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Data centre targets do not compute
Colm McCarthy
There is a threatened shortage of power with regular orange warnings of possible outages from Eirgrid. There is scepticism from climate experts that 2030 targets can be met.
10 April 2024 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy: our water and electricity shortages
The two national utilities responsible for electric power and water are clearly uncomfortable with the IDA’s enthusiasm for more data centres.
3 April 2024 Viewpoints
Prospects for Ireland's capital budget
It is a gamble to promise indefinite expansion of the capital programme.
Funding our water and electricity infrastructure
Ireland is the only European country in which water is free, and even the Green Party has backed off charging for water.
27 March 2024 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy - Green diesel should not be seen as a handout to farmers
The farm organisations should be concerned that the Irish arrangements for green diesel are being characterised as a subsidy to farming.
20 March 2024 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy: misfortune strikes hardest for the unprepared
There is a long record in Ireland of a boom-and-bust pattern in the capital budget.
13 March 2024 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy: farming emissions figures
Ireland is not well placed to be offering electricity exports, since generating capacity is tight.
6 March 2024 Viewpoints
A solution in search of a problem
Colm McCarthy - the capital cost of MetroLink could be more than the €9.5bn most often cited by journalists.
28 February 2024 Viewpoints
Overshoots in public spending
Prudent management of the public finances needs credible fiscal plans, not just declarations of concern about public money, from Government and opposition.
21 February 2024 Viewpoints
How many stadiums are needed in reality?
There has never been a comprehensive analysis of stadium utilisation in Ireland by the GAA, by any of the other main sporting bodies or by the Department of Sport.
14 February 2024 Viewpoints
Colm McCarthy - Paris parking charge hike, lessons for Dublin
Central area residents in Paris already enjoy a 15-minute city in many respects and car ownership rates per household are even lower than in the central areas of Dublin.
7 February 2024 Viewpoints
Green belt restrictions on housing
There are large areas of the country, especially outside Leinster, where new units can be delivered at costs which are within the budget of would-be home owners on average incomes.
31 January 2024 Viewpoints