@LookItsMeAgain
Lol you sound stressed. Living in Dublin will do that to you.
Don't worry, you also can leave and move a far superior country 🤣. Just winding you up, I'm not as angry a person as you seem to be.
On a serious note, I will give some explanations.
Some of it related to my work as a nurse and mainly comparing living standards to Scotland.
So I was paid less in Ireland (didn't even pay into a pension there, did so in Scotland and still made less in ireland!). They charge a bit more tax in Ireland than they do in Scotland and you get no public services for it!
Their equivalent of income tax was higher
The equivalent of NI was similar
They had an extra con of a tax called USC that took about an extra 150- 200 euro off me I think, that doesn't exist in scotland.
As a nurse we all had to work 2 UNPAID hours per week as per some government agreement in response to the nursing crisis that was supposed to last only a few years but surprise surprise was still going on. This doesn't happen in scotland. I don't know if that's still happening in Ireland or not.
The cost of food was astronomical compared to what I was used to in scotland, especially fruit and veg.
As were the rents. Cars are extortionate and they have an import tax to prevent you getting one from the UK for cheaper. The government have thought of everything to screw its citizens over.
The inability to seperate Church from state is just far too apparent in day to day life. They were trying to repeal the 8th when I was there and it was never off the radio/TV and when you come from a country that has had free and safe access to abortions for a long time it just felt like the dark ages.
I had never once been asked my religion when living in scotland and was constantly asked this in Ireland which is just laughable and innappropriate. People also refused to accept atheism as an answer which was just bizarre to me, like they would try to argue with me that I had to have a religion usually by then asking my parents religion. I have never experienced that in Scotland.
I feel a lot of middle age/older people have very backwards attitudes compared to what I'm used to, but this was not the same for younger people.
In scotland I am now an ANP on a very good salary (all courses fully funded by the Scottish government). A role that doesn't even exist in Ireland due to healthcare systems being so non progressive and managed by dragons.
I have made 6 figures profit on property in the 3 years since returning home and now own a lovely >100 year old large detached sandstone proprty in a very desirable area in a nice city, which I was able to put a large deposit down on.
A nurse in Ireland would never achieve these things in a few short years as the career and property opportunities just do not exist!
And judging by this thread things sound even worse on the property front compared to when I lived there (so doesn't help your 2016 is outdated argument lol).
For the less tax I pay here compared to Ireland I have:
Fully funded education to masters level, literally haven't paid a penny which has enabled me to become a senior nurse by age 28 on a very good salary and now I only work 30 hours but could afford to drop lower (also my breaks are paid, which they weren't in ireland) with a government pension. I can also do well paid ANP locum work which wouldn't be available to me in Ireland.
NHS and free prescriptions.
Free nursery hours -30hrs.
Much cheaper food, cars, though now there's obviously a cost of living crisis so that's changing I admit.
I don't pay a private company to have my bins emptied lol I couldn't understand that.
Genuinely the only benefits of Ireland are: you don't need an annual MOT and it's less cold but I definately think it rains just as much. Literally that's it.
Your government completely screws you all over and I think you are all just institutionalised to it now. Instead of criticising your government you just get annoyed at people who point out how badly you are treated by them. It's bizarre how Irish people are so patriotic.
I happily accept the faults of scotland, there are many so I don't understand this.
On a whole Dublin is attractive enough but the public transport is the worse I have ever seen for a city. 2 LUAS lines lol who designed that!
It doesn't sound to me like anything is better, if anything it sounds worse, as at least when I lived there you could find rental property easy enough.
You should all be more annoyed at the amount of tax you pay there and you get nothing in return! It's baffling to me.
I once had a uti when I lived there. The gp vosit was 50 euro and prescription was 34 euro.
I could go to the pharmacy in scotland and be given the same drug for £0 by the pharmacist and again I must reiterate, I PAY LESS TAX HERE!
Please someone tell me that universal social charge is not still a thing there?
Anyway I'm not trying to annoy Irish people I'm simply being honest. This is merely my opinions based on my experiences.
P.S Scottish men are far superior to Irish men🤣