Irish, EU & international politics & economics
By Niamh Ní Bhriain. Back in February, when murmurs of Coronavirus seemed irrelevant to most of us, people came together in Ennis, Co. Clare, for a hustings event in advance of the general election. The sense of anger was tangible in the crowd. There was a chorus of outrage that […]
By Emma Clancy. After the Eurogroup meeting concluded last night, Eurogroup President and Portuguese Finance Minister Mário Centeno tweeted: “The Eurogroup answered the call from our citizens for a Europe that protects. We agreed to 3 safety nets (for workers, businesses & public finances) adding up to half trillion euro, and […]
By Lisbeth Latham.Since December 5, France has been gripped by ongoing strikes and mobilisations by a coalition of trade unions, high school and university student unions, as well as the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) to defeat the attack by the government of President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Édouard Charles […]
By Julieta Beristain. The curfew in Chile has been renewed and the repression of the army and carabineros left a record of 15 dead and more than 1,600 arrested. Despite internal efforts to hide the most heinous images of the repression under the command of the Army and the Carabineros, […]
By Martin Burgos. “Political vacuum”, “default” and “hyperinflation”: these are the terms being used by several economists from Argentina’s public service, discussing the country’s current political and economic situation. Earlier this month, the Peronist opposition led by Alberto Fernández defeated the right-wing government of President Mauricio Macri in the primary […]
By Lisbeth Latham. Neoliberalism is a term which has entered the left lexicon over the past three decades, although in different countries it can have other analogous terms. While it is a term that the left has embraced, the right, and the advocates of what is commonly referred to as […]
By Niall Monaghan. For what toil the sons of Róisín, is it pennies? In this period of increased focus on the climate breakdown, our primary producers are often perceived as holding back progress. They are commonly viewed as another polluter that must be challenged to change their ways. But farmers […]
By Michael Taft. “It is the supreme paradox of democracy that every man is a servant of the matters of which he possess the most intimate knowledge, and for which he shows the most expert proficiency; namely, the professional craft to which he devotes his working hours; and he is […]
By Marie Sherlock. Looking from the outside in, the Irish economy is performing really well at the moment – on course to have the second-highest GDP growth across the European Union (EU) this year. Malta and Ireland have alternated positions at the top of the EU28 scoreboard for GDP growth […]
By David Gibney. Ireland has a very serious low pay problem, and a corresponding problem with poverty. We have the highest prevalence of low-paid jobs in the EU. Only a matter of weeks ago St Vincent de Paul stated that almost 800,000 people live in poverty, including 230,000 children. Finding […]