Society

Shake it til the facts spill out

There is no measurement which can come even close to justifying Frances Fitzgerald's claim yesterday that we are one of the biggest spenders on public services in the industrialised world. By Michael Taft.

Sometimes you just want to pick up the radio and shake it until the tiny little people inside start talking sense. Take Minister Frances Fitzgerald onthe Pat Kenny show yesterday:

It's one law for them...

While some sectors of our society are allowed to break the law with impunity, others who act in an entirely lawful manner are harassed by the gardaí because their actions are a political irritant to the Government. By David Johnson.

Scraping the bottom of a broken barrel

We have had cuts in both public and private sector pay. The problem is that too few people ask the fundamental question – why is it that after all the cuts of past, we still are where we are? By Michael Taft.

Insufferable preaching from cabals of cowards

If the bishops, after all that has happened, have the bottle to engage in public debate on a moral issue, bring them on. By Vincent Browne.

There is insolence abroad. A malign insolence from a once-powerful quarter, and insolence from a currently powerful quarter that is becoming even more powerful - and probably even more insolent.

All is well - All is really, really well

Tax revenue is falling off and the current account deficit is growing. The €130 million in health cuts is just the start; there is more, much more, in store for us. By Michael Taft.

The Exchequer figures are out. And they are not good. Coming into this year, the Government had a strong wind at its back, with €1 billion being carried forward from Budget 2011. That wind has blown itself out and the Government is looking at a deteriorating situation.

In praise of public investment

It is the height of misunderstanding to fear that public investment distorts markets and crowds private investment out; the reality is one of highly distorted markets that are clearly incapable of fostering adequate levels of private investment. By Yanis Varoufakis.

Workers strike back

On 24 May 2012, 23 former workers of the Vita Cortex manufacturing plant in Cork left their former plant after a six-month sit-in protest. Their protest had already lead to a compromise deal to resolve the dispute earlier in the month, in what was one of the longest sit-in protests in Irish industrial history. The workers had to take extraordinary measures to enforce their rights and they were not the only ones to find themselves fighting for what they considered was fair recompense after being made redundant.

In praise of public investment

It is the height of misunderstanding to fear that public investment distorts markets and crowds private investment out; the reality is one of highly distorted markets that are clearly incapable of fostering adequate levels of private investment. By Yanis Varoufakis.

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