Ireland Flashcards
What were the ‘Celtic Tiger’ years?
Between 1995-2000. The rate of GDP growth was comparative to that of the Asian Tigers.
When did Ireland join the Eurozone?
2002
When did the join the common market?
1973 - this would go on to become the EU.
What fueled the economic prosperity?
Banks from Germany set up operations. Offered cheap loans. Lots of this money went into property development - increased no. of houses built a better economy around.
Why could we argue this economic prosperity could never last?
Was a bubble - Dependent on house prices remaining high to make investing worthwhile.
What happened in 2008?
The recession
How did the recession come about?
Subprime Lending.
What is Subprime Lending?
Housing markets were running out of mortgages to offer. To make money they offered out mortgages they new may not be paid back.
Why was subprime lending an issue in 2008?
Banks collapsed - recalled loans however people couldn’t pay them back.
How to the new banking sector benefit regular people?
They brought out loans to pay for new luxuries.
How much of the loans offered out to people could be paid back?
67%
Why did the fact regular people couldn’t pay back loans affect the Irish economy?
Money generated by those loans was invested in property development. Therefore no more developments.
How many people in Ireland were unemployed post-2008?
1/6 of the population.
What did the government have to do to help the economy?
Bail ou the banks ‘too big too fail’ - Used taxpayers money, therefore the taxpayer paid for it.
What was public spending cut by in order to save money to bail out the banks?
50%
