The wave of layoffs at technology multinationals is not over. We have been there before and we can learn lessons from the past with policies that limit public finances' reliance on foreign investment and support workers and domestic companies to make the most of the predictable cycle ahead.
The leaders of large corporates are confident that Ireland can avoid a global recession, but this does not mean smaller companies are equipped to deal with ongoing turmoil. Ideas are emerging to provide them with stability – the next step is action.
Having delivered Budget 2023, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe speaks candidly about his time in office – from achievements to regrets. He also talks about the specifics of the budget, the future of taxation, and governing in a time of crises.
I was forced to leave Ireland during the last financial crash. I returned home with no assets, a fractured life, and spiralling rents. Meanwhile, the Generals of this economic war remain the same. I’m out.
Most of Europe is not creating the right people who can build things. Meanwhile, the European government funding ecosystem is broken and following the wrong strategy. So, let’s not continue to kid ourselves that everything is okay.
In times of incredible economic uncertainty, the logical response would be to spend less. Resisting the political temptation to do the opposite is going to be very difficult.
Official Ireland's view is that the country will grow slowly. In reality, as the census shows, Ireland is one of the fastest-growing countries in Europe. This failure to plan for growth has had catastrophic consequences for Irish infrastructure – not least its housing.
Although inflation data and commodity markets point to less severe price hikes than initially feared, central banks are now on a tightening trajectory and equity markets are predicting a textbook recession.
We can no longer outsource governance and hard choices to Europe, energy to Russia, and security to the US. Whether we figure out what to do with ourselves in the right time scale is another matter.
Ireland's Covid policy responses needed speed, scope, and scale. The Ukraine policy response has to be broad and fast to ensure households and businesses, just recovering from Covid, make it to the end of 2022.
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