A Sunday Times article entitled ‘Ireland not open for business, says Twitter innovator‘ seems likely to set off a wave of protest, not just for its baiting headline (unsubstantiated by a direct quote in the article), but also for the lamentable political and geographical irrelevance and dangerous ambiguity of a substantial part of the content of the article.
For this not familiar with geography and history (and from the article, this appears to encompass both Kathryn Johnston, the Times writer, and Blaine Cook, the former lead architect on Twitter) Whitehead, County Antrim, is in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom of England, Wales, Scotland And Northern Ireland. Although it has devolved powers, its parliament is that of the UK, in London, and it is a member of the EU, and it uses the Pound as its currency. Ireland, also known as The Republic of Ireland or Eire, is an independent sovereign state and member of the EU, and uses the Europe as its currency. Its parliament is in Dublin.
Has anyone got a Map?
One of the errors made by many people (and it is an error that, for historical reasons, it is extremely important NOT to make) is to assume that Ireland is one entity, and one country. It is not. However, the writer’s headline neatly suggests this, and the article refers first to Ireland as a singular subject, and does not specifically explain that County Antrim is in Northern Ireland. Cook then refers to earlier grant-based initiatives that had been made by Ireland, and states that, in the context of new and separate joint infrastructure initiatives, these old initiatives won’t work. (Nobody is actually suggesting these old initiatives be repeated other than Blaine Cook, or possibly Kathryn Johnston or a sub-editor)
Blaine then further refers to ‘the republic’ without the clarification that he means Republic of Ireland. The writer and then refers to a joint Northern Ireland / Ireland initiative to boost its tech industry through a €30m investment in a transatlantic cable as being ‘cross-border’ investment – not making it clear whether the borders involved in being crossed are US and Ireland; US and Northern Ireland; or just Northern Ireland and Ireland. Or all three.
Red Tape cuts across every Border…
Mr Cook complains of “non-stop red tape” – specifically , that he has had difficulty getting a credit card, as he needs to obtain a utility bill, and be registered to to vote, which takes three months residency to be valid. He also is baffled by the Norther-Irish-specific issue surrounding driving licences – after a year has to revoke his canadian driving licence and sit a test to obtain a British licence. A quick look at the United States Government embassy web site reveals that, for an Irish or UK citizen moving there, such non-stop red tape is remarkably similar. “The U.S.A. has an agreement with most countries whereby the renter’s full national driving license may be used for a period of up to one year in the U.S.A. This applies to the full U.K. driving license. Provisional licenses are not acceptable.” Blaine, red tape sucks, and it sucks everywhere, but especially when you cross borders.
Blaine also goes on to say he’s surprised how little Twitter is used in Ireland compared with America, saying he only knows of one local politician who uses Twitter. Well, I think Blaine may shortly find a few more politicians and business figures around Northern Ireland and Ireland will be following him using Twitter, and they may not necessarily want to have a tweet-up or ‘friend’ him, but might wish to educate him a little about the country he has chosen to live in – or about the art of talking to Sunday newspaper reporters. Blaine is at http://twitter.com/blaine.
Blaine Cook yesterday made a statement linking to the article online at The Sunday Times on his twitter account as follows: -
By request, here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/bbwe97 – the article’s actually OK, just the headline is sooo sensationalist and wrong. ;-)
The Next Web visits Dublin: February 24th
David Petherick of The Next Web will be speaking in Dublin, Capital City of the Republic of Ireland, on Tuesday the 24th of February, at Bizspark Innovation Accelerator, which is created by Digital Media Island, in partnership with Digital Media Forum and Microsoft Ireland. Free places are still available for local startup companies by visiting Digital Media Island.
I hope to learn more about the excellent rate of corporate tax in the Irish Republic (12.5%), new investments in infrastructure, business start-up initiatives to cut red tape and help R&D, and to meet the Twitterati and Startups of Dublin and beyond. And I’ll be delighted to talk to any newspaper reporters, but always let them know that I will record what is said.
