Why Are Irish People Not Out On The Streets Protesting About The Economy

People wonder why the Irish have taken their medicine in terms of recent cuts to salaries, rising unemployment and increased taxes in a relatively calm manner. Some say its because of our history, our relationship with Great Britain (a powerful nation) and the legacy of the Famine.

The Irish are "browbeaten" into submission by virtue of our history and our temperament. Irish people do not tend to go out on the streets because they don't see what active protest will achieve. I find this difficult to understand because when the Irish pensioners made their presence felt outside the Dail in 2008 after the Budget was announced when the Government wanted to cut the medical cards, the Government had to do a U turn in the face of public pressure and the grey vote.

The Unions (representing public sector and some private sector employees) also took to the streets in February 2009 but the Government ignored them and went ahead with the pension levy and additional cuts.

Contrast this with France where a proposed raise in the retirement age from age 60 to 62 and 65 to 67 brought people out onto the streets in mass numbers and picketing of fuel depots in October 2010. In Greece there were riots over Government cuts as a result of the IMF bailout and some Bank officials lost their lives in an arson attack.

In some ways I think that the Irish people are always waiting for someone else to protest on their behalf. They are not prepared to stand up and be counted and they make excuses such as "what difference can I make?" and "sure they will just keep on doing what they want anyway". People are starting to voice their anger over the fact that builders, developers and bankers caused this problem and we are expected to pay for it. Some people think that this anger may develop as time goes on and more people lose their jobs, their homes, their families and some will take their own lives by suicide.

Some people are in limbo at the minute, wondering when they are going to be told that their job is gone. This can bring on serious depression and worry about money. Irish people are also bad at looking for help and admitting that they are finding things difficult. A traditional remedy has been to turn to drink and bury one's head in the sand. I have read about men who have been laid off several months ago but have not told their wives and families that they no longer have a job to go to. I cannot imagine what this is doing to a person's self esteem.

In a collective sense Irish people may also be embarrassed at how much money they frittered away during the good times and the decisions they took that have backfired. So they think, well I am not as badly off as the next fellow, sure we will manage somehow. This confidence may be misplaced because when people need help, if they don't ask for help the problems might only get worse.

Irish people have known hardship in the past and if necessary they can do without luxuries. Keeping the roof over our heads is a priority for most of us at this time and therefore we are not going to go protesting on the streets because we are using all of our energy to keep ourselves and our families afloat.



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