45126-Invest. Qual-No111

growth. Second, there was a dramatic structural adjustment of theeconomy. In 1960, agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted foralmost 37 percent of all employment. By 1987, this had fallen to 14per cent. Third, these achievements were accompanied by a distinctmodernisation. The period after 1960 saw a strong increase in livingstandards and expectations. Incomes, wages and welfare provisionsconverged with those in the UK and the quantity, quality and rangeof consumer goods increased strongly. Fourth, Ireland had greatsuccess in attracting inward investment and became accustomed,relatively early, to attracting and using inward investment.Although the Irish economy achieved significant economic growth,adjustment, modernisation and inward investment since 1960, thesesuccesses are qualified in important ways. Growth was not handledwell, giving rise to inconsistent claims on the Irish economy.Awareness of the international environment was incomplete. Theadjustment of indigenous enterprises to international competitionfailed more often than it succeeded. Job creation was insufficient,old jobs were lost at a remarkable rate and unemploymentincreased. High levels of savings and corporate profits were notmatched by investment in the Irish economy. Inevitable adversitieswere allowed to become divisive and produced delayed andinsufficient responses. Overall, there was an insufficientappreciation of the interdependence in the economy—between thepublic and the private sectors, between the indigenous economy andthe international economy, and between the economic and thepolitical.In 1996, the Council continued, “these problems arose as much inperiods of strong economic growth, as in periods of internationalrecession. An understanding of these weaknesses and the possibilityof repeating them in a period of high growth, is critical in currentcircumstances” (NESC, 1996a: 21).We can now elaborate this perspective somewhat, by saying that animportant policy lesson from our long-term experience is:●Ireland’s Long Run Economic Development and VulnerabilityThe need for early rather than slow reaction to new conjuncture;47