Sir, - I was among the thousands of Irish people living and working abroad who flooded back home to Ireland for the Christmas holiday. I was also among the thousands who visited the employment fair at Jury's in Dublin on December 28th and 29th. Like others interested in returning home to work, I went along to see what was on offer from Irish-based employers and multinationals. I am currently employed as a software test engineer with one of Finland's largest computer companies. Now 35, I am married with three children, all aged under seven. I have lived in Finland since 1993.
I was impressed by the overall calibre and professionalism of company representatives I met at the fair and the terms and conditions many had to offer. That said, allow me to explain why, despite the so-called Celtic Tiger, I will not be returning to Ireland in the foreseeable future. Firstly, it would mean moving two of my children, who are at primary school age, from a superb school where the pupil/teacher ratio is 1 to 16 into an education system where the average pupil/teacher ratio runs into the mid to late 20s. I would also be moving my young daughter, who is two, into an unregulated Irish creche system with no set standards.
Moreover, while Ireland may be experiencing a building, spending and credit boom, the positive impact of this economic acceleration doesn't seem to have improved basic health, infrastructure or childcare facilities. While in Ireland I visited friends and family in Dublin, Limerick and Cork. I found all three cities and suburbs peppered with litter of all kinds. I have visited many cities throughout Europe, but Limerick must surely be the dirtiest. Its litter is simply disgusting. Irish cities are car-friendly and not people-friendly. As for Irish roads, they are not just widely pot-holed, but many are downright unsafe.
I express these observations with deep regret. I would dearly love to return to Ireland and make a new life with my family there. However, I am simply not prepared to leave the superior career and living environment I enjoy at present to move to a country where the very basics of life that my family take for granted do not exist: clean streets, a clean countryside, adequate and safe play areas for children, safe roads, efficient healthcare and a clean and efficient public transport system.
Maybe I have become too conditioned to living in a modern European state which genuinely cares for its citizens. In Finland, the simple things are done well. Traffic congestion here is relieved by ring roads. Buses, trams and trains are clean and efficient. There are supervised play areas for children on every block. It is possible to cycle from one end of the country to another, a distance of some 920 miles, using an integrated system of bicycle lanes. Unlike Ireland, litter is the exception and not the rule, both in cities and the countryside. People here respect their environment.
In conclusion, I have this to say to Ireland's legislators. The laws needed to bring Ireland up to a European standard of cleanliness and efficiency are on the statute books. Please enforce them. - Yours, etc., Peter Kiely,
00540 Turku, Finland.