For those who want it, this book is packed with details of how the foundations for the State's current economic boom were put in place. Ray MacSharry, appointed minister for finance by Charles Haughey in 1987, praises the former taoiseach for the resoluteness with which he stood behind him as he set about introducing swinging cutbacks.
Padraic White, managing director of the IDA at the time of Haughey's return to power, tells how that agency played its role, despite some initial scepticism on the part of central government. The book identifies social partnership and the establishment of the financial services centre as two key developments. Again Haughey is centre stage. MacSharry is good when telling of what happened behind closed doors, but his reviews of wider events suffer because the material is so familiar. White's contributions have a narrower focus and are all the better for that.
