Last week a new variant of Covid was identified by South African scientists and subsequently detected in many locations around the world. How should societies respond? Panic and lockdown or carry on the path we were on before the variant emerged? When Covid first emerged in early 2020 we knew nothing about it; how dangerous it would be how fast it would spread. At the time Governments around... read more>

Many European states are heading back into lockdown. Austria started with restrictions on the unvaccinated but has now extended them to everyone. Netherlands is in partial lockdown while Germany is considering following. Anti-lockdown riots are a daily occurrence in affected cities. Meanwhile Sweden wants to stick to its same strategy of never using lockdowns. As cases are rising again in Irela... read more>

This week IPSOS, a French social and market research company, published the results of its annual Global Trends survey. It shows Ireland is one of the most forward-looking countries in the world and one with the lowest level of nostalgia for a better bygone age. But is this really how consumers and householders see their lives? When asked to agree or disagree with the statement: “I would lik... read more>

Inflation in Ireland is reaching 2%, the highest it’s been in 10 years, but not much compared to the 20% inflation we hit in 1981. How will our household budgets be affected? Do we want more or less inflation? The European Central Bank made a radical shift in its inflation policy this year, moving from a policy to cap inflation in the eurozone at a maximum of 2%, to a policy of targeting an ... read more>

One good way of reducing CO2 and its impact on climate change is to move from gas generated electricity to nuclear power. Many advances have been made in the last decades to make nuclear technology safer and cleaner, although not always cheaper. Should we use nuclear power in Ireland as part of our contribution to slow down climate change? How would it impact our electricity bills and energy se... read more>