Supposing – just supposing Ireland were to be reunited, what kind of country would we be talking about? In the early days of the Troubles, republicans claimed to be aiming for a 32-county socialist republic. These days we hear less about the socialist part but maybe more about the 32-county thing. Since it’s reasonable to know what you’re trying to get yourself into, and since unionists especially deserve to know what kind of new state is on offer, we need to get our minds clear on at least a few basic facts.
Health is one. The health system on the northern side of the border is creaking at the seams – over-worked doctors and nurses, expensive medical equipment available only if enough people can make a charitable donation to its purchase. And yet the north’s healthcare system is generally acknowledged to be well ahead of that in the south.
Education also requires careful scrutiny. The future world will look very different from the one we have today. Advances in technology mean that within a decade or two, millions of jobs will be replaced by robots of one kind or another. And if you doubt me, visit your local supermarket or bank today. There would need to be a consideration of education’s core: what is it for? If we say “For jobs”, we’re right but a long way from totally right. An education system that depends on examinations where pupils sit for several hours, their heads exploding well-rehearsed facts onto the page doesn’t deserve to be called an education system. Work should exist for human beings, not human beings for work. And the next time you see a plaque in a school that tells you business has given this school the thumbs-up, deface it in whatever way you can. Education should help future citizens think critically so they can create a better world.
Finally, here’s a thought. The south’s economy is doing very well, compared to the north. Talk to any Dublin taxi-driver and he (it’s usually a he) will tell you that the recession is over, things are on the up, yes the homelessness crisis is awful but still, things overall are good and getting better.
Put that alongside the fact that in June of this year, there were very nearly 10,000 people homeless in the south. In this morning’s Irish Times, you can read of how the south’s 20 leading companies have a CEO who earns more than 33 times as much as the company’s average worker. Guff about how talented these CEOs are, or how hard they work, is just that: guff. Their pay could be sliced in two and they’d still be earning more than 16 times as much as their average worker. We may say that the system demands we have such people paid such huge sums, but that’s the very point. Do we want a reunited Ireland where some people can’t keep a roof over their head and go to food banks, while top CEO pay starts at €1 million and goes up from there?
If we’re serious about the need for a new Ireland, it should be one that looks out for – to coin a phrase – the many, not the few.
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