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What can Ireland teach us about worker productivity?

Dec 26, 2023
Ireland has been ranked the world's most productive country. In part, that was achieved by attracting foreign tech and pharma companies.
People walk near Google's offices in Dublin. The pricey products generated by tech companies in Ireland partially account for the country's worker productivity performance.
Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images

What should Ireland do with its budget surplus?

Oct 9, 2023
Ireland has a budget surplus of $10.9 billion, which has been driven by soaring corporate tax revenue from tech and pharmaceutical companies.
Above, a boarded-up property is pictured in Dublin. Some Irish residents see housing as a key area where a surplus in tax revenue could be put to use.
Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images

Is Ireland too economically dependent on Big Tech to regulate it properly?

Jan 31, 2023
Ireland is at loggerheads with the European Union over the best way to police American tech giants with European headquarters on Irish soil.
The influx of Big Tech companies to Ireland has helped fuel  the country's economic growth. Above, Google's offices in Dublin.
Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images

Will Biden’s plan for global tax reform hurt his beloved Ireland?

May 14, 2021
President Biden's proposal for a minimum global corporate tax rate is causing consternation in his ancestral home.
Irish enthusiasm for “the boy from Ballina" may soon begin to wane.
Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images

How Biden's roots and Riverdance play a role in Irish diplomacy

Jan 21, 2021
Around 35 million Americans say they have Irish heritage. It's a valuable social and business network.
People in Joe Biden's ancestral home of Ballina are proud of his success.
Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images

Does the Northern Ireland border stand in the way of Brexit?

Feb 8, 2019
Ireland and the EU say the border needs to remain open or paramilitary violence will resume. Brexiteers say that's nonsense.
Activists attend a demonstration by the anit-Brexit campaign group Border Communities Against Brexit in Newry, Northern Ireland, on Jan. 26.
Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images

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What it's like to live near Brexit's greatest issue

Oct 19, 2018
The Irish border has been a big problem for negotiators. For the people living there, that means a lot of uncertainty.
“It's very different to what's been portrayed in the media,” said James Johnston, director of the Ulster Farmers Mart in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. "There's free movement across the border. And I think just the general consensus, whether somebody's voted to leave or voted to remain, they're all united to keep up that freedom of movement.”
Courtesy of the BBC

What it's like to live near Brexit's greatest issue

Oct 19, 2018
The Irish border has been a big problem for negotiators. For the people living there, that means a lot of uncertainty.
“It's very different to what's been portrayed in the media,” said James Johnston, director of the Ulster Farmers Mart in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. "There's free movement across the border. And I think just the general consensus, whether somebody's voted to leave or voted to remain, they're all united to keep up that freedom of movement.”
Courtesy of the BBC

As Brexit looms, Dublin vies for financial crown

Jun 27, 2018
The Irish capital is hoping to draw in firms fleeing post-Brexit London.
The Irish tricolour flies over the General Post Office in Dublin.
Charles McQuillan/Getty Images