Post-modern Celtic Tiger

I've seen arguments about what gave birth to Ireland's booming economy before, but I've never read anything that suggested it was all down to spending taxpayers money on the arts. Scottish Arts Council chairman, Richard Holloway, wants the Scottish Executive to spend 1% of its budget on the arts in order to "usher in an era of cultural and economic self-confidence for the nation". Was this the strategy that led the way in Ireland?