Let’s begin 2022 on a positive, even outrageously optimistic, note.  Yes, there’s inflation, pandemic disrepair, geo-political instability, low wages, precarious work, social deficits and increasing demands on under-funded public services. …

It is time to treat energy as a public good, not a market commodity.  There are better ways to provide economic and social relief from rising energy costs than subsidising…

Inflation exceeded 5 percent last month according to the CSO – the highest annual rate since 2007.  What are we to make of this and what are we to do? …

‘Big state’ is all the rhetorical rage.  Ireland is a ‘big state’, is becoming a ‘bigger state’, how are we going to pay for this ‘big state’, etc. etc.  The…

The Government’s head-long drive into a balanced budget is premature, unnecessary and potentially damaging to our social infrastructure.   Progressives and trade unionist should unite to oppose this strategy.  It’s been…

There is a column in the Food & Wine supplement in the Business Post titled, ‘The Secret Restaurateur’ (pay walled).  It is anonymous and written by an ‘industry insider’:  a…

The Living Wage Technical Group has announced that a single full-time employee would need to earn €12.90 per hour to achieve a minimal and socially acceptable standard of living.  This…

The front page headline in the Irish Independent reads:  ‘Increase in State pension age to 67 should be delayed by seven years, report to recommend.’ Apparently the Commission on Pensions…

One of the more damning critiques of the Government’s housing plan came from Eoin Burke-Kennedy, who had only a few days before reminded us that growing supply won’t reduce prices:…

This week the Government will launch its new housing policy.  Cliff Taylor is right: ‘It will be hard to get beyond the noise when the Government publishes its new housing…

After the achievements at the Tokyo Olympics and the ensuing celebration at home, we now return to the hard work of putting sports at the heart of a recovery strategy. …

It is a given that all sectors of society will have to make substantial contributions to limiting the damage of climate change – something that was driven home, yet again,…

Writing in the Business Post, Tom Maguire quotes a Nobel  prize-winning economist: ‘Success is achieved when the tax rules subsidise activities that benefit society as a whole more than they…

It is hard to discern the logic behind the Government’s new Work Placement Experience Programme (the WPEP).  The WPEP is intended to provide training, education and skill development for the…

Here’s a depressing thought:  it will be nearly three months to the next bank holiday.  This is because Ireland has few public holidays compared to other European countries.  Calculating public…

Employer representatives in the restaurant sector are claiming difficulties in finding people to work.  The Restaurants Association of Ireland stated: ‘What we’re hearing on the ground is that people who…

I will be participating in a seminar hosted by Basic Income Ireland this evening at 6:00 with Guy Standing and NERI's Tom McDonnell to discuss the Labour Movement and Basic…

The Government’s recently published Stability Programme Update provides economic and fiscal projections out to 2025.  In the best of stable times, such projections should be treated with caution; even more…

A NERI webinar on 'The Future of the Irish Social Welfare System' takes place on Wednesday, 24th March at 3:00. Dr. Helen Johnston will be presenting the NESC report and…

When the CSO produced data on county incomes, attention was focused on the growing inequality between Dublin and the rest of the country.  This overlooked another interesting finding – the…