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Cliff Taylor

Cliff Taylor

The Irish Times

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The era of mega-budgets isn’t over. But it really should be

Normally budget kites start to flutter in the summer breeze. But over the past couple of years the kites have been flying earlier and earlier. In May...

20.04.2024 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Interest rates may be coming down. That’s not entirely good news

It looks like the European Central Bank is going to cut interest rates at its meeting in early June. This will be good news for mortgage holders,...

13.04.2024 9

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Battle lines are being drawn over the cost of Irish reunification

The dirty war over the cost of Irish unification has kicked off, after rumbling under the academic surface now for a few years. An estimate this week...

06.04.2024 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Simon Harris sizzles on social media but voters need to hear what he stands for

As Simon Harris heads for the Taoiseach’s office, all the talk is of his ability to communicate and relate to younger voters. And of how he can...

24.03.2024 30

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Trump’s first presidency was good for Ireland. We mightn’t be so lucky second time round

Brexit has cost Britain. Big time. But if Donald Trump gets into the White House, he is promising to introduce policies that will have a similar...

17.03.2024 30

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Ireland risks losing its appeal to big multinationals

Amid the turmoil of the last few years, the multinational sector has been a huge support, motoring through the Covid shutdowns and — with one or two...

10.03.2024 9

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Why it’s so difficult to buy a second-hand house in Ireland

Talk to any estate agent and you get the same story. Even in a relentlessly chirpy profession, all the talk is of the shortage of second-hand...

03.03.2024 8

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

RTÉ and the FAI are trapped in an Irish version of the nine circles of hell

Like Dante’s Inferno, Irish controversies have their circles — the familiar patterns as the protagonists get punished for different levels of...

25.02.2024 6

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

The era of throwing money around like Smarties on big projects has to stop

The most notable thing about the news on the national children’s hospital this week was not that it was going to cost another €500 million. That...

18.02.2024 9

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Cliff Taylor: The two threats to Irish competitiveness that no one is talking about

Attracting big investors to Ireland is typically framed by a discussion on skills, tax and access to the European Union marketplace. But more prosaic...

11.02.2024 7

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Northern Ireland is blowing the chance to insulate itself from the madness of Brexit

Stormont is back. But the deal announced this week between the British Government and the DUP shows that Northern Ireland remains in flux, both...

04.02.2024 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

As new home prices surge, will some buyers be left exposed?

The property market has split. The average annual increase in prices of 2.9 per cent in the Central Statistics Office data this week does not tell the...

27.01.2024 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

A perfect storm is about to engulf Ireland’s small businesses

Ireland’s small businesses and those in domestic industry have complained for years that they are the poor relation of the multinational sector in...

21.01.2024 7

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Can the comfortable classes in the public sector make the case for a better pay deal?

The headlines have not fallen in the Government’s favour as it seeks to negotiate a pay deal with public servants. Since the start of January, there...

13.01.2024 5

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Sinn Féin is right to want to lower house prices. Easier said than done

Sinn Féin is right to want house prices to fall. They are too high in Ireland in relation to incomes, pushed up in part by demand from the more...

07.01.2024 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

As 2023 drew to a close, something important happened

On December 14th, ECB president Christine Lagarde said after the European Central Bank’s governing council meeting that the bank should...

30.12.2023 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

A burning hotel in Galway has incinerated the idea that we’re immune to the culture wars

A culture war is defined by Collins Dictionary as “a conflict between two groups within a society, each of which seeks to establish the pre-eminence...

23.12.2023 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

We were promised 15-minute cities. Instead we got 90-minute commutes

The Government has gone in deep on the housing market – a key issue for the next general election campaign – with large supports for increasing...

16.12.2023 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

After several Big Mac budgets, can the Coalition really offer voters a hamburger?

This week’s corporation tax figures have set the pitch for the economic debate in advance of the next general election. Had the figures been poor,...

09.12.2023 5

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Too few gardaí on the streets? Wait until you hear about builders, medics, teachers, planners, bus drivers

Whether a shortage of gardaí on the streets during the recent riots was a contributor to the chaos that emerged is still contested territory. Senior...

02.12.2023 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

One in four at work in Ireland was not born here. Without them it would be a poorer country

On Thursday morning, the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that the Irish jobs market continued to surge ahead over the past...

26.11.2023 8

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

With economic signals flashing amber, we might be going to the polls sooner than we thought

The standard view in Government has been that, economically, the Coalition should hang on for as long as possible before calling the next general...

19.11.2023 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Ireland may yet get its €13bn from Apple - just don’t hold your breath

The 43-year story of Apple in Ireland tells a lot about the State’s long relationship with American multinationals. Ireland’s economic model has...

11.11.2023 8

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Sinn Féin will tax the rich. Is that good or bad for the economy?

As it prepares for its hoped-for leadership of government after the next general election, Sinn Féin has gradually but steadily moved many of its...

04.11.2023 70

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

And the big winners in this unpredictable housing market are? Developers … again

The Government has gone in deep into the housing market. And it is having an impact. A host of data published this week tells the story. First-time...

29.10.2023 6

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Era of ‘f**k-you’ budgeting and health overspends must end

The budgetary mess in the health service has been bubbling away for years. It follows a pattern as predictable as the changing of the seasons. Dark...

21.10.2023 7

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

The budget measure that has left squeezed renters feeling miffed

When you’ve got €14 billion to play with, you can tick a lot of boxes. The budget spread the cash widely across society – an assessment by the...

14.10.2023 5

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Our golden era in public finances is ending, but what will we have to show for it?

It felt like the week when everything started to go wrong. Corporate tax receipts wobbled — again. The ESRI is forecasting an economic slowdown. The...

08.10.2023 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Under-25s are living at home, over-45s are squeezed, and over-55s are at the Rugby World Cup

Is it a soft spot or a slowdown? As the Government prepares to deliver the budget, the signs are there that consumers are starting to reduce their...

01.10.2023 40

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

Cliff Taylor: No point handing a €200 energy credit to someone who wants to buy a luxury EV

This will be the Coalition’s most politically difficult budget. The Covid-19 budgets were the most dramatic and risky – vast sums were being...

16.09.2023 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

A branch just fell off Ireland’s magic money tree. Should we be worried?

Be careful what you believe. A month of budget spin lies ahead. And this year it will be worse than ever as the political system tries to come to...

09.09.2023 10

The Irish Times

Cliff Taylor

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