Latest news with #Donohoe
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Governments must act fast when the economic winds turn
The macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy have long been understood: when an economy is growing below trend, government should stimulate activity, and when full employment is reached, governments should put on the brakes. That way, governments can smooth activity in the economy, minimising shocks to consumers and business. However, the optimal economic policy often comes second to political pressures, especially in the run-up to an election. Whatever the state of the economic cycle, a politically astute government may sometimes put the fiscal brakes on early in its term, leaving more room for 'generosity' at election time. The scale of the fiscal injection into the economy in last year's budget was inappropriate, given full-employment, rapid growth and capacity constraints. It added to inflationary pressures, including in the housing market. Whether it influenced the election outcome is for political scientists to analyse. [ Tariff threat undermines State's ability to deliver economic forecasts, says Donohoe Opens in new window ] In the past there have been some notable examples where governments, rather masochistically and inappropriately, implemented very tough budgets in the run-up to an election, damaging both the economy and their political prospects. READ MORE The 1957 budget, implemented by the outgoing interparty coalition government, took about 2 per cent of national income out of the economy. As a consequence, output fell by almost 1 per cent. Coming on top of very low growth in 1955 and 1956, the miserable economic performance in 1957 saw a surge in emigration. As Patrick Honohan and Cormac O'Gráda have shown, that coalition government had tried to keep interest rates in Ireland below UK rates despite a fixed exchange rate. As a result, there was a major outflow of funds to London as savers sought higher interest rate there. Instead of understanding that the outflow was due to the unwise interest rate policy, the government concluded that the outflow of funds was due to excessive domestic demand. Hence the inappropriately tough budget. Understandably, this unwise fiscal action saw the outgoing coalition government lose the election later that year. It was 16 years before Fine Gael and Labour returned to office. They did so in 1973, despite the outgoing Fianna Fáil government having pumped a significant sum into the economy in 1972. The new government was immediately faced with the first major oil crisis. In 1974 and 1975, the government tried to insulate the population from the effects of the dramatic change in the cost of energy and in world economic circumstances by generous budgetary measures. However, in 1976, when the economy was still suffering major damage from the oil crisis, the coalition government unleashed the toughest budget of the last 70 years. The cuts in capital expenditure were particularly savage. Again, not surprisingly, that coalition government suffered a massive defeat in the 1977 election. The economy was well into recovery mode in 1977, with national income growing by over 6 per cent. However, the incoming victorious Fianna Fáil government implemented in full its wildly ambitious manifesto commitments, providing a massive stimulus at a time when the economy was already recovering. At the time, interest rates on the large borrowings to fund the giveaways were relatively low. However, the chickens came home to roost in 1979 when there was a second oil price shock. Interest rates then rose well above the rate of inflation, posing huge strain on the public finances. The result was a miserable decade of underperformance in the economy as five successive governments tried to undo the mess. The first real action to tackle the 1980s fiscal crisis was implemented in 1983 and 1984 by the then coalition government. The main instrument used to try to bring order to the public finances was tax increases, with less attention to expenditure cuts. The government took about 2 per cent of national income out of the economy in both 1983 and 1984. However, that was not enough to restore the economy to a sustainable path, and very limited further action was taken in 1985 and 1986. It was left to the incoming Fianna Fáil government to implement major cuts in expenditure in 1988 and 1989, completing the fiscal adjustment. A key lesson from the miserable economic performance of the 1980s is that it is vital to act quickly when in a fiscal crisis. Spreading the adjustment out over the course of a decade made things worse rather than easier. In the financial crisis that began in 2008-09, this lesson was learned. The really painful adjustment was completed between 2010 and 2013, resulting in a rapid and sustained recovery from 2014. While many at the time argued for a slower adjustment, it is likely that would only have prolonged the agony, as in the 1980s.
