Ed Walsh in SBP

[bungaloid]

Superb article by founder of University of Limerick on Ireland’s failing competitive position. The culprits:

Linking wage talks to inflation is the irrational formula that helped bring Ireland to its knees in the 1980s

Professional service fees are particularly high in Ireland. Legal fees in Dublin… exceed those of London or Boston. There is good reason to pursue this matter and identify how professional services can be freed of restrictive practices and fully exposed to market forces.

In seven years Ireland electricity prices have moved from being average to being, with Italy, the most expensive in the EU-15. Ireland’s energy white paper makes a major - and apparently quite admirable - committment to renewables, buy pays scant attention to the resultant cost and competiveness implications…Having the highest electricity prices in Europe is not helpful when attempting to attract foreign investment, but it is even worse if one is lumbered with a government policy that will inevitably make the situation worse rather than better…

First time the latter issue has been identified in the mainstream media. It was discussed on the pin here: thepropertypin.com/viewtopic … t=kamikaze