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Paul Sweeney


Paul Sweeney was chief economist with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for a decade.

Paul Sweeney

Ireland, the EU and the Apple tax case

Paul Sweeney 20th September 2024

Ireland led the ‘race to the bottom’ on corporate taxation. The tide is beginning to turn.

The IRA and European industrial policy

Paul Sweeney 20th March 2023

With the US turning interventionist, the EU will look foolish still backing ‘free markets’. Time for an enterprise policy.

From ‘free-market’ to subsidised capitalism

Paul Sweeney 6th October 2022

To deal with the climate crisis, governments must recognise that only the state has allowed the last three crises to be contained.

Inflation in the strongest recovery since 1945

Paul Sweeney 17th June 2021

Governments should ignore siren warnings that only hyperinflation can come from pandemic-induced investments.

An effective corporation-tax system for the EU

Paul Sweeney 4th November 2020

Tax wars have so far denied the EU the unanimity required to stop the race to the bottom on corporation tax.

Ireland’s recovery: from bust to buoyancy … to Brexit?

Paul Sweeney 14th October 2019

If procyclical domestic policies inflated Ireland’s economic bubble, procyclical austerity demanded by the troika which bailed it out makes Ireland’s recovery all the more remarkable.

Ireland’s route from boom to bubble to bust

Paul Sweeney 2nd October 2019

Ireland’s volatile economic path of recent decades has wider European policy implications. Part one: the ‘Celtic Tiger’ and its demise

The Collapse Of European Social Democracy, Part 2

Paul Sweeney 9th October 2018

In the first part of his analysis Paul Sweeney pointed to a variety of causes behind the decline of social democracy over the past 30 years or more. In this second part he looks at wider economic and social trends since the 2008 crisis, including the ever-widening gap between rich and poor and growth in […]

The Collapse Of European Social Democracy, Part 1

Paul Sweeney 8th October 2018

Introduction Social Democracy (SD) has been the most powerful political force in Europe since the Second World War. It turned the nation state into the welfare state. Its politics built the welfare state and healthcare systems in West European countries. Along with conservatism it was one of the twin pillars of European democracy. Conservatism too […]

What Hope For Civilisation If Apple Pays No Tax?

Paul Sweeney 8th February 2017

Brussels has been accused of “bending the rules” in its pursuit of Apple for €13 billion in taxes it says should have been paid in Ireland. But in truth it is the multinationals and their corporate lawyers and accountants who have twisted the rules on taxation almost out of existence. The tax system had been […]

On Apple Tax, State Must Side With Its Citizens

Paul Sweeney 7th September 2016

It is widely agreed that globalisation has brought immense benefits. But it is also recognised that these benefits are not equally distributed. Last week’s Apple decision demonstrates the complexity of the issue of distributing the benefits of globalisation. The Irish Government, faced with a windfall of some €13 billion, appears to have sided with the […]

Curbing Tax Avoidance, Tax Evasion And Tax Havens

Paul Sweeney 14th December 2015

The aggressive tax avoidance by multinational corporations (MNCs) where they are now paying virtually no tax was highlighted recently by the takeover of “Irish” company Allergan by Pfizer in a blatant tax-avoidance move. Such tax avoidance by these companies is facilitated by sovereign nations in their “tax wars” between each other, vying for foreign investment. They […]

How Globalisation And Technology Drive Insecurity

Paul Sweeney 26th February 2015

People are insecure. Young people worry about getting a decent job, finding a secure home and having to pay off the vast debts run up in the decade of uber-liberal economic policies of European governments to 2007. Elderly people worry about their security in old age, access to decent health care, about their children getting […]

My Experience With The Troika In Ireland

Paul Sweeney 13th February 2015

The day the Troika came to town was a dark day for the Irish. Troika is a Russian word meaning a sled drawn by three horses or a dance. For the Irish people it was both a dance, but to a grating, dissonant tune, and like being pulled in three directions by the horses. The […]

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious development and reduce economic, social and territorial disparities between the regions of the Union, and the backwardness of the least favoured regions with a particular focus on rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition and regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as outermost regions, regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions.

READ THE FULL POSITION PAPER HERE

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HESA Magazine Cover

With a comprehensive set of relevant indicators, presented in 85 graphs and tables, the 2025 Benchmarking Working Europe report examines how EU policies can reconcile economic, social and environmental goals to ensure long-term competitiveness. Considered a key reference, this publication is an invaluable resource for supporting European social dialogue.

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Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
The evolution of working conditions in Europe

This episode of Eurofound Talks examines the evolving landscape of European working conditions, situated at the nexus of profound technological transformation.

Mary McCaughey speaks with Barbara Gerstenberger, Eurofound's Head of Unit for Working Life, who leverages insights from the 35-year history of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).

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Spring Issues

The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out!


It is time to take action and to forge a path towards a Socialist renewal.


European Socialists struggle to balance their responsibilities with the need to take bold positions and actions in the face of many major crises, while far-right political parties are increasingly gaining ground. Against this background, we offer European progressive forces food for thought on projecting themselves into the future.


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss the transformative power of European Social Democracy, examine the far right’s efforts to redesign education systems to serve its own political agenda and highlight the growing threat of anti-gender movements to LGBTIQ+ rights – among other pressing topics.

READ THE MAGAZINE

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WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

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