Social Justice Matters

204. SJI Seminars Ep 52: Transition performance and capacity: A comparison between Ireland, Austria and Sweden with Paul Goldrick Kelly

Paul Goldrick Kelly is an economist with the Nevin Economic Research Institute. Paul is a graduate of University College Dublin with a HDIP and MA in Economic Science, Paul's work has examined issues related to healthcare, housing, tax and revenue sufficiency as well as productivity performance in the Republic of Ireland.
Paul's current research interests relate to ecological sustainability and political economy, incorporating issues
related to Just Transition.

Paul presented a paper at our 2023 Annual Social Policy Conference on the theme of A Just Transition. 

Watch the conference HERE. 

Our podcast is featured as a Best Social Justice podcast on MillionPodcasts - a hand-curated database of amazing podcasts. 

203. SJI Interviews Ep.124: Independent Living Day 2025 with Dr.James Casey

James Casey is a disability rights activist from the west of Ireland. He previously worked for the disabled person’s organisation ILMI as a policy advisor and prior to this role he worked on the transformative EU Onside Project. He holds a PhD in Critical Disability Studies from the University of Galway, where he was the recipient of a Doctoral Teaching Fellowship and he has presented at UN conferences on behalf of civil society. James, a disabled person, has worked as a lecturer, disability equality consultant and communications advisor in addition to his continued role as a peer reviewer with several international journals. 

Prompted by Independent Living Day 2025, Susanne and James discuss what that means in reality and what needs to be delivered by policy makers and Government.  

Eurofound - Paths towards independent living and social inclusion in Europe

Sage Advocacy - Older Persons in Receipt of Care: Five Human Rights Concerns in Ireland. A Scoping Document

 

 

202. SJI Seminars Ep.51: Launch presentation of Social Justice Matters: a 2025 guide to a fairer Irish Society

We launched our socio-economic review for 2025 on Thursday, 3rd April 2025. This annual publication is where we present a detailed analysis of a range of key matters which are central to social justice; a vision of Ireland’s future as a just and sustainable society, and a framework for a new Social Contract to move consistently and coherently towards becoming a just society. It also sets out detailed policy proposals grounded in the common good that will deliver improved wellbeing for everyone in society as we manage demographic, climate, digital and geopolitical changes.

In this episode, you can listen back to the presentations from this launch. The full publication is also available to download from our website here.

201. SJI Interviews Ep.123: Marc Ó Cathasaigh on a Commission for Future Generations in Ireland.

Marc Ó Cathasaigh is an Educator and SDGs advocate. He was the Green Party T.D. for Waterford in the 33rd Dáil. 

Marc chats about his work progressing a Future Generations Commission for Ireland, wellbeing, sustainable development and sufficiency.  

Commission for Future Generations Bill 2023

OECD Measuring well-being and progress

Understanding Life in Ireland: The Well-Being Framework 2024

CSO Well-being Information Hub

200. SJI Seminars Ep.50: Opening Address given by President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins at The Social Justice Movement–A Fifty Year View conference 2024

On the 31st January 2024, Social Justice Ireland hosted The Social Justice Movement–A Fifty Year View conference to mark the retirement of Dr Seán Healy and Sr Brigid Reynolds of Social Justice Ireland and to celebrate their more than fifty years of public service in Ireland and Africa.

The Opening Address was given by President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins. 

More on that event can be found here. 
 

We are delighted that Social Justice Matters has been recognised by Feedspot as one of the 35 social justice podcasts you should be following in 2025. Check out the list here. 

199. SJI Interviews Ep 122: The Shared Island Youth Forum Vision and Values Statement

The Shared Island Youth Forum was launched as part of the Government’s Shared Island initiative, in September 2023. The Forum brought together 80 young people aged 18 to 25 from across the island, who met over the next year to develop a statement of their vision and values for a shared future on the island of Ireland.

Four members of the Shared Island Youth Forum, Eden Byrne, Tiarnan Moss from Co-Operation Ireland,  Alannah Wrynn and Charlie Beaudelot generously took time out to chat with Susanne Rogers about their experiences in the Youth Form and their work on the Statement. 

Read the Vision and Values Statement HERE. 

We are delighted that Social Justice Matters has been recognised by Feedspot as one of the 35 social justice podcasts you should be following in 2025. Check out the list here. 

198. SJI Seminars Ep.49: The 4 day week with Joe O'Connor

Our 2023 Annual Social Policy Conference was on the theme of 'A Just Transition'. The fundamental principle of a Just Transition is to leave no people, communities, economic sectors or regions behind as we transition to a low carbon future. Such a transition means changing how we travel, communicate, work, what we eat, wear and even the entertainment we consume. 

Joe presented his paper at our 2023 Annual Social Policy Conference. 

All videos, papers and presentations for the 2023 Annual Social Policy conference are available for download HERE.

We are delighted that Social Justice Matters has been recognised by Feedspot as one of the 35 social justice podcasts you should be following in 2025. Check out the list here. 

197. SJI. Interviews Ep. 121: Social Justice Ireland response to Programme For Government - Securing Ireland’s Future

Government's plan for the next 5 years has been published - Programme for Government 2025 : Securing Ireland’s Future 

Research and Policy Analysts Michelle Murphy and Susanne Rogers chat about preliminary thoughts and reactions.

More on Social Justice Ireland's response HERE.  

We are delighted that Social Justice Matters has been recognised by Feedspot as one of the 35 social justice podcasts you should be following in 2025. Check out the list here. 

196. SJI Seminars Ep48: Shane Colclough on the Costs, Benefits and Stakeholder Analysis of an Irish Social Housing Deep Energy Retrofit Case Study

Our 2023 Annual Social Policy Conference was on the theme of 'A Just Transition'. The fundamental principle of a Just Transition is to leave no people, communities, economic sectors or regions behind as we transition to a low carbon future. Such a transition means changing how we travel, communicate, work, what we eat, wear and even the entertainment we consume. 

Dr Shane Colclough DipEE, BSc(Eng), MIE, MBA, PhD, MIEI, C.Eng, EurIng is a Chartered Engineer and carries out research at The School of Architecture Planning and Environmental Policy at University College Dublin and at the Centre for sustainable technologies in Ulster University. He is also principal at the consultancy firm Energy Expertise Limited. His research area of interest for the past 10 years has focused on low-energy dwellings in Temperate Maritime Climates and Building Performance Evaluation. He believes passionately in the potential afforded by the low-energy building standards in providing a better standard of housing for our citizens, simultaneously reducing Ireland’s dependence on fossil fuels and eliminating fuel poverty. He is co-chairman of the Passive House Association of Ireland and has authored papers on the topic of passive houses & energy storage in addition to presenting at national and international conferences. He is an experienced consultant and serves in the EU as an Expert on Energy-Efficient Buildings. 

Shane presented his paper at our 2023 Annual Social Policy Conference. 

All videos, papers and presentations for the 2023 Annual Social Policy conference are available for download HERE.

We are delighted that Social Justice Matters has been recognised by Feedspot as one of the 35 social justice podcasts you should be following in 2025. Check out the list here. 

195. SJI Interviews Ep.120: Michelle Murphy on the Just Transition Commission

The Just Transition Commission is an advisory body established by Government in April 2024. Michelle Murphy, research and policy analyst with Social Justice Ireland has been appointed to the Commission. In this episode, she explains what that means and the aims and objectives of the Commission.