The report sets out progress for the year ended March 2012.

Since we first colonized this island about 10,000 years ago, we have engaged in two huge clearances of nature. The first was the elimination of the native woodlands; we cleared our natural endowment to such an extent that only a few solitary and meager residues remain. This loss only becomes apparent when one visits countries like the US and parts of Europe, where, by a combination of wisdom, courage and good fortune, they have conserved for their posterity great swathes of what nature created for them in their National Parks and Wilderness areas.

This note explains why it is appropriate in comparing levels of public expenditure in Ireland with other countries to use the proportion of GNP in Ireland’s case.

Living is about dealing with constraints – physical, economic, social, emotional, psychological and environmental. And a successful life is about knowing which constraints are critical, which are the ones we can do something about, and acting accordingly.

Overview of the Irish benefit system and international evidence regarding the efficiency of the benefit system in terms of how well it reduces income inequality.

This paper surveys the benefit system in Ireland. It provides detail on social payments as a percentage of GDP, GNP and overall government expenditure and it compares the benefit system in Ireland to that of the UK.

“We have the most crude accounting tools. It's tragic because our accounts and our national arithmetic doesn't tell us the things that we need to know.” Susan George, American Activist.

Economics is the science of choice. The job of economists is to take away the punch bowl just when the party gets going. It's perhaps the only field where, the more they get it wrong, the more their services are in demand – perverse incentives on a grand scale.

This paper examines the continued fall in Irish house prices. The analysis suggests that house prices may have over corrected since 2010. Possible reasons for this decline are discussed.

This is Ireland's Stability Programme Update (SPU) which has been submitted to the EU Commission and which incorporates the Department of Finance spring forecasts for 2012.

This report finds that Ireland is among the OECD countries that levy a relatively low tax burden on labour income, particularly for single parents with low earnings. In 2000, the average tax wedge (income taxes plus employee and employer social security contributions minus cash transfers as a percentage of total labour costs) was below the OECD average for all family types in the Taxing Wages Report. Between 2000 and 2011, the difference compared with the OECD average widened as Ireland reduced the tax wedge considerably except for the single taxpayers with low and high earnings. Over this period, the tax wedge declined by more than 23 percentage points for single parents with low earnings; they received more in government transfers than the taxes they paid. Their tax wedge was the lowest among the OECD countries in 2011. Note: the Tax Wedge is the sum of personal income tax and employee plus employer social security contributions together with any payroll tax less cash transfers, expressed as a percentage of labour costs

Some years ago, I spent an afternoon in the control room of the Singapore Electronic Road Pricing system with Eddie Lim Sing Loong, Engineer, Electronic Road Pricing. He explained that their system works as follows: you are charged for using the road, and this charge varies depending on the road and the time of day, with the price level designed to give you a smooth and fast journey. This approach has many advantages: before you set out, you know how long your journey will take, and that traffic will flow smoothly –time and energy are saved, stress and pollution are reduced, and much of the revenue generated is recycled to finance public transport; Singapore has a state of the art mass transit system.

This note by the Department of Finance explains the out turn of 2011 general Government deficit and debt and gives forecasts for 2012.

An overview of taxation in Ireland.

A retrospective evaluation of elements of the EU VAT System.

During the boom years, the competitiveness of the Irish economy deteriorated. Recovery depends on the restoration of our competitive position. When an economy becomes uncompetitive, a standard way of addressing the problem is to devalue the currency. Ireland did this in 1986 and 1993. But as members of a currency union this option is no longer available.

Tax ratios as a percentage of GDP.

This paper compares the impact of the financial crisis on Irish households, with 23 other European countries. It finds that Irish households have lost a significant proportion of net worth compared with other countries, due to the substantial decline in house prices. Irish households have greatly increased their savings to reduce high debt levels and have decreased their personal debt levels more than any other country since 2008.

Data on public service numbers, pay and pensions.

Publicpolicy.ie's submitted proposal on how property tax might be assessed, administered, and paid.

Publicpolicy.ie made a submission to the Department of the Environment on water policy. It makes seven recommendations, including support for metering.

Speech by The Governor of the Central Bank, Professor Patrick Honohan to the Limerick Law Society in the University of Limerick.

This report provides Governments with practical advice and policy tools to pursue urgent reform in their water sectors. It examines three fundamental areas that need to be addressed: financing of the water sector; governance and institutional arrangements; and coherence between water policies and policies in place in other sectors of the economy.

When elected members of local authorities are faced with the possibility of a transformative development in their areas, they have two choices. They can initiate a process of becoming seriously informed of the technical, economic, social and environmental implications, engage on the basis of such information with key stakeholders and the general public, and then arrive at conclusions as to what the best way forward for their area is or they can grandstand with a rush to judgement.

We face serious challenges. Understanding the facts, and how the public interest is or is not served by the choices we face, is the critical first step towards protecting our economy, environment and social cohesion. And if you are looking for a place to invest, put Cavan on your short list.

Presentation to the IPA by Mr Derek Moran, Assistant Secretary, Tax Policy Unit, Department of Finance.

Study into the effects of increases in personal taxes, cuts in spending and reductions in public sector pay up to mid-2011 in Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Portugal and the UK. Key finding is that the burden of fiscal consolidation is shared differently. The scale of the adjustment in Ireland is relatively very large - at two and a half times the average adjustment in the other 5 countries and is also relatively progressive.

This is the website of the Implementation Body established in July 2010 to oversee and verify progress in implementing the provisions of the Public Service Agreement, also known as the Croke Park Agreement.

