Ireland - simply the worst

Hovering around much of the Irish debate on the crisis in the European Union is a smug belief that Old Europe has a lot to learn from us. While countries such as France have sunk into a feather-bed of laziness, we are the go-getters of the western world.

While we solve problems, they are stuck in the past, holding on to a model of the welfare state that no longer makes sense. We have faced reality; they wallow in illusions. So let's look at some of our realities in a wider European context. What's striking is how often our achievements are indeed outstanding.

Let's start with health. We have one of the worst male mortality rates in the EU, and the worst male life expectancy. Our perinatal mortality rate is the worst among the old EU 15. Our death rate from respiratory diseases is the worst in Europe for both men and women. On the European continent only Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have more deaths from lung cancer, asthma, pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than ourselves and the UK.

Our rates of alcohol and drug consumption are among the highest in Europe. In Italy there is one neurologist for 20,000 people; in Ireland there is one for every 280,000 people. In Italy there are 599 licensed physicians for every 100,000 people; in Ireland, there are 250 - the lowest rate in the EU. Breast, colorectal, lung, lymphoma and oesophageal cancer mortality rates for women in Ireland are significantly higher than those in the EU as a whole.

Colorectal, oesophageal, lymphoma and prostate cancer mortality rates for men in Ireland are also significantly higher than for men in the EU as a whole. We have achieved by far the highest number of cases of MRSA - the so-called hospital superbug - in Europe, with 119 cases per million in 2003, which is 2½ times higher than the next worst-hit country, Portugal.

Our environmental record is equally outstanding. We have consistently topped the EU's list of worst offenders, receiving twice as many first warnings last year as France, which has 10 times the population. In the five years to 2002 the EU Commission issued more warnings over environmental breaches by Ireland than against the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg and Denmark combined. With 1 per cent of the European population we manage to account for 10 per cent of commission complaints about environmental issues.

We are also the worst offender in Europe for controlling the emissions that affect climate change. Ireland's drinking water standard is among the worst in Europe. We have the worst record on standards of domestic energy conservation in Europe, with less than 40 per cent of Irish homes having insulation.

In terms of education, the average primary school class size in Ireland is 24.5, while most of our partners in the EU have considerably lower class sizes - Denmark has 19 pupils in a class, Belgium 20, Italy 18 and Luxembourg 15.

We have the third-worst capacity for speaking foreign languages in Europe, just ahead of the UK and Hungary. And our adult illiteracy rates are among the highest, not just in Europe but in the developed world. Political illiteracy is also well advanced: voter turnout among young Irish people is now the worst in Europe. Only 40 per cent of first-time voters cast their ballots in Irish elections compared to 97 per cent in Belgium.

In terms of social standards, only Italy among the European nations can match our record on child poverty: nearly 16 per cent of our children live in poverty. The percentage of Irish people in general who live in poverty after State transfers have been taken into account is the worst in the EU, a status we claim jointly with Greece and Slovakia. Our income inequality is the fourth worst in the EU. Among the old EU 15, we have the second-worst proportion of people with a severe disability who have an earned income. In the United Nations Development Programme's index of poverty and inequality Ireland is the second-worst performer among OECD countries, just ahead of the US and therefore the worst in Europe.

We are wonderfully good at discouraging the raising of children. When it comes to statutory maternity pay levels, and the amount of maternity leave allowed, only Greece and Luxembourg come below Ireland. We also have the most expensive child care in Europe and the worst level of provision.

Dublin has achieved the worst traffic in Europe, and indeed on a worldwide basis second only to Calcutta in the length of time it takes to make a simple business trip. It takes an average of 57 minutes for 5kg of goods to travel 5km in Dublin, compared to 13 minutes in London. The cost of a local telephone call here is the third most expensive in the EU.

These are all achievements that place us at the leading edge of failure. If the lazy French and the apathetic Germans, with their inability to generate true dynamism, want an example of what can be achieved with a determined national strategy of public incompetence, they need look no further.