New year outlook - You’ve gotta accentuate the positive...

DESPITE the gloom of some of the global economic predictions, there are still indications that the Irish economy will grow this year, though not at the same rate as recent years. This should be taken as a positive indication.

Hopefully, Bertie Ahern will be able to overcome his problems at the Mahon Tribunal in a convincing way, and the tribunals will then be able to wind up its seemingly interminable deliberations.

The Taoiseach might then crown this with a successful appearance before a joint session of the US Congress.

This could also be the year in which the North — for long the island’s black spot — emerges from of the shadows of sectarian intolerance and religious bigotry and provides a beacon of hope for troubled areas around the world.

It would be some spectacle to watch First Minister Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness walking down 5th Avenue in New York city at the head of the St Patrick’s Day.

This would, indeed, be a great day, not just for the Irish, but humanity.

Religious intolerance seems to be the main ingredient in the turmoil in so many other places.

As such, it would be all the more welcome to be able to point to the corner of this island as a place where those demons have finally been overcome.

The Irish Examiner wishes a happy New Year to everyone.