Public spending levels: How does Ireland Compare?
The nature and level of public expenditure is an important and contentious subject of debate in political discussion everywhere and that is no less true of the Republic of Ireland. While this debate cannot be entirely shorn of subjective values and political judgements, relative expenditure...
NERI Seminar Dublin: Post Budget Seminar
Slides from NERI Post Budget Seminar held in the INTO Learning Centre on 18th October. The three speakers each made a brief presentation responding to aspects of Budget 2018. The presentations were delivered by Marie Sherlock (SIPTU), Michelle Murphy (Social Justice Ireland) and John FitzGerald...
Monday Blog: How fast is the economy really growing and does it matter for fiscal space?
It all depends. The last annual set of national accounts were published in July by the CSO. As expected, these show a significant divergence between GDP and what the CSO now term GNI*. GNI* excludes globalisation effects that are disproportionately impacting the measurement of the size of the Irish...
Monday Blog: Exploring the outer regions of hidden fiscal space
The 2017 Summer Economic Statement appeared last week. The Statement follows a seasonal pattern along with the Spring Economic Statement and, ultimately, Budget 2018 due to be presented to the Dáil in October and approved by the European Commission on behalf of the EU28. The debate, such as it is...
NERI Seminar Dublin: Welfare and Activation for Partners: Challenges for Irish Policy
Slides from NERI Seminar on 'Welfare and Activation for Partners: Challenges for Irish Policy', presentation by Dr Mary P Murphy (Maynooth University) & Dr Anne-Marie McGauran (NESC) on 12th July, 2017.
NERI Seminar Dublin: A long-term assessment of Irish house price affordability
Slides from NERI Seminar on a long-term assessment of Irish house price affordability, presentation by Dara Turnbull, Economist, AIB on 7th June, 2017.
Monday Blog: Housing for homes - a classic case of market failure
‘What is the concept of market failure and give an example’ was once asked in a school examination of economics. Here is a tip if you are studying economics, yourself: take housing in Ireland as an example. It ticks lots of boxes: A chronic under-supply of housing at current cost, credit, demand and...
Monday Blog: Labour Market research on the island of Ireland
The fifth all-Ireland inter-disciplinary annual Labour Market conference took place in NUI Maynooth on 12th May. The biggest such conference yet, it drew participation from trade unionists, researchers and policy analysts from across the island. An overview of the 32 presentations at the conference...
Monday Blog: Are levels of social welfare payment the problem or is it something else?
‘Why don’t they get a job?’ “Isn’t social welfare making people chose ‘leisure’ over ‘work’?” ‘Aren’t social payments in Ireland way above those in the UK and elsewhere?. Only a particular perspective and frame of mind among economists, politicians or commentators trigger these sorts of questions...
Monday Blog: A bridge to a new deal
Last week, the NERI published its 21st edition of the NERI Quarterly Economic Observer . Since its first edition and foundation as a trade union associated Institute this day five years ago, the 27th March 2012, (QEO Spring 2012 ) we have continued to make the case for an enhanced programme of...