Ronan Lyons | Personal Website
Ronan Lyons | Personal Website

August 2011

Top Ten Facts in Relation to Ireland’s Mortgage Debt & Arrears

Sparked by some figures by Morgan Kelly and a pseudonymous letter to the Irish Times, the last two weeks have seen an immense public debate on the topic mortgage debt forgiveness. This post attempts to step away from the emotional charge of the debate. It examines ten key facts on Ireland’s mortgage debt, in relation to arrears, repossessions, mortgages being paid off and the labour market. It also presents an estimate of Ireland’s aggregate “loan-to-value” for residential property and a comparison with repossessions in the UK, before I give my own thoughts on the topic. Read more

Should we let Michael O’Leary run our income tax system?

This post examines Michael O’Leary’s suggestions in relation to Ireland’s income tax system, in particular making it simpler and ensuring everyone contributes but not too much! It uses recently published Revenue Commissioners figures for income in 2008 to estimate who would like the proposal and who would hate it, Government included. It concludes with a few tweaks to the proposal, including in relation to income earned through social welfare. Read more

The origins of the Beausang surname II – Hugue-yes or Huguenot?

First things first: this is not a post about economics, so for most readers of the blog, this is one you can skip! By way of background, when this blog was set up initially, I explored a mix of topics, including history and genealogy. One of my genealogy blog posts, “The origins of the Beausang surname I – French Revolution? Try East Cork” was a two-parter… only I never got around to writing the second part! A few interested parties, though, have kept in touch and encouraged me to finish what I started, so here it is. Read more

Will the surge of properties on to the market push rents down?

The latest Daft.ie Rental Report shows that rents nationwide have been largely stable over the past twelve months. This post looks behind these top level figures and explores two issues in particular. The first is the stock available to rent in the cities across Ireland, and whether this will push rents down in coming months. The second is how far the rent-house price relationship has adjusted back to normality in the past four years… and how much more of an adjustment is needed. Read more

Can the eurozone survive? Insights from the dollar-zone

With its future and survival increasingly topics of discussion, this post looks at the eurozone and two key questions. Firstly, are the eurozone’s member states too different to share a currency? Secondly, if the euro is to survive, will it need tax harmonisation and a big increase in federal spending? It answers these questions by comparing the eurozone and its members to the U.S. economy and its States. Read more