How normal was the world before Covid-19? The last decade has been anything but normal – whether viewed at national or European level, or in broader geopolitical terms. We, as a planet, face a choice between attempting to develop responses cognitively through a new dialogue, political and social, or simply marching on, brainless, based on some notion of the old normal.
While Corporation Tax has provided a buffer for the Irish economy for some years now, a significant decrease in October 2020 once again underscores the need to rethink our taxation sytem, particularly in the context of Ireland's recovery from the fall-out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Ireland, and indeed the planet, face several crises ranging from pandemic to pollution to poverty; a situation where ‘business as usual’ can mean only social and environmental catastrophe. We have reached a point where adoption of a new Social Contract is surely a necessity. All sectors of Irish society should be engaged in an ongoing Social Dialogue to decide how best to proceed” –stated Dr Seán Healy, in his opening address to Social Justice Ireland’s annual policy conference today (Wednesday, 18th November).
Social fairness and solidarity are more important than ever in the European Union if it is to meet the challenges of demographic ageing, climate change and digitalisation and deal with the aftermath of Covid-19. This is according to the latest 'Employment and Social Developments in Europe Report ‘Fairness and Solidarity in the European Social Market Economy’.
In today's article, we examine effective income tax rates for different household-types in Ireland after Budget 2021, and compare them with rates in previous years.
Social Justice Ireland welcomes progress in Budget 2021on carbon tax, and the commitment to ringfence this revenue for sustainability measures. However we are still a considerable distance from a Just Transtion and the compensation meausures in Budget 2021 are not as comprehensive as they could have been.
Budget 2021 is an opportunity for this new Government to end to policies that subsidise and encourage the extraction and use of fossil fuels. Without such a move, Ireland cannot cease to be a climate action laggard.
The National Economic Plan - to be published on Budget day - must give equal weight to environmental, social and economic considerations. Otherwise, this Government will simply repeat the mistakes of the past and many will be left behind. The National Economic Plan must be underpinned by a new social contract that treats our environment, society and economy equally
Ahead of Budget 2021, we examine some trends in effective income tax rates in Ireland over the last two decades.
On Wednesday, 18th November 2020 Social Justice Ireland held its Annual Social Policy Conference entitled A New Social Contract, A New Social Dialogue: Building a Better Future. This conference featured presentations by national and international experts as well as a panel discussion with representatives of the five pillars of Social Partnership. All presentations given on the day are contained within this book of conference proceedings.
