Posts by Dr Nat O'Connor
Dr Nat O'Connor @natpolicy
Dr Nat O’Connor is Assistant Professor of Social Policy at UCD, a fellow of the UCD Geary Institute for Public Policy and former Director of TASC. Nat also previously worked at Age Action, the Labour Party, Ulster University and the Homeless Agency. You can find him on LinkedIn (natoconnor) and TwitterX @natpolicy.
What Difference Would a Left-Led Government Make to Ireland?
Nat O'Connor 28/05/2026
As of January 2026, successive opinion polls give centre-right Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael combined less than 40% of support for the next general election. Could Ireland have a government for the first time that excludes both of these traditional parties of government? Recent polls indicate that this is possible. Whether most of the other parties …
A Defence of Taxation, Revisited
Nat O'Connor 10/03/2026
In 2014, TASC published A Defence of Taxation. Its argument in favour of progressive alternatives to reducing public services through tax cuts …
Economic Inequality and the Rise of Populism, Revisited
Nat O'Connor 16/02/2026
In 2017, I published a paper entitled Three Connections between Rising Economic Inequality and the Rise of Populism. This has been my most cited …
Employment Rates, not Age, is a Better Predictor of Future Economic Dependency
Nat O'Connor 19/08/2024
Across the richer countries of the world—and increasingly across low and middle income countries too—there is concern expressed about the …
Brexit and Market Regulation
Nat O'Connor 05/09/2017
Following the latest round of Brexit talks, spokespersons have taken to the airwaves to blame each other for the impasse. Despite this, both sides …
The Public Value of the Citizens Information Service
Nat O'Connor 14/07/2017
Professor Mark Moore of Harvard University developed the concept of 'public value creation 'more than 20 years ago, and there is a growing academic …
Living Wage 2017
Nat O'Connor 05/07/2017
The Living Wage is now €11.70 per hour, which means that is how much a single person would have to earn if he or she was working 39 hours/week in …
Categories
Contributors
Robert Sweeney
Robert Sweeney is a policy analyst at TASC and focuses on issues surrounding Irish …
Nat O'Connor
Dr Nat O’Connor is Assistant Professor of Social Policy at UCD, a fellow of the UCD …
Shana Cohen
Dr. Shana Cohen is the Director of TASC. She studied at Princeton University and at the …