Public finances benefitting from young population
A new report - 'Boston or Berlin? How does Ireland's tax and spending compare?' - states that Ireland looks like a low tax, low spend country relative to other high-income European countries.
But it says this is mainly due to Ireland's "relatively young population and strong economic growth".
A younger population means the government currently spends less on pensions and healthcare than it otherwise would.
It says that as Ireland's population ages, spending in these areas is expected to rise.
This demographic shift will gradually bring Ireland's government spending more in line with levels seen in other European countries.
One area it highlights where Ireland is already a relatively high spender is healthcare.
It says that as the population ages, this is likely to rise further, which would make Ireland even more of an outlier.
The report states that Ireland collects a lower level of government revenue than most other high-income European countries.
"This mostly driven by social insurance paid both by employees and employers," explained Niall Conroy, author of the report.
"When exceptional corporation tax is excluded, government revenue in Ireland is €4,700 per person lower than the European average," he added.
At the same time, Ireland collects a high level of corporation tax.
This is partly because many highly profitable multinational companies have a strong presence in Ireland.
In conclusion the report notes that recently introduced savings funds are a step in the right direction, but won't cover all future spending pressures and additional revenue will need to be raised or spending reallocated.
It advises the more the government sets aside today, the smaller the fiscal adjustments required in the decades to come.
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Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
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It was therefore dangerous, Zelenskyy said, for Ukraine to be forced by the US into accepting Russia's demand to take over the parts of Donbas it does not control after the Alaska summit. The region sought by Russia amounted to 'about 90,000 square kilometres' of the country, he said. Last week Russia indicated it was prepared to consider a ceasefire in the Ukraine war for the first time, in exchange for Ukraine withdrawing from the parts of Donbas it still controlled. Donald Trump recently suggested both countries should swap territories. File picture: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Though Trump then suggested that Russia and Ukraine could engage in some 'swapping of territories', Zelenskyy said he understood that Russia was 'simply offering not to advance further, not to withdraw from anywhere' and that swaps were not on the table. 'We will not leave Donbas. We cannot do it,' Zelenskyy said. 'For Russians, Donbas is a springboard for a future new offensive.' 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But he said he hoped it would be followed by 'a trilateral meeting' with Trump and Putin, though the Russian leader has so far said he is not willing to meet Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian leader also expressed faith in the unpredictable Trump, who he said could act as an honest broker between himself and Putin. 'I do not believe that Putin's proposal is Trump's proposal,' he said. 'I believe that Trump represents the United States of America. He is acting as a mediator – he is in the middle, not on Russia's side. Let him not be on our side but in the middle.' He said he did not know what exactly Putin and Trump were going to discuss in Alaska, saying 'probably there is a bilateral track' of talks about other topics of mutual interest, such as trade, sanctions and business. But he said Putin had scored a diplomatic win in securing the meeting: 'He is seeking, excuse me, photographs. He needs a photo of his meeting with President Trump.' 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Irish Examiner
7 hours ago
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Arrival of new and unknown candidate in presidential election injects some life into dull race
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