They were tall, elegant, famous, beautiful and affluent. It was a fairy-tale marriage deemed to last forever …. until the gales of crisis struck and deep cracks were exposed. In 2002 and in the run-up to the introduction of the Euro most commentators and policy makers imagined that peace, stability...

A curious feature of public debate in the run-up to Budget 2015 in the Republic of Ireland next month is the extent of focus on reducing income tax for the top 20% of workers (those paying the top income tax rate). These account for just under 400,000 persons at work and make up 18% of all tax cases...

Currently, there are 24 unemployed people for every job vacancy. This is a problem for everyone looking for work, but makes it particularly difficult for young people who tend to have less work experience. Budget 2014 reduced Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) to recipients less than 26 years of age. The...

The idea of a ‘living wage’ is gathering momentum in many parts of the world. It is conceived and measured as a wage rate which is adequate to meet the needs of workers and their families in a given society at a given time. But affordability of life for workers is one thing – what about...

There has been lots of talk in recent months about ‘middle-earners’ – almost all of it without any basis in the various numbers available on the income and earnings distribution. Indicator 4.5a in the latest edition of the NERI’s Quarterly Economic Facts (p75-76) provides a basis for a more informed...