Dan O’Brien | Business Post

Dan O'Brien

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Mild recession clouds gather with a low level of job losses

Most economic forecasters expect economies to stagnate next year but rates of joblessness are predicted to remain low

International Relations

Dan O’Brien: Ireland must be prepared to choose sides in the new cold war

Excessive trade and investment dependency on China poses high and escalating risks, and Irish government policy needs to change to reflect this

Dan O’Brien: Long-term prospects for tech sector couldn’t be brighter, despite this blip

We are all living more and more of our lives online so the sector will bounce back and although it’s hard for those who have lost jobs, most should find their skills in high demand, and it could lead to a new wave of start-ups

Dan O’Brien: Mass migration is one of the great challenges of population growth

The UN expects the collective population of Africa and the Middle East to double by 2060, leading to an increasing exodus to Europe – but a recession could see the population dynamics change in Ireland

Dan O’Brien: Everyone wins in the change to working from home– except the office owners

Workers are happier with less commuting, the environment benefits and employers save on costs, but owners of offices should be very afraid that the office rental sector is set to go the same way as retail

Dan O’Brien: How much is post-Brexit ‘trade destruction’ costing this country?

Twenty months of trade data since Britain left the EU indicates that so far the news for the Republic is good – but it may not be set to remain that way

Dan O’Brien: Sinn Féin should heed the cautionary tale of Britain’s budgetary blunders

The policy-induced implosion of the British economy could easily be mirrored here if the next government was to play the populist card at the expense of fiscal responsibility

Dan O’Brien: Eurobarometer offers cold comfort to Ireland’s parties in government

Irish people are, surprisingly, more downbeat than many other Europeans about the economy, and there is a danger that excessive pessimism in Ireland will amplify the slowdown, making it deeper than it need otherwise be

Dan O’Brien: Paying tax might be as inevitable as death but paying more tax is not

Even as the number of people in receipt of public pensions rises, the implications and impact of those extra costs can be addressed in a variety of ways. Look at Iceland and Australia, for example

Turbulent times: What’s in store for the world economy this winter

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an increasingly volatile energy situation and contradictory fiscal indicators mean it’s little wonder forecasters are at a loss

Dan O’Brien: Dublin and Brussels can but hope that Truss will cave on NI protocol

The British prime minister’s new Northern Secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, is a hard Brexiteer like herself – which is not a great sign for future Irish-UK relations

Dan O’Brien: Central bankers are at risk of becoming the target of popular ire

While higher short-term unemployment may be the least damaging outcome available, hearing well-paid technocrats advocate for it is unlikely to bolster support for current interest rate-setting arrangements

Dan O’Brien: If Ireland is such a ‘failed state’, then why do so many people want to live here?

Despite the popular narrative among some, over the past five years more Irish nationals have returned to live here than have emigrated, while strong employment figures suggest the economy can weather any coming storm

Dan O’Brien: We must support Ukraine for as long as it takes and not let Putin away with his tyranny

Russia’s tactics in pursuit of its imperial objectives show Putin’s ruthlessness, yet despite growing support here for joining Nato, no senior politician appears willing to lead the country towards the European mainstream on security

Dan O’Brien: Globalisation has given so much to so many despite the naysayers’ claims

Rather than creating a race to the bottom, globalisation has resulted in a race to the top, and few countries have grasped its opportunities as smartly as Ireland

Dan O’Brien: Economists are left scratching their heads as all the indicators go haywire

The modern financial system is so complex and vulnerable to global shocks and pressures that the only certainty is that there is a lot of turbulence ahead

Dan O’Brien: We shouldn’t get our hopes up about our relationship ‘reset’ with Britain

No matter who wins the leadership race, Boris Johnson’s successor is likely to tread familiar Tory terrain, from regulation to the Northern Ireland protocol

Dan O’Brien: Why banning private practice in our public hospitals is not the answer

The problem with Irish healthcare is not a lack of resources, it is that abundant resources are not used as efficiently as they should be

Dan O’Brien: We could find ourselves put over a barrel by Britain in a gas crisis

Ireland depends on Britain for the bulk of our gas supply and we must not assume that in a crunch, Boris Johnson would not hesitate to put Britain first and cut the supply to Ireland

Dan O’Brien: Census confirms that reports of the death of rural Ireland are greatly exaggerated

While the populations of other European countries are declining, Ireland is bucking the trend with every one of the 26 counties recording growth far in excess of the EU average