As a society, we must open up to debate

The debacle surrounding Irish water, which is by no means yet resolved, has highlighted once again the importance of communications. Indeed, much of the blame in relation to Irish water is being laid at the door of communications, from the company and from the government.

At the height of the Irish financial and economic crisis a very common refrain from some was that people should “stop talking down the economy”. This was usually directed at those who stepped outside the consensus de jure.

The idea, of course, is that the economy is such a fragile creature that it teeters perpetually on the edge of a meltdown. This meme, that we should stop talking down the economy and pull on the green jersey etc, has now thankfully disappeared from the most part from Irish political and economic discourse.