So the economists are divided on the merits of any successor to Partnership 2000. That's hardly a surprise; getting two economists to agree on anything is an exercise in frustration.

But while the odds are still weighted heavily in favour of a new agreement, if only because all sides are loath to return to the damaging industrial relations scenario which preceded it, such an outcome is no longer the foregone conclusion it might once have been.

The continuing revelations of abuse of power by some in politics and at the top of the business elite, to say nothing of the behaviour of the banks and the deeply disturbing approach of the Revenue authorities, make the other social partners more sceptical and agreement more difficult.

On top of that, there is a view, rightly or wrongly, that the agreements have better served the interests of those in the public service than those in the private sector.

Much work yet remains to be done to convince all parties that the best road ahead is that of social partnership.