We are better off than we were, but do we have a worse quality of life? The question was prompted again this week by a report from the Environmental Protection Agency which clearly spelt out the environmental cost of economic expansion. The overall picture, according to the EPA director, Dr Padraic Larkin, is of "an environment under increasing threat". Moreover, the report warned, the "tiger economy" which has intensified many of our environmental problems could itself be undermined by the long-term costs of cleaning up the mess.
Some of the figures cited by the EPA are arresting. The number of vehicles on Irish roads increased by 49 per cent between 1987 and 1997. The consequences, in terms of traffic congestion, air pollution and rising noise levels - not to mention the increased risk of death and injury on the roads - are all too apparent, especially to city-dwellers.
The volume of domestic and commercial waste increased by 62 per cent in the 11 years from 1984 to 1995, and each person in the State now produces an average of half a tonne of waste every year. Over 90 per cent of this is still dumped in landfill sites, compared with the western European average of 66 per cent. Recycling remains at a primitive stage.
The relentless decline in water quality continues: only 67 per cent of Irish rivers are now classified as unpolluted, 10 per cent fewer than a decade ago. As for the intensifying global "greenhouse effect", Ireland's "business as usual" behaviour on greenhouse gas emissions means it is likely to fail to meet its obligations under the United Nations' Kyoto agreement. Mr Dan Wallace, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government, rightly spoke of the importance of understanding "the relationship between economic development and the environment, so that the growth we need and welcome is not at the expense of a good quality environment. Balancing these aspirations is at the heart of sustainable development." Fine words. But as Mr Wallace is well aware, the contrast between Ireland's rising water pollution levels and the improving situation in the rest of the EU was highlighted less than three weeks ago by the European Environment Agency. A report from Brussels in today's editions says that the European Commission is bringing Ireland before the European Court of Justice over the failure to control unlicensed waste disposal in Cos Cork and Limerick. And last week, the European Commission warned the Government that approval for structural and Cohesion funds for projects next year were at risk because Ireland was dragging its feet on designating wildlife sites for protection under the 1992 Habitats Directive.
Last week also saw the publication of a United Nations report which found that Ireland had the highest levels of poverty in the industrialised world, apart from the US. Sadly, it comes as no surprise to be told that economic expansion has done little to lessen social inequality; indeed, there is much evidence to suggest that the opposite is the case. Taken together, the reports underline two formidable challenges to Irish policy-makers in the coming years: to channel the benefits of the boom to all sectors of society; and to ensure that the cost of continuing growth does not include the ruin of our natural environment.