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Galway star could miss Leinster final after being handed retrospective ban
Galway goalkeeper Darach Fahy is in danger of missing next weekend's Leinster Hurling final after being handed a retrospective one-match ban. The punishment has been handed down by the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) for an incident that took place in the first-half of Galway's Leinster semi-final win over Dublin last weekend, an incident that wasn't dealt with by referee Colm Lyons at the time. Fahy's hurley made contact with the leg of Dublin star Andrew Jamieson-Murphy after the Galway goalie had handpassed the ball to a teammate. Galway GAA have been informed of the CCCC's decision and they have 24 hours to appeal against the ruling, which they are expected to do so. Fahy isn't the only player to have been handed a ban after the game, with Dublin's Conor Donohoe also being retrospectively punished by the CCCC. Donohoe was involved in an incident in the first-half, again not dealt with by the referee, that saw his hurl make contact with the neck of John Fleming as the Galway star attempted to get a shot away on goal. That one-match ban for Donohoe would see the Erin's Isle star miss Dublin's All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final clash against Kildare or Laois on the weekend of June 14/15. Like Galway, Dublin have one day to lodge an appeal against the decision.
Sunday World
5 days ago
- Business
- Sunday World
Builder who called his boss a ‘sneaky rat' wins €9k for unfair dismissal
'He lost it again and said: 'Go home and don't come back in Monday,' so I tipped up the material and went home,' David Donohoe said. A builder fired after calling his employer a 'sneaky rat' in a row on-site has won €9,000 for unfair dismissal. David Donohoe secured the award under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 on foot of a complaint against SJK Civils Ltd, where he had worked for 13 years until he was sacked in April 2024. Mr Donohoe told the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) at a hearing in January that he was sacked on the spot from the €50,000-a-year job when he got into a dispute with his employer about working hours on Friday, April 5, 2024. The complainant said he had been told to start work at 5.30am that day, an hour and a half earlier than his usual 7am, and to go to Dublin, collect building materials and bring them to a site. He said that when he arrived with the material, he was told that despite the early start, he was expected to work until his usual finishing time of 3pm rather than 1.30pm. Stock image News in 90 Seconds - May 29th He declined to do so, upon which his employer 'started giving out', he said. 'I called him a sneaky rat, that he had it all planned,' Mr Donohoe said in his evidence. 'He lost it again and said: 'Go home and don't come back in Monday,' so I tipped up the material and went home,' Mr Donohoe said. The company's director, who was not identified in the decision, maintained that Mr Donohoe had only been sent away from the site on April 5, 2024, but was not dismissed from his employment until April 19. He said that after Mr Donohoe wrote to him looking for a letter for the social welfare office to say he 'was sacked or whatever', he tried to arrange a meeting and called him to a 'capability hearing'. When Mr Donohoe failed to attend, the director wrote to him again and told him his failure to attend the meeting was 'failure to follow a reasonable management instruction' and that his job was being terminated for 'gross misconduct' during the April 5 incident. Mr Donohoe's solicitor, Frank Taaffe, argued the letters sent by the firm to his client were only 'seeking to mend the respondent's hand' by 'retrospectively applying a dismissal process after the fact of dismissal'. Adjudication officer Anne McElduff wrote that both parties 'contributed to the escalation of matters to the point of dismissal' and that it was 'regrettable' there was no attempt to enter into dialogue after that. Ms McElduff's view was that Mr Donohoe should have engaged when there were attempts to launch a formal process. However, she said the company failed to refer him to the correct company policy and set an 'unreasonably short and unfair' deadline to either attend a hearing or have non-attendance be added to the charges against him. The only option for appeal was to the company director, who had been directly involved with the incident of 5 April, she added. 'I consider the respondent has not discharged the burden of demonstrating the Complainant's dismissal was fair, reasonable or proportionate or that the process was conducted in accordance with fair procedures,' she wrote. Mr Donohoe had claimed losses of €15,977 between April and August 2024, at which point he went into business for himself, the adjudicator noted. Ms McElduff decided €9,000 was 'just and equitable in all the circumstances' and directed SJK Civils to pay Mr Donohoe that sum.
