When politics get down to business

Positive measures and proper regulation can foster a healthy relationship between government and business

Brendan Howlin, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and Michael Noonan, Minister for Finance, announcing the exchequer returns last December Picture: Maura Hickey

Every government has to find a balance between encouraging business and policing it. Some governments do better than others. Getting it right – or wrong – can have profound implications for the country’s economic wellbeing. Here are five key ways in which business and politics collide, with varying degrees of success.

Flying high, taxing low

One of Dublin’s plushest offices is nearing completion on the corner of St Stephen’s Green. Its new tenant ...