The worst fears of the business owners and the tens of thousands of people they employed in cafes and the pubs and restaurants and retailers were realised as the shutters came down 10 days ago.

The idea of restructuring an economy with the aim of developing a more environmentally-friendly society isn't new, but is doable in Ireland, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

Research throws light on how other countries managed the transition of their declining energy industries to meet climate change targets, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

The Government has denied the economy is on the "cusp of overheating" despite a financial think-tank warning Brexit and other challenges could bring Irish growth to a shuddering halt.

There is a warning the economy is close to overheating.

An Ireland worth working for is not only the title of a new book, but part of the question we ought to be debating right now. What sort of Ireland do we want and how do we achieve it?

Time to revisit the notion of ‘Tax Freedom Day’, writes Tom Healy.

There is an urgent need for the Government to take on a greater role in the provision of affordable homes, according to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Most individual wage earners in Ireland would not meet the criteria to apply for a mortgage for a one-bed apartment anywhere in Dublin, while a full-time minimum wage earner would have “little chance” of getting a mortgage for the same type of property in Cork, Galway, or Limerick cities.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is urging unions in the private sector to seek a minimum pay increase of 3.1% and compensation for what it termed the “excessive costs” of housing, childcare and pensions.

A skills shortage could threaten economic growth in the Republic and the North, two think-tanks have warned.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions is urging the government to act urgently to address the problem of "precarious" work.

People on zero-hour contracts or similar work situations are so financially precarious some are avoiding going to the doctor or delaying having children.

Hard investment is needed to equip Ireland for the future, writes Tom Healy.

With just over a fortnight to go an annual piece of Dáil theatre is already taking shape. Budget day used to be shrouded in secrecy; not any longer. 

The case for cutting taxes is “extremely weak”, an economic think-tank has said —while two groups have called for fuel taxes to be lowered in this year’s budget.

We now have a new Taoiseach and a new top team in place in the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

The economy could grow by as much as an “above trend” 4.4% this year, one economic think-tank has said.

The number of people in insecure, temporary, low-paid work has “skyrocketed” over the last 10 years, a trade union economic think-tank has found.

An economic think-tank has urged the Government to ditch its ‘Rebuilding Ireland’ plan in favour of a new housing model centred on a commercial semi-state utility system.

The director of the Nevin Economic Research Institute has pointed to three “fatal flaws” in the Government’s approach to solving the housing crisis and warns the problem “may very well get worse before it gets better”.

Almost half of employees are dissatisfied with their salaries, despite getting a pay increase, it has emerged.

Unions have demanded that private sector workers receive a €1,000 pay hike next year.

Another economic think-tank has called on the Government to hold off on tax cuts in next month’s budget; saying the current fiscal space is too tight.

A trade union economic think-tank is seeking to “slay” four myths around the current tax system — concluding that we are a low-tax country in which high earners do not pay more tax than average by international comparison.

As a country, we have been for a long time — and still are — extremely attractive to foreign direct investment (FDI).

An economic think tank has claimed there is no compelling evidence to show Ireland spends too much on healthcare and contends that more needs to be spent, albeit more effectively.

Nominal wage increases of between 3% and 4% per year are “not unreasonable” in the medium term, a think-tank has claimed.

A leading economist has expressed concern at the “dangerously high” level of personal debt being carried by the Irish public, with almost a doubling since 2001.

THOSE who fought the long-ago battles for women’s equality hardly imagined that huge numbers of their sisters would end up with two jobs — their paid and demanding job and the equally, if not more so, demanding one they face when they go home after a day in the hospital, office, shop or classroom.

Almost one in three female employees is low paid, with those women earning, on average, more than €2 less than the €11.45 figure set as the threshold for low pay.

The environment minister who set up Irish Water and warned non-payers their service would be cut “to a trickle” has refused to say whether the utility should be scrapped.

Middle-income earners could see their Irish Water bills hiked to over €350 if imminent government formation talks result in new subsidies for vulnerable people.

The Government has been urged to scrap plans to cut taxes in next month’s Budget, with one economic think-tank saying it risks widening the gap between rich and poor.

An economic think-tank has sought to challenge the perception that social welfare rates are “generous” when measured against the remuneration the person would receive if they chose to work.

The Government should use the improving economic situation to bolster investment in capital infrastructure — but ensure it avoids the “speculative” investment mistakes of the past, an economist has said.

The Nevin Economic Research Institute has warned of the potential for low pay in certain sectors of the economy to become “embedded” and a permanent feature of some individuals within the labour market.

Ministers must know the game is up and that the ruling by Eurostat has completely removed the rationale for Irish Water and water charges, writes Michael Taft.

Eurozone finance ministers have returned to Brussels for a fifth attempt to agree a Greek deal as its government teeters on the brink.