![A blue pencil lies across a payslip displaying various figures](/system/files/styles/hero_large_screen_1x/private/media/images/2018-11/Payslip.jpg?h=1d4b4ebd&itok=sHtxfLBu)
Taxation, Welfare and Pensions
Research examines the design of the tax, welfare and pensions system, with a focus on the effects it has on individuals, redistribution and incentives to work. Much of this work uses SWITCH – the ESRI tax and benefit model – to simulate the impact of actual or proposed reforms on households.
![Children playing Tug of War](/system/files/styles/widescreen_television/private/media/images/2018-10/shutterstock_459100483_0.jpg?h=c902daf0&itok=pS36gRRj)
We estimate that introducing this payment would cost around €700 million per year, benefiting more than 100,000 households and reducing the share of children below the poverty line by a quarter.
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Budget Perspectives is an annual conference to discuss policy issues related to the national Budget.
![Conference at the ESRI](/system/files/styles/traditional_television/private/media/images/2018-10/esri_100718_hr-51.jpg?h=b5d4f389&itok=vqCaRTCb)
Papers from the annual Budget Perspectives conference provide analyses of policy issues relevant to the upcoming Budget. The annual post-Budget analysis assesses the effect of changes to the tax and welfare system, including their distributional impacts.
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Research examines the adequacy of retirement income, the sustainability of the pension system and proposed reforms to pension contributions.
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A number of publications examine if tax and benefit systems in Ireland strike a balance between providing an adequate safety net to those who need it and maintaining incentives to take up employment.