Right. And there are many areas where commercial investment banks are unable to function because of the time scales. Forestry needs a 30 year look ahead. Mobile comms is 8 - 10 years. Nationwide infrastructure is always a national investment imo.

Long term investment also needs to be closely related to education policies at all levels. Not to train people in specific jobs that might not be there when they graduate - but in providing opportunities in all the disciplines.

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The Irish Industrial Development Authority - IDA has an outstanding track record of attracting all the top (mainly US) high tech, IT, Pharma, and financial services operations to base their European HQ's here - sometimes just manufacturing sites, but increasingly R&D and professional services as well.  It has a very long-term strategic remit -= i.e. identify new growth industries, key players, likely winners - and encourage them with grants, low tax, ready made sites, highly educated english speaking work force etc. - to locate here despite increasingly higher costs.

The strategy needs a revamp, but it has been extremely successful in the past - arguably the greatest single factor in the Celtic Tiger success.

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