The Irish Economy

The Health Minister, Mary Harney has mentioned a new proposal (likely to be included in the forthcoming Budget) regarding the making of a nominal charge (50c) for every prescription. As well as providing some additional revenue to the Exchequer this would perhaps have the benefit of discouraging many freely availing of prescriptions (on the Medical Card) which they don't subsequently use. It is estimated that up to a quarter of the drugs dispensed by pharmacies in this way are wasted! However there are more serious issues that need to be addressed. A critical matter relates to the fact that the cost of drugs in Ireland is exceptionally high compared to other countries. One important contributing factor relates to the excessive mark-up enjoyed by pharmacies for dispensing drugs. In fairness this was addressed earlier in the year by the Minister leading to a tentative compromise resolution with the pharmacies in August. However the key factor has not yet been addressed which rela...

There is a great deal of unrest with much simmering anger evident in Ireland at present. The economy is in deep recession with borrowing rapidly mounting (both in the public sector and private households). Meanwhile the Government is making preparations to bring in a draconian budget which threatens to depress living standards further for those already struggling to make ends meet. How have we got ourselves into such a mess? Also what is the best way forward in such trying circumstances? On the face of it per capita income in Ireland is still very high and - indeed - well above the EU average (which - by world standards - remains a highly privileged area). Yet so many people genuinely seem to be faced here with real financial worries and potential hardship. There are indeed many possible explanations for this. Firstly, because of the highly artificial nature of the Irish economy. which is so dependent on multinational activity, official figures overstate true per capita income. Seco...