Back then, we had nothing, but never has a sentiment become truer of us as we have transformed from the impecunious world of serviceable suits to the Ireland of conspicuous consumption of Prada shoes .

Last week was all about money . . . and not just the phenomenal salaries earned by RTE's 'stars' . . . but unfortunately, very little of what we learned reflected well on either the government, or our financial elite, or us.

It was a nice irony, of course, that Warren Buffet's donation of $30bn to the Melinda and Bill Gates foundation collided simultaneously with the publication that even more Irish millionaires than before managed to pay no tax at all .

Some of the non-tax paying elite benefitted from the 3bn hand-out in propertybased tax avoidance schemes dressed up as 'urban' or 'rural' regeneration. While these schemes may have had some benefits, the government's own retrospective assessment by consultants Indecon, showed they provided poor value for money in terms of wider social gains. But perhaps that wasn't so important . . . as a vehicle for legal tax avoidance they have been extraordinarily successful.

The current level of personal debt stands at a record 282.8bn, up 29.8% on last year.

People have to borrow these huge sums in order to afford a family home . . . a property not necessarily located anywhere near where they actually want to live. Then there is the essential car to travel the long distance to where they work because public transport is so awful.

The surprise is that anyone is surprised that unions such as Siptu and those representing teachers are finding their members are vehemently opposed to the new social partnership deal because they feel there's not enough in it for them. If a 'financial elite' won't even pay tax, let alone sign up to the aim of a fairer society through social partnership, then why should everybody else?

We may have the lowest unemployment levels (4.2%) but, when pensions and social welfare payments are taken into account, we have one of the highest rates of people at risk of falling into poverty.

We have one of the highest per capita gross domestic product rates, yet our schools' class sizes are among the largest and our spend per head on hospitals is one of the lowest in comparison with our neighbours.

That investment in hospitals was evaluated in a separate report by Europe's leading healthcare analysts, Health Consumer Powerhouse, which rated our hospital system as the worst but one in 26 European countries.

Mary Harney insists the poor performance is based on out-of-date waiting times but people currently involved in the hospital system experience its parlous state. They may be sick but they are not stupid.

And the HSE's extraordinary decision to allow "the synergy" between public hospitals and private healthcare to be "developed further" by giving public hospital land to the Mater Private Hospital to develop more private hospitals is yet another breathtaking example of our already two-tier health system moving closer to privatisation.

No debate, no argument.

At the moment, all of these structural problems and people's underlying discontent are being masked by our collective access to loadsamoney and because we can buy our way out of problems in the short term. Last week we got a shiny new nameplate 'Eire/Ireland': a fine symbol indeed of what a divided nation we have become.