Category: Fiscal policy

The EU’s Inane Fiscal Rules are finally relaxed

Paul Sweeney 18/03/2020

At last, the inane Fiscal Rules are to be relaxed. It took the Covid19 crisis to force this action by the EU leadership. In a recent blog I set out why the rules were flawed and why they should be reformed. At last there is movement. The next step must be their radical, progressive reform. They must work for European people and no longer …

The Irish fiscal straitjacket

Robert Sweeney 30/10/2019

These are eventful times for the Irish economy. We are told a variety of ‘storm clouds’ have been forming internationally which, it is claimed, …

What next for Irish unemployment policy?

07/06/2019

By Dr Tom Boland and Dr Ray Griffin WUERC, Waterford Institute of Technology Kindly funded through the IRC New Horizons Interdisciplinary Research …

Statistics don’t always tell the truth

Sinead Pembroke 08/05/2018

Today, statistics are major currencies in policy discussions and debates. They are used as weapons by government ministers, politicians and political …

Some Missing Elements in the Pensions Debate

Michelle Maher 19/05/2017

In Ciarán Hancock’s recent (10 May) Irish Times article Time for the Government to Introduce Pension Auto-enrolment, he makes a welcome call for …

Can Special Purpose Vehicles help alleviate the Housing Crisis?

Tom Healy 30/01/2017

A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is a technical term that refers to a wide variety of arrangements where a financial entity is established for a …

Much Progress on Costly and Wasteful Tax Breaks but Radical Change is now Needed.

Paul Sweeney 08/11/2016

Paul Sweeney: There has been much progress in getting rid of the most wasteful and destructive tax breaks, but many remain. Indeed a radical approach …