Is social partnership essential to the Irish economy?

51% YES 49% NO

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• Every state has its own pet jargon. Social partnership / Pairtíocht sóisialta is unique to Ireland / Eire. It was not as written by one this week's experts enabled by a strong economy. To the contrary it was initiated in 1987 against a backdrop of high inflation, mass emigration, unsustainable borrowing and national debt. Nor has it now much to do with wisely forgoing what we may consider essential as this week's other expert writes. I'd prefer to treat on the essentials which are so and must always remain so. The last round of "social partnership" saw the abstenion of the Nurses' INO, and retaliers' Mandate unions, I believe. The wider socio-economic lunatic gravity of our age will not allow Irish residents escape inflationary effects on retail foodstuffs which aside from rising costs of production and transport are also subject to the near cartel control of the world's largest retail chains and who are also the largest employeers of precarious minimum wage workers. The INO quite honestly represented the one essentiality of a healthy state worthy of such jargon as "social partnership". The legacy of the Celtic Tiger has not seen any positive prognosis served on the paliative condition of its health service. So - partnership might build roads, expand property portfolios, keep happy workers happy - but in the long term it will not provide health care or keep Ireland safe from global economic shifts. In the dismal jargon of economists the experts of the dismal science - it will not keep you bouyant much longer.
  iosaf mac diarmada  Spain
• Yes. Social partnership brings certainty and stability to the Irish economy and society. It is better if all the major stakeholders in the economy and society (including the community and voluntary pillar, NGOs etc) can come to a consensus on the way forward.
  Conor  Ireland
• Social partnership was always a sham in Ireland as people still do not have an automatic entitlement to be represented by a union. Therefore it is at the discretion of employers to exclude unions and therefore partnership should they wish. This is perfectly legal and has enabled so-called partnership to be excluded from areas where it would've genuinely made a difference.
  Laura  Ireland
• What social partnership? We have just come through the most prosperous period ever yet the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' widened. That is not the outcome that would have resulted if true social partnership was in place. What we need now is a means of proper wealth re-distribution so that real social partnership, and from that real social responibility,can become a reality. The Unions in particular must ensure that the issue of a small number in the country accumulating massive wealth while many are struggling to access basic services, such as health,is addressed. A good start would be to reach agreement on the provision of a Health Service to which all citizens would have equal access and from which is purged the for-profit element. The for-profit element copperfastens inequity in the sysytem and would frustrate any attempt to create a single waiting list system. That would be a start.
  Jim O'Sullivan  Ireland