Latest / The David McWilliams Podcast
The Premature State: Why Ireland Can’t Build Itself
Ireland is one of the richest countries in Europe, so why does it feel like it isn’t? We sit down with economist and engineer Sinead O'Sullivan to unpack a deceptively simple but deeply uncomfortable idea: Ireland is a premature state. Despite extraordinary wealth on paper, everyday life tells a different story. Housing is broken, infrastructure lags behind, public services struggle to deliver. So where is all the money going? The answer, as Sinead argues, is structural. Ireland has become exceptionally good at spending money, but never properly learned how to build systems. For centuries…
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