Dan O’Brien: Sticking with the books has put Ireland at the top of the class

Ireland has retained its place as the most educated country in Europe. This, along with a ‘brain gain’ of highly able immigrants, is good news for everyone

It is hard to see a significant downside of young people spending more time learning before they start earning. Picture: Getty

Good news can be hard to come by in these trying times. The recent news that Ireland had retained its position as the most educated country in Europe was certainly welcome, not least by people running organisations for whom human capital is the bedrock of their businesses.

A couple of weeks ago, the Central Statistics Office found that half of Irish adults aged 25 to 64 have third-level qualifications. This is the highest in the ...