July 29th: TASC today published two discussion papers The Role of Access to Information in Ireland's Democracy (download PDF here) and An Economic Argument for Stronger Freedom of Information Laws in Ireland (download PDF here). The papers, authored by TASC Policy Analyst Dr Nat O’Connor, form part of a project on Public Information, which will restate the case for strong laws to enforce the public’s right to know what government and public bodies are doing ...

July 26th: We are currently redeveloping the TASC website to make it more informative and user-friendly.  The work will be completed on Friday, August 6th; in the meantime, we apologise to users of this site for any inconvenience experienced.

July 20th: Speaking following a presentation by equality think-tank TASC on ‘The Minimum Wage’ to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, (presentation available for download here) TASC Director Paula Clancy said that any moves to reduce the minimum wage or JLC rates would represent what she termed a “double strike against economic recovery” ...

 

July 19th: last week's TASC Encounter featured guest interviewer Mark Mortell in conversation with Ombudsman and Information Commissioner Emily O'Reilly.  A video of the event is now available for download here. Watch this space for news of the next TASC Encounter.

July 15th: Speaking this afternoon following a presentation to the National Pensions Framework Implementation Forum, TASC Head of Policy Sinead Pentony said that, although TASC welcomed some elements of the National Pensions Framework, much work still needed to be done to ensure that workers could look forward to a secure income in retirement ...

 

July 15: "An ever-growing body of research indicates that the failure to adequately tackle mental health issues could have potentially serious economic repercussions. Studies undertaken both internationally and within Ireland have revealed the importance of ensuring states pay attention to the mental health of their populations. At the same time, there has been an increasing awareness that in order to develop an effective approach to mental health, it is simply not enough to concentrate solely on medical solutions".

 

You can read the rest of the thinkpiece by Justin Frewen and Dr Anna Datta here, and a PDF is available for download here.

July 9th 2010: The video of the Q&A session following the 2010 TASC Annual Lecture, delivered by Professor Kathleen Lynch, is now available here.  Our pic shows (l to r)  Professor John Horgan, who chaired the event, TASC Director Paula Clancy and Professor Kathleen Lynch.

June 30th: TASC today published its Submission to the Financial Regulator relating to the Regulator’s Consultation Paper on corporate governance requirements in the financial sector. Click here to download a PDF of the submission, and here to read the statement issued by TASC Director Paula Clancy.  A digital version of the Submission is available here. See below the fold for the main requirements which TASC urges the Financial Regulator to include ...

 

June 30th: TASC Encounters are a series of discussions featuring well known public figures and commentators. Our second TASC Encounter will take place on July 14th at 6.15 pm in the Royal Irish Academy (Dawson Street, Dublin 2). Emily O'Reilly will talk about her work as Ombudsman and Information Commissioner for the last seven years and will reflect on some of the issues that have arisen in areas such as accountability, freedom of information and good administration. Interviewer and chairperson for the evening will be communications consultant and Newstalk 106 presenter, Mark Mortell ...

June 28th: Click here to watch the video of Professor Kathleen Lynch delivering the 2010 TASC Annual Lecture, From a Neo-Liberal to an Egalitarian State - Imagining a Different Future.

June 18th: The 2010 TASC Annual Lecture, delivered by Professor Kathleen Lynch, is now available online.  Click here to download a PDF of 'From a Neo-Liberal to an Egalitarian State: Imagining a Different Future'.  The digital version is available here.

June 10th: Speakers at a seminar organised by TASC and the Foundation for European Progressive Studies (FEPS) today emphasised the need for an investment strategy to grow the economy, create jobs and counter the current deflationary spiral. The emphasis was on ‘investment towards fiscal consolidation’, and the speakers presented a set of complementary arguments demonstrating that the Government’s fiscal policies have failed, are failing and will continue to fail. Our pic shows (l to r) Paul Sweeney (Chair, TASC Economists' Network), Sinéad Pentony (Head of Policy, TASC), Professor Ray Kinsella (UCD), Michael Burke (economic consultant, London).  The conclusion of Professor Kinsella's paper is available here, Sinéad Pentony's paper can be downloaded here and Michael Burke's paper is available here.

June 1st: In a paper prepared for the Carnegie Trust's Commission of Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society in the UK and Ireland, Dr Jim Stewart - Senior Lecturer in Finance at TCD - argues that:

 

The banking and economic crisis has drawn attention to failures in many aspects of the current banking and financial system in Ireland. Alternative banking models such as mutually owned financial institutions can help provide part of the solution to the current crisis. One of the features of the current crisis is that most alternative banking institutions, both in Ireland and other countries, have suffered lower losses and required less state aid than publicly-quoted financial institutions. Yet in the debate on possible solutions to the banking crisis in Ireland, alternative banking models are rarely discussed.

