Ireland’s quality of life: How do we score in the UN’s new rankings? The United Nation’s Human Development Index looks not just at income but also at key statistics such as life expectancy and average years of schoolingSat Sept 10 2022 - 05:00
Will the EU’s new plan cut your energy bills?The UK is planning to cap prices, but EU proposals are heading in another directionThu Sept 08 2022 - 11:36
Explainer: Will Germany’s energy cap point the way for Ireland and rest of EU?Politicians are looking at ways to protect consumers and ensure energy companies do not keep excess profitsMon Sept 05 2022 - 14:34
Cliff Taylor: We are on a knife-edge heading into the autumnWe must learn from past mistakes on housing and social investment and prioritise planning our energy futureSat Sept 03 2022 - 05:10
What will the budget do to respond to the big squeeze on your income? Even the most generous measures could only partly cushion the blow for households: whatever politicians do, we will almost all end up poorerSat Sept 03 2022 - 05:00
Energy bills are becoming more and more expensive, but what is causing the price rises?Gas prices have fallen in recent days on wholesale markets, so why are prices to customers going up?Thu Sept 01 2022 - 17:53
An interest rate shock for borrowers is on the wayThe ECB will consider a rate hike of up to 0.75 of a point next week and there will be more to come later this year and into 2023Thu Sept 01 2022 - 13:05
Cliff Taylor: Tinkering around with taxes won’t fix rental marketWe need to build more accommodation for letting. Government departments must be resourced fully and tasked with thisSat Aug 20 2022 - 06:00
Cliff Taylor: Will the public accept climate change taxes in a cost-of-living crisis?Tensions over planned carbon tax hikes show how challenge of pursuing climate change policies during the cost-of-living crisisThu Aug 18 2022 - 10:56
Cliff Taylor: It is time to kill off the idea of a new 30% income tax rateTánaiste Leo Varadkar needs to let go of his big idea, implementing it would be a serious mistakeSat Aug 13 2022 - 00:01
Rents are at record highs — so why are private landlords fleeing the market? A big jump in landlords selling up comes despite record rent levels - yet another sign of a broken marketThu Aug 11 2022 - 12:12
Budget buffers against inflation trickier to manage than budget giveawaysThe cost-of-living crisis will leave the Government spending billions to try to offset some of the damageWed Aug 10 2022 - 20:42
Higher capital gains tax rate options examined for higher earners A higher rate on individuals with incomes of over €200,000 could raise more than €50 millionWed Aug 10 2022 - 16:30
Pensions reform plan is a cop-out that loads the burden on younger peopleThe emerging Government plan on State pension reform is shaping up as a cop-out, forcing young people to foot the massive billSat Aug 06 2022 - 06:01
Irish household wealth has soared to €1 trillion - so should you be feeling rich?New central bank figures show Ireland's wealth is soaring, but what does this actually mean?Thu Aug 04 2022 - 15:23
Does Ireland’s public service really buy in to the climate change strategy?We’re in danger of ending up with an emissions-reduction plan that we all nod respectfully toward but that hasn’t a hope of being deliveredSat Jul 30 2022 - 05:00
An economic world turned upside down: Everything you need to know about the cost-of-living crisisLiving standards are falling — and significantly — for the first time in years. Cliff Taylor explains the realities of the crisis, and the best- and worst-case outcomesSat Jul 30 2022 - 05:00
Is there hard evidence that we are heading for a recession?Confidence indicators are weak but real economic activity is holding up for nowThu Jul 28 2022 - 12:48
New pension deal not likely until autumn as officials express concern over costsPlan would enable workers to retire later than 66 in return for higher pensionsSun Jul 24 2022 - 20:46
The Government’s new pension plan: what will it mean for you?What we know - and what we don't know - about the new plan for the State pensionSat Jul 23 2022 - 16:30
Cliff Taylor: By autumn, the ECB will be in the eye of a stormPoliticians, including Irish ones, are fond of telling central bankers to do their jobs and control inflation. Now they will have to deal with the consequences.Sat Jul 23 2022 - 05:00
‘Retiring at 66 has to go’: Taoiseach signals radical shake-up of pension systemTaoiseach says legal changes to pension system on the way during a visit to JapanSat Jul 23 2022 - 00:00
What’s the story with interest rates for Irish mortgage holders?Tracker mortgages will go straight up in response to the latest ECB hike, and will probably rise furtherFri Jul 22 2022 - 13:55
Irish borrowers could be facing a season of rapid ECB interest rate hikes Facing into a Mission Impossible, the ECB has started the move to higher rates – but how quickly can it go?Thu Jul 21 2022 - 17:15
