Posts by Dr Nat O'Connor

Nat O'Connor

Dr Nat O'Connor     @natpolicy

Nat O’Connor is a member of the Institute for Research in Social Sciences (IRiSS) and a Lecturer of Public Policy and Public Management in the School of Criminology, Politics and Social Policy at Ulster University.

Previously Director of TASC, Nat also led the research team in Dublin’s Homeless Agency.

Nat holds a PhD in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin (2008) and an MA in Political Science and Social Policy form the University of Dundee (1998). Nat’s primary research interest is in how research-informed public policy can achieve social justice and human wellbeing. Nat’s work has focused on economic inequality, housing and homelessness, democratic accountability and public policy analysis. His PhD focused on public access to information as part of democratic policy making.


Seven Principles for Progressive Income Tax

Nat O'Connor 10/09/2010

Nat O'Connor: On an earlier post about indirect tax, I was asked to sketch out some principles about income tax. Specifically, the questions were …

Why do we pay people social welfare?

Nat O'Connor 30/08/2010

Nat O'Connor: We pay people social welfare because, in a democracy, every participant is entitled to a minimum share of our national wealth to …

The State's Modus Operandi

Nat O'Connor 24/08/2010

Nat O'Connor: There are four stories in the press today that each illuminate part of a big, unanswered question, which is about what is the best way …

The Leaving Cert is not Education

Nat O'Connor 18/08/2010

Nat O'Connor: The Leaving Certificate results are out today. It is appropriate that there is something of a debate going on about whether or not we …

Local Government Reform

Nat O'Connor 17/08/2010

Nat O'Connor: A lot of people have heard of 'bord snip nua' and the various recommendations it made for cutting or changing public services. However, …

VAT paid by people on low incomes

Nat O'Connor 12/08/2010

Nat O'Connor: This is a follow up to comments on the Corporation Tax post about VAT. As was pointed out to me, although the main VAT rate is 21%, …

Property Tax (Capital v Income)

Nat O'Connor 19/07/2010

Nat O'Connor: The Minister for Finance has rightly pointed out that any property tax - a tax on capital - must still be paid out of income (Irish …

Dezoning land, NAMA and adding locational value

Nat O'Connor 15/07/2010

Nat O'Connor: It was reported today that "the 40,000 hectares of land zoned for residential development across the country will be reduced to 12,000 …

GDP Growth and Government Policy

Nat O'Connor 08/07/2010

Nat O'Connor: The Minister for Finance is celebrating GDP growth of 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2010 as evidence of the success of …

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