Social Justice Matters

164. SJI Interviews Ep.103: AI with Dr. Patricia Scanlon, Ireland’s AI Ambassador

Dr. Patricia Scanlon is the founder and Executive Chair of SoapBox Labs, now the world's leading provider of Voice AI for children. In 2022, the Irish Government appointed Dr. Scanlon Ireland’s first AI Ambassador. Dr. Scanlon holds a PhD and has 25 years experience working in Artificial Intelligence and speech recognition technology, including at Bell Labs and IBM. She has been granted 7 patents and is a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). An acclaimed TEDx speaker, in 2018 Dr. Scanlon was named one of the world’s top 50 women in tech by Forbes and a top “Visionary in Voice” by Voicebot in 2020. She is also a contributor to Forbes, TechCrunch and TheNextWeb.

She chats with Susanne Rogers about the role of AI Ambassador, advances in artificial intelligence, ethics and AI,the opportunities as well as challenges posed by AI and what regulation can bring to the space. 

163. SJI Interviews Ep.102: Double Deficit - Ageing in the Private Rented Sector with Gráinne Loughran (ALONE) and Ann-Marie O’Reilly (Threshold)

We all know that Ireland's population is living longer, which is really good news! However, we need to plan for the needs of our future older people today, particularly in the area of housing. A new report commissioned by ALONE and Threshold, 'Double Deficit: Older and Ageing Persons in the Private Rental Sector', highlights the experience of older people who are renting privately, the impact that this has on their housing security, mental health, and overall quality of life, and makes a series of key recommendations on how Government and stakeholders might learn from these experiences.

Colette Bennett, Economic and Social Analyst with Social Justice Ireland, chats with Gráinne Loughran of ALONE and Ann-Marie O'Reilly of Threshold about this report, their work in the sector generally, and why key reforms are needed now to advance the quality of life of future older generations.

162. SJI Seminars Ep 36: Peter Doran on Wellbeing Narratives: Inciting the Pluriