Clare Byrne

Is that something that we've neglected, Dan?

You know, because we have this very comfortable place that we're in now with this big, high tax paying companies from outside of here looking for very qualified staff.

And so perhaps we have neglected our manufacturing base.

Yeah, because if we look back at 2006, Joan, we had all of our workers concentrated in construction and in housing at the time.

Output had gone up by over 50% between 2001 and 2005.

You could argue that it sort of looks the same, you know, there's a different name on the industry.

But on the state level, I mean, Dan referred to the nightmare scenario of Donald Trump pulling pharma back to the United States.

And people got trapped in very small, you know, apartments that they bought thinking it would be the starter house and then they ended up there with two children.

Listen, it's good to see you, Joan.

Thank you for coming in.

Joan Burton there, former leader of the Labour Party and Dan O'Brien, who was with us as well, taking us back to 2006 and ultimately 2008.

Whether we wanted to go there or not, as I say, we sometimes we feel a chill, don't we, when we look back on those days and hopefully we won't see the like again.

Weekday mornings at 9 on Newstalk.

Now, as a nation of savers, do we actually manage to save much or enough?

Do we know what we're doing to make the best of our savings and make them work hard for us?

Consumer Affairs correspondent for The Irish Times, Conor Pope, thinks that we could do better.

And he joins me now.

Good morning, Conor.

I'm very well.

We've lazy savings, have we?