TOM Mulcahy of AIB had a nice observation on the Irish culture of begrudgery at the Small Firms Association annual conference.

An American goes into an Irish restaurant and is surprised to see the lobsters swimming around in a tank with no lid. "Might they not escape?" he asks the waiter. "Don't worry sir, he was told, "they're Irish lobsters and if one looks like climbing out the others pull him back into the tank."