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Builder fired after calling his boss a "sneaky rat" to his face
A builder fired after calling his employer a "sneaky rat" in a row on site has won €9,000 for unfair dismissal. David Donohoe secured the award under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 on foot of a complaint against SJK Civils Ltd, where he had worked for 13 years until he was sacked in April 2024. Mr Donohoe told the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) at a hearing in January that he was sacked on the spot from the €50,000-a-year job when he got into a dispute with his employer about working hours on Friday 5 April 2024. The complainant said he had been told to start work at 5.30am that day, an hour and a half earlier than his usual 7am, and to go to Dublin, collect building materials and bring them to a site. He said that when he arrived with the material, he was told that despite the early start, he was expected to work until his usual finishing time of 3pm rather than 1.30pm. He declined to do so, upon which his employer "started giving out", he said. "I called him a sneaky rat, that he had it all planned," Mr Donohoe said in his evidence. "He lost it again and said: 'Go home and don't come back in Monday,' so I tipped up the material and went home," Mr Donohue said. The company's director, who was not identified in the decision, maintained that Mr Donohoe had only been sent away from the site on 5 April 2024 but was not dismissed from his employment until 19 April. He said that after Mr Donohoe wrote to him looking for a letter for the social welfare office to say he "was sacked or whatever", he tried to arrange a meeting and called him to a "capability hearing". When Mr Donohoe failed to attend, the director wrote to him again and told him his failure to attend the meeting was "failure to follow a reasonable management instruction" and that his job was being terminated for "gross misconduct" during the 5 April incident. Mr Donohoe's solicitor, Frank Taaffe, argued the letters sent by the firm to his client were only "seeking to mend the respondent's hand" by "retrospectively applying a dismissal process after the fact of dismissal". Adjudication officer Anne McElduff wrote that both parties "contributed to the escalation of matters to the point of dismissal" on 5 April and that it was "regrettable" there was no attempt to enter into dialogue after that. Ms McElduff's view was that Mr Donohoe should have engaged when there were attempts to launch a formal process. However, she said the company failed to refer him to the correct company policy and set an "unreasonably short and unfair" deadline to either attend a hearing or have non-attendance be added to the charges against him. The only option for appeal was to the company director, who had been directly involved with the incident of 5 April, she added. "I consider the respondent has not discharged the burden of demonstrating the Complainant's dismissal was fair, reasonable or proportionate or that the process was conducted in accordance with fair procedures," she wrote. Mr Donohue had claimed losses of €15,977 between April and August 2024, at which point he went into business for himself, the adjudicator noted. Ms McElduff decided €9,000 was "just and equitable in all the circumstances" and directed SJK Civils to pay Mr Donohoe that sum.
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Watch: Dáil suspended during Israeli bonds bill debate
The Dáil was suspended for a time tonight during a debate on a bill brought forward by Sinn Féin which seeks to prevent the Irish Central Bank dealing with Israeli bonds. They reacted after Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe detailed why the Government is opposing the Sinn Féin private members motion. "And I hope the dog can appreciate this evening that any attempts by the Government to introduce measures outside the agreed legal framework in the area pose a significant policy risk," Minister Donohoe said. In her opening comments, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said it is "shameful that the Irish State and Government would have any hand, act or part in supporting Israel's genocide". However, Minister of State Marian Harkin said "any attempt [by Ireland] to act unilaterally on matters as sensitive and complex as financial restrictions could undermine the coalition we are trying to see form at EU level". "Ireland has been painstakingly involved in helping to build this coalition, and in its context I think we have to prioritise coordinated action through the EU." The debate on the Sinn Féin private members motion has concluded, with a vote to take place tomorrow night. In his closing remarks, Sinn Fein's finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty accused the finance minister of delivering a speech which was "full of nonsense" and would come back to him. He said: "What this legislation does is it prevents our Central Bank from approving the [Israeli bond] prospectus.... It would be up to Israel to go and apply to another home country which wanted to do that." The Donegal deputy said: "We got a legal opinion from them, [Office of parliamentary legal of adviser] which said this legislation was constitutionally compliant, compliant with EU law, and according with international law." Strongly criticising the coalition for not allowing the bill go to committee stage, he appealed to other deputies: "Stand on the right side of history and support this legislation."
