Professor John FitzGerald:

I think we were totally independent. I am happy about that, but I do not have a monopoly of wisdom. The ERSI does not have a monopoly of wisdom. In Germany, I have worked with five big institutes there - it is a much bigger society. The problem is their economies of scale. The institute does a very good job. When it was much smaller it was not as effective. It was set up because the universities were not producing useful research. We see now, say, the Nevin Institute - that competition is really good. How many research institutes of that kind one can support in a society is a problem.

Looking at, say, the Netherlands, the central planning bureau, which I think is the best in Europe, is in a dominant position, a monopoly, and they do a great job, but they are very conscious of the fact that they are in a responsible position. In the ESRI in the 1980s, one would publish something and nobody might notice. It has become much more of a responsibility when the media are going to take everything very seriously. It probably means that one is a bit more careful in what one does, which is probably a good thing, but in a small society, like Ireland, one is not going to have a multiple set of think tanks. I cannot think of any other country the size of Ireland or even larger which would have multiple ESRIs. However, one does need competition and one always needs to be aware that one does not have a monopoly of wisdom.