The Economist, in a story about migration in Europe (the greatest wave since the end of the Second World War), includes an anecdote that, if accurate, provides an alarming insight into the intellectual skills of those occupying the lower tiers of the British economy:”ROBERT, the Polish-born head of a group of British removal men, can read and write English easily, unlike his British colleagues who after packing their cardboard boxes label them as �clovs� and �shuse�.”Before any Irish reader falls into the standard pose of pointing to the superiority of the Republic’s education system, it’s worth noting that, with a reported functional illiteracy rate hovering at around 22%*, Ireland probably also requires a steady influx of Poles with PhDs to ensure that removal crates are at least labeled accurately.*Apparently marginally higher than the UK’s.