Monday Blog: Northern Ireland at a crossroads
In recent weeks Northern Ireland has been more to the fore in the news in the Republic of Ireland, As a general rule you know that the economy and society of Northern Ireland are not in such bad shape when they seem to disappear from the news in southern Ireland. The troubles were a regular daily...
Monday Blog: UK 'Living Wage' move announced
It is estimated that around 166,700 employees, or 23% of the total in Northern Ireland earned below £7.20 per hour in April 2014. On the face of it, UK Chancellor, George Osborne's announcement that the UK minimum wage would rise to £7.20 by next year is good news for many of these workers. In the...
Monday Blog: Social and economic investment holds the key
Spending on productive capacity includes not just ‘bricks and mortar’ but all those resources that give rise to socially useful results over time. Spend today and reap a return in the future: this is the logic of investment. It can cover investment in education and skills as well as investment in...
The Structural Balance - Where Facts become blurred
Ireland is expected to successfully exit the corrective arm of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) at the end of 2015. From 2016 onwards Irish budgetary policy will be subject to the requirements of the preventive arm of the SGP as well as being subject to national budgetary rules. The preventive...
Monday Blog - Review of 2013
This week's blog looks back at articles from 2013: Title Date Main Keyword Other Keywords Economic Development with a purpose 23-Dec Vision Taxation, Public spending, Jobs Where to now (Post-Troika)? 16-Dec Domestic economy Taxation, Vision, Jobs A Modest Proposal 09-Dec Investment Jobs, Domestic...
Monday Blog - Review of 2014
This week's blog looks back at articles from 2014: Ageing well 22-Dec Demographics Pensions, Social wage The Wages Elephant is in the Domestic Parlour 15-Dec Wages Macro economy, Social wage Imagining a different society 08-Dec Vision Investment, Social wage Things you always wanted to know about...
Some context to Welfare Spending
An article appeared in this morning's Belfast Telegraph outlining expenditure on some welfare benefits in Northern Ireland for the latest financial year. The figures were obtained in response to a parliamentary question to the Minister for Social Development and can be found here . The article made...
Monday Blog—Review of 2015 so far
I am on leave for the next few weeks, so this Monday blog recaps on the topics covered over the opening half of the year. An economy that works for the people 13 July Vision Taxation, Social wage, Investment Emigration has taken its toll 6 July Emigration Demography, Young workers, Social capital...
Monday Blog: An economy that works for the people
An economy that works is one that enables workers, their families and communities to not only survive but flourish and prosper in the widest sense that no measure of GDP or income can adequately capture. But, a society is more than the sum of individuals or households and a properly functioning...
Monday Blog: Emigration has taken its toll
Significant progress has been made in reducing the overall rate of unemployment in the Republic of Ireland since 2012 when it peaked at one in seven in the workforce. Still, the overall rate remains close to one in ten and is double that in the case of persons under the age of 26. As in previous...