Hey man, can I buy a ticket to The Next Web?? i’ll pay 1000 Europes for it ;)
Blaine, thanks a lot for responding here, and for taking the time to give us so much detail.
I had a very strong feeling reading the Sunday Times article that they were being highly selective with the facts, and perhaps took a few things out of context.
As someone who has had his share of dealing with UK bureaucracy (my wife married me here in 1992, but was a Russian citizen) and as someone who has been to Northern Ireland on a number of occasions, I agree that red tape and bureaucracy really kills things for individuals, companies, families, and the kind of rubbish you have to go through here, and time, money and energy the states requires you to waste, when compared to other countries, really seriously mitigates against us.
As you say, governments who throw tax payers money to attract foriegn people and investment, while at the same time maintaining these ridiculous bureaucratic hurdles, is self-defeating.
Hi!
re: the question of Ireland/Northern Ireland/UK, within Northern Ireland, “the Republic”, “the south”, and “Ireland” are all used interchangeably to refer to the Republic of Ireland, and the north is “Ireland”, “the UK”, “Northern Ireland”, or “the north” depending on the topic and who you ask. It’s a little confusing when in Northern Ireland, and taken out of context it’s incredibly difficult to figure out. ;-)
The driver’s license issue is only relevant because if I were resident in England, Scotland or Wales, even for a few weeks, I could exchange my Canadian drivers license with no problems. In the North, I have to sit a written test, then a take driving test, even though I’m legally allowed to drive for a year on my existing license. That will take at least two working days, once I’ve waited in line, etc, and what purpose does it serve? If the North is trying to attract highly skilled tech workers, making them jump through needless bureaucratic hoops isn’t going to help.
Having moved from Canada to the US, I can say with certainty that the experience was much easier. It took about a week to get a Social Security Number in the US, and with that I was able to get bank accounts, credit cards, a driver’s license, a mobile, internet access, etc, etc.
In the UK/Northern Ireland, I was completely unable to get a mobile phone contract for over six weeks after moving, and one O2 employee actually told me that I would need to wait *three years* before they would “trust” my credit. In the end, I had to pay a £150 deposit for my home telephone line and a £150 deposit for my mobile contract. In the end, getting a mobile phone took one trip to the O2 store, two trips to the Apple Store, about 6 hours of active involvement, and £150 up-front. In the US, the same process took about two minutes and cost me nothing beyond the phone.
Cory Doctorow wrote a similar rant about being a new resident years ago, and things are scarcely better. I moved to Northern Ireland/the UK fully aware that the bureaucracy is hell, and I’ve approached all of these problems with considerable patience. The bureaucracy of getting settled was my full-time job for the first two months after I moved. If the government is trying to encourage foreign investment and involvement in Northern Ireland, it should take it seriously and try to ensure that new residents are treated equally to long-term residents. If they’re not willing to do this, then their promises are hollow, and let down both locals and prospective new residents alike.
I really like living in Northern Ireland, and I say this honestly as someone who has lived in both Vancouver and San Francisco, two very highly regarded cities. I think the tech scene is lively and inspiring, and that Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have bright futures, but governments throwing money at people doesn’t make Ireland an attractive place to live. It’s the particular merits of a beautiful landscape, a rich culture, and an engaged and interesting populace that make Ireland great.
I can’t speak to the idiocy of the press, but I can speak to the redtape of moving countries…even back to one’s birth country.
Here’s something for the books… I spent my entire driving life in the US, no revocations, not even a ticket and then in 1998 I moved to Canada. I went and got a License there almost a year later and it was a simple walk in, do the eye check, sign your name, get your picture taken and leave.
I moved back to the US in 2007, having still not ever had a ticket, no accidents involving other vehicles…nothing. I go to get my License and am informed I must ‘sit’ my test again, both written and driving. Something I haven’t done since I was 18!!!
Red tape exists all over the world. Some countries make one thing easy and another difficult. It definitely does little to make you want to be a globe trotter.
This is the way things should be, get off what we are on now
After reading the article, I feel that I need more information on the topic. Can you share some more resources please?