Dublin: An Analysis

This essay provides an analysis of the social structure of Dublin, Ireland, including its economy, healthcare system, education, and the empowerment of women. It explores the economic growth and disparities in Dublin, the healthcare services offered, the education system, and the progress of women in the city. The essay also discusses the cultural significance of Dublin as a literary capital and its diverse community.

Running head: DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author Note

1DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
Introduction
Dublin is the capital of Ireland and is one of the largest cities of Ireland of British
Kingdom. Dublin is considered to be one of the most prolific cities of Ireland regarding art,
culture and education. It has been a famous cultural capital of Ireland since the late nineteenth
century (Hoppen 2013). Dublin has a significant literary history and legacy, also noted for
giving birth to literary maestros of English literature such as George Bernard Shaw, Samuel
Beckett, James Joyce and Oscar Wilde. UNESCO has permanently named Dublin as City of
Literature, along with Edinburgh, Melbourne and Lowa city( Miller and Gribben 2017). Dublin
is also considered to be an economically prolific city, which created a record of the lowest
employment rate in a decade with a rate of 5.7% as, stated and declared by Dublin Economic
Monitor. Irish culture has customarily been Gaelic with an amalgamation of Anglo-Norman,
English and Scottish culture which has shaped the diverse community of Dublin. A reasonable
magnitude of immigrants from Asia, America and Oceania settling in the respective city has
shaped the social dynamics of Dublin. The respective essay is a research work and an analysis of
social structure of Dublin, Ireland, which includes findings on the equality and growth
(economic, social as well as individualistic) of the communities of Ireland and recommendations
regarding social care in Dublin. To initiate the research work, four local people, (two men and
two women) had been taken into consideration; they have been questioned, conversed and their
opinion were taken to carry on the research.
To introspect, analyze and interpret the societal and cultural structure of a particular city,
certain parameters or yardsticks need to be taken into consideration, such as economy of the city,
position of different economic classes and the working class of the city, position of women,

2DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
health, education, significance of religion and policies taken up by the government. To begin
with the introspection of society of Dublin, first and foremost, the economic structure and growth
of the city is analyzed hereafter.
Economy
Dublin is considered to be one of the most important economic and commercial centres
of Ireland. Being the largest city and the capital of Ireland, the city is the residence of the
national parliament of Ireland, offering most of the civil services and national administration
based jobs to its citizens. According to the opinions taken from the four locals of Dublin, a
plethora of multinational and transnational companies and corporations are located in Dublin
which caters to the needs of various sectors of economy such as information technology, digital
media, mass communication and journalism, financial services, including medical and
pharmaceutical industries. Along with multinational enterprises, Dublin is also a hub of some of
Ireland’s most famous corporations and companies such as Bank of Ireland and CRH plc.
Statistical investigations and scrutiny has revealed that in the year 2017, Dublin has been given
the first rank in the context of Ireland by disposable income per person, with 110% as the
average of the state itself. It has been assumed that from 1995 to 2007, Dublin has been the
centre of major and rapid economic growth and development of Ireland which resulted in an
unprecedented increase of both standards as well as cost of living of the city (MacLaren and
MacLaran 2014). However, there has been reasonable arguments regarding a statement by
Economic and Social Research Institute which stated that the concentration of demography and
economic activities of Dublin tended to be “unsustainable” compared to other metropolitan cities
of the British Kingdom. The Irish times, an economic journal of Ireland has also argued about
the lack of availability of rental accommodation in Dublin that might be a cause of economic

3DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
tension in Dublin for the upcoming years. However, research suggests that even though Ireland
has been marked to be a centre for economic growth of Ireland and a city that has ceased its
unemployment problems to a greater extent, the city faces higher magnitude of income inequality
in the past five years (Maître and Whelan 2013). Dublin City Council, in the year 2015, had
processed a report that depicted the divide of the city between the affluent classes and the
marginalized and disadvantaged classes of the society of Dublin (Cardullo and Kitchin 2019).
The city has been mainly divided on the basis of wealth and education. The map that depicted the
distribution of demography in Dublin shows that most of the wealthy and affluent classes of
population is concentrated in the south-east coast of Dublin whereas the outskirts of the city are
inhabited by the most disadvantaged communities of Dublin. The Dublin City Council
Administrative area is observed to be mostly inhibited by unskilled workers. The economic and
political analysts of Dublin states that “social housing plans “ taken up by the government of
Ireland is one of the main reasons for the socio-economic demographic divide of the city.
However, it has to be taken into consideration that since the economic activity of Ireland is most
concentrated in the city of Dublin, therefore, an average household income of a particular
individual residing in Dublin is higher and greater than the others household income who reside
in the other cities or towns of Ireland. Such gap in income between the Dubliners and the rest of
the Irish population has become one of the reasons behind socio-economic divide in Ireland. A
recent news stated that Dublin has been facing problems related to housing infrastructure.
Affordable social housings have become microscopic in Dublin due to high agglomeration and
concentration of population of emigrants as well as immigrants in search of decent jobs as
Dublin is considered to be the economic hub of Ireland and is home to myriads of MNCs. With
the help of various social media, micro blogging and mass communication platforms, the

4DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
housing activists have been vocal about the lack of accommodation in Dublin and has managed
to occupy a four-storayed housing complex to provide shelter to the homeless and dispossessed.
Therefore, it is evident that Dublin has exhibited a strong magnitude of economic as well as
income disparities and the evils that have come up with it. However, there has been records of
resistances and movements against corruption and malpractices of Irish government in Dublin
(Moro et al. 2013). The most popular resistance that was executed by the citizens of Dublin
against the Irish government was named “Occupy Dames Street”. The “Occupy Dames Street”
was a peaceful and passive protest taken up by the citizens of Dublin as a demonstration against
economic and social discrimination, inequalities and injustice due to corporate greed and
capitalistic exploitation that was happening in the society of Dublin( Kiersey 2014). The protest
occurred in the Dame Street of Dublin where the agitated public gathered and demanded justice
from the government against maladministration and malpractices.
Health
Ireland has a rich history in introducing and formulating latest and significant tobacco
control measures to the world. Ireland has been the first country in the world to introduce and
inculcate prohibition of smoking in workplaces in the year 2004 (Currie et al. 2013). At present,
Dublin is about to hold a paramount international conference to tackle tobacco and its
consumption for the first time in the upcoming year of 2021. The healthcare system of Dublin is
considered to be one of the best healthcare systems in Europe according to the opinion of the
locals taken for the research. Dublin is known for its outstanding performance in healthcare as
almost all the hospitals and care centers in Dublin offer premium and quality healthcare with
proper treatment to the patients. The expats who have planned to reside in Ireland for one year or
more than one year are offered healthcare and medical attention for free according to the

5DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
healthcare schemes of Ireland formulated the EU government. Private insurances are offered by
different companies that appoint expats in Dublin (Thomas, Burke, and Barry 2014). The Health
Services Executive is the governing body of the healthcare sector in Dublin. The Health Services
Executive body functions to ensure that all the residents of Dublin receive proper and affordable
health care in all stages of their lives. It seeks to provide medical aid to the residents for free or at
a reduced and an affordable price. The residents, expats and visitors who are the holders of
European Health Insurance Card are eligible and entitled to receive inpatient and outpatient
healthcare free of cost generally at the voluntary and community hospitals, nevertheless, citizens
with high pay scale need to pay hospital subsidy charges up to a certain extent. Senior citizens
around aged 70, marginalized sections of the society and terminally ill patients are eligible for a
medical card that ensures them absolutely free medical treatment and healthcare services. At
present, it is estimated that approximately 32% of the total population of Dublin are the holders
of medical card (Burke et al. 2016). However, while considering mental health and psychological
well-being, women have been the most disadvantaged groups in Ireland. According to National
Women’s Council of Ireland, women in Dublin are not much vocal about their psychological
issues due to stigma, guilt and shame and therefore, they “suffer in silence”( Santini et al. 2016).
Women have been recently reported to have been committing suicide and claiming their life
equal to men in Dublin. Statistical data reveals that the majority of patients who were admitted to
the St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services in Dublin were women and the ratio of mentally ill
patients of the respective hospital in terms of women and men was 3:2. The government of
Ireland has recently launched Women’s Mental health network in every cities including Dublin
which is assumed to be helpful for women in coping with their psychological issues. As far as
women’s health and rights are concerned, Dublin Declaration of Maternal Healthcare that was

6DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
launched in 2012 declared that the act of abortion is no longer needed to save women’s lives.
Such initiative has made Dublin one of the safest cities for pregnant women with the least
maternal mortality rate (Felzmann). According to the Dublin Declaration of Human Resources
for health, political leaders, entrepreneurs, civil servants, stakeholders, academics, youth,
healthcare professionals and social service enthusiasts have come to the opinion of building the
health workforce for the future (World Health Organization 2017). The declaration seeks to
ensure sustainable growth and development of the city as well as the country by providing the
best and the most significant medical and healthcare attention to the population to strengthen the
workforce of the city and the country. It believes that by strengthening health system, the city
can achieve its global aim of allover growth and development.
Education
Education is compulsory in Ireland and in Dublin, Irish children and the children of the
residents of Dublin is supposed to attend primary school from the age six to twelve (Hazelkorn
2014). According to the information gathered by conversing the locals of Dublin, there has been
provisions for specialized primary schools in Dublin that caters to the needs of the students in
certain particular subjects of concern. However, there have been evidences of fund shortages in
the educational sectors of Dublin. Dublin is home to the three most significant and important
universities of Ireland, namely Dublin Institute of Technology, University of Dublin and
National University of Ireland. The Dublin City Council has recently launched higher education
grants to the students to encourage them to pursue further higher studies and excel in academic
arena (Council 2015). Dublin City council is a local governing body of the city Dublin of Ireland
which functions under Local Government Act 2001. Recently, the government of Ireland has
made sex education and study of Irish language compulsory in the schools of Ireland and major

7DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
schools in Dublin. The city of Dublin is also home to the headquarters of Teacher’s Union of
Ireland which is a model of trade union that represents teachers from post-primary schools to the
lecturers of the third level universities, colleges and technological institutes (Clarke, Killeavy
and Ferris 2015). Teacher’s Union of Ireland is a federation with Irish Congress of Trade Unions
which works relentlessly to bring reforms and enhance the education system of Ireland to
progress. The Department of Education and Skills of the government of Ireland identifies and
caters to the needs of the pupils from the marginalized and weaker sections of the society of
Dublin and families with low income. The Department of Education and Skills has built special
schools for the disadvantaged students and also provided assistance such as provisions for free or
low-cost school clothing and foot wear, support in purchasing textbooks, exclusion from
payment of fees of the schools and for certificates and also providing facilities to the students to
attend schools who reside in the remote areas (Hazelkorn 2014).
Women of Dublin
Women of Irish community had exhibited a remarkable progress since the last two
centuries as far as women empowerment is concerned. From the beginning of shifting of
women’s domiciliary position of unpaid work to paid work in the eighteenth century, educational
and professional changes of women in the nineteenth century to a reasonable involvement of
women in the arena of politics and feminist movement, Irish society has shown remarkable
progress as far as position of women is concerned. Women in Dublin are now successful
entrepreneurs, social activists, mathematicians, scientists, teachers and doctors (O'Dowd 2016).
Dublin Women’s Suffrage Association was formed in Dublin in 1894 which demanded women’s
right to vote in Ireland. In the year 1922, Irish government gave Irish women equal position and
voting rights similar to men (Crawford 2013). The Dublin City Library and Archive is a

8DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
storehouse of the Suffrage movement that gained prominence in the late nineteenth and the early
twentieth century in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. The Suffragist City Image Gallery is a
gallery that contains vintage and old photographs of the struggle of women in achieving voting
rights in Ireland. The museum is open to all. However, according to the women locals of Dublin
who had been taken into consideration for gathering information and insight of the research,
patriarchy still persists and atrocities against women are still a reality in Ireland. Recently, the
women of Dublin came out to the streets in their lingerie for a protest march demanding reform
in rape trial (Independent.ie. 2018). The protest that occurred in Dublin was a resistance against a
controversial case where a defense barrister on Cork questioned a seventeen year old rape victim
about her whereabouts which he assumed to be the reason of rape. The march was an agitation
against the age-old institutionalized tradition of victim blaming in a patriarchal society when it
comes to rape and molestation, especially in case of women (Leahy 2014). The activist Murphy
has demanded for a change in the rape trial methods of Ireland which should be devoid of any
disrespectful comments, victim blaming and trivialization of the incidents which is assumed to
hurt the integrity of the victim.
The above research paper concludes by giving an intense introspection on the society of
Dublin, equalities and inequalities faced by the citizens (both men and women) of Dublin in case
of economy, education and health and possible recommendations in the arena of social care in
the context of Dublin.
Conclusion and Recommendation
As far as social care is considered in Ireland, Dublin is not performing satisfactorily.
According to the recent news, more than 400 children in Ireland State care are devoid of social

9DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
care workers. It has been estimated and assumed that in the north Dublin area, 827 children who
are in an utmost need of caregivers are in a wait and around 626 children are waiting for social
workers in the area of Cork (Irishtimes.com. 2017). It can be recommended that youth and
manpower of Dublin should be motivated and influenced to join social care arena as caregivers
and take part as volunteers in the area of social care and community social care so that such
alarming crisis can be diminished and a healthy environment and lifestyle can be provided to the
children of Dublin.

10DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
References
Burke, S.A., Normand, C., Barry, S. and Thomas, S., 2016. From universal health insurance to
universal healthcare? The shifting health policy landscape in Ireland since the economic crisis.
Health Policy, 120(3), pp.235-240.
Cardullo, P. and Kitchin, R., 2019. Being a ‘citizen’in the smart city: up and down the scaffold
of smart citizen participation in Dublin, Ireland. GeoJournal, 84(1), pp.1-13. (map)
Clarke, M., Killeavy, M. and Ferris, R., 2015. Mentor teachers as leaders and followers in
school-based contexts in the Republic of Ireland. International Journal of Educational
Management, 29(3), pp.368-379.
Council, C.C., 2015. Cork City Development Plan 2015–2021. Cork: Cork City Council. DCC
Crawford, E., 2013. The women's suffrage movement in Britain and Ireland: a regional survey.
Routledge.
Currie, L.M., Blackman, K., Clancy, L. and Levy, D.T., 2013. The effect of tobacco control
policies on smoking prevalence and smoking-attributable deaths in Ireland using the IrelandSS
simulation model. Tobacco control, 22(e1), pp.e25-e32.
Felzmann, H., Did the doctrine of double effect kill Savita Halappanavar? Catholic reasoning on
obstetric emergencies and the Savita case. Yearbook of the Irish Philosophical Society, p.4.
Hazelkorn, E., 2014. Rebooting Irish higher education: policy challenges for challenging times.
Studies in Higher Education, 39(8), pp.1343-1354.

11DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
Hazelkorn, E., 2014. Rebooting Irish higher education: policy challenges for challenging times.
Studies in Higher Education, 39(8), pp.1343-1354. (last)
Hoppen, K.T., 2013. Ireland since 1800: conflict and conformity. Routledge.
Independent.ie. 2018.https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/women-take-to-the-streets-of-
dublin-in-their-underwear-to-demand-rape-trial-reform-37556611.html
Irishtimes.com., 2017. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/over-400-children-in-
state-care-are-without-a-social-worker-1.3107226
Kiersey, N., 2014. Occupy Dame Street as slow-motion general strike? Justifying optimism in
the wake of Ireland’s failed multitudinal moment. Global Discourse, 4(2-3), pp.141-158.
Leahy, S., 2014. Reform of Irish Rape Law: The Need for a Legislative Definition of Consent.
Common Law World Review, 43(3), pp.231-263.
MacLaren, A., Kelly, S. and MacLaran, A. eds., 2014. Neoliberal urban policy and the
transformation of the city: Reshaping Dublin. Springer.
Maître, B., Nolan, B. and Whelan, C.T., 2013. A critical evaluation of the EU 2020 poverty and
social exclusion target: an analysis of EU-SILC 2009 (No. 201309).
Miller, K. and Gribben, C. eds., 2017. Dublin: Renaissance city of literature. Manchester
University Press.
Moro, M., Mayor, K., Lyons, S. and Tol, R.S., 2013. Does the housing market reflect cultural
heritage? A case study of Greater Dublin. Environment and Planning A, 45(12), pp.2884-2903.
O'Dowd, M., 2016. A history of women in Ireland, 1500-1800. Routledge.

12DUBLIN: AN ANALYSIS
Santini, Z.I., Fiori, K.L., Feeney, J., Tyrovolas, S., Haro, J.M. and Koyanagi, A., 2016. Social
relationships, loneliness, and mental health among older men and women in Ireland: A
prospective community-based study. Journal of affective disorders, 204, pp.59-69.
Thomas, S., Burke, S. and Barry, S., 2014. The Irish health-care system and austerity: sharing the
pain. The Lancet, 383(9928), pp.1545-1546.
World Health Organization, 2017, November. Dublin Declaration on Human Resources for
Health: building the health workforce of the future. In Fourth Global Forum on Human
Resources for Health. Dublin, Ireland (pp. 13-17).