Why, an observer might ask, was a collection of the greatest names on both sides of Irish industry dining together in Dublin's Merrion Hotel on Monday night? Was a new clique being formed? The dozen or so were all members of, or officials with, the 1992 Culliton Report, the hefty tome on industrial policy still renowned for its wisdom.
Jim Culliton was in the chair, as before, and guests included former minister, Des O'Malley, who set it up, former and current secretaries of the department, Sean Dorgan and Paul Haran and members Peter Cassells of the ICTU, Sean Barrett of TCD, businessman Lochlann Quinn and Denis Hanrahan of the Bank of Ireland.
O'Malley told them that apart from their recommendations being useful and influential, they had brought about philosophical as well as institutional change. It was the first reunion of the group, and they discussed the report's influence on economic thinking and where exactly they had been right. . . and wrong.