Cosmopolitan Ireland, by University of Limerick sociologist Carmen Kuhling and University College Cork sociologist Kieran Keohane, paints a stark picture of Irish society and outlines how a generation of policymakers have put short-term economic gain ahead of long-term social stability.

"LA is a city in the US that's a bad example of a sprawling city. There are deep divides in the ethnic groups and it's marked by gang warfare. But in the '40s and '50s, people flocked to LA and it was a prosperous and booming city, much like Dublin is now, " Keohane told the Sunday Tribune.

Rampant and often unplanned expansion of Dublin and the greater Dublin area is leading to class and ethnic segregation as well as ghettoisation, much as it did in LA as the economy began to wane, according to the book. "The affluence of the Celtic Tiger has not been transferred into public wealth, and sharp polarisation in many areas has developed. Economic growth has not been transferred into collective social wealth. We have a two-tiered immigration system and health system, " Keohane said.

People in Ireland had also lost their "sense of moral outrage", he added, while there was a "sense of disconnection" in relation to murders, which was also comparable to LA. Depression, binge drinking and drug-taking were increasing as traditional values and community spirit declined, the book says.

Keohane said the poorest in Ireland were four times more likely to die of a preventable or treatable illness than the wealthiest and that "white flight" from areas in Dublin should be a matter of grave concern, he continued.

The authors claim these problems can only be solved by a radical rethink of social and economic policy, advocating sweeping reforms in the tax system, immigration policy, healthcare, town planning and in an education system that was failing to prepare children for a changing society. "The country has been very prosperous but we haven't made the best of it. Now the party is coming to an end. If we don't close the gaps, we will have long-term and deeply institutionalised social conflict. Look at LA, those problems can't be undone, " said Keohane.