Recently I mentioned one of Leo Varadkar’s last speeches as Taoiseach where he referred to the growth of the number employed in Ireland from 1 million in 1969 to over 2.7 million today.

Such a surge is, by any standards, remarkable and poses huge challenges for Government, local authorities and citizens.

We can see the indications of trying to catch up with population and employment growth as we come into the run up period to a general election. While the housing shortage and prices are the first concern of many, we see stresses in the provision of adequate education places, adequate healthcare and a planning system that facilitates delays and the postponement of real action.

None of these issues are easily solved and attention will be focused on those with a sense of grievance whether real or imagined.

In the critical housing and health areas, we are seeing money being invested for maximum market-based return regardless of the social or societal effects.

One striking example is the purchase of the Beacon Hospital complex in south Dublin by the Australian bank Macquarie. This is a bank that has been roundly criticised by a special inquiry into banking behaviour in its native Australia while also being one of the main investors in some of the biggest UK water companies, such companies accused by many of putting profits and dividends ahead of clean water and investing in a modern, effective water treatment infrastructure.

Open sewers

This under investment means that many English rivers have become little more than open sewers and while Macquarie exited in 2017, before this was publicly known, now the biggest water utility of all - Thames Water - is facing bankruptcy.

I am not aware if there was any regulatory input into the acquisition of a major Irish health facility by such a body whose only motivation is to maximise profits.

There is little point in regretting the absence in modern Irish society of the selfless devotion of many nuns who ran our hospitals on an essentially pro bono model for many years, but at the same time, there is a case for Government to identify which assets providing essential services should be open to acquisition by purely profit driven entities.

We should be conscious of how they negotiate with the health insurance companies and form a view as to whether their rates reflect real costs or possible price gouging.

Publishing

These are difficult areas but I have not been conscious of either the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) or the National Economic and Social Council publishing their views on these kinds of areas.

The State cannot do everything and foreign investment in apartment building in Dublin has been welcome but it has meant extremely high rents and a lack of apartments and in cases, houses for sale to families that would much rather buy than rent and find they are paying far more in rent than the annual cost of a normal mortgage.

The old incentives to bona fide building societies have been abolished and while the role of the State has to be limited, its role in setting sensible policy is crucial.