Social Justice Matters

9. SJI Seminars Ep4: Tony Fahey, UCD, on Generation Rent

In this episode, we look back to our 2018 Social Policy Conference, and a presentation by Tony Fahey, Professor Emeritus of Social Policy at UCD.

Worse off than their parents? The rising generation of private renters looks at the boom in private rented housing and the corresponding decline in home ownership. Tony also explains why this presents a major problem for Irish society, particularly for young people.

A full video of this presentation is available at www.socialjustice.ie

8. SJI Ten Minute Lessons Ep3: Refundable Tax Credits, an introduction

Refundable Tax Credits could help alleviate the situation of the working poor and make the Irish tax system fairer. But what are they and how would they work?

In the third episode in the SJI's Ten Minute Lessons series, Social Justice Ireland's Economic & Social Analyst Eamon Murphy explains the key points and concepts behind Refundable Tax Credits, including the what, the why, and the potential effects.

The purpose of our SJI's Ten Minute Lessons series is to educate and inform listeners on a particular area of policy, giving a brief overview and hitting on the key points that people need to know. They are intended to be short introductory tutorials to complex policy areas!

7. SJI Interviews Ep2: Roddy Doyle, Fighting Words

Listen to Roddy Doyle, one of Ireland's greatest living authors, in conversation with Mick Clifford of the Irish Examiner at our recent 2019 Social Policy Conference.

Roddy discusses Fighting Words, the organisation he created to help children and young people to discover and harness the power of their own imaginations and creative writing skills. He also gives his opinions on education policy (including his desire that the Leaving Certificate be scrapped and something else be built from scratch in its place), and many other areas.

Roddy has produced some of the greatest works of Irish fiction of the last three decades, including the Barrytown Trilogy, The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, for which he won the Booker Prize in 1993.

6. SJI Seminars Ep3: Colette Bennett reviews the Government's Housing Strategy

Colette Bennett, Research and Policy Officer at Social Justice Ireland, reviews the Government's Housing Strategy at the Social Justice Ireland Social Policy Conference 2019.

Rebuilding Ireland is a five pillar strategy designed to solve the housing crisis. Colette's paper - A Review of Government's Housing Strategy from the perspective of Young and Old - on which this presentation is based shows how each of these five pillars is failing.

The conference was titled The Challenges of Success, and examined possible policy responses to Ireland's changing demographics. Colette's presentation - the slides, the full paper and a video of the presentation - are available from our website www.socialjustice.ie.

5. SJI Ten Minute Lessons Ep2: Poverty in Ireland, an introduction

The official stats for poverty and deprivation in Ireland for 2018 were released today by the CSO. In this episode of SJI's Ten Minute Lessons, Social Justice Ireland's Economic & Social Analyst Eamon Murphy looks at the headline poverty numbers, explains where they come from, and why they're measured as they are.

The purpose of our SJI's Ten Minute Lessons series is to educate and inform listeners on a particular area of policy, giving a brief overview (somewhere in the range of 8 to 15 minutes) and hitting on the key points that people need to know.

Think of them as short introductory tutorials to complex policy areas!

4. SJI Ten Minute Lessons Ep1: Basic Income, an introduction

Basic Income is policy area that has received much attention in recent years, but it is still relatively poorly understood. It's an alternative to the social welfare systems of Western democracies which could revolutionise economies and societies.

In this, the first episode in the SJI's Ten Minute Lessons series, Social Justice Ireland's Economic & Social Analyst Eamon Murphy explains the key points and concepts behind Basic Income, including the what, the why and the how.

The purpose of our SJI's Ten Minute Lessons series is to educate and inform listeners on a particular area of policy, giving a brief overview (somewhere in the range of 8 to 15 minutes) and hitting on the key points that people need to know.

Think of them as short introductory tutorials to complex policy areas!

 

3. SJI Seminars Ep2: Basic Income - Radical Utopia or Practical Solution?

Following Dr. Seán Healy's interview with the Sunday Business Post for their article examining Basic Income, we take a look back to our Social Policy Conference in 2016 when we looked at the area of Basic Income in detail. In this episode you can now listen to the opening presentation from that conference, given by Social Justice Ireland founders Brigid Reynolds and Seán Healy.

You can download and read their full paper, Basic Income - Radical Utopia or Practical Solution?, at www.socialjustice.ie, and also watch the video of their presentation which examines the changing dynamics around social policy which make a move towards a Basic Income imperative if we are to achieve a fair and just society.

2. SJI Interviews Ep1: Seán Healy on Budget 2020

The day after Minister Donohoe delivered Budget 2020 to the Dáil, and a couple of hours after Social Justice Ireland's post-Budget seminar (which is also available as a podcast), Colette Bennett sat down with Social Justice Ireland CEO Dr. Seán Healy to discuss Budget 2020 and its like ramifications, particularly what it means for Ireland's most vulnerable.

1. SJI Seminars Ep1: Our post-Budget 2020 Analysis Seminar

Less than 24 hours after the Minister for Finance stood up in the Dáil to give his Budget 2020 speech, Social Justice Ireland published our 24-page Budget Analysis document - available at www.socialjustice.ie. This was launched at a seminar in Buswells Hotel, and you can listen to the full audio recording as Dr. Seán Healy, Colette Bennett, Michelle Murphy and Eamon Murphy give the first full and comprehensive analysis of the Budget, including:

• What effect will the budget have on inequality?
• How is the government dealing with the housing and health crises?
• How good a job is government doing in preparing for Brexit?
• How will Ireland’s most vulnerable fare in Budget 2020?

(The full video of this seminar is also available at www.socialjustice.ie)