Mark Henry
@Mark_J_Henry
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Insight into Ireland and our place in the world from the author of ‘In Fact: An Optimist’s Guide to Ireland at 100’. Optimism and positivity abound.
Dublin, Ireland
Joined June 2009
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Wow - I applied for a new passport online on Monday evening and it arrived in the post on Wednesday morning! That's exceptional service. Well done to the Passport Office in the Department of Foreign Affairs. Superb public service is worth acknowledging.
👏👏👏
@PassportIRL
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Ireland has the 8th highest quality of life on the planet according to the latest United Nations assessment of human development. It's a remarkable achievement. No developed nation has improved its score more than Ireland has since the
@UNDP
started publishing reports in 1990
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Alcohol and cigarette consumption in Ireland is declining and at the lowest level in decades. Alcohol consumption per person is at the lowest level in 35 years, and cigarette smoking is at the lowest level since records began in 1950. Great progress 🇮🇪.
#NewYearsResolution
?
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The number of babies born to teenage mothers in Ireland is in steep decline. Latest figures show that the last 2 years have seen the lowest level for decades in both the number and the percentage of all births. Thank you sex education & contraception! 🙏
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Here's a fact worth celebrating: the Irish have the longest life expectancy of any EU nation! At an average of over 82 years, we live only 2 years fewer than the world's longest livers: the Japanese.
👴🧓🇮🇪👏
Data from 'Health in Ireland Key Trends 2022'
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The Irish live in the 5th freest country in the world. The latest Human Freedom Index ranks Ireland only behind Switzerland, New Zealand, Estonia & Denmark in terms of economic, social, and personal freedoms. That's worth celebrating 🇮🇪👏🎆
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Ireland has the smallest share of students in private schools of any OECD nation! Our primary and secondary education system is overwhelmingly public, and yet it delivers some of the highest quality education in the world. 🧑🏫🇮🇪👏
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This is astonishing good news. Ireland is now adjudged the 2nd best country in the world for press freedom. The latest
@RSF_inter
World Press Freedom Index ranks us behind only Norway, amongst a cluster of Nordic leaders. We should be immensely proud 🇮🇪
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The fact that Ireland is now a net contributor to funding the EU is a remarkable achievement. We received billions of € in agricultural and structural funding in the 1970s/80s to help us develop, and now we are investing to help other nations follow in our footsteps 🇮🇪🇪🇺
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Ireland is one of the least corrupt countries on the planet. We have been ranked the 10th cleanest nation amongst 180 in Transparency International's latest Corruption Perception Index. That's an improvement of 3 places since last year. 🇮🇪👍
#CPI2022
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In 9 days Ireland celebrates the centenary of independence. One of our remarkable achievements is that the Irish are now amongst the most well-educated people on the planet. The majority of adults have a higher education qualification. Only a handful of countries can claim that.
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Irish people have an overwhelming negative view of Russia. 89% of us say we hold such a view, with only 6% saying they have a positive view of the country. That puts Ireland alongside our Nordic neighbours as one of the most anti-Russian in Europe. 🇮🇪🇺🇦
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Ireland is the 8th most democratic country in the world. We are one of only 24 nations that
@TheEIU
considers "full democracies" in its latest Global Democracy Index.
Popular satisfaction with democracy here is very high & has grown in recent decades. 🇮🇪👏
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Ireland is the 3rd most peaceful country in the world in which to live, according to the 2022 Global Peace Index. We have risen 3 places in the past year to sit just behind 1) Iceland and 2) New Zealand.
We should be proud of that. 🇮🇪☮️👏
@GlobPeaceIndex
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Ireland has become a multicultural country. The latest
#Census2022
data shows that 20% of us living here today were born elsewhere. That figure has doubled in the past 20 years. 🇮🇪👏
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Did you know that Ireland is ranked the 8th most democratic nation on the planet? The most recent
@TheEIU
Democracy Index places us alongside five Nordic countries, New Zealand & Switzerland as leaders in democracy. We should be proud of that.
🇨🇮👏
#positiveIreland
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Ryanair is the 3rd biggest airline in the world. The 168 million passengers it carried last year were only exceeded by those at American Airlines and Delta. It's an Irish success story to be celebrated 🛫🇮🇪👏
@Ryanair
@VisualCap
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Ireland is the winner of
@TheEconomist
's EU 'economic pentathlon'. They consider us the best prepared country to face an economic downturn and best situated to drive long-term growth. We'll take that 🇮🇪👍
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Ireland is the 7th most democratic nation on the planet. 🇮🇪👏 We should be very proud to be placed alongside the Nordic nations & New Zealand. And fortunate to be part of just 8% of the world population who live in a full democracy.
@TheEIU
's new report
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Let's award the Freedom of Dublin City to the Brazilian hero who halted yesterday's attack at Parnell Square 👏
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Let's hear it for Ireland's success on our 100th birthday - we’ve come a long way. I write in the
@thejournal_ie
how Ireland is one of the very best countries in which to live nowadays. Take the time to raise a glass (or a latte) to that today. 🇮🇪🎂🥂
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In the past 50 years in Ireland, we have added 11 years to our lifespan, eliminated infant mortality, nearly doubled our level of education & retained our position as a leading democracy. Wonderful progress. 🇮🇪👏
Explore the advances in your lifetime here
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86% of Irish people are satisfied with the way democracy works in our country. In all of the EU, only the Finns are more satisfied with how their country runs.
We can be proud of what we've achieved in our 100 years as an independent nation 🇮🇪🗳️👏
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Births to teenage mothers in Ireland have fallen again to one of the lowest-levels on record. There were just 708 such births last year - that's half the number there was just a decade ago! A wonderful result of better sex education in our schools 🤰🇮🇪👏
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Ireland has been judged the 4th freest nation in the world. Our personal, civil and economic freedoms are practically unrivalled. We are fortunate to live here. 🇮🇪👍
#PositiveIreland
The new Human Freedom Index from
@FraserInstitute
&
@CatoInstitute
is at
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Nearly 1 in 5 residents of Ireland today originally hailed from somewhere else. We have opened ourselves up to welcoming the world in recent decades, and have benefited enormously as a result - economically, socially, and culturally.
#IrelandForAll
🇮🇪🫂👋
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Irish men live 8 years longer nowadays than they did in 1990, and women live 6 years longer. We have transformed from having the shortest lives among Anglophone countries to being behind only Australia in our longevity.
#PositiveIreland
🇮🇪
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Tomorrow is the centenary of Irish independence. We have built a fine country. It's not perfect, but more than 9-in-10 of us are satisfied with our lives, and 97% say we are happy we live here. Congratulations to everyone - past and present - who played their part in building it.
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Ireland is ranked as the world’s 2nd most competitive economy in the new 2023 World Competitiveness Ranking published by
@IMD_Bschool
. Ireland leapt from 11th place last year to sit alongside Denmark & Switzerland. That's a remarkable achievement 🇮🇪👏
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Irish people are amongst the most positive in Europe about immigration. Three-quarters of us believe that immigrants contribute a lot to our country. Only Denmark, Luxembourg & Sweden are more positive.
🇮🇪👏
New
@ESRIDublin
study
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Ireland has one of the lowest levels of air pollution in all of Europe. Thanks to our geography and increasingly strict regulation, less than 1% of Irish people are exposed to harmful levels of pollution compared to over three-quarters of those living elsewhere in the EU. 🇮🇪🇪🇺🌬️
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The United Nations judges Ireland's quality of life to have improved faster than any other developed nation over the past 30 years. I believe 4 factors account for our success: political stability, strong sense of community, high levels of education, and openness to the world.
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Ireland is one of the most diverse nations in the EU today. 14% of those living here are actually citizens of other countries. Only Luxembourg & Cyprus have a higher share in this recent poll by the
@EU_Commission
. There is strength in diversity. 🇮🇪🏋️
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What a story this graph tells. Unemployment in Ireland was 5% 15 years ago before the Great Recession pushed it up to 16%. We had a decade of recovery before Covid-19 saw a rise again. But we are now near an all-time low of 4% and our population has risen by 1m over this time! 🇮🇪
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Ireland 🇮🇪 has one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the world. 7% of those aged 16-24 who are in the jobs market are without a role – beating all but a handful of countries.👏 The unemployment rate is three times greater in Spain, Sweden and Italy.
