Following on from the Household Charge debacle the Government intends to introduce (a) water meter installation charges, (b) water metering charges, (c) residential property charges.  This is a heavy agenda…

This was originally written for Progressive-Economy.ie We are now starting to get data to assess just who in society is getting hit and who is getting by.  Of course, we…

The headline reads: ‘GDP rises for first time in four years’.  Well, that’s good news. The report goes on: ‘The Irish economy grew in 2011 . . . according to…

This post was co-written with Tom McDonnell, Economic Policy Analyst with TASC. This originally appeared on Progressie-Economy.ie Even before the wording has been published and a referendum date named there…

This was originally written for Progressive-Economy.ie In Saturday’s Irish Times Stephen Collins wrote:   ‘Far from outlawing Keynesian economics, what the treaty seeks to do is to put an end to…

The very first question that should be answered is how much more austerity the passage of the Fiscal Treaty will mean.   After all, this is a ‘fiscal’ treaty.  It is…

A kind of surprising question, you might think.  Sure, they’re the ones who negotiated it, signed it and now asking people to vote for it.  They must think it’s great. …

Colm McCarthy was quick out of the traps with an opinion piece on the Fiscal Treaty.  And what does he make of it? ‘As an exercise in addressing the Eurozone's…

Now that the referendum has been called I am starting up the Fiscal Treaty Files, a regular commentary on the claims, arguments and assertions that will be made over the…

The publicity accompanying the latest ESRI Quarterly Commentary was a triumph of spin over substance.  Despite claims of ‘growth’ and ‘austerity is working’ the ESRI describes a domestic economy mired…

Whatever about the case-by-case merits of the Government’s announcement today to sell-off state assets, we should be clear:  the EU-IMF Memorandum of Understanding does not require privatisation, in whole or…

At a meeting of Labour Party activists, Dr. Mary Murphy – a leading academic and activist – made the following statement: ‘We may be a poorer country, but that does…

Last November I wrote about the fraudulent claim that there was €600 million fraud in the social welfare system.  Now, only a few months later that claim is being made…

The Finance Bill running to nearly 300 pages is out.  There’s the odd sliver of good news – the 5 percent levy on the sheltered income from legacy property tax…

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton is setting a target of 100,000 net new jobs by 2016 on the eve of the Government’s launch of the Action…

As the Joint Labour Committees legislation wends its way through the Dail – a bill that will lead to less protection for workers in many low-paid sectors – it is…

The Government, in signing the Fiscal Treaty, has effectively committed itself to introducing up to €6 billion more in tax increases and spending cuts in the medium-term, over and above…

On Saturday, the Irish Times devoted a full page to the question of whether austerity is working, on foot of the letter by 60 prominent public figures. International commentators such…

This was originally written for Progressive-Economy.ie Media outlets are reporting a new crackdown on the unemployed.  Apparently, the Department of Social Protection intends to introduce new regulations whereby ‘target-dates’ for…

Ireland is not Greece:  we get a lot of that from Government ministers, Troika officials and commentators.  This truism, however, says less than it purports to.  Yes, Ireland is not…