. If there is little travel abroad for holidays (e.g. Romania) it will compare well with a country where there is huge travel abroad for holidays (e.g. Ireland). Similarly, consumption statistics in Ireland are deflated by online purchases from the UK, as well as the cross-border trips to the North.