This afternoon.
Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
The launch of the Dublin Theatre festival 2016 [September 29-October 16] programme
From top: Dublin Theatre festival director Willie White, Cathy Belton, cast member of the Druid’s production of Helen and I by Meadhbh McHugh at the Civic Theatre,in Tallaght; and PJ Gallagher, a member of the cast of Una McKevitt’s Alien Documentary running at Project Arts Centre..
Full programme details here
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Wednesday July 27: Playlist for Pieta: Ham Sandwich, The Young Folk, Sinead White @ Whelan’s, Camden Street, Dublin 2 (€20/€25)
Nialler9 writes:
A mid-week charity fundraiser and 10th anniversary for Pieta House featuring a load of prominent Irish musicians including Ham Sandwich (above), Hudson Taylor, The Young Folk, Roisin O, Elephant, Sinead White aka White Mice, Roisin El Cherif and Galia Arid playing until 1am. All proceeds go directly to Pieta House, the centre for the prevention of self-harm and suicide.
Splutter!
Buckfastmonkey writes:
Spotted in Dundalk [Co Louth[; Asian supermarket run by racists?.
This afternoon.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny meets British Prime Minister Theresa May at 10, Downing Street in London.
Carpet slippers?
Taoiseach becomes first foreign leader to visit Theresa May (Irish Times)
Update:
We both recognised that Ireland is the only EU Member State that shares a land border with the UK. We are in agreement that we don’t wish to see any return to the borders of the past on the island of Ireland.
Today’s meeting also gave us the opportunity to have a broader discussion on the common issues of concern in the context of the referendum result such as our close trading relationship and the benefits of the Common Travel Area.
For our part, we have already made very clear our view Ireland is very much committed to staying in the EU. We want the upcoming negotiation process to end with a prosperous and outward-looking UK which retains a close relationship with the EU. This is in all of our interests.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny this afternoon.
Statement by Taoiseach Enda Kenny following Meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May (Merrion Street)
Yikes.
Alan O’Regan writes:
“A Facebook suggested post. Stalk much?”
David Burns, of the UCD Students’ Union, writes:
UCD Students’ Union, TCD Students’ Union and Daft.ie are working together to create more student-specific bed spaces in Dublin ahead of the 2016/17 academic year.
The campaign idea is simple: encourage Dublin homeowners [or tenants who have permission to sublet] to let out spare rooms as digs to students by advertising the available tax incentives. Under Irish law, homeowners don’t have to pay tax on rental income earned from digs unless it exceeds a yearly cap of €12,000.
TCD, UCD and Daft.ie are promoting this information with geo-targeted adverts online which will be featured on DoneDeal.ie, Adverts.ie as well as a joint social media campaign.
The project is valued at €8,000 and features blog post testimonials of positive experiences.
Get tax-free rent for student digs (Daft.ie)
Hmmm.
Maeve Heslin writes:
I understand you don’t normally do this but my bike was stolen on Sunday It was locked across the road from Cineworld on Parnell Street [Dublin 1], nicked between 7.30pm and 9pm. It’s a white ladies Popal (as above), And (morto) I had lots of pink flower stickers on it, which I think would be hard to remove. It has a blue basket, but that may be gone by now…
Anyone?
Meanwhile…
John Gallen writes:
I know you don’t normally do this, but I found this earlier….. just off Mountjoy Street [Dublin 1]…
From top: Ministers Richard Bruton, Leo Varadkar, Charlie Flanagan and Simon Harris at the annual National Day of Commemoration Ceremony; Michael Taft
Minister for Social protection Leo Varadkar’s hope to increase unemployment benefits and reduce uncertainty for people losing their jobs is a small step in the right direction.
Michael Taft writers:
The Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar, has been floating some ideas. The latest one concerns increased unemployment benefits – along the lines of basic European practice (sort of).
His idea is that workers who become unemployed would receive €215 per week for the first three months; €200 for the second three months; after that, they would receive the current basic rate of €188 per week.
Though this is quite modest it is certainly heading in the right direction. This is about the economics of social security and what is called in the literature ‘uncertainty avoidance’. For people losing their jobs, they are liable to a sudden drop in their income which puts pressure on their living standards.
The economy suffers because of their reduced purchasing power. And this skewers the labour market as many people grab the first job they can regardless of the skill match – thus leading to less than optimal results.
Other European countries get over these problems by providing pay-related unemployment benefit. In its simplest terms, a worker receives a percentage of their previous wage for a set period of time – before falling back to a basic, usually means-tests, payment. This protects living standards, maintains demand, and facilitates optimal job-hunting.
The pay-related benefit can be quite substantial.
Ireland is not the lowest (the UK is, but Council Tax Benefit makes up on average more than twice the level of unemployment benefit) but it is well behind all other EU countries in our peer group. The Minister’s proposal would close some of the gap.
However, there is one big difference with the continental model. The Minister’s proposal is still a flat-rate. In other EU countries, the payment is linked to the previous wage; the higher the wage, the higher benefit. For instance, in Austria, the weekly benefit of €259 is for someone previously on €36,000 (the Irish average wage).
However, for an Austrian previously on €50,000 pay, unemployment benefit would rise to €335. This Minister’s proposal wouldn’t do that.
Also, the length of the payment is minimal compared to other countries where the pay-related benefit can last a year or longer.
The Minister has claimed his proposal would cost approximately €35 million. That is fairly minor cost. We should aim for a fully-blown pay-related payment with a high replacement ratio (unemployment benefit as a percentage of the previous gross wage) that lasts a year. There would be a threshold above which the payment would be frozen. And the payment would last a year.
Take the example of an employee who loses their job. She was earning €30,000. She will now receive 50 percent of her previous wage – €15,000. She will receive this for a year. If she is still unemployed after a year, her benefit will run out and she will switch to Jobseekers’ Allowance (a means-tested payment).
It is difficult to estimate the cost as we don’t have data on duration and previous income. In any event it would be phased in over three years or so.
But a back-of-the-envelope job – based on trebling the increase in the Minister’s proposals and doubling the length of time – would suggest a cost of €200 million (though it could be less depending on the income range of new entrants on to benefit and how long they stay on benefit).
This could be paid for – as it is on the continent – by an enhanced employers’ social insurance (Irish employers’ social insurance is one of the lowest in the EU; it would have to more than double to reach the European average). A fractional 0.25 percent increase would pay for the enhanced benefit – hardly onerous.
But there is benefit for business as well – the increased benefit would result in higher consumer spending. And the Government would benefit from the increased tax revenue – both income tax (unemployment benefit is taxable) and indirect taxes.
And for people the benefit is obvious: when they suffer the loss of employment, at least their income will be maintained for a period while they get back on their feet.
Let’s hope the Minister continues floating these kinds of ideas. Here’s a few more he may wish to let glide:
Pay-related sickness benefit
Pay-related maternity and paternity benefit
Pay-related validity pension and occupational injuries benefit
And, ultimately, a pay-related old age pension
We may yet join the rest of Europe in providing a modern social protection system.
Michael Taft is Research Officer with Unite the Union. His column appears here every Tuesday. He is author of the political economy blog, Unite’s Notes on the Front. Follow Michael on Twitter: @notesonthefront
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