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THE TIME has come to consider fundamental constitutional, administrative and political change. Three times in the history of the State, the nature of our parliamentary democracy and inadequate government structures have wreaked havoc on the economy and on society. It cannot be allowed to recur. Sorting out the present fiscal mess will mean little unless reforms go far beyond the banking and regulatory systems and embrace the very nature of government. Citizens with no responsibility for the recession are being asked to fund recovery. They are angry. And they deserve at least the promise of change.

Two ferocious budgets were the defining aspects of 2009, echoing the Government’s disastrous handling of the economy during the boom years, along with a credit crunch that nearly wrecked the banking system and brought about a collapse in construction and in property prices. The economic outlook has brightened somewhat for 2010 but high unemployment, industrial unrest and political nervousness continue to threaten stability.