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Dublin Bus: Funding and Financial Performance

Paul Redmond — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:40:59 +0000

Overview This note examines the funding of state provided bus travel in Dublin and the financial performance of Dublin Bus from 2003 to 2011. Dublin Bus is under continuing pressure to reduce costs as a result of declining passenger revenue and a reduction in subvention. Payroll related costs are the largest single operating cost incurred [...]

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Implementing EU Directives: How to Avoid Costly Failures

Yvonne Scannell — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:20:03 +0000

Key Point Failure to implement EU Directives correctly and in time leads to significant costs. The most recent illustration of this is the Waterford Crystal pensions case. We need to put a process in place to ensure that the transposition of Directives is done competently and in time. Introduction The former workers in Waterford Crystal [...]

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Evidence on the Incentive to Work

Greame O'Meara — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:00:11 +0000

Introduction This note assesses recent evidence on the incentive to work. It discusses the measures by which economists gauge work incentives and outlines the results of various empirical studies. Despite a relatively generous welfare net and the costs associated with working, most of the evidence suggests that the majority of unemployed people would be better [...]

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Ireland’s Current Fiscal Profile

Darragh O'Neill — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:15:13 +0000

Introduction This note sets out the key facts in relation to the current Irish fiscal position as at May 2013. Total Government Revenue in 2012 was €41.8bn compared with Total Expenditure of €56.6bn leaving an Exchequer Balance of €14.9bn. The Underlying General Government Deficit (GGD) was €12.5bn or an estimated 7.6% of GDP according to [...]

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Domestic Water Charges in Europe

Niall Conroy — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:29:04 +0000

Introduction This note sets out data on the level of domestic water charges in Europe. Pricing Water in Europe Given the variety of pricing structures in place across Europe, it is difficult to get a good uniform measure of water pricing. Any approach to compare water pricing is going to be imperfect given the variety [...]

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Getting Water Metering Right

Frank Convery — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:38:35 +0000

Some years ago, I spent an afternoon in the control room of the Singapore Electronic Road Pricing system with Eddie Lim Sing Loong, Engineer, Electronic Road Pricing. He explained that their system works as follows: you are charged for using the road, and this charge varies depending on the road and the time of day, [...]

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The Reinhart and Rogoff Debate: Implications for Ireland

Cormac O'Sullivan — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:21:00 +0000

How much debt is too much?

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An Assessment of the Draft Public Service Pay Agreement

Donal DeBuitleir — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:53:13 +0000

Key Point The gap between current Government spending and revenue as measured by the General Government Deficit in 2012 was over €13 billion (8.2% of GDP). We are committed to reducing this deficit under the EU Excessive Deficit Procedure to below 3% by 2015. The pay and pensions bill accounts for 35% of Government spending. [...]

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The Minimum Wage in Ireland

Patrick Deshpande — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:14:57 +0000

Introduction The Minimum Wage was introduced in Ireland by the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 . It states an hourly wage above and equal to which employers must pay employees. Since July 2011, the Minimum Wage guarantees an hourly wage of €8.65 to adult employees over the eighteen with at least two years previous employment [...]

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The Local Property Tax

Jessica Worth — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 09:13:33 +0000

Introduction This report examines the Local Property Tax which comes into effect on the 1st of July 2013. It looks into the background to property taxation in Ireland and assesses why the introduction of such a tax is necessary at present. The report also explains the disposition of The Local Property Tax; how it is [...]

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