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An empty house. Around three hundred thousand homes have been abandoned because of the recession in Ireland

Until the global financial crisis struck, Ireland was held up as a shining example of how to run a successful modern economy.

But it has fallen harder than most during the global recession and its banking system and economy are in a mess.

Radio New Zealand's Economics Correspondent, Nigel Stirling, lived in Ireland during the height of the Celtic Tiger boom.

He recently traveled back there to investigate what's gone wrong and what lessons there are for New Zealand.

Photo: Around three-hundred-thousand homes stand empty in Ireland because of the financial crisis