Key Point Ireland is a pioneer in the implementation of a carbon tax. This has allowed us to avoid (more) increases in income tax which would have further reduced disposable income, increased labour costs and destroyed jobs. It is also facilitating us in meeting our very demanding legally binding obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,…

Key Point We weigh losses far more heavily than equivalent gains, and we infer the general from the particular, rather than induce the particular from the general. These and many other features of our behaviour are elegantly documented in Thinking, Fast and Slow, authored by Nobel Prize winning Daniel Kahneman. In addition to loss aversion,…

Budget 2013 – The case for periodic instead of lump sum payments for damages arising out of alleged medical negligence. Key Point We should move right away from lump sum to periodic payments in the case of medical negligence cases in Ireland. And this should happen before Budget 2013 is presented to the Oireachtas (Parliament)…

The Benefits And Costs Of The Olympics The most acerbically enjoyable view of the London 2012 Olympics has come from the Robin Lane Fox, gardening correspondent for the Financial Times (‘The real team GB’, Financial Times, House and Home section, August 4 and 5, 2012, p. 10). He dedicated his piece to the allotment holders…

Social capital is that set of reflexes we absorb from our culture, religion, families and our ancestors. It shapes how we react to crisis and opportunity. In 19th century Ireland, the Quakers were famously honest in their dealings, competitive in business, but fair to employees and customers, open to new ideas and encouraging of enterprise…

Data and references supporting the evidence are included in detailed notes at the end of the paper. Introduction For any country, easy and efficient access to others is an important contributor to its economy and quality of life. It is particularly so when the country is an island with no land or rail links to…

Henri Smets sets the international context for water pricing: “In all countries, it is now accepted that water users should pay to a very large extent for the water they use, and the amount of payment be proportionate to water consumption. The Irish model of free water for domestic users was hardly known to the…