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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on the State's new investment plans: the work is only starting
The Government's plan to invest more to address the infrastructure deficits in the Irish economy is a move in the right direction. Shortfalls in housing, water, energy and transport are not only crippling competitiveness but affecting people's daily lives. The Government is correct to push ahead with its planning, despite the international uncertainty. A growing economy and a rising population have left recent administrations running to catch up. International investors have been increasingly outspoken about Ireland's infrastructural shortfalls. All of this needs to be addressed. And Taoiseach Micheál Martin is correct when he says that State investment spending must be protected no matter what. However, the plans published yesterday raise of number of important questions. The lack of any detail of the projects to be included in the plan is somewhat puzzling. Everyone knew in the final period of the last government and the opening months of this one that the review was due. So why has no list of projects been completed? Because of this, as Prof Alan Barrett of the Economic and Social Research Institute pointed out, we do not have any of the essential detail on how the projects all fit together. READ MORE There are, of course, a significant number of projects which we do know about and which will be funded by the money now being put aside. The focus on vital areas such as water, wastewater and energy is important. But with last-minute rows over housing in particular, it is unclear that the Government yet has a convincing plan in this key area. An updated housing plan, due in the autumn, needs to give a clear view . The Government is also – belatedly – looking seriously at the blockages and delays to project planning. This is welcome but long overdue. These issues have been hiding in plain sight in recent years, leading to extraordinary delays and additional costs in projects large and small. Too much time was lost here by the last government. This one needs to get serious on the issue of the delivery. This will be uncomfortable politically and it remains to be seen if the Government has the stomach for the necessary fights. The scale of the investment commitments being made are significant. And paying for it will use a lot of the leeway in the national finances and also the cash put aside from the Apple tax payment and the sale of AIB shares. This means a higher level of risk. To create the required leeway in the national finances – and ensure yet more cash is not pumped into the economy – the increased investment spending must be combined with much tighter control of day-to-day spending. This is the trade off. If this does not happen, then the scale of the financial risks facing the State will increase yet further. And they are already high enough.
Irish Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Donald Trump's latest threat on pharma tariffs raises big questions for Ireland
Donald Trump has made so many threats of tariffs that it is hard to know what to take seriously. But his latest outburst on the pharma sector will have been very uncomfortable news in Dublin, for a few key reasons. The first is that while it may not be wise to take too literally the Trump threat of a " very high" tariff of up to 200 per cent being imposed on the sector in a year to 18 months, it is nonetheless a statement of an intended direction. And it comes after the administration has undertaken a review of the pharma sector and where it produces and pays its taxes. The message emerging from this is clear – Trump wants more pharma production for the US market to be undertaken in the US itself. His way of going about it is economically risky and damaging for the US too. For the sector, relocating production in a year to 18 months would be, in most cases, simply impossible and in many cases producing in the US would push up costs significantly compared, for example, with countries such as India. American consumers would be hit. Nonetheless, pharma remains firmly in Trump's sights and Ireland is a big part of this story, as the location from which a host of big US players send products back home. For the Irish economy, the big pharma players are not just a key source of jobs – for about 70,000 largely skilled staff – they also, together with tech, underpin the massive growth of corporate tax here in recent years. READ MORE Some 40 per cent of the exports from the Irish pharma sector goes to the US. Trump says he wants these drugs and key ingredients made at home, both for economic and national security reasons, though it remains to be seen how the 'doability' of this is framed in the report from his administration, which has yet to see the light of day. The powerful pharma sector will also have a say in how this all plays out – Trump will not be able to simply dictate what happens. This threat raises questions for the EU in its trade talks with the US. Does it accept a wider high-level agreement on tariffs in general, while still leaving this threat hanging over pharma – and possibly semiconductors too? Trump has isolated these two sectors for special treatment and threatened tariffs on a different legal basis. The US may want to do a general deal and come back to these sectors later, as Trump has now indicated. We will have to see how this plays out. But Ireland is the country most exposed on pharma and other member states have other concerns – such as Germany and its car sector, for example. So there are risks here for Ireland and diplomatic questions, too. It would not, as one observer put it last night, look good for the Government if the EU pushes ahead with a tariff deal without having some comfort for Ireland on pharma. Ireland's Brussels diplomats face a busy few weeks. Like other member states, Ireland also faces risks from Trump's general approach to tariffs. The food and drink sector is already being hit and the EU efforts to avoid further tariffs of up to 50 per cent – as threatened by Trump – have been supported by Dublin. But now things look a bit more complicated. The economic risks from pharma tariffs are both short term and long term. In the short term, a gradual build-up of tariffs on imports to the US – if that is what Trump intends – would encourage big pharma firms to change their pricing arrangements and import products into the US from overseas production locations such as Ireland at a lower price. In turn this would mean lower profits declared in Ireland and less tax paid here. [ Irish economy faces serious risks if EU-US trade deal not reached in next 48 hours, Chambers says Opens in new window ] Over the longer term the fear is of a drift away of investment from Ireland. We would hope that pharma companies would continue to invest here to produce for other markets, but Trump is intent on making exporting back to the US much more difficult. Trump's 200 per cent tariff threat may be just the latest top-of-the-head notion. But it does show his intent to find a way to pressure the sector and this poses dangers for Ireland.
