Den, Their is little difference between two poor sides, the Republic have the greater potential to build a team, they have more players in the Premier League than the north, so the future is much brighter for the Republic,.
Both the Scottish and Welsh sides are in similar positions as the Irish, as for England they talk a good game, the English media have them winning World Cups and European championships before a ball is kicked,and after they fail to produce they are hammered by the same media.
Just look at the line-ups in the Premier League in England and you can see the top teams are dominated by foreign players.