It's amazing how much the whole
Celtic Tiger atmosphere, which once pervaded Ireland completely, has been toned down in the past 6 months (from January to July 2001).
News broadcasts, in which the
phrase "Celtic Tiger" was used at least twice a day, now have a new buzzphrase: "... due to the global
downturn in the
IT industry".
Of course Ireland grew too fast, companies had to employ many underqualified IT people, and the Irish generally expected too much from the sector. This is no longer the case, and although many companies are still crying out for workers, there has also recently been a spate of redundancies and/or factory closures, eg. Intel, Hewlett-Packard, etc.
Therefore, although Ireland has escaped the worst of this 'downturn' and lack of demand, the job market is slowly returning to a state of equilibrium. The sombre tone of media broadcasts reporting layoffs has ensured that the "Celtic Tiger" is no longer spoken of in the loud, excited voice evident in ReiToei's description above.