John Walsh | Business Post

John Walsh

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John Walsh: The pensions time bomb will be as societally disruptive as the housing crisis

The government must start planning now to ensure that the state has the fiscal resources it will need to meet the future demands of the population

John Walsh: The centre-left needs an economic vision to match its political rhetoric

Getting into government will be one thing for parties like the Social Democrats and Sinn Féin - making a success of it will be quite another, as the fate of Nicola Sturgeon shows

John Walsh: The curious case of the Irish banks and the non-rising mortgage interest rates

It is worth considering why the domestic banks have chosen not to increase rates at the same pace as some non-bank lenders

John Walsh: To solve the housing crisis, we need realistic conversations on funding

Until we figure out who exactly will fund the construction of the thousands of homes we desperately need, we are going nowhere

John Walsh: DUP and Sinn Féin need to shift positions on any border poll

The unionist community need to accept that a united Ireland is a legitimate aspiration, but Sinn Féin needs to stop putting a border poll front and centre of its agenda

John Walsh: Ireland should look to Germany when it comes to integrating migrants into the workforce

A large and sudden influx of refugees does not have to undermine the social fabric of a country, as recent German experience shows us

John Walsh: Increasing property tax could do a lot more for the state’s coffers than a wealth levy

People can move assets to other jurisdictions to avoid a wealth tax, a problem that would not be there with a revised property tax

John Walsh: HSE failures show why Ireland should not throw endless money at housing

If it is not viable to build houses when prices have never been higher, at what point does it become viable?

John Walsh: A lack of political leadership means business must lead the way on climate change

Political parties take climate change seriously – until difficult decisions have to be made, or an electorally important cohort has to be appeased

John Walsh: Will the recent change of tone in financial services regulation lead to growth for the sector?

The real test of the relationship between the industry and the Central Bank will be the introduction of the bank’s senior executive accountability regime (SEAR) later this year

John Walsh: A constant civil service ensures ongoing viability of the state

The ‘permanent government’ should be reviewed and reformed where necessary – but if it is undermined, the consequences will be momentous

John Walsh: How Ireland thrived and Britain stumbled under EU membership

Ireland’s economic success is often attributed to the corporate tax rate, but membership of the EU single market has been just as important a factor

Against darkening global skies, the Irish economy has surpassed all expectations

An exchequer surplus of €12.1 billion was recorded in the year to end-November, but it would be reckless to assume this economic resilience will continue regardless of the challenges ahead – and there are unsettling echoes of 2007

John Walsh: Coalition parties face existential crisis as Sinn Féin gathers strength

With no discernible ideology, the attraction of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to voters lies largely in not being Sinn Féin – but will the national question save their alliance?

Northern Ireland

John Walsh: Seismic shifts in UK politics are likely to affect the direction of Irish unity

With our nearest neighbour sliding into existential crisis and tensions rising between the home nations, it’s impossible to predict what a united Ireland would look like

Industrial Relations

John Walsh: Beware of throwing the baby out with the bathwater as unions get Musk-effect boost

It looked like private sector unions were going the way of the dinosaur, but recent brutal redundancies in the tech sector are encouraging trade union membership while the Covid pandemic has tilted the balance of power firmly in favour of workers

John Walsh: Housing crisis is poised to deepen as supply of funding is increasingly constrained

With public sector debt at €240 billion, private sector funding limited, developers facing eroding profits and institutional investment on the wane, where is the money for building new homes going to come from?

John Walsh: With a downturn on the way, the government must focus on the things it can control

There’s not much Ireland can do about the growing list of threats to the corporate tax that we rely so heavily upon, but the government can try to avoid the mistakes of the past and keep a tight rein on spending

John Walsh: We need to reconsider the Berlin/Boston dichotomy as Irish America begins to wane

The Biden administration could be the last White House so well disposed to Irish interests and it is time to acknowledge that our future lies in being a fully paid-up member of the EU

John Walsh: It’s time Irish businesses got as much support as the FDI sector

With government spending increasing and our heavy reliance on corporate tax receipts, Ireland could be left exposed if a resurgent US Republican party were to follow through on Trump’s pledge to repatriate jobs from American firms operating abroad