Social Justice Matters is a podcast from Social Justice Ireland. We are an independent justice advocacy think tank that advances the lives of people and communities through providing independent social analysis and effective policy development to create a sustainable future for every member of society and for societies as a whole.
Episodes
Tuesday Jan 14, 2020
Tuesday Jan 14, 2020
For years, Social Justice Ireland has been asking government to reduce the tax reliefs for private pension savings, and use the money saved to bolster the State Pension. Despite the huge cost of these tax reliefs and their very unequal nature, the trend in policy over that time has actually been towards greater emphasis on the private pension industry.
What’s influencing these policy decisions? For example, why are we moving towards a system where the pensions industry will receive hundreds of millions in additional subsidies, while the nature of this support is never up for discussion?
Eamon Murphy sat down with Dr. Michelle Maher of Maynooth University to find out. They discussed the politics of pensions, and how it has been possible for a group of people with a particular combination of expertise and access to help shape Ireland’s pension system. The discussion has serious implications for the broader policymaking process.