It’s bad enough the debate has not asked the fundamental question of why, after a series of austerity budgets, the deficit did not fall, borrowing costs shot through the roof and growth rates were slashed. It’s as if none of this happened and the only way we can climb out of the fiscal crisis is [...]

The following is a speech I delivered at a public meeting in Dublin hosted by the Communist Party.
The fundamental division in the economic debate is between those who support austerity and those who support an expansionary strategy.
On the one side we have those who believe that deflating growth, wages and living standards is the pathway [...]

As we collectively brace ourselves for four years of austerity, it is worth remembering that Ireland is not a poor country.
Yes we have high levels of unemployment and poverty. Yes we have high levels of private and public debt.  But the money that flowed into the country at the height of the boom has not [...]

If we update the Bank of Ireland Asset Management Report on the ‘Wealth of the Nation’ (2006), we can get a pretty accurate picture of how much wealth there still is in the country. That report stated that there were 33,000 millionaires in Ireland in 2006.
Firstly, the report estimated that there were 330 individuals whose [...]

Consider this…
Fine Gael said last night it would back the Government’s four year economic strategy to reduce the deficit, but insisted it favoured cutting spending rather than raising taxes.
The party’s communications spokesman Leo Varadkar told the Dublin Economics Workshop in Kenmare last night that his party is committed to reducing Ireland’s deficit to 3 per [...]

It’s a godsend for the wealthy, a real haven.”
In March 1988 Ray McSharry reintroduced section twenty-three tax relief on rental properties. It was listed under section twenty-seven of the Finance Act but retained its name from 1981, when it was first introduced as a stimulus for investment in construction.
The Irish Times reported that the government’s [...]

While a nation was parsing the Taoiseach’s metaphorical breathalyser results, the work of providing a clear alternative to his Government’s failed fiscal strategies continued apace. The Community Platform launched its 4Steps2Recovery campaign. It proposes a fiscal package of €3 billion of tax increases for the next budget - a package that would primarily impact on [...]

Anne Costello of the Community Platform argues that Progressive tax reform will promote economic activity. It will retain consumer demand, protect jobs and protect low and middle income earners.

The Government is planning to cut €3 billion from public spending in the coming budget. They say there is no alternative. The Community Platform, a network of [...]

As we head into ‘budget season’ we’ll get a lot of nonsense. One of the biggest is that we must extend the ‘tax system’ to those who don’t pay any tax (one Minister described this situation with outrage: ‘50pc of people are not paying a bob of tax. That is not sustainable’). No, the commentators [...]