They will be popping champagne corks in the mansions and manor houses throughout the country.  ‘As resources become available we will progressively abolish the USC . . . ‘ Thus…

Never mind the details.  If we are to believe even half of the media leaks, the Government is preparing to return us to the kind of boom and bust fiscal…

The silly season usually refers to August.  Now we have the silliest of seasons –the run-up to a budget in the run-up to a general election.  Minister Richard Bruton has…

The following is based on a talk I gave to the housing conference held on Saturday: ‘Towards a Real Housing Strategy’.  There were excellent contributions from academics, activists and victims…

One of the more frustrating aspects about the budget season is that everyone is focused on the detail, the particulars; even more so when an election is looming.  The whole…

There are many reasons why people should not return this Fine Gael-led government at the next election.  The Government’s proposed investment programme launched today is one of them.  Simply put,…

There is an old American saying:  if you have nothing to say, wrap yourself up in the American flag and recite the constitution.  In Ireland, today, if a politician, a…

Jeremy Corbyn is now leader of the British Labour Party.  A Sunday Times article likens Jeremy to Caligula – an insane, murderous tyrant who appointed his horse Consul.  According to…

Today, Unite has published its 2016 pre-budget submission.  You can read the full submission here and the summary here.  In short, it calls for a €4.8 billion budget package comprising…

David Cameron labelled them a 'swarm'. Thousands of them have died in the Mediterranean.  Border fences are being built to keep them out:  Hungary, Spain, Bulgaria, Calais.  The Slovakian Government…

I will be on a holiday break until mid-August. Hoping everyone will be able to enjoy a break.  

We should not under-estimate the impact of the Eurostat ruling. It completely removes the rationale for Irish Water and the water charges.  After Eurostat, there is no policy, no direction,…

You might think that the fight against poverty would involve considerable resources, a mix of various social and economic policies and a lot of political will.  Sure, you could do…

The Nordic model, or at least the public services and income supports associated with that model, has got some airing largely owing to supportive comments made by the TDs who…

So you’re young, ready to take up work, make a bit of money and, most of all, make the social contribution that is expected of all members of the homo…

Who said the following? ‘ . . . if the income share of the top 20 percent (the rich) increases, then GDP growth actually declines over the medium term, suggesting…

You’d think, listening to Ministers reeling off employment numbers and media reports of new job announcements, that Ireland was some lean, mean job creation machine.  Well, in comparison with other…

Given the release of the new Living Wage estimate for 2015 – €11.50 per hour – most people would agree that, in an ideal world, all work should pay at…

Question: which Eurozone government has 61 percent public support for their position in the Greek bailout negotiations?  Answers on a small postcard.   Last January Syriza won 36 percent of the…

In 2014, GDP increased by 4.8 percent – as often said, the fastest growing economy in Europe.  In 2014, employment increased by 40,000.  In 2014, the recovery started. In 2014,…