AS US President Joe Biden’s cavalcade leaves town, he leaves an Irish economy that is expected to be the best-performing in Europe this year, predicted to grow at a conservative estimate of 4.9%.

Across the border, it’s a different picture. Recent months have seen forecast after forecast portending doom for the UK economy, with the IMF predicting that the UK would be the worst-performing economy in the G7 this year.

Major economists argue that the major cause of this is Brexit, with UK exports and imports 15% lower in the long run than if the UK had remained in the EU.

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Ireland was repeatedly condemned as doomed during the Brexit negotiations if the UK received a poor deal from Brussels, with predictions that it would be clamouring to leave the EU as soon as the UK left because of the level of exports to the UK.

The reality, however, has been very different, as there has been a huge divergence between the Irish economy and the UK economy over recent decades. In 2021, UK trade only accounted for 13% of Irish exports, and 20% of Irish imports, with Irish firms now increasingly switching from the UK to the EU for supplies.

Following Brexit, Ireland stands as the transatlantic gateway to the European Union, with the economy continuing to flourish, capitalising on the country’s access to a market of 450 million people and boasting a 12.5% corporate tax rate and a highly educated workforce.

The Irish example of a small and agile economy in the European Union, which has over the years broadened its focus away from a stagnating UK economy, may dare I say it prove an example to those us north of the Border.

Alex Orr
Edinburgh

I FOUND Mhairi Black’s article in The National on Saturday very good and up to her usual standard, but I have to take issue with her on one claim she makes (Unionists are waiting for Yes to fall apart - it won't happen, Apr 15). Mhairi claims that the SNP government are “doing all we can with the limited powers we have”, but that is not true. The SNP government could have used their additional tax powers to make significant tax changes by, for example, bringing in a new land tax. This would have enabled them to reduce income tax for hard-pressed working people while increasing total revenue. They have done nothing about this.

The SNP government should have established a proper data-collecting service, which they promised to do years ago. This would have allowed them to ditch GERS, which is not helpful to the Scottish economy and is merely a propaganda creator for the Unionists. Indeed there are a number of things the Scottish Government could have done, within their existing powers, to address the Scottish economy and the interests of the Scottish people which they have not done.

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When Kate Forbes said the SNP government’s record was “mediocre”, she was right, and when Nicola Sturgeon told an excited Douglas Ross that his party could not reach the dizzy heights of mediocrity in their wildest dreams, she was right also.

The fact that the SNP have been far better than the Unionist parties is good, but it is not good enough. If the SNP government had acted on the two issues above alone, they could have done a much better job for the Scottish people. So stick to the truth, Mhairi – the SNP may be much better than any Unionist party would be, but they have not done everything within their existing power, and they should.

Andy Anderson
Ardrossan

IN response to Keith Taylor’s letter (Apr 13), grouse shooting provides a sustainable and positive feedback loop, where the expenditure on grouse shooting has positive impact on biodiversity and Scotland’s rural communities.

The Scottish Government’s own figures show 60-80% of direct spending on grouse shooting occurs within the local or regional area, supporting jobs in Scotland’s remote areas. Grouse shooting works in harmony with other upland land uses and contributes a higher per-hectare employment impact than other contemporaneous rural industries such as sheep farming and forestry.

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Precisely because of the re-investment of this money into good moorland management is why we see wildlife in abundance in our uplands, from curlew to lapwing, golden eagle to merlin. Thanks to gamekeepers assiduously managing the moors, we have a mosaic of diverse vegetation, providing endangered species of bird with both a food source and nesting capability in lieu of a rank heather-dominated blanket. Effective predator control delivers a safe habitat for these species, allowing them to thrive amongst a well-maintained, wildfire-resilient upland landscape.

If we were to take Mr Taylor’s approach, with no income stream for upland estates, resulting in a lack of proper moorland management investment, there would be far less “wildlife tourism” opportunities on offer, and in turn Scotland’s rural economy would be much worse off.

Peter Clark
Public Affairs Manager (Scotland), British Association for Shooting and Conservation