Economic Growth: It should be different this time

Back in the day, when Bertie Ahern’s most-popular-taoiseach- ever crown was beginning to slip, hyper-energetic, unquestioning optimism was all but mandatory. To challenge, to doubt our affluence was seen as something weak and almost treasonous.

That wearing-the-green-jersey cult reached a high watermark at a trade union conference in Bundoran when Mr Ahern made his infamous remark, one he had to apologise for later: “Sitting on the sidelines or on the fence cribbing and moaning is a lost opportunity. In fact, I don’t know how people who engage in that don’t commit suicide.”