Political accountability needs written record of government decisions

Nuala Haughey: The Oireachtas Inquiry into the Banking Crisis reviewed about 500,000 pages of documents from various bodies including banks, government departments and State agencies.

Yet not a single official document was provided to it relating to the marathon overnight meetings in Government Buildings that led to the blanket bank guarantee. Hamstrung, the inquiry had to rely on the recollections and scribbled notes of those who attended some or all of the meetings on 29th to 30th September 2008.

The Collapse of Ireland’s Finances (again): A Reinterpretation

Robert Sweeney: As the election season reaches full swing, the inevitable claims of who did what and when, and what this means in the future intensifies. One oft-repeated tale beginning to reemerge is that an expansion in public spending during the 2000s is a, or perhaps the, leading cause of the subsequent financial and debt crisis. After all, as seen below, the crisis manifested itself in an explosion of the public deficit and overall debt, which eventually culminated in an inability of the government to borrow from financial markets in 2010.

Children and Food Insecurity – a crisis for Ireland’s future

Dr Mary Flynn: The devastating economic crash in Ireland during 2008 threw the personal finances of large numbers of people into crisis.  Work opportunities all but vanished, businesses closed, people lost their jobs and many lost their homes; relationships suffered. Food poverty became a real issue for many families. Ireland is recovering from the economic crash but it will take time for this to reach all families.  Children don’t have time. From the moment of birth, they grow and develop relentlessly every day until they are roughly 18 years of age.

Debunking myths: why austerity and structural reforms have had little to do with Ireland's economic recovery

Aidan Regan: It has been a truly remarkable few years for Ireland and the European Union. In the space of five years Ireland has gone from being the basket case of the European Monetary Union to its number one success story. Economic growth is now the strongest in the Euro area, and according to the most recent data, this growth is having a real impact on employment. The dominant narrative among policymakers in the EU is that other peripheral states of the Eurozone should follow the Irish adjustment back to the market.

Housing Crisis & the Right to Housing should be a key issue in the election debate

So its election fever time! The current housing crisis should be a key topic for discussion in the election debate. Despite the economic recovery the housing crisis is in fact getting worse. Having a home (and particularly fair rent and home ownership) are issues that have defined this country from colonial times and the famine evictions to the Celtic Tiger property boom and crash that wreaked havoc to Ireland’s economy from 2008 and which continues today.

Guest Blog by Robert Watt: How Does Ireland's Public Service Compare?

Robert Watt: What evidence is there that the programme of Public Service Reform that has been pursued since 2011 is having an impact? The IPA’s annual Public Sector Trends Report provides many useful insights into this question, and the 2015 report, written by Dr Richard Boyle, is no exception.