UL professor Stephen Kinsella to be appointed economics adviser to Taoiseach Simon Harris

University of Limerick Professor of Economics Stephen Kinsella is set to be appointed as economics adviser to Taoiseach Simon Harris.

Prof Kinsella is expected to be confirmed for the position this week, which he will take up on a part-time basis balancing his commitments to UL.

The appointment was flagged by The Irish Times before Mr Harris was formally elected Taoiseach in March, but it took some weeks before an agreement was reached between the parties.

The Dublin native, who is head of the Department of Economics at UL, is expected to take on a role similar to the one played by Prof Alan Ahearne with Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who advises on a part-time basis. His involvement will increase in advance of significant events in the fiscal calendar such as the Summer Economic Statement and the budget in the autumn.

Prof Kinsella is also known for his journalism, writing with the Irish Independent and the Sunday Business Post before joining online publisher The Currency as chief economics writer. He is expected to step back from writing temporarily while working for Government Buildings. He has also written for The Guardian and The New York Times.

Prof John McHale, who formerly chaired the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, had also been linked to the position.

Prof Kinsella is a member of the Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council and chairs the external advisory board to the Government’s Economic Evaluation Service and is a board member of the Parliamentary Budget Office external advisory board.

He was a member of the research subgroup of the Expert Advisory Group of the National Public Health Emergency Team between 2020 and 2021, and was a board member of the Higher Education Authority for three years to 2017.