John FitzGerald

Lower heating bills benefit tenants, not landlords, while rent caps mean they won’t get higher income from letting out cosier homes

The bad news is that critical infrastructure is lagging behind

Much of the cost of vital water, transport and energy investment falls to the Irish State, and that means more tax

Ireland’s disposable incomes have become so evenly distributed, we now outrank Sweden

There is a long history of governments tightening spending even as an election looms

Final deal to end economic war with the UK held favourable terms for the Republic but took no action on tackling discrimination in the North

Ireland’s new MEPs must build on good relations with our partners as global trade barriers come back in vogue and climate fatigue sets in

Targets will require extensive additional investment by State and access to foreign funding, but rent controls pose a problem

The heavy lifting for the State is done by the levy on corporations

These are not harmless notions to drop into public discourse from the top of an ivory tower. Everyone involved should take more care

Ireland’s rampant inflation of the mid-1970s saw research insights rapidly translate to public policy

Levy due in 2026 aims to address competitive gap opening between EU and countries which don’t price in climate costs associated with carbon emissions

Ireland saw no reductions in births related to the first pandemic lockdown, but 2021 saw a significant increase

Spending more money would add to inflation without making us better off, whatever about its effects on voting behaviour

Global rules for a greener economy

There is a case to encourage European production of strategically important goods to guard against restrictions from other countries

Many returning emigrants are highly skilled and hugely valuable for our economy

The united Ireland conversation involves listening to people who don’t agree with you and whose advice you don’t want to hear

Experience in UK and with Eir is that private owners don’t invest in networks but just saddle companies with debt and take dividends

Regardless of the terms of disengagement by UK in any unification, there is no magic economic pill to bring NI up to standards down South

Exodus of foreign-owned banks after the crash has been costly for Ireland's bank customers and bad for the wider economy

Germany’s experience is relevant to Ireland given the sharp differences that followed the publication of a report on unification costs

For a highly mobile young population, house purchase is not always a suitable short-term option

John FitzGerald: Children born today can expect to live up to 30 years longer than their great grandparents

Reducing Ireland’s beef herd makes more sense than a huge reduction in profitable dairy cattle

Ireland is at full employment, but building industry now falls in number of Irish workers

EU tax on aviation fuel will incentivise airlines to be more environmentally friendly while retaining links with families

Playing around with the books won’t get Europe’s biggest economy out of its downturn

Compared to the Republic, Northern Ireland has actually reduced greenhouse gas emissions by almost a quarter since 1990

Officials on both sides of the Border have been complicit in failure to deliver the necessary but controversial overground interconnector

On the Government side, the agreement will not break the bank

French study shows economic costs of change to green fuels would be limited, but there will be costs

Ireland doesn’t have enough workers with the skills to turbocharge badly needed construction

The Irish economy is a puzzle that takes some unravelling, but despite blips many of the signs are positive

Privatisation can work in competitive markets, but can it preserve public services?

Splitting the finance function of Government into two departments runs the risk of discordant budgetary policy

By 2026, aviation will be paying the same substantial price for its carbon emissions as industry rather than its current free pass

Starting point must be a functioning Executive and a working Assembly

Tax revenue generated in Northern Ireland goes nowhere near covering the cost of its public services

Joining the then EEC 50 years ago opened Irish policymakers to a whole new way of thinking