I’ll admit it. I earned a bit of cash out of social partnership, but hey, I deserved most of it. The gig involved reading dead boring reports and trying to make them relevant to the sector I was reporting to.

That meant they could have something interesting to say at plenary sessions. Plenary. That’s a word we haven’t heard since, well, social partnership.

You’ve gotta love the timing. Enda and Joan have known for months that today is Bertie's day. What will one of his first one-liners be?

"Ah lads, I’ve seen ye have me aul mates de social partners back together. If ye'd just listened to me."

Back to the future indeed.

It’s not social partnership, of course. It’s a National Economic Dialogue.

No, I don’t know either.

What it does feel like, is one big pre-budget submission. Yes, that’s it. Loads of people clamouring to get their ideas into the budget. Hell, they have even spread the love to include the Opposition.

What will it achieve? Let’s wait and see. Who am I kidding? A big, fat zero. Budgets, like election manifestos, are written.

The only good thing is it will be ignored on every news bulletin once Bertie gets going.

Who would have thought he would be so useful in the end?