The purpose of the Organisational Review Programme (ORP) is to help organisations ensure that they are fit for purpose in terms of the challenges they face. This is the first report and makes recommendations in relation to a number of Departments. Published in Feb 2012.

A report on personal incomes based on the tax year 2009. The statistics relate to income assessed for the tax year 2009 based on tax returns processed up to May 2011. PAYE data is based on completed end-of-year returns from employers of which up to 96% were processed in time to be included. The information relating to self-employed taxpayers represents 84% of the expected total tax returns.

This is the Fourth Quarterly Review of the Memorandum of Understanding covering the period to December 2011) Created by Department of Finance. (10 February 2012)

Almost everyone agrees that the fiscal accounts of several advanced economies are in a pretty bad shape and need to be strengthened. But how rapid should the adjustment be? At times over the last couple of years, the IMF called on countries to step up the pace of adjustment when we thought they were moving too slowly. This column says that in the current environment, some might be going too fast.

The Gini Coefficient is a measure of income inequality based on data relating to households’ disposable income. A Gini Coefficient of zero indicates perfect income equality, whereas a coefficient of one indicates perfect inequality. Ireland’s Gini Coefficient (2008) was 0.293, which is below (more equal) the OECD average of 0.316. Preliminary figures for 2010 indicate a Gini coefficient of 0.34.

Details of expected tax revenue profile consistent with Budget 2012 forecast of €35,825 million. The Budget 2012 forecast for Exchequer debt servicing in 2012 is €7,407 million. Created by Department of Finance, February, 2012.

This report (Feb12) marks the first step in implementing the new surveillance procedure for the prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances in the EU. Countries that are already under increased economic surveillance (Greece, Ireland, Portugal & Romania) are not examined. Further in-depth analysis is recommended for Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Hungary, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden and the UK.

This report assesses elements of the fiscal framework proposed in the Department of Finance’s March 2011 discussion document "Reforming Ireland’s Budgetary Framework" and contains recommendations for the design of a set of fiscal rules and a permanent independent fiscal council.

Details of expected tax revenue profile of individual taxes consistent with Budget 2012 forecast of €35,825 million. Created by Department of Finance, February, 2012.

Report recommends a public utility model for the provision of water services in Ireland. The new utility would have full responsibility for the water cycle from abstraction to waste water treatment and sludge disposal.

Research (published in Dec 2011) into participation of saving for retirement among employees in Britain finds that most saving is done through occupational schemes rather than personal pensions, and that patterns of occupational participation is driven by differences in eligibility.

Investigation of the public-private wage differentials in ten euro area countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain). Notable differences emerge across countries, with Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain exhibiting higher public sector premia than other countries. Published in Dec 2011.

During the period 1975-2011, there was no increase in self-reported life satisfaction despite the secular improvement in living standards in Ireland. This paper explores how macroeconomic conditions have affected unemployment, inflation, real income as well as well-being and mental health. The overall effect of higher unemployment in this current recession is weaker then previous years. And it is having a much smaller impact on the birth rate than the recession of the early 1980’s.

This paper proposes the establishment of a statutory National Savings Fund (NSF) for supplementary pension provision. This would apply to all workers and wouldn’t differentiate between different types of economic status such as self-employed, farmers, private or public sector employees. The proposal is designed to deal with the problems in the existing system. These include the fact that pension coverage in the working population is too low with too many people likely to be dependent, either totally or in part, on the State Pension. Costs in the pension industry are too high. There is an unacceptable lack of transparency. Other problems include the reality that the funding of many pension schemes is inadequate and large public sector liabilities are unfunded. The different pension arrangements applying to people working in the public and private sectors are a source of social tension. In addition the current arrangements in respect of tax relief are in need of reform.

A module on the topic of pension coverage among workers aged 20-69 was included in the Quarterly National Household Survey in Q4 2009. This is a summary of the main findings. Pension coverage for workers aged 20-69 was 54% in the first quarter of 2008. The rate for female workers was 50% and the rate for males was 56%. Irish nationals have a significantly higher rate of pension cover than Non-Irish nationals. The highest rate of pension cover is concentrated in the public administration and defence sector where more that nine in every ten workers have a pension. The hotels and restaurants sector continued to have the lowest rate of cover as less than one in four workers had a pension.

Economic survey on Ireland by the OECD.

The aim of the National Pensions Framework is to deliver security, equity, choice and clarity for the individual. It also aims to increase pension coverage, particularly among low to middle income groups and to ensure that State support for pensions is equitable and sustainable. This document was published in Dec 2010.

A review of the Department of Finance’s policy advice and performance over the past 10 years with recommendations on how best the Department might adapt to meet the challenges of the future. Published in Dec 2010.

The analysis suggests a tax and economic growth ranking order according to which corporate taxes are the most harmful type of tax for economic growth, followed by personal income taxes and then consumption taxes, with recurrent taxes on immovable property being the least harmful tax.

Paper prepared for Tax Strategy Group on the taxation of property (2009).

Tax expenditures, also known as tax incentives or tax breaks, represent an infrequently explored and little understood area of Irish public policy. Despite this, they account for more than billion per annum in exchequer revenue forgone (2006 figures). This paper examines the tax expenditure regime in Ireland and highlights the role that tax expenditures should play in the budgetary adjustment planned for late 2010 and in other years. It looks at the nature and scale of Ireland’s tax expenditure system in national and international contexts and considers their impact, advantages, limitations and consequences. Concludes with suggested reforms.

This 2005 paper reviews the progress in public sector reform and proposes further some changes that are necessary. It highlights the need to modernise the financial accounting systems in the public sector.