The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton is setting a target of 100,000 net new jobs by 2016 on the eve of the Government’s launch of the Action Plan on Jobs.  Does this mean that the Action Plan will create 100,000 net new jobs by 2016?  No.  Does this mean that without the Action [...]

As the Joint Labour Committees legislation wends its way through the Dail - a bill that will lead to less protection for workers in many low-paid sectors - it is timely to look at the growth in deprivation for an increasing number in the workforce; namely the low-paid.  The CSO defines deprivation by reference to [...]

The Government, in signing the Fiscal Treaty, has effectively committed itself to introducing up to €6 billion more in tax increases and spending cuts in the medium-term, over and above what it has already planned.  While the news in the short-term will, understandably, focus on whether a referendum will be necessary, once attention starts honing [...]

On Saturday, the Irish Times devoted a full page to the question of whether austerity is working, on foot of the letter by 60 prominent public figures. International commentators such as Joseph Stiglitz and Nouriel Roubini and domestic commentators Terence McDonagh from UCG, Brid O’Brien from the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed and businessperson Brian [...]

Media outlets are reporting a new crackdown on the unemployed.  Apparently, the Department of Social Protection intends to introduce new regulations whereby ‘target-dates’ for exiting the Live Register will be set for different categories of unemployed.  If someone remains on the Live Register past that target-date, they may be subject to a new set of interviews [...]

Ireland is not Greece:  we get a lot of that from Government ministers, Troika officials and commentators.  This truism, however, says less than it purports to.  Yes, Ireland is not Greece.  Ireland is not Belgium, Romania, Brunei, the Yukon Territory or Idaho, either.  Of course, the message is that Greece is a basket-case that no [...]

Ever since the crisis began, progressives have been on the back-foot, forced to react to the agenda driven by the orthodoxy.  However, 2012 has started on a more hopeful note.  There have been two initiatives that can provide the basis for a common-sense counter-agenda, not only capable of winning considerable support throughout society but - [...]

There’s nothing wrong with saying, hey I got it wrong.  We all get something wrong from time to time; never more so when the subject matter is economic and fiscal forecasting.  When people and institutions don’t admit they got it wrong, especially when they got it demonstrably wrong, when the policies they are advocating are [...]

There’s been a lot of discussion about whether 2012 will see property prices hit the ‘floor’.  The Government and NAMA are doing their bit to help to stimulate house purchases through budgetary measures and negative equity insurance schemes.  Unfortunately, there has been little debate about the optimal level of house property prices.  Few have been [...]

A lot of people are going to find it difficult in 2012, what with the economy returning to recession and all.  But for one group, it will be business as usual: Anglo-Irish creditors.  And that business will mean that they will be repaid in full.
Indeed, it’s already started.  On Tuesday, a payment of €2.1 million [...]