The Economic situation in Ireland

I have to thank my sister in Ireland for sending me two excellent books that are very revealing about the current situation in Ireland and the events over the last few years which led up to our current economic plight.

The books are:

• "The Bankers" by Shane Ross with the sub-heading "How the banks brought Ireland to its knees" - Penguin ISBN 978-1-844-88216-8

• Review   "The Bankers"
• Author's Blog    Shane Ross

• "Follow the Money" by David McWIlliams - Gill & MacMillan ISBN 978-0-7171-4254-5

• Review   "Follow the Money"
• Author's Blog    David McWilliams

Both books are excellent and I would strongly recommend anyone who is interested in Ireland and/or economics to read them.  I have included links to the authors' blogs as well as to some reviews.

I wonder if there are any lessons to be learned here in Spain.  For example, can countries on the periphery of the EU continue to be members of the Euro, particularly as some economic commentators feel that countries such as Spain need to devalue?

What are your thoughts on these issues?