HAS the Irish diplomatic service been working overtime? The Government could hardly have hoped for better timing on three overseas plaudits for the Irish economy.

First, the Organisation for Economic CoOperation and Development (OECD) put out a very positive assessment of our economic prospects. Then The Economist - not known, as Dick Spring observed, for its kind assessments of our economy - lauded Ireland as "Europe's Shining Light".

Finally, the World Economic Forum came out with its annual competitiveness league, showing that Ireland had jumped from 26th to 16th.

Of course, the OECD's warnings that the budget needs to be brought under tighter control were not alluded to by our political masters. One way or another, Ireland is the flavour of the month.