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Evening comes as golfers play the 17th hole at the Galway Bay Golf and Country Club, Oranmore Galway. A helicopter sometimes ferries golfers to the first tee at the club, illustrating how fortunes have changed at the once forbiddingly bleak headland.
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After decades of a lackluster economy, the Irish have taken to consumerism with the gusto of the newly rich. Consumer spending, particularly on luxury items, boomed during the heyday of the Celtic Tiger. In 1998, for example, average national prices grew by a massive 30 percent, fueled by hedonistic spending. While the national debt in Ireland has fallen from 122 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1986 to 30 percent in 2006, personal consumer debt has skyrocketed from 48 percent of disposable income in 1995 to 130 percent in 2006. In a move to encourage saving and prevent inflation, the Irish government has set up state-backed savings accounts that would pay 25 percent in tax credits.
The worldwide economic slump in 2001 helped slow runaway inflation in Ireland, and was the beginning of the end for the first Celtic Tiger period. The increase in buying power for many Irish, and the accompanying desire for an increase in standard of living, continue to be seen, however, primarily in the housing market. Prices for housing in Ireland have grown tremendously, as has the demand for new construction. In 1995 Ireland built 30,000 new dwellings; in 2005 it was 80,000. Nonetheless, while in 1994 an average house cost five times the average salary, in 2005 it cost 11 times the average salary, leading some commentators to suggest that the housing bubble could burst.
Credit: AP/Andrew Downes
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Briefing
Read about the lifestyles of the "Full-On" nation in this excerpt from the book, THE POPE'S CHILDREN.
Handbook
Learn about the past, present and future of North-South economic ties.
Filmmaker Notes
Go behind the scenes with the program creators.
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