Ireland is one of a small number of the 24 rich countries of the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that has suffered the worst of the global recession but it is striking that beyond short-term measures to correct the public finance imbalances, there is no evidence of serious interest in fundamental reform among the political class nor is there public pressure for change. Given the largely avoidable economic calamity, and the overwhelming dependence on foreign firms to deliver long-term prosperity, with the exception of the new reforming leadership at the Central Bank, it’s mainly business as usual elsewhere. It’s a valid question to ask, if an unreformed Ireland is destined to be another failed rich State like Japan?
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