Budget 2013: Taking €5bn from the people to give to the banks
You could do a lot with €3.5bn – like doubling the number of teachers in our schools, or building seven state-of-the-art hospitals. You could reduce income tax by one-quarter, or bring corporation tax down. If you were feeling all Fianna Fail, you could just give €2,500 to every household in the country. But that’s not...
On George Lee’s Tax Return
On Monday November 26, I was on George Lee’s Tax Return on RTE 1. The programme saw George meeting a range of Irish families and discussing where their tax money goes and what they get in return. My contribution involved discussing how much of the national tax take is spent on the nation’s banking debt....
Farce of a Budget breeds Fear
This article was originally printed in the Sunday Independent on November 25, 2012. You can read the original version here. Or you can just read it below. Cloak and dagger farce of a Budget breeds fear In 10 days, Ministers Noonan and Howlin will walk into the Dail chamber and unveil Budget 2013. Detailing €1.25bn...
The banking crisis with Claire Byrne
I was on Saturday with Claire Byrne on November 17, talking about the banking crisis alongside Minister for State at the Department of Health Alex White, leader of the Green Party Eamon Ryan and Simon Carswell of the Irish Times. You can listen back to the slot below.
Richie Banker from Super Mario
The Mario Rosenstock Show on RTE featured some excellent satire. This sketch in particular gave me a real sense of déjà vu. Richie Banker and his appearance on Mastermind reminded me of something that happened not so long ago – this interchange between myself and Richie Boucher. I don’t think the Joint Committee on Finance,...
I know what you did last week
Below is a piece I wrote for Thejournal.ie on what I did last week when the Dáil wasn’t in session. The perception is that TDs get lots of time off. And while it’s true that there are plenty of weeks in the year when the Dáil doesn’t sit, there’s still a lot to do. You...