 

The full paper is available for download here.

May 25th: "Social, cultural and economic forces have functioned to block the achievement of a full citizenship status for people with disabilities. Among the obstacles are the scattered privatisation of service provision, a related lack of transparency in how public expenditure is actually incurred and a reluctance to cede the autonomy and independent living arrangements which people with disabilities want and expect as equal citizens". Read Pauline Conroy's thinkpiece on Disability, Difference and Democracy. Some Rights and Wrongs. (also available as PDF here).

May 13th: A small number of interconnected businesspeople operated at the apex of Irish business during the boom years 2005-2007.
In a major new piece of research, Mapping the Golden Circle (digital version available here), equality think-tank TASC has revealed the extent of the network across 40 of Ireland’s top private companies and state-owned bodies in that period ...

May 5th: TASC this morning launched Failed Design?  Ireland's Finance Acts and their Role in the Crisis.  A copy of the document is available for download here (digital version available here), and the accompanying statement is available here.  Following a presentation by TASC Head of Policy Sinead Pentony and Policy Analyst Nat O'Connor, Fr Sean Healy of Social Justice Ireland gave a response to the document ...

May 3rd: The equality think tank TASC today launched A Square Deal: The Real Cost of Making a Meal in the Restaurant Sector. The research briefing tests the analysis advanced earlier this year by the Restaurant Association of Ireland, which has sought a reduction in the JLC pay scale governing workers ...

April 21st: Following last month's publication of the National Pensions Framework, yesterday saw a lively debate showcasing very different views on the future of Ireland's pension system, chaired by Pensions Ombudsman Paul Kenny.  Much of the debate focussed on the contentious issue of tax reliefs ....

April 13th: According to new research published by the TCD Pension Policy Research Group, the average annual employer pension contribution in 2008 for executive directors in large publicly quoted Irish companies amounted to nearly 46 times (€124,000 versus €2,700) more than for other covered employees ...

 

 

March 26th:  Two new thinkpieces are now available on the TASC website. A Crisis of Ethics: Moral Hazard and Banking Regulation in Ireland by Dr. Damian Tobin of the University of London addresses the issues of moral hazard, ethics and behaviour in banking regulation in terms of the recent domestic banking crisis (PDF available here).  Meanwhile, Nigel Ryan asks Why are most of the best jobs on Irish radio and TV still the preserve of men? (PFD available here).

March 16th:  It was a while in the editing, but we now have the Q&A session following the TASC Encounter between Mark Mortell and Fintan O'Toole available on video (below the fold) ...

March 8th 2009: 28 economists, social scientists and economic analysts have written an open letter, published in today’s Irish Times, arguing that the Government's economic strategy is failing, and warning that the current approach of spending cuts combined with tax increases on low and average income earners will bring about a low-growth, high-debt future ...

March 4th 2010: Issuing TASC’s response to the Pensions Framework Document launched yesterday, Head of Policy Sinéad Pentony said that the proposals provided a positive basis on which to move forward. However, she stressed that the proposed supplementary pension should be fully administered, funded and delivered through the social insurance system, rather than through the private pension sector ...

February 25th: The Royal Irish Academy was packed last night for the first in a series of TASC Encounters.  Well-known communications consultant and broadcaster Mark Mortell 'interviewed' Irish Times journalist and author Fintan O'Toole about the issues raised in Fintan's recent book, Ship of Fools. The discussion was followed by a lively Q&A session - and the debate continued over a glass of wine.  Read on below the fold to see the video - and watch this space for news of further TASC Encounters ...

 

December 3rd 2009: In its Pre-Budget Statement issued today, TASC estimated that tax breaks will cost an estimated €7.4 billion in 2009, and said that an overhaul of tax breaks could contribute significantly to the €4 billion cuts being sought by the Government in Budget 2010 ...

November 18th: Together with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, TASC today launched the Hierarchy of Earnings, Attributes and Privilege (H.E.A.P.) report, designed to present the facts about income inequality in Ireland in an accessible form. The report – which was authored by NUIG academics Professor Terrence McDonough and Jason Loughrey – comprises a poster illustrating the numbers of households at different income levels, broken down by occupational category and household type, together with an explanatory booklet (PDF available here) ...

TASCNet is a new network of people interested in working with us to help transform Ireland. If you share our vision of a more equal and democratic society, and would like to make a positive contribution to realising that vision, then 'Get Involved' by joining the TASCNet programme  ...