Dan O'Brien

While the Irish economy continues to thrive, it presents no justification for runaway budget spending and remains exposed to US risks – but still offers a healthier picture than those of its neighbours.

From higher taxes and expanding public spending to the embrace of progressive causes abroad, the political consensus now leans firmly to the left – leaving little room for debate or alternative visions.

The Economist magazine's claim that Ireland is not "truly rich" just reflects how little has been attempted to check if the country was. Beyond the distortion caused by multinationals, there are many metrics from which to build a credible prosperity index.

While major domestic crises go unaddressed and international threats mount, elected representatives appear more preoccupied with niche causes and symbolic gestures than with defending the country’s core interests.

Economist Dan O’Brien was disinvited from addressing the Oireachtas committee on the Occupied Territories Bill. This is what he would have told lawmakers had he been allowed to speak.

With Ireland’s prosperity so tightly linked to US corporations and tax frameworks, looming changes in American fiscal policy pose a deeper, more immediate economic risk than global geopolitical tensions.

What economists call pro-cyclical fiscal policy is now well and truly entrenched, with government fuelling growth when it is not needed and deepening austerity when crises hit.

Even under Trump, US multinationals show little sign of retreating from global markets — thanks to incentives, political clout, and economic reality.

Today, an EU-UK summit will seek to ‘reset’ Britain’s relationship with the bloc that has been in flux since the Brexit referendum almost a decade ago. Pervasive gloom hangs over our neighbouring island. It has its problems, but the pessimism is overdone.

Housing completions have been flatlining for three years. At the same time, Ireland has experienced one of the biggest population increases in the world. The Government's approach to housing is not working.