This paper adds to our understanding of the sectoral interlinkages in the Irish economy and
how it relates to the wider EU economy. While the Irish economy is highly concentrated on a GVA basis, it is much less concentrated on the basis of employment and input-output interdependencies. Except for GVA, this level of concentration has not changed much over time. The MNE and domestic sectors each account for close to half of economic output. Their activity is very different but there is still a sizeable interlinkage between them. We also examine the interlinkages of the EU economy. Increasing European strategic autonomy would require greater manufacturing output. Our model suggest that central and eastern member states would benefit most from doing so, relative to their size. Ireland would benefit seventh least. Splitting the Irish economy in two, we find the MNE sector would benefit more than the EU average while the domestic sector is amongst those to benefit least.

This paper considers the potential impacts of changing the burden of proof for determination
of death by suicide in Ireland. It reviews origins of the burden of proof standards for suicide, considers evidence and pathways of impact, and then estimates the potential impact empirically using a difference-in-difference (DiD) approach which exploits the quasi-experimental nature of the change in policy in England and Wales versus Ireland. Findings suggest estimated increases of about 8-20% in deaths attributed to suicide due to the change which would make suicide the leading cause of death for a number of age and gender groups.

The Irish economy’s recovery from the global financial crisis (GFC) has been striking with both economic output and the labour market registering significant increases in activity since 2013. This resurgence in performance followed the sharp decline witnessed in the economy during the period 2008- 2012. Furthermore, it drew comparisons with the earlier growth observed during the “Celtic tiger” period. However, the recovery in the economy has coincided with acknowledged deficits in both social and physical infrastructure. A legacy of the post GFC crash has been a fall-off in investment rates in the Irish economy. This comes at a time when there has been an unexpected increase in recent population levels. We use a standard Solow growth model framework to decompose the past performance of the Irish economy over the period 1995- 2023. We then parameterise the model to generate long-run forecasts for the domestic economy under a baseline and alternative scenarios related to population growth and rates of investment. The paper finds that increasing investment rates, even to rates below those at the peak of the Celtic Tiger era, would result in output growth increasing by up to 0.9 per cent per annum above the baseline rate.

Over recent years, Ireland’s labour market and economy have outperformed expectations and having successfully weathered the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, employment levels reached a record high of 2.64m by mid-2023. In tandem with this expansion of the workforce, the number of those employed in more than one job – or those with secondary employment – has also risen. By mid-2023, 3.5 per cent of persons in employment in Ireland worked multiple jobs, compared to 1.9 per cent in 2002. Despite this increase, Ireland still has one of the lowest rates of secondary employment in the EU27. In absolute terms, by mid-2023, 87,700 persons aged 15-64 years in Ireland were working in two, or more, jobs (compared to 30,000 persons two decades earlier). A further 5,200 persons aged 65 years and over were doing likewise, bringing the total to almost 93,000. Second (or indeed, third) jobs tend to be concentrated in the agricultural and services sectors with the latter having undergone significant expansion in recent years. This paper presents a detailed profile of those in secondary employment. It also considers the intersection between full and part-time work in both a person’s principal and secondary employment and examines patterns in the volume of hours worked.

This paper investigates the prevalence and correlates of loneliness in Ireland, a nation identified as having the highest reported rate of loneliness within the European Union in a 2022 survey. While existing Irish research on loneliness has primarily focused on older populations and, to a lesser extent, young people, this study addresses a critical gap by examining loneliness across the entire adult population. Utilising nationally representative cross-sectional data from the Healthy Ireland initiative, collected in 2021 and 2023, this research explores the demographic and psychosocial factors associated with loneliness and its impact on mental health and quality of life.

Symposium of the 178th session on "Big Tech and Big Data - New Frontiers in Regulation"

Founded in 1847 amid a time of acute societal crisis, the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland (SSISI) has historically championed a whole-of-society approach to inform public policy, guided by its mission to pursue truth and improve society – ‘Our Pole Star is Truth.’. Today, SSISI continues to address contemporary challenges in Ireland by fostering stakeholder collaboration that focuses on: strengthening the bureaucratic side of Government to enhance legislative impact, promoting the use of official statistics for robust policy analysis, leveraging digital tools to improve the science-policy interface, adopting All-Island approaches to public policy, and empowering young public servants in economic, social, and environmental domains. The Society aims to connect academia with government, and other stakeholders, to bolster policymaking that prioritizes public welfare. Additionally, SSISI emphasises information integrity, advocating for trust in official data and peer-reviewed research amid rising disinformation. It underscores the need for public sector capacity to manage digital assets and develop human capital, promoting state ownership and innovation for the global public good.