David McWilliams: Ireland has a bigger welfare state than almost anywhere in the world

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The biggest opponents of neoliberalism are also, inexplicably, the biggest opponents of a wealth tax on land and property

Grafton Street, Dublin: Free markets are at the core of neoliberalism, where the rich keep their money, safe from taxation, and where public expenditure on social services is curtailed. Video: Getty

In this view of a neoliberal world, it is claimed that Ireland is the Florida of the north Atlantic. The ideology – originating in the academic teachings of what is known in economics as the Austrian school of Hayek and Von Mises – became particularly influential in the late 20th century, with the likes of Reagan and Thatcher, during those halcyon days of what was known as “the end of history”.

Last year, €24.6 billion was spent on social protection, about 23 per cent of general government expenditure, about 5 per cent of GDP or 9 per cent of the arguably more representative modified gross national income . Some €9.4 billion was spent on pensions, the vast majority of which – 70 per cent – went to the 484,541 recipients of the contributory State pension. Working Age Income Supports amounted to €3.8 billion, with €1.

One area where Ireland feels highly unequal is in the area of housing and the wealth accumulation associated with an inert asset, property. We need to build more homes, in the right places, for more people and at affordable prices. This means more building. What is stopping this?

 

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