Of course that was a factor. Every time I ask anyone I know from Iceland about stories like these, they roll their eyes and say it's BS.
Also, notice that this is published in the Irish Independent, a fairly newspaper which traditionally supports what is now the opposition party and which dug the country into a hole in the first place. It would be a mistake to assume this commentary is wholly objective; likewise it would be a mistake to overlook the historical record, in which Ireland has been through past periods of austerity and emerged sooner than its peers for having taken the bull by the horns. In the meantime, it's useful to remember an Irish proverb: 'faraway hills look green.'
And its written by Dan White, he of get on the property ladder and the time to buy is now. Seriously, I cannot understand how anyone still listens to him, but apparently they do.
Also, notice that this is published in the Irish Independent, a fairly newspaper which traditionally supports what is now the opposition party and which dug the country into a hole in the first place. It would be a mistake to assume this commentary is wholly objective; likewise it would be a mistake to overlook the historical record, in which Ireland has been through past periods of austerity and emerged sooner than its peers for having taken the bull by the horns. In the meantime, it's useful to remember an Irish proverb: 'faraway hills look green.'