Finally, the oft-signalled danger of the Celtic Tiger literally eating its cubs seems on the point of coming to pass. The booming economy has apparently soaked up what labour is out there and, given a general reluctance to face up to the need for immigrant labour, is now threatening the very future of the enterprise culture which underpins it.

This week a restaurant, which was good enough to make it into the Michelin Red guide, has closed its doors for the last time. A profitable enterprise, it was fatally undermined by its inability to attract and keep sufficient staff to guarantee its customers the service for which they were paying.

The proprietor claimed that getting even untrained staff to serve lunch and dinner was proving difficult despite wages of £200 a week and, she reckoned, the same in tips. Now, the hours in the catering trade are long and I don't pretend the figures quoted will allow waiting staff join the growing ranks of technology millionaires. Even so, it is not that long ago that pay in excess of £20,000 was considered a decent salary . . .