With Exchequer finance spiraling out of control, what should the Left argue? Shore up capital spending? Cut current expenditure (i.e. public services, wages, social programmes)? Increase taxes? What should the Left’s prescriptions be? How can we show the public that we have a handle on these matters? What is the best way forward?
Difficult one. A […]

In case there are other people who have not read the book ‘Sugar Blues’ by William Dufty - originally published in 1976 - it can surely be highly recommended. Dufty was an ardent exponent of trade unionism who died in 2002 at the age of 86. He is also known for his interest […]

What a good news week for Fianna Fail was last week. It wasn’t just the latest Irish Times poll even if it’s only a honeymoon result. There was also that report– the ESRI’s Medium -Term Review: a little rough patch and then clear skies and calm waters for . . . well until 2025 minimum. […]

The Labour Party is proposing a Private Member’s Bill that would require the Government to draw up a national strategy to combat fuel poverty. Party spokesperson, Liz McManus, TD, said:
‘The strategy would require the Minister to specify a comprehensive set of measures to ensure the efficient use of energy and set a target date for […]

Sometimes a proposal comes along that is so simple you say to yourself, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ That’s what I said when reading ICTU’s ‘Economic Outlook: Narrowing the Pay Gap’. The highlight of this comprehensive review of the economy is its discussion of the growing pay gap between the upper echelons of […]

Shane Coleman doesn’t believe. CORI recently published its exhaustive Socio-Economic Review 2008 - a 240 page report detailing all aspects of poverty in Ireland. Contained therein was the startling fact that there are over 720,000 poor people living amongst us. Not only that, there are now more poor people today than there were at […]

ISME’s recent Business Trends Survey makes for grim reading. Employment is down. Sales, investment, orders, and exports are all down. And owners and managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are extremely nervous, as well they should be. A hard rain is starting to fall. Of course, ISME knows who to blame: the […]

Travail Flexible, Salaries Jetables: Fausses questions et vrais enjeux de la lutte contre le chomage - Michel Husson (ed.)
Editions La Découverte, Paris, 2006

Over the past decade, France has displayed something of a split personality when it comes to political orientation. On the one hand, there have been impressive mobilisations against neo-liberalism: […]

Paul Tansey wrote an impressive list of economic achievements during Bertie Ahern’s tenure as Taoiseach:
On Ahern’s watch, the Irish economy almost doubled in size, while the numbers at work increased by one-half . . The unemployment rate declined from 10.4 per cent in 1997 to 4.6. In the 10 years from 1987 to […]