Monday Blog: Personal Debt Deals
The publication of guidelines in relation to personal insolvency yesterday has at least two positive features: consideration of a living income is very much under debate and this is to be welcome some individuals and households in situations of mortgage or other debt distress are likely to move...
Still a high income country – despite the recession
Indicator 4.1 from the NERI's latest Quarterly Economics Facts (QEF) document shows that despite the financial crisis, the Republic of Ireland's income per capita remains high. The latest data, for 2011, show that Ireland's average income of €35,400 is the sixth highest in the EU. The figure is...
Women in the Economy and Labour Market
Last week, on International Women's Day, I spoke at the ICTU joint women's committee seminar on the topic of ' Women in the Economy and the Labour Market'. My paper highlighted the latest data on the current challenges facing women, North and South, as they participate in the economy, enter or leave...
Investing in our Children
Children are central to the long-term success of our society and economy; of course they are a lot more than that. However, taking the narrow focus of economic policy and long-term investments, all the evidence points towards the merit of investing in high quality professionally provided education...
NERI Seminar Dublin: Measuring the Impact of the Jobs Initiative
Brendan O'Connor In May 2011 the Government announced a Jobs Initiative which involved a series of measures to boost employment. A key aspect of the Jobs Initiative involved a reduction in the rate of VAT which was targeted mainly at labour intensive goods and services relating to tourism. In this...
Is a ‘living wage’ such a mad idea?
Over recent years I have been involved in publishing a number of research papers and reports on issues related to low income in Ireland. Among these, work with the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice focused on establishing the cost of a minimum essential standard of living in Ireland and...
Public-Private Partnerships in Ireland: A Review of the Experience
External event contribution In July 2012 the Irish government announced a stimulus plan for the beleaguered economy. The plan to spend €2.25 billion on capital projects is largely based on the use of public-private partnerships (PPP) to procure new infrastructure and services. This signals a renewed wave of PPP procurement...
Along comes Tobin: the arrival of an overdue Financial Transactions Tax (FTT)
This week's decision at EU level to initiate formal steps towards the introduction of a financial transactions tax (FTT) is a long overdue and welcome step. While it is only 11 of the 27 member states who have signed up, the tax will now evolve under the enhanced co-operation mechanism. It is...