David McWilliamsOpinion

A gap has emerged between the Irish establishment and the Irish street

In contrast, Irish radicals who covet extreme social, political or economic change have (so far) found their aspirations ...
David McWilliams

The GAA could solve a more pressing problem for Ireland than the presidency

The credibility, reach and influence of the GAA was underscored this week by the nomination of former Dublin GAA manager Jim Gavin as Fianna Fáil’s candidate for the Áras. For cynics, the GAA was ...
David McWilliams

Could France go bust? One of Europe’s biggest economies has pimped itself out to the world

“Gradually and then suddenly,” is how Ernest Hemingway described bankruptcy in his 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises. This is what often happens when people run out of money and options. At first money ...
David McWilliams

A panic in Washington DC will have untold consequences throughout the global economy

When Donald Trump looks in the mirror does he see Juan Perón smirking back at him? The parallels between Trump and Argentina’s “strong weak man” (or weak strong man) look more uncanny as each week ...
David McWilliams

Houses are being built in Ireland, so why can’t ordinary people buy them?

It’s not every day I worry about the welfare of estate agents. This tribe doesn’t immediately spring to mind as an oppressed minority worthy of our protection – but these days, the main street’s ...
David McWilliams

The more US tax money we get, the more dysfunctional the Irish economy becomes

From plutocrat to bureaucrat, everyone seems to have an opinion on Dublin’s proposed MetroLink. Some argue it’s too expensive to build, others that it’s too expensive not to build. One opinion that ...
David McWilliams

Ireland’s massive problem with ‘in-your-face’ crime is feeding fear

This week Fox News, that bastion of truth, claimed that violent crime in Dublin is surging. Armed with a ‘statistic’ that murders and assaults were up 114 per cent, the American broadcaster reported ...
David McWilliams

An answer to Ireland’s housing crisis is right behind us

When you are in a crisis, the choice is never between good and bad – it’s always between bad and worse. Ireland has a housing crisis. We have far too many people and not enough homes for them. We ...
David McWilliams

A lesson from The Godfather as Wall Street backs crypto assets it once dismissed as a ‘fraud’

One of the joys of writing a weekly column is the unusual tributaries explored, often sparked by real-world events. Today I’ve been watching old clips of The Godfather, in particular Marlon Brando’s ...
David McWilliams

This is what we need to do in Ireland if we want stable, affordable house prices

One of the golden rules of economics is you can’t manage what you can’t measure. Managing a problem will be easier using hard evidence, backed by accurate data. It is a business school version of the ...
David McWilliams

Ireland needs immigrants. But our economy can’t accommodate an infinite number

No matter what some people might argue, Ireland needs immigrants. This economy and society cannot survive without them. From healthcare to high-tech, construction to hospitality, the country would ...