Robert Shortt

1/9 The Fiscal Council's latest report assesses the Government’s plans for Budget 2025. In it, we warn that the Government is adding more pressure to an economy posting record jobs numbers by continuing to breach its tax-and-spend rule.

4 (FOUR) months of record solar generation in a row: after reviewing more data and trying our best to debug inconsistencies between different sources, we're happy to report July set a new All-Island solar generation record of 125GWh (111GWh in IE, also a record, and 14GWh in NI).

Annual population change in the Republic of Ireland since 1841. The estimated increase of +98,700 in 2024 (year to April) is the 4th highest since the Famine. cso.ie/en/releasesand…

Number of people employed in the Republic of Ireland by sector since 1881. A record total of 2.75 million was estimated in Q2 2024. cso.ie/en/releasesand…

Delighted to welcome (back) @seamuscoffey who will tomorrow take over as the Chair of @fiscalcouncil. I have served as acting Chair since July 2023 but always committed to stepping down once we completed some reforms to the Chair role. gov.ie/en/press-relea…

Just five enterprises exported 44% of the total value of goods in 2022 cso.ie/en/releasesand… #CSOIreland #Ireland #Trade #IrishTrade #Exports #Imports #Businessstatistics #IrishBusiness #BusinessNews

@blairvhoran @RMcGreevy1301 And lying on a slab of black Kilkenny marble.

@RMcGreevy1301 Great history thanks. For Richard 111, last Plantagenet King 1485, who died in battle of Bosworth Field in War of Roses. Led to Tudor dynasty with big impact here.The remains were found in Leicester in 2012. Now in L Cathedral and great museum that is well worth a visit. Jan24.

Back in the dark days of the pandemic, I started writing articles about the search for the remains of Red Hugh O'Donnell in Spain. In May 2020 the city of Valladolid began digging beneath a city street to find the remains of Red Hugh who died at Simancas Castle outside the city at the age of just 29. They didn't definitively find the remains of Red Hugh, but they have revived interest in this tragic figure who left Ireland after the Battle of Kinsale in 1601/02 and died before he could persuade King Philip III of Spain to send another Spanish army to fight the Irish. Since then locals have held a funeral procession every year from the old Royal Palace to the site where he was buried. Thanks to the hospitality of Carlos Burgos of @HISPANO_IRISH I got a chance today to visit Simancas where there is a plaque in Spanish and Irish to Red Hugh and the place in Valladolid which marks the old monastery where Red Hugh was buried and which was the site of the recent excavation. Christopher Columbus was buried there for a time too.

Tuesday 16th April 2024, 8:18am

The journalist John Pilger has died: bbc.com/news/world-aus…

Delors and Schäuble going on the same day is extraordinary - two of the towering figures of postwar European union

With the passing of Jacques #Delors, Europe has lost a true statesman. His achievements were numerous, including leading the creation of Europe’s single market and the path he laid out towards our single currency, the euro. Rest in peace.

I dug out this photograph from my personal archive, taken a few years ago, when snow covered Dalkey Island and the goats came out to play. An ideal backdrop to wish everyone here a happy and peaceful Christmas 📷🎄

Irish Baseload Prices averaging €17/MWh for tomorrow, that's the lowest daily price since May 2020 ⚡️ @Paulkenny79 @EamonRyan

Nobel Prize winning economist Robert Solow dies ft.com/content/4327d1… via @ft

Very rare ‘rainbow clouds’ spotted over County Down this morning. Often referred to as ‘mother of pearl’, the nacreous cloud is rarely spotted over Ireland.

'Too early to declare victory over inflation' - @ecb Philip Lane at the @ESRIDublin today rte.ie/news/business/… via @rte

@ecb Philip Lane tells @ESRIDublin it’s too early to declare victory in any way on inflation. @rtenews

⁦@ecb⁩ Philip Lane starting his speech at ⁦@ESRIDublin⁩ more on ⁦@rtenews⁩ later

Govt takes case against UK over NI Legacy Bill via @RTENews rte.ie/news/ireland/2…

10y German Bund yields have dropped <2% for 1st time since Dec 2022.