So what’s it going to be? Coalition? Minority Government? Extended stalemate?  What we do know is that support for the Government collapsed – by over half. Labour’s decline was anticipated,…

So what’s it going to be? Coalition? Minority Government? Extended stalemate?  What we do know is that support for the Government collapsed – by over half. Labour’s decline was anticipated,…

The election enters the last few days. So many issues that were barely mentioned. How much time was given over to the fact that over one million suffer multiple deprivation…

In a previous post I suggested that the debate was getting out of hand. In actual fact, we have almost no fiscal space (not after inflation, demographic pressures and the…

Before this election gets out of control it’s time to have an honest conversation. You know all that stuff about the ‘fiscal space’? Is it €8 billion or €10 billion…

Continuing the recovery? Starting the recovery (for those who haven’t started feeling it yet)?   Protecting the recovery from outside events? What should we be doing? Voices from the fiscal orthodoxy…

There are assertions that Ireland has a very costly health service; that we spend a lot but get little to show for it. This post will look at claims that…

The economy is in strong growth, but if polls are anything to go by most people are not feeling the breeze. ‘While people broadly accept that the country is better…

The 1-percenters are back in the news with the Oxfam study showing that the world’s richest 1 percent owns more wealth than all the rest of the planet put together.…

Remember at the beginning of the recession when we had all those letters to represent the likely course of the economy. There was the V-shape to represent severe decline followed…

The Taoiseach says he wants a US-style tax system. What does he think we have already? Here’s what the EU Ameco database tells us. Ireland data from 2015 comes from…

This is my last post for 2015.  I end it with some thoughts on a progressive success.  Wishing everyone the best for the holiday season.  Look forward to engaging with…

Feel like your pay rise, if you get one, is barely covering the cost of living?  That the tax cut you’re going to get next year will only bring you…

One must be careful in dealing with a survey such as The Future of Ireland.  Questions tend to be open to all manner of interpretations while conclusions can be vague.…

Today, hundreds of Irish Life workers are taking industrial action against their employer – the beginning of a month long series of actions.  At stake are three inter-related issues: the…

The Left and trade union movement should champion the self-employed.   While the Right gives promises of tax breaks, the self-employed need so much more:  a stronger welfare state and public…

Cliff Taylor asks why President Michael D. Higgins is not celebrating the recovery we are experiencing.  ‘The President is not comfortable saying anything positive about the Irish economic recovery.’ Apparently,…

Recently, RTE aired ‘Ireland’s Great Wealth Divide’.  Though there were some problems with the analysis (ignoring the wealth of data published by the CSO, the confusing conflation of income and…

Good grief.  The Taoiseach has informed us that were it not for the raw guts and determination of the current government, the country would have descended into blackout, riots and…

This is a guest post by Michael Burke.  Michael works as an economic consultant. He was previously senior international economist with Citibank in London. He blogs regularly at Socialist Economic…