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Long-term unemployment in Ireland has dropped to a record low. Just 1% of unemployed people have been out of a job for more than 12 months. Do you remember when this was an endemic issue? We've made fantastic progress 🇮🇪👍
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We are doing a great job in Ireland at keeping kids in school until they finish secondary level. Only 5% of children don't stay to the end of 6th year. That's one of the best school retention rates in the world. 🇮🇪👏
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Ireland has one of the highest numbers of doctors and nurses for the size of our population. The
@OECD
ranks us 6th amongst their member countries. It's the high number of nurses, in particular, that helps us do so well. 🇮🇪👩⚕️
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Ireland's young adults are among the most highly educated in Europe. The majority of those aged 25-34 years have a higher educational qualification - something that very few European countries can say. 🧑🎓🇮🇪
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Ireland is perceived as the 3rd happiest nation in the world (New Zealand is no.1) and the 3rd most generous (Canada is first). Those are lovely positive traits to be associated with us. 🇮🇪😇
(Nation Brands Index survey of 60,000 people in 20 nations )
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Human rights in Ireland are an exemplar to the world. The Irish are second only to the Swedes in terms of our personal freedoms and the absence of oppression. We are lucky to live in such a place. 🇮🇪👍
#PositiveIreland
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Ireland is the 4th best country on the planet in which to retire, according to the 2022 Global Retirement Index - we have risen up their ranking faster than any other nation in the past decade. Norway & Switzerland top the list. 🇮🇪🧓👴
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Eight-in-ten Irish people rate their health as good or very good - the highest figure of any EU country. 🇮🇪🇪🇺
We are helped by our younger population profile, but it's a remarkable achievement nonetheless.
Data in
@roinnslainte
's 'Health in Ireland 2022'
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The Irish economy is expected to be amongst the fastest growing in the world this year. The IMF forecasts GDP growth of 4% - greater than any other country in Europe or North America. Growth in the domestic economy (exc. multinationals) will be less, but it will still be positive
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Ireland is one of the most socially progressive countries in the world. We're ranked the 12th best of 170 countries in the 2024 Social Progress Index. We're not perfect, of course, but objectively this is one of the best places to live on planet Earth 🇮🇪🎉
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Corruption is very uncommon in Ireland. Only 4% of Irish people say they know anyone who has taken a bribe - the lowest figure in any country in the EU. 🇮🇪😇
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Did you know that nearly 1 in 5 residents in Ireland today were born in another country? It's one of the highest shares of immigrants in Europe, and exceeds the proportion in the UK and USA.
It will be interesting to see what
#Census2022
reveals when all the forms are counted.
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Some of the most important graphs you will ever see about Ireland: 🧐 Over the past 3 decades, people's real incomes increased three-fold while income inequality declined. As we have become a wealthier country so we have become a more equal society. 🇮🇪👏
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Ireland's poverty rate is one of the lowest amongst advanced nations. 7% of people are below the poverty line - a figure that places us between the Netherlands & Denmark. There's been good progress in poverty reduction recently, with more to do of course.
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"Joining the EU was the inflexion point in our modern progress". Ireland's success owes much to joining the European Community 50 years ago. It was one of the most important decisions ever taken by the Irish people, I write in
@irishexaminer
today 🇮🇪🇪🇺
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There are 6 days to go before the centenary of Irish independence. Ireland experienced little economic development for the first 50 years, but the Celtic Tiger saw rapid growth and GDP per capita now surpasses the UK & USA. Even allowing for multinational co's, that's remarkable.
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Inflation in Ireland has fallen to a three-year low of 2.2%. 🇮🇪👏
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Look at the growth in Irish exports in the past decade! Their value doubled from 2014 to 2020, primarily driven by services exports.
The lines show our declining reliance on the UK market as an export destination.
And all this growth has translated into record job numbers. 🇮🇪👏
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In 8 days Ireland celebrates the centenary of independence. The fact that we have doubled the number of people at work in just 30 years is a remarkable achievement. Practically no other European country has achieved this feat.
#positiveireland
#infact
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Ireland is one of Europe's most supportive countries for Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war. Relative to the size of our population, we have provided temporary protection to more Ukrainians than any other western European country. 🇮🇪🇺🇦
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Ireland has dramatically increased the number of doctors working here over the past few decades. We had 16 doctors for every 10,000 inhabitants in 1990. Today that figure is 41 - higher than most countries in Europe. 🇮🇪🧑⚕️👏
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It's *Doctor* Henry now, if you please! 😄 I'm thrilled to announce that I have completed a PhD in history at
@UniWestminster
. My work explored Ireland's progress during its first century as an independent nation, and the reasons for its remarkable development in recent decades.
