Irish Election - Coverage of Irish Politics, News and Current Affairs

It is argued that we must cut public spending in order to reduce borrowing and the deficit. However, there is rarely any evidence produced to show if this would happen and, if it does, to what extent. Assumptions and conjectures have replaced verification and demonstration. This is unfortunate for much of the evidence shows that [...]

In today’s Irish Times 28 economists, academics and analysts have signed an op-ed attacking the Government’s failed economic strategies while providing an alternative way forward. In short, they argue that the Government’s deflationary policies are leading us to a low-growth, high-debt future with unacceptable levels of unemployment; in short, a joyless, jobless future. Instead, we [...]

Update by Cian : I am bumping this post because it got lost in the flurry of late Lisbon Treaty posts. Considering this is the issue that is now front and centre until December, I think it deserves another read from our readers. ———————- Imagine you’re walking a high-wire. You’re nearly at the end of [...]

Crisis? It’s baby-crunching time. We no longer have the luxury of attacking others’ prescriptions – those issued by the Government, employers’ spokespersons and stockbroker economists. The proverbial punter at the bar is impatient: ‘So what’s your big idea?’ It’s a fair question. Let’s be under no illusion. The right is driving this debate. And the [...]

Finally, a slim ray of light. ‘The problem we have in the public finances is as a result of the fact that the economy is in a recession . . . we have a problem in the economy which has created difficulties in the public finances. It’s not the other way around.’ So said Eamon [...]

Good riddance. Or as WorldbyStorm writes over at Cedar Lounge Revolution, ‘The PDs get a a four week reprieve. Then they die.’ Can’t come soon enough. The only downside is that we’ll have to endure a plethora of obituaries telling us how the PDs made a difference, how they shaped whole governments regardless of their [...]

Truly, a tale of two economic cities. First, the Irish Times heads an article ‘Wage Increases Higher than EU Average in 2007‘. Citing a recent European Industrial Relations Observatory survey it stated: ‘Irish workers enjoyed higher wage increases than their counterparts across Europe in 2007 . . ‘ Well, actually we didn’t. The report has [...]

If you see Charlie McCreevey walking down the street, dining in a fashionable café, or panhandling outside Government Buildings – arrest him. You have the power – the common law citizen’s arrest. The charge? Crimes against the economy. Is that an offence? Yes, it dates back to Saxon times, judicated on by courts that looked [...]

The new union, UNITE (the merged ATGWU and AMICUS unions) has just published a report on Irish wages which is sure to prove controversial. It flatly contradicts the prevailing consensus that Irish wages are somehow ‘high’, that Irish wage growth is high relative to our EU trading partners and that these ‘high’ wages are one [...]

Paul Tansey wrote an impressive list of economic achievements during Bertie Ahern’s tenure as Taoiseach: On Ahern’s watch, the Irish economy almost doubled in size, while the numbers at work increased by one-half . . The unemployment rate declined from 10.4 per cent in 1997 to 4.6. In the 10 years from 1987 to 1997, [...]

The following is a synopsis of an article that appears on Irish Left Review. When Eamon Gilmore, TD launched his leadership bid back in August he laid out his primary objective: ‘Labour should break free of, and reject, the “half party” limit which others impose on us – and which, sometimes, we inflict on ourselves.’ [...]

Economic growth to slump to the lowest levels since the recessionary 1980s. Unemployment to rise. Inflation heading back up. Tax revenue slumping. Exchequer deficit out of control. Export growth sluggish. No direction, no respite, no hope and . . . no ideas. Yep, it looks like Fianna Fail is odds on to win the next [...]

A number of European leaders have been going through a difficult patch: President Sarkozy, Taoiseach Bertie, Prime Minister Brown and caretaker Prime Minister Prodi. But spare a thought for His Serene Highness Johannes Adam Ferdinand Alois Josef Maria Marko d’Aviano Pius von und zu Liechtenstein, Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein, Count of Reitberg and Duke of [...]

Senator Mary White has announced her intention to seek a nomination for the Presidency. Though some may question the timing (the election won’t be until 2011) and her ability to persuade her own party to nominate her, it is certainly not too early to assess candidates’ suitability for the highest constitutional office. And given her [...]

When caught in a storm, long-term thinking is understandably sacrificed to more short-term concerns – like getting out of the rain. You’re wet, you’re going to get wetter (the bus stop has no shelter), and you’re just hoping you don’t get a chill or, worse, pneumonia. What you do afterwards can be considered when you’re [...]

Dear Ciaran I read your speech before the Ireland Institute with great interest. There is much common ground between the Left and the Greens. While various political parties may be on opposite sides in the Dail, we are not, ultimately, politically opposed. In that constructive spirit I’d like to discuss some of your observations – [...]