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Trump set to send world economy into a nosedive
Colm McCarthy
A tariff for the EU will affect Ireland more than other EU members given the high export share, but may not be the end of the damage.
29 January 2025 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy: It is time to reconsider our energy sources
The invasion of Ukraine has also drawn attention to the dangerous reliance on imports of natural gas from Russia.
22 January 2025 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy: better prospects of climate policy shift in Europe
If Ireland cut emissions to zero it would do nothing to address the global crisis.
Colm McCarthy: Government has become an insurer of last resort
The Irish State has got into the habit of retrospectively assuming compensation risks, directly financed by the Exchequer.
15 January 2025 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy: Is it time to extend water charges?
Running the water supply and wastewater disposal system will cost the Exchequer up to €2 billion per annum if current ambitions are to be realised.
8 January 2025 Viewpoints
Heavy costs ahead to upgrade our electricity system
Additional power needs new generation units and renewables, wind farms and solar arrays being the favoured options.
1 January 2025 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy: Ireland has a mixed legacy on climate
In Ireland, the willingness to subsidise has unleashed an onslaught of lobbying for more, including demands that State subvention be made available for technologies as yet unproven.
23 December 2024 Viewpoints
Fresh assessment of data centre policy needed
The portion of electricity usage devoted to data centres has already risen to around 20%, compared to 3 or 4% in the typical European country.
11 December 2024 Viewpoints
Inheritance tax allowances and tax shelters
Inheritance taxes are unpopular, precisely because they will rarely match ability to pay, especially for farming assets.
4 December 2024 Opinion
Policy pointing in the wrong direction
The problem is the attribution of emissions in accordance with the system of the UN Convention, which allocates emissions on a territorial basis, by production.
27 November 2024 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy - will COP 29 make a difference?
Flying 20,000 people to remote Baku will have made a non-trivial contribution to carbon emissions all on its own.
20 November 2024 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy: what Trump's victory may mean for Ireland's exports
Trade access to US markets and the tax bonanza are under threat with the focus on protectionism in the recent US election.
13 November 2024 Viewpoints