Ireland should join coalition of countries driving decarbonisation of electricity systems

Northern administration has failed to direct resources into productive investment

Transition has been much less painful than in many other developed economies

Action on carbon tax and tourism VAT rate would have resulted in a more effective budget

John FitzGerald: Government cannot rely for much longer on bank as a major source of income

John FitzGerald: Employers will have to work hard to hold on to staff

John Fitzgerald: In the long term there is likely to be a permanent loss for exporters to the UK

Properly calibrated charges on all roads could address several transport issues

Housebuilding needs to be ramped up, which means steps must be taken to prevent overheating

Firms setting up in Ireland know under what laws they will operate

John FitzGerald: locating customs barrier in Irish Sea takes no account of North’s economy

John FitzGerald: As well as overhauling banking, the EU has treated Ireland fairly

John FitzGerald: National Mitigation Plan has many ideas for action but very few decisions

Irish economy: Figure which seems ‘just right’ would be growth of just over 5%

John FitzGerald: For even bigger savings, we should rethink how waste firms compete

Financial incentives just translate into higher values for potential development sites

Up to €5 billion of Government revenue derived from motor transport activity

Impact of Brexit will be wide, and could take two decades to fully play out

Clear laws and public scrutiny create economic culture for transparent commerce

Raising taxes would be best way to cut demand in order to make room for investment

Necessary investments will be expensive but in the long run they will be cost effective

Domestic firms, not multinationals, behind bulk of growth in economy in recent years

Economic shock and a cut in Westminster transfers could blight living standards

Ireland and Britain have been a common labour market for decades. That may change

Census figures on homes broadly consistent with housing completions

John FitzGerald: one dark side of low inflation is the erosion of monetary policy power

Repricing Ireland: Public service pay rises should track increases in the private sector

While Madrid’s banks were sound, its economy was hampered by high unemployment

Building the homes we need in a fast-growing economy can run the risk of overheating

Regional solidarity backed by economic funding is key to national cohesiveness

Up to half of growth in the 20 years to 2010 came from higher educational attainment

Crucial commercial relationship with UK ‘rump’ would be risked by messy divorce

Hinterlands of Dublin and other cities can benefit economically from that proximity

R&D attracts many funding models, but value for money can be difficult to measure

Independent economic analysis of policy platforms is a useful public service

Effects of weaker sterling if sustained will gradually be eroded by higher inflation in UK

The revision of the international standard for national accounts is imperfect

Skilled professionals can only to be lured to locations which offer careers with lifestyles

Likely to be 2019 or 2020 before output of houses approaches a satisfactory level

A poem by John FitzGerald for William Trevor

Customs decision will have an economic cost and create border between North and South

Policies of protectionism helped to ensure Ireland was a backwater for 50 years

New interconnector would cut prices and greenhouse gases

Conversation can be more important than the commercial value of any presents

We need to plan for range of post-Brexit possibilities, from unfavourable to positive

Despite much to rue about recent water policy, one clear success is Irish Water

Republican fiscal profligacy has fuelled damaging boom and bust cycles in US

Hanoi conference examines links between growth and greenhouse-gas emissions

National Mitigation Plan must tackle dependence on fossil fuels as matter of urgency

Increased automation in manufacturing has eliminated many ‘traditional’ jobs

Road to emission reduction starts with peat burning ban and investment support

Change in trade arrangements will cause a fracture in retail sector supply chain

State must be wary of again widening pay gap between public and private-sector workers

Retailers in the Republic face weakness of sterling and likely disruption of supply chain

First-time buyers’ tax refund will result in increased house prices at cost of €50 million

Intensive lobbying means short-term moves eclipse daring options to reallocate funding

Tendency to marry others with similar incomes contributes to rising inequality

The Project Eagle loss isn’t real, but rather the difference between two hypotheticals

Fall in labour force participation rates down to people staying longer in third-level

Rising expectations in the recovering economy have made the choices more difficult

Any revision to national accounts could lead to €1.3bn one-off EU budget contribution

Trump and Brexit vote represent backlashes against against EU free-trade model

Problems with Irish GDP measurement could arise in US and other major economies

History tells us that bilateral trade agreements with the UK do not suit Ireland

State should save corporation tax windfall and aim to run a budget surplus in 2017

London must be encouraged to live up to its economic commitments to the North

Even on basis of ‘real’ growth, budget should give little away

Emissions trading scheme ran aground when recession made permits worthless

Our rapidly growing economy may require higher taxes in the next few years

Analysis indicates effect on morale, but an impact also registers on electricity usage

Improved Irish setup now trying to support people to move from welfare into work

Earnings may be affected if economic penalty for taking time out of work persists

Brendan Walsh was a sharp analyst of Irish economics and society

The problems facing the Government will not be solved by reorganising departments

With an uncertain future, you must examine both what might go right as well as wrong

Anything that may destabilise the Belfast Agreement would be a major concern

Britain’s exit from EU would cause problems as competitiveness comes under pressure

Loss of 10,000 financial sector jobs in London may mean firms move in search of EU ‘asylum’

‘From an early stage in my career I have had a certain fascination for the census’

United Ireland not possible if South has to pick up bill for subsidised Northern economy

Borrowing strategy of agency before and after bailout gave Ireland a valuable cushion

Award-winning economist first studied racial differences in educational performance

With real growth running at 5% a major expansion in investment is needed soon

Addressing housing in Ireland can be helped by looking at good and bad policies in the UK

After four years of buoyant growth it is important to consider whether the economy is expanding beyond its potential

Of four main parties in #ge16, Labour is only one that gets close to indexation

Unlike in past elections, this time there is broad acceptance of underlying fiscal constraints

Taxes on property or energy may have less impact on labour market behaviour

Banking union holds out the prospect of recreating an integrated EU banking market

Ireland’s marriage and baby demographics have slowly grown closer to those in other European countries

‘Behavioural economics teaches us that people are not especially grateful for today’s income increase, but are mad as hell if, in (...)

Cost of wind technology has fallen sharply and same is happening with solar power but charging structure reform needed to ensure p(...)

Too often policies are formed on the assumption that tomorrow will be very like today, and that surprises, pleasant or unpleasant,(...)

Another runway may be needed if traffic through the airport continues to grow

Devolved government has brought peace but it has not yet brought economic stability

Recovery such that full employment is now achievable within three years

Tackling climate change requires incentivising new technology to produce ‘clean’ energy

We learned in 2008 how a revenue stream – property tax – could vanish overnight

Facilitating the over-65s to stay at work increases productivity and saves on pensions

Ireland is one of lowest spenders on public investment among developed economies