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In 10 days' time we will celebrate the centenary of Ireland's independence. We have a lot to be proud of. We live 25 years longer than the Irish did in the 1920s, for example, that's a whole generation we've added to our lifespan. 1/2
#positiveireland
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Ireland is the 4th best country in the world in which to retire in, behind only Norway, Switzerland & Iceland, says the Natixis Global Retirement Index. Ireland scores particularly highly for healthcare & quality of life, compared to other countries. 🇮🇪👍
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Ireland is one of the world's leading countries in achieving social progress. Over the last 30 years, Ireland & Iceland are the two western European nations to have made the greatest progress on social and environmental measures, says
@socprogress
🇮🇪🇮🇸📈
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We have never had so many teachers in Irish schools. Teacher numbers grew 36% over the past decade, while student numbers increased by just 6%, so pupil:teacher ratios have never been better. It's one of the reasons Irish education is amongst the best in the world. 🇮🇪🧑🏫👏
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Irish workers are the most productive in the the world, in fact, but multinational earnings are a big element. However, if you only look at our domestic companies then our productivity is still well above the EU average, alongside Belgium & Sweden, and amongst the world's best 😇
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Disposable incomes in Ireland have increased threefold since the 1980s. This is income in people's pockets after tax (and social supports) and it allows for inflation. No matter how you look at it, we are far better off than previous generations. 🇮🇪💶
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"Abroad, Ireland is seen as a modern, vibrant, progressive and economically progressive state" 👏 Well said Shane Coleman. We need to occasionally remind ourselves of our successes to put our current challenges into context.
Shane Coleman: Forget the failed state guff - Ireland is a great country with issues like any other
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Ireland is the 11th least corrupt country in the world. So says Transparency International in their latest Corruptions Perception Index. Corrupt payments were effectively removed from Irish politics in the 1990s. We can be proud of how far we've come. 🇮🇪👏
#CPI2023
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90% of Irish university graduates are in employment shortly after finishing their degree. That's the 5th highest employment rate of any EU country. 🇮🇪🧑🎓🧑💼
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Ireland is the 4th most competitive economy in the world, according to new rankings from the World Competitiveness Centre. That helps to create employment and wealth for the people of Ireland. 🇮🇪🕴️👍
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The Irish people are unequivocable in their support for EU membership. 🇪🇺 85% of us say it's a good thing - the highest % of any EU member state. We recognise the benefits it has brought in jobs and infrastructure that we would otherwise not enjoy today.
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The suicide rate in Ireland peaked in the late 1990s and has declined significantly since then. It is now nearly half what it was 30 years ago. Improvements in mental health awareness and treatments, alongside declining alcohol use, have been crucial.
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20 years ago, a quarter of Irish people had a third-level educational qualification. Today, half do. AND there's a million more people in Ireland now than there was then. We are one of the most highly educated countries on the planet. Fact. 🇮🇪😇
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Corruption in Ireland is comparatively rare. Fewer Irish people know anyone who has taken a bribe than citizens in all other EU countries. 94% of us don't know anyone & only 6% say they do. We've made substantial progress tackling this since the 1980s. 👏
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Ireland is one of the least corrupt countries in the world. This recent European survey shows only 3% of us say we have witnessed or experienced a case of corruption in the past year - only Portugal is lower. 🇮🇪👍
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There are now 2.7 million people in jobs in Ireland - a record high. We've doubled the number of available jobs over the past 30 years, official figures show. What an incredible success story. 🇮🇪📈👏
@CSOIreland
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Ireland has dramatically changed its fossil fuel consumption over the past 20 years. The majority of our electricity was generated by burning coal, peat & oil in 2000, with only 5% produced by renewables. Today, renewables provide nearly 40% and those dirty fuels only 10%. 🇮🇪💡👏
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Ireland produces more STEM (science, technology, engineering & math) graduates than any other European nation. Four-in-ten of those completing higher education gain a STEM qualification. It's a competitive advantage for foreign investment & it future proofs our economy 🇮🇪🧑🎓👍
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It's just 3 more days until the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Irish Free State. We are using our increased wealth to give back to the world's most needy. Our expenditure on overseas development assistance will exceed €1 billion this year. That's worth celebrating
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Ireland is amongst the most equal nations on the planet. The latest income inequality figure for Ireland moves us into the top tier of 'most equal' countries in the
@WorldBank
's global analysis. We are approaching Nordic levels of equality. 🇮🇪👏
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The Irish are having fewer children than ever. Each woman of childbearing age needs to have 2+ children to sustain the population naturally. *Every* EU country is below this level & Ireland is only the 6th most fertile. Immigration is how we grow successfully into the future. 🇮🇪
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We do a great job of retaining kids in school in Ireland. Only 4% of our young people leave before completing their second-level education. We've more than halved the drop out rate over the last ten years, and it's less than half the EU average 🇮🇪🧑🎓👏
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Irish households are far less indebted than they were. Each one owed an average of nearly 150% of their income back in 2016, but nowadays our debt is less than our income. We have deleveraged faster than any other country in Europe. Lesson learned! 🏘️📉🇮🇪
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Next Tuesday the Irish state will be 100 years old. As we have become wealthier so inequality has declined. Income inequality decreased over the past 20 years and is at the lowest level on record, thanks to high taxation on workers & generous income support for those who need it.