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Irish house prices continue to rise and pharma's tariff options
Irish house prices continue rise despite the negative sentiment about Donald Trump's tariffs and what impact it might have on the Irish economy. owned by The Irish Times, said asking prices nationally rose by more than 7 per cent annually in the second quarter while the Dublin increase was above 5 per cent. Barry O'Halloran reports. Barry also has the details of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission's letter to the motor industry, warning it intends to crack down on attempts to stop drivers from using independent garages for repairs. Dealers could face fines of up to €50 million for breaches of competition law. It has long been conventional wisdom that a boss who is prepared to reveal fear, uncertainty or some other form of uselessness is in luck, writes Pilita Clark. It's thought they will be more trusted and respected, especially by younger staff who are said to yearn for 'authenticity', and are therefore more valuable to an organisation. There is a strong logic for US pharma companies to continue making drugs in Ireland for non-US markets, writes our columnist John FitzGerald, as he explores the potential impact of Donald Trump's threatened tariffs on the sector here. READ MORE In our Q&A, a reader wonders if Prize Bonds are a good investment. Dominic Coyle offers a view. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers. In Me & My Money, author Eimear McBride explains how her 'pension plan is to die before I'm no longer able to earn'. She spoke with Tony Clayton-Lea. The Changing Times Brewery, which was founded by the families behind some of Dublin's best-known pubs , is expanding the number of premises serving its beers and moving outside the capital for the first time. Colin Gleeson has the details. In a wide-ranging interview, EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou talks to Mark Hennessy about his new North-South awards aimed at fostering cross-Border entrepreneurship, his Irish family members, and his relationship with Ryanair's Michael O'Leary. Tesco plans to add 400 new jobs here as part of a €40 million investment to expand its operations with the opening of 10 new stores over the next 12 months. Barry O'Halloran has the details. In our Opinion piece, Bank of Ireland executive Susan Russell says the EU could crack down on fake digital ads by forcing online platforms to ensure they are dealing with a reputable entity, especially as they earn income from these scam ads. BP's woes persist in spite of talk of a takeover by Shell , which the company has denied. Stocktake offers a view.
Irish Times
06-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Three positive metrics point to health of economy
It might be the calm before the storm, but the Irish economy remains on a positive growth trajectory despite the global uncertainty. This week, we got three bits of data testifying to the health of the economy. First, the IDA's half-year results pointed to an increased flow of multinational investment into Ireland in the first half of 2025. The agency said it supported 179 investments in the six months to June with the potential to create more than 10,000 jobs, up 37 per cent on the same period last year. READ MORE This was followed on Thursday by the latest exchequer returns for June, detailing another spike in corporation tax. There had been concern that we might see a downturn in receipts from the business tax given the faltering global environment but, in the end, corporate tax generated €7.4 billion last month, which was €1.5 billion or 25 per cent up on the same month last year. June is the second most important month of the year for corporate tax – behind November – accounting for 20 per cent of full-year receipts. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe cautioned about the inherent volatility of the tax, while noting the Government was likely to generate another big budget surplus this year. And then on Friday we got figures from Dublin Airport operator DAA indicating the capital's airport had experienced its busiest-ever June with more than 3.5 million passengers travelling through the hub. It said it would have to turn away four million passengers this year if it is to comply with the cap, which was imposed by An Bord Pleanála in 2007. Ahead of next week's EU-US trade talks deadline and the potential escalation of tariffs between Brussels and Washington, the Irish economy is purring. Unemployment is anchored near a historic low of 4 per cent. All this might yet change, particularly if Trump goes after the pharma sector but, for now, that remains outside the tariff net. How a 10 per cent blanket tariff on EU exports to the US and possibly worse for German car exports, which appears to be landing point for negotiations at this stage, will play out is something of an unknown.
Irish Times
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on long school holidays: a relic of another time
Schools in Ireland enjoy some of the longest summer holidays in Europe and elsewhere. The three-month break for secondary school students – and the two-month shutdown of primary schools, beginning this week – is a hangover from a time when agriculture was the dominant economic activity and children were needed to help work family farms. Agriculture now accounts for little more than 1 per cent of the Irish economy and the use of child labour is tightly regulated. Thus it is reasonable at this point to postulate that long school holidays are an anachronism out of step with the needs of modern Irish society. Much of the increase in productivity that underpinned economic progress in recent decades is linked to an increase in the number of women in the workforce. Female participation – at 61.4 per cent – is now at its highest since records began in 1998. Despite a marginal shift towards a more even distribution of parental responsibilities over the period, women remain the primary caregivers in the majority of domestic arrangements and the bulk of the responsibility for caring for children during the school holidays falls to them. READ MORE It is not hard to make the argument that the current regime limits economic growth and that shorter school holidays could further enhance female participation and bolster productivity. The counter-argument is that if a system is not broken then it does not need fixing. Irish school students consistently score above the average in EU and OECD surveys of academic achievement. This is of course only one measure of the effectiveness of the current system. It does not follow that spreading teaching hours – which are amongst the highest in the OECD – over a longer period would be detrimental. Likewise, it is wrong to assume that teachers are opposed to shorter days and longer school years. In truth the debate about school holidays is not an economic or pedagogical one. It is about the growing disconnect between the way the school year is structured and how we live our lives.
