Is there a conspiracy on the political left to quote government spending figures as a percent of GDP to make Ireland's spending look small in international comparisons? I heard a trade union leader GDPee on the radio this morning.

GDP in Ireland's case is inflated compared to other countries by about 15% due to multinational financial transfers. So if the percent of GDP for a government service is say 10%,to convert that to percent of GNP, the rough adjustment is 10/(100/1.15) = 11.5%.

Well spotted.

"There are three types of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics." - Mark Twain.


P.S. I need hardly add, the right is not innocent either.

It's standard to measure such things as a % of GDP. The fact that Ireland's GNP is significantly higher than GDP is a sign of the power of imperialism in Ireland.

Lesson in rhetoric no. 45:

Pick your statistics to suit your argument.

Not that GDP is an adequate measure of anything (GDP: A Meaningless Statistic Irish Liberty Forum), but yeah, if you want you could really measure sectors' percentages against Gross National Product or Net National Product.

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Indeed that idiom works both ways. What is needed here is honesty and transperancy. Where data is collected under such criteria the so called 'vested interests' on both sides have nothing to hide behind.

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Well I remember Bertie used to alternative between the two indicators to make his claim more attractive.


By right, you should use NNP as it factors in the replacement of capital from depreciation.

And defense spending is included which is non existent in Ireland and skews the figures too.
Surely a more relevant figure would be the per capita cost of public services.
Also we must compare the outputs, the value we receive for this spend and compare efficiency with other countries.

Indeed. Was just having diner with a dutch friend who's wife is pregnant. He was horrified to discover that there is no facility in ireland for a 'nurse' to help out in the home after a birth. In holland someone comes every day for the first 10-14 days to do cooking and cleaning in your home after you have a child.

People always say that Ireland has low taxes, but we have correspondingly low services too.

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NAMA: Mortgaging our future to pay for the past.

Horrified eh? He really ought to get out more.