AS WE count the costs of flood damage, witness the seemily daily closure of businesses and prepare for yet another penal Budget, it's hard to look to 2010 with any great optimism. Some nations are undoubtedly on the road to recovery, but the next year for Ireland is likely to bring stability at best. For most that will be a great relief.

Yet in the next 12 months, as we begin to lay the foundations for economic recovery, it's apt to question what sort of economic and social system we wish to create for our longer-term future.

Was it simply that new-found wealth went to our head and led to excess, the property bubble being the most evident consequence? Or is there a need for root-and-branch reform of our social and educational model as well?

A constant issue that arises when discussing possible changes to improve our lot is our system of eduction. Does it create the sort of free-thinking employees that future businesses will require?

Many change management experts advise that when the established system or order has been removed - or in our case, comes tumbling down around our feet - then this is the best time to reassess every facet of an organisation. Change is most easily accepted when it is debated, explained and introduced quickly. Nationally we are at the debate and explanation stage, and there seems to be a general acceptance that changes are required. In our current phase we need to be willing to question every facet of our society and make radical changes if needed.

When the first signs of growth returns and people think the worst is over, few will have the appetite for further upheaval. If we are to address any social and educational issues that let us down in the past, now is the time to do it.

Similarly in the business community, while the last year has largely been about survival, next year is likely to see a great deal of activity as firms restructure in the hope of putting themselves in a better position for whatever growth may come about in the future.