Hybrid working is the new norm — even if nobody is sure exactly what it meansEmployers have to offer flexibility to hold on to staffThu Jul 21 2022 - 12:26
What will the ECB do with interest rates on Thursday and what will it mean for Irish borrowers?Interest rates are due to go up. The only question is by how muchWed Jul 20 2022 - 10:19
US Senate logjam threatens OECD corporate tax dealUS Treasury chief assured Donohoe that pact would pass, but this now looks in doubtTue Jul 19 2022 - 11:55
Cliff Taylor: It looks like it could be a messy AutumnThe ECB is a house divided, desperate to contain inflation while worrying about tipping vulnerable Italy into a debt crisisSat Jul 16 2022 - 05:00
Heavy energy users in line for State support this winter Government working with European Commission on grant scheme and loan programme for businessesThu Jul 14 2022 - 14:28
Gas pressure - why the Government is warning about a difficult winterWhat exactly would happen if gas supplies run short or prices rocket further?Thu Jul 14 2022 - 12:07
Gas prices surge on fears over Russian supplyEurope is bracing for more energy shocks with concerns about further interruptions to pipelineTue Jul 12 2022 - 13:30
Ireland to be treated like Britain in event of gas shortage, UK company says Ireland relies on the UK for gas supplies, which has raised questions over what would happen in the event of an EU-wide gas shortage this winterSat Jul 09 2022 - 07:30
Ireland risks betting the farm on decisions made around a few water coolers in Silicon ValleyForget Budget 2023 for now - the first rows will be about what extra money to spend in 2022 to respond to the cost-of-living crisisSat Jul 09 2022 - 05:00
Favourable payment schedule and recent strong growth cannot hide our massive debt pileForecasters expect economy to continue to grow, albeit not as strongly as before. But all acknowledge the uncertainty and the risksSat Jul 09 2022 - 05:00
Cliff Taylor: Has Ireland found the secret sauce that will keep public finances buoyant?Corporation tax has surged following major FDI inflows and corporate restructurings. But the scale of the increase is now astonishingThu Jul 07 2022 - 11:13
Whatever happens, Budget 2023 is going to be the biggest such package in many yearsOutlook has rarely been so uncertain, which will make job of framing the budget all the more difficultSat Jul 02 2022 - 08:07
Interest rates and the impossible balancing act facing the ECBCaught off guard by the persistence on inflation, the ECB is now in a tight spotThu Jun 30 2022 - 12:27
Cliff Taylor: Ireland will have to address the deeply unequal hit from inflationA deep divide exists in how different households are being affected and the Government’s response needs to reflect thisSat Jun 25 2022 - 05:00
How did the Republic become the EU’s second most expensive country?Over the last decade prices have crept further and further over the EU average – intensifying problems as inflation hits homeThu Jun 23 2022 - 12:13
Economic dialogue will do little to help the Government as it faces hard choicesCost of living crisis continues to build and the public sector pay talks have broken downMon Jun 20 2022 - 17:47
Fighting inflation is an impossible job in an era of political populismIf people do not believe the burden is being equally shared, then trouble will followSat Jun 04 2022 - 05:00
There are loads of job vacancies in Ireland, but where are the workers?Smart Money: Employers are complaining of unprecedented staff shortages. New research gives some clues as to how we got hereThu Jun 02 2022 - 10:54
Maybe Ireland has discovered the magic formula on taxesDespite the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine the cash just keeps rolling in to the exchequerFri May 27 2022 - 20:01
The squeezed middle: myth or reality ?New evidence casts light on how middle earners can be caught by Ireland's tax and rent support systemsThu May 26 2022 - 14:03
Income tax surge could be sustained, fiscal watchdog findsAverage tax rate paid on incomes is rising, says Irish Fiscal Advisory CouncilWed May 25 2022 - 17:28
Cliff Taylor: Threats facing economy now could put Covid in the shadeThe economy is a lot more solid than it was in 2008, but dangers aboundSat May 21 2022 - 02:00
Do you get enough in return for the taxes you pay?Smart Money: A new report from Ictu shines a light on ‘the social wage’Thu May 19 2022 - 12:13
Economic advantages of protocol for North slowly seeping awayCliff Taylor: Long-term costs could be significant as politics again trumps economicsSat May 14 2022 - 02:00
Cliff Taylor: Which mortgage borrowers will be hit first by interest rate hikes hit?Smart Money: There are some options for those with loans to protect themselvesThu May 12 2022 - 10:49
Cliff Taylor: The penny has dropped that free money party is overUS interest rates rose, stock markets took fright and Government borrowing costs marched ever higherSat May 07 2022 - 02:00
