Ireland in 2050
We all have a stake in Ireland’s future. Most of us will probably be around to see Ireland in 2050 – but we don’t necessarily act as though we will. As a country, we face serious threats from economic uncertainty, climate change, inequality, energy security and an ageing population – and, contrary to popular belief, technology won’t solve all our problems.
What is Stephen Kinsella's book about?These challenges prompted economist, Stephen Kinsella to write Ireland in 2050, an exploration of where we're headed as a nation.
Through the fictional Murphy family, he discusses how we will go about daily life in the future. Ireland in 2050 asks some truly vital questions about the Ireland we might like to have in 2050 – join the debate and discuss these questions with Stephen in his blog below.
Stephen Kinsella Blog
Ireland’s recent flooding is only a taste of things to come. Few towns in Ireland even have a flood defence scheme, much less a system of levees.
One challenge facing Ireland by the year 2050 is the persistent risk of rainfall. Increased rainfall brings with it an increased risk of floods, as Read more text
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 In the long run, Ireland faces two apparently unrelated challenges. First, our infrastructural deficit will grow due to repeated government cutbacks. Secondly, as our population ages, our society will struggle to pay for pensions of a greyer society. The two problems of pensions provision, and Read more text
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Image by PienJoris via Flickr
Just published in Verbal Magazine
Ireland has a reputation as a land where artists can thrive. Often, Ireland don’t deserve that reputation. I believe it makes long term economic, social, and cultural sense to ensure we keep funding the arts in Ireland for two Read more text
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Here's my interview on TV3 last week, explaining a little about the Read more text
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 Let's talk about the future. Feminism is going to die in the next 40 years. By 2050, equal rights, legal protection, and social equality for women will have been enshrined in Irish law and, more importantly, in the Zeitgeist, for three generations or more.
In 2009, we are now as far away from Read more text
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 Take a look at the data below, which comes from this recently released CO2 emissions report by the CSO. (You can get the data I used to make the chart here).
I've taken the largest emitters of CO2 by sector, and graphed them. The data pull out an interesting story. We see a mitigation of the Read more text
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Stephen Kinsella, PhD , is a lecturer in Economics at the University of Limerick. Originally from Dublin, and in his early thirties, he has lived and studied in the US before taking up his position in the Kemmy Business School. His book Ireland in 2050 began as a newspaper opinion piece in the summer of 2008, which sparked a huge response.
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@AllanCavanagh @christinebohan Think I'll start a 'shitmysonsays' twitter account!
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@ChristineBohan Tonight I will sleep the sleep of the just, because of that tweet!
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@colettebrowne If only we had robots that turned into cars. Better yet, excess houses turning into windmills. Then it would all be sorted:)
