Institutions are often set up with conflicting purposes. One might exist to further the interests of workers, the other might exist to further the interests of owners. Where the interests of their members conflict, these institutions do battle with one another. It is always important to notice, then, when institutions with conflicting mandates say the same thing. One very good example is the business lobby IBEC banging the drum for increased spending on further and higher education, paid for from their members’ taxes. This week, three different institutions weighed in on some of the big problems facing the Irish economy.…