A Chinese dragon dance at the 17th Century Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin - - which on Tuesday hosted a talking shop of 120 "thought leaders" on competitiveness. It was carrying on a long tradition of Irish actionless action and there was little fear of slaying any dragons or vested interests!

The National Competitiveness Council announced on Tuesday that over 120 of Ireland’s economic and business policy "thought leaders" were meeting to discuss the key competitiveness challenges currently facing the Irish economy. On Tuesday night, Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment John Gormley warned that the country was"staring into an economic abyss."

"Before Christmas, we are looking at further drops in revenue," Gormley told reporters."If that happens, we are in a situation where most of us will have to face up to responsibilities. That means everybody, everybody in the public sector and the politicians."

Leaving aside the borrowing of the pompous term "thought leaders" from the "think outside the box" people, there is a common thread between the NCC's talking shop at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, Dublin, "to analyse Ireland’s current performance and develop policy actions to improve our competitiveness" and Gormley's warning two weeks after the Budget, that the estimates of revenue are wrong.

The time for action is long overdue.

We've had a surfeit of reports, reviews, working parties, consultations,  new quangos and so on for more than a decade but as with the cart-before-the horse Budget, leadership and determined action  is still missing.

There was a report in 1996 produced by a review group on the Constitution, under the chairmanship of TK Whitaker, which recommended a partial list system for the Dáil, that at least would have the potential of improving the quality of candidates for ministerial office. The report was ignored.

In 2000, the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern asked the same Committee on the Constitution to examine the issue of land rezoning. In 2004, it concluded that Mr Justice Kenny's recommendations in 1973 that development land costs should have a ceiling of 25% above the agricultural land value, could be introduced by legislation, and without amending the Constitution. Two-and-a-half years later, Ahern said that he was hopeful "we can do it by legislation."He was awaiting a final report from the Attorney General and he left office, still waiting.

Actionless action has been a substitute for inaction.

Gormley left the cat out of the bag when he signalled that the necessary cojones to take action, will only materialise in response to a worsening of the crisis. But the response then is only likely to be a band-aid one and not coherent reform.

Last April's OECD report on the public sector has not been binned only because the property tax spigot has almost gone dry. However, the response has been typically glacial on rationalising public services and could not be finalised to present on Budget Day.

As for a cross section of senior representatives from the business community, trade unions, the public sector and education, which gathered to discuss  Ireland's competitiveness, what is required is clear - - but it is not the hodge-podge of a talking shop. Political backbone is the missing ingredient.

We covered this issue earlier this week: Irish Economy: Proposals on developing coherent policy action to deal with the economic emergency

Chairman of the National Competitiveness Council, Dr. Don Thornhill said on Tuesday“This conference seeks to stimulate the conversation about the current challenges and potential opportunities, and inform the development of policy recommendations from the NCC to the Government. We wish to use this opportunity for clear thinking about implementing actions and reforms to support our long-term competitiveness. We did it before. During difficult times in our past when resources were scarce, we took courageous steps and tackled significant reforms that have delivered for Ireland. We need to develop the collective capacity to do this again. This will not be easy. Addressing the current challenges places heavy demands on leadership. It will also require consensus building on key actions which must be informed by analysis, reflection and an evidence-based debate.”

Coughlan didn't issue a transcript of her address but it's safe to assume, it was the usual cocktail of platitudes.

Nothing can be achieved without action from politicians with backbone.

Every year, the NCC makes useful recommendations on competitiveness but they are invariably ignored.

Every vested interest has its sacred cows and for example, when IBEC, the principal Irish business representative group, opines on  the issue of competitiveness, its focus is generally on wage levels and the public sector. However, it is selective even in the area where it has freedom of action from its diverse membership. A year ago this month, when the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach and his retired predecessors were recommended 25% pay hikes and the Dublin City Manager got a 36% increase after 18 months on the job, IBEC had nothing to say.