A third of Ireland's expenditure goes toward social welfare payment

PhutiePahn: "This has been earned by the employee and kept in abeyance. It is not largesse from the state". First of all, forget the word "state". You mean the folks who pay taxes. Second, your formulation doesn't work in the case of foreign migrants, 80.000 of whom are now claiming dole (not to mention countless others claiming other forms of welfare). They can "transfer" their credits from say latvia to Ireland, even tho the amount they've paid in in latvia is miniscule and wouldn't be enough to fund two weeks of Irish benefits.

Oh just like the USA. 1 works, 1 lives off the other and 1 is retired.

How come we never hear what the politicians are costing the country.

Ecoomically, you have to understand that unemployment and pensions are taken out of the check of an employee and put into an escrow fund. This has been earned by the employee and kept in abeyance. It is not largesse from the state. This is 50% of your claim. However, employment is down in Ireland as well as the rest of the world and extended benefits come from the state. The fact that we have a "nanny state" is a very big problem. The greed of the big multi-national corporations is an opposite extreme. Capital for buiness expansion is going through the roof because of the cheap labor in China and whose stated goal is to have the "proletariat take over the means of production".

Does this include politicians salaries?

My immigrant father railed at the Irish on the dole a generation ago. I guess Ireland has reverted to form.

Eighty percent of the Irish Economy relies of Social Welfare. Without Social Welfare what size would the Irish Economy be????? Without Irish Politicians giving welfare handouts to pretentious American Corporations they will need customers. Where will they get their customers from?

You wanted a "Nanny State," you got it.