Social Justice Matters

Aoife Kelly-Desmond is Chief Executive Officer at Community Law & Mediation.  Aoife is a member of the Law Society of Ireland, a graduate of University College Cork and has completed post-graduate programmes in law and business disciplines with Queen Mary, University of London, the Leicester Castle Business School, DeMontfort University of Leicester, and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. 

Community Law & Mediation is an independent community focused law centre, established in 1975, providing free legal advice, mediation and education services in communities impacted by social exclusion, disadvantage and inequality. They also work to advance policy and law reform, informed by the issues coming through our services.

Aoife explains how important the judicial review process is and discusses concerns about how proposed changes will impact on access to justice. 

 

 

In Ireland, the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People and the commitment to youth participation through structures such as Comhairle na nÓg and the EU Youth Dialogue provide a strong foundation for the inclusion of young people in policymaking. However, emerging challenges—including the cost of living, housing pressures, digital literacy and safety, and the need for a just green transition—require renewed focus and stronger cross-sectoral coordination. 

In this Spring 2026 edition of our National Social Monitor, Social Justice Ireland outlines the present situation on a range of policy issues that impact on young people’s wellbeing and looks at whether policy is addressing the issues to ensure a fair and sustainable future for the young today. This edition of the National Social Monitor does not attempt to cover all the issues. It is offered as a contribution to the ongoing public debate. 

This episode is the chance to listen back to our webinar launch. 

The document and video can be accessed HERE. 

 

 

Liam O'Sullivan works as the CEO of Care Alliance Ireland. He holds professional qualifications in Social Work, Youth and Community Work and Social Research. His work with Care Alliance since 2004 has included bringing National Carers Week to Ireland, developing collaborative and impactful relationships with third level institutions in Family Carer research, progressing the development of a Carer Needs Assessment and most recently establishing an innovative Online Family Carer Support Project. He has a particular interest in Implementation Science and in bridging the gap between research policy and practice. Liam has recently co-authored a book about Social Work and Technology, published by the NASW Press.

Liam chats with us about the work of care and the supports provided by the state and what is needed as Ireland's demographic shift takes place. 

Some reflections on state supports for family carers over the past 20 years Presentation. 

The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2026-2030 was launched at the 2026 Social Inclusion Forum in May. This eagerly awaited renewal of government commitment's to tackle poverty and exclusion is a key document for the Community and Voluntary sector. In this episode, we will hear briefly from each of these organisations about what the Roadmap means for them and their communities.

Care Alliance Ireland      Irish Rural Link     National Youth Council of Ireland    Simon Communities of Ireland  ALONE 

Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre     Irish Traveller Movement  National Women's Council of Ireland

National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA)    Protestant Aid      One Family     Independent Living Movement Ireland

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP)    The Wheel     AsIAm

 

 

 

Between July and December 2026, Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This quick explainer sets out what it is, why it matters, and what Ireland hopes to achieve during its six months at the helm of European decision making. 

Tom McDonnell is co-director of the Nevin Economic Research Institute and is based in the Dublin office. In addition to managing staff in the Dublin office he has co-responsibility for the NERI's research programme and for its strategic direction. He is also responsible for, among other things, the NERI's analysis of the Republic of Ireland economy including risks, trends and forecasts. He specialises in economic growth, economics of innovation, Irish and European economies, and fiscal policy. He previously worked as an economist at TASC and before that was a lecturer in economics at NUI Galway and at DCU. He has also taught at Maynooth University (MU) and is currently an occasional staff member at MU. 

Tom talks us through the who, what, why, when and where of a wealth tax for Ireland.

Designing a tax on household wealth

Reforming Inheritance Tax

Confronting Wealth Inequality in Ireland Report

 

We launched our socio-economic review for 2026 on Monday, 27th April 2026. This socio-economic review for 2026 presents ideas and proposals which would enable Ireland to respond to current challenges whilst managing change successfully, with the ambition to achieve a fairer, more just society.  At a time of global turmoil and conflict, Ireland faces the challenge of mitigating the impact of an energy price crisis for vulnerable households and preparing for the potential impact of a prolonged energy shock.  At the same time, Government must address the ongoing problems of how to deliver housing, healthcare and other vital services to everyone including those fleeing war; how to address persistently high levels of poverty and social exclusion; and how to meet our climate targets, adapt to coming changes whilst protecting those most impacted.   

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.

Lisa Oelschlegel is the Coordinator of the Alternatives to Violence Project in Ireland, where she supports volunteers delivering workshops in Irish prisons on conflict transformation and nonviolent approaches. She has a background in peace and conflict studies and psychology, and brings over ten years of experience working across international development cooperation, local NGOs, and the academic sector across Europe and Latin America, with a focus on mental health and psychosocial support, migration, gender, inclusion, and diversity. Her work centres on supporting inclusive, community-led approaches to social change.

Robert Cullen is a past participant of the AVP Project. He is currently studying towards an MA in Criminology at UCC and is the project lead for Success Stories in Ireland. 

They chat with Susanne Rogers about the work of AVP and the transformative impact it has on individuals and communities. They discuss the systemic and individual responses to how masculinity is to be expressed, how patriarchy and violence interact and how alternatives can be found. 

We also touch on Robert's separate work with Success Stories and recent research with the IPRT.  

The Alternatives to Violence Project AVP Ireland

Robert was peer researcher on this project with the Irish Penal Reform Trust: From Punishment to Prevention: Poverty, Inequality and Pathways into the Irish Criminal Justice System

 

 

 

Jeremy Moss is Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of New South Wales. He is the recipient of the Eureka Prize for Ethics and the Australasia Association of Philosophy Media Prize. He is the author or several books on climate change including: Carbon Justice: the Scandal of Australia’s Biggest Contribution to Climate Change; Climate Justice Beyond the State (with Lachlan Umbers), Climate Change and Justice (Cambridge University Press). His current projects include: ‘A Just Climate Transition’ (ARC Linkage grant) and ‘Dealing with Climate Disasters’ (ARC Discovery Project).

A Just Climate Transition has the potential to provide significant non-climate related benefits in the form of clean energy, green jobs, better transport, improved health and urban environments or even making society a more equal or democratic place. The creation of so many potential benefits should command just as much attention as avoiding the harms associated with climate change. But the pursuit of such benefits raises two interesting questions. The first is to what degree should transition policies - as a matter of justice - aim at creating non-climate benefits, especially where there are extra costs involved? The second important question is how do we distribute whatever benefits are created? In some cases, there is nothing wrong with letting the benefits fall ‘where they may’ as it were, as is the case with the elimination of air pollution from fossil fuels. But in other instances benefits will be created but how they are distributed will vary greatly, with the potential for unfair distribution.

Social Justice Ireland held a webinar for policy makes and in his talk, Jeremy considers the arguments for the role and scope of non-climate benefits, their justification and put forward a framework that might guide their distribution.

Gillian Phelan is Head of Division, Digital Euro Unit at the Central Bank of Ireland. She chats with Susanne Rogers, explaining what the digital euro is and what it will mean for consumers in Ireland.