Budgetary decisions can squander more than money. They can damage the credibility of economic management and undermine the capacity to make better decisions in the future. This is particularly true of capital projects.
Part of the proceeds from the tax on fossil fuels is ring-fenced for social programmes, returning more to lower-income households than it costs them. What is missing is a “Paid for by your carbon tax” badge on the projects it funds.
The Government is in an unprecedented position where it can afford to both buy the upcoming election and plan for the country's future infrastructure. This lucky draw presents its own challenges.
The most striking aspects of Budget 2025 are the amount of money allocated, spent, promised, and deployed, and the fact that the Government has left a sum equivalent to the health budget in reserve.
If I was spending the Apple bounty, I would allocate the funds towards the country’s huge infrastructural deficits. But, if we were forced to invest the funds, I would take a highly selective approach towards any equity investments.
The commitment to simplify the Keep scheme for share options has not yielded results. With Budget 2025 imminent, the government needs to make the schemes we have work rather than develop new ones.
This week, to celebrate our fifth birthday, we published a string of major interviews, features, and investigations. When you weave them together, they showcase the type of journalism we aspire to produce, but they also help tell a wider story.
This weekend the manager of The Old Spot Denise McBrien, will lead a chorus line of staff saluting the tenth anniversary of one of my favourite restaurants. Yes, there will be celebrities in attendance. But the local neighbours will be top of the guest list. It is just that sort of place.
Activists and survivors are hopeful for change after the industry largely avoided the accountability that swept Hollywood post #MeToo. But is this the Judgement Day they’re waiting for?
The wheels of the Irish industry have never whirred faster. Yet, there are company and sector-specific risks that threaten Ireland’s economic prosperity, not to mention the potential damage of a Trump presidency. Budget 2025 will have to balance the risks with the opportunities.
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