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Migrants coming to Ireland have helped fill the new jobs we are creating here. Unemployment is as low as it's ever been in Ireland, with net migration of around 40,000 new arrivals per year helping to sustain our economic growth. 🇮🇪
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Ireland's exports have powered ahead over the past 3 years. The pandemic made barely a blip in our remarkable growth which has seen a 40%+ increase in exports since the end of 2019. That's way, way ahead of the growth experienced by most developed countries. 🇮🇪👏
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Ireland produces more computer science and technology Master's degree graduates than any other other country in Europe (per capita). 🖥️🇮🇪👏 It's a very positive investment in the future of a young generation and of Ireland as a nation.
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"A swathe of the population believe they live in a hellhole" writes Stephen Collins in
@IrishTimes
but "the reality is that Ireland has never been more prosperous or had better public services". ➡️This is why I share positive news about Ireland's progress.
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Most Irish people think the country is going in the right direction. 52% agree with this and only 37% disagree. Within the EU, only the citizens of Luxembourg are more positive about their country. 🇮🇪😇
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There have been strong increases in incomes in Ireland over the past 30 years, even allowing for inflation. On average, each of us is earning twice as much as Irish people did 30 years ago (in real terms). We've never been financially better off. 🇮🇪💶
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This day next week, we will mark 100 years since Ireland became independent. In that time we have turned from a country of emigrants to one that welcomes immigrants. Nearly 1-in-5 Irish residents today was born elsewhere. A remarkable achievement.
#positiveireland
#infact
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Irish teens are the 2nd best in the world at reading 📖🇮🇪👏- second only to Singapore among 81 countries. We place 11th in maths and 12th in science - up from 21st and 22nd in 2018.
Well done teachers & students, we can be proud of our education system.
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Ireland is the 3rd freest country in the world economically. The 2024 Index of Economic Freedom from the
@Heritage
Foundation evaluates economic policies and conditions in 184 countries. Singapore, Switzerland & Ireland are ranked as the freest nations. 🇮🇪
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Employment growth in Ireland has well exceeded that of other European countries in the past few years. The number of people in jobs here has grown 15% since 2019. Only Malta saw stronger growth. 🇮🇪👩💼
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82% of Irish people are satisfied with how democracy works in our country, says a new
@EP_trends
survey. That matches the high level of support in Nordic nations & Luxembourg. Most of us appreciate the fact that we have a fair electoral system in which voters' opinions count 🇮🇪👏
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There's not much of an anti-EU movement in Ireland. 80% of Irish people say that being a member of the EU is important for Ireland. It's brought us jobs, greater wealth & freedoms. 🇪🇺🇮🇪 All eyes on the European Parliament election count today so... 🧐
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On
#WorldGratitudeDay
, let those of us who live in Ireland be grateful for our high quality of life here: it's the 8th highest in the world according to
@UNDP
. Of course we have challenges, but no generation before us has been healthier, wealthier, or better educated. 🇮🇪👏
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The Irish education system is very good and we're rightly proud of it. Tests show our teenagers are better educated than in most other countries, and two-thirds of Irish people agree the quality of our system is good (only Singaporeans are prouder). 🇮🇪👏
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There were 500,000 new jobs created in Ireland over the past 7 years. We are likely to add another 500,000 jobs over the next 15 years according to
@CSOIreland
-> resulting in a record 3.2 million people at work.
🇮🇪🧑💼👍
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Did you know that long-term unemployment in Ireland has been dramatically reduced over the past decade and is now well below the EU average?
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Ireland's Taoiseach
@SimonHarrisTD
is the same age as the average Irish person: 37 years. He is the only national leader to be representative of his country in age in this list of advanced economies. Irish parliamentarians are also typically younger than most other countries 🇮🇪
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Ireland has the 5th highest minimum wage of any country around the world. We're only behind Luxembourg, Australia, Netherlands & NZ. I think that's something to be proud of, accepting that the cost of living here is greater than many other places. 💶🇮🇪👍
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News reports can mislead us into overestimating the prevalence of crime. Did you know that Ireland has one of the very lowest homicide rates in the entire world? We're fortunate to live in such a safe country 🇮🇪
Data @
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