Sir - I was sitting in my car yesterday morning at 7.30 a.m. on the Blackrock bypass, marvelling once again at its miracle masterplan (eight sets of traffic lights within one km), when I had a brilliant flash of elucidation. It was the answer to that which has been puzzling international economists for years i.e. what brought about our Celtic tiger economy?
In a desperate bid to beat the country's traffic gridlocks, motorists have been getting to work earlier and earlier. I figured out that, as a consequence, they spend an average of 41.32 more minutes at work each day - in other words donating 9.18 per cent more working time than before - which is exactly the same average percentage GDP growth that we've experienced in recent years. Q.E.D.! - Yours, etc. Neal E. Sherman,
Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin.