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Posts by Paul Sweeney

Paul Sweeney @paulsweeneyman

Paul Sweeney is former Chief Economist of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. He was a President of the Statistical and Social Enquiry Society of Ireland, former member of the Economic Committee of the ETUC, a member of the National Competitiveness Council of Ireland, the National Statistics Board, the ESB, TUAC, (advisor to OECD) and several other bodies. He has written three books on the Irish economy and two on public enterprise, including The Celtic Tiger; Ireland’s Economic Miracle Explained and Selling Out: Privatisation in Ireland, chapters in other books and many articles on economics.

Stimulus package amid pandemic could transform Ireland for the better

Paul Sweeney 23/07/2020

The stimulus package to be announced by the Government this week will be transformative. It could transform Ireland into a better place in which to …

How Businesses Can Survive the Lockdown

Paul Sweeney 01/05/2020

Many argue that bad businesses should not be supported by the state. However, if this pandemic’s lockdown lasts a long time, it is going to …

Plan now for the biggest socialisation ever

Paul Sweeney 15/04/2020

The greatest socialisation ever of the world’s private sector is taking place hourly. It will continue until the end of 2020 and beyond. It is a …

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 …

Agenda for a Progressive Finance Minister

Paul Sweeney 05/02/2020

The possibility of a progressive government allows us to dream of very serious reforms by a progressive Minister for Finance. These are some …

Reforming the EU

Paul Sweeney 07/01/2020

An EU rule which must be radically reformed is the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP). It is a set of rules intended to ensure member states in the …

Ireland’s recovery

Paul Sweeney 24/10/2019

If procyclical domestic policies inflated Ireland’s economic bubble, procyclical austerity demanded by the troika makes Ireland’s recovery all …

Ireland’s route from boom to bubble to bust

Paul Sweeney 15/10/2019

Ireland’s volatile economic path of recent decades has wider European policy implications The ‘Celtic Tiger’, Ireland’s rapid …

A Pivotal Moment?

Paul Sweeney 17/06/2019

Phillip Lane, departing governor of the financial regulator, the Central Bank, wrote a farewell letter to the government calling for the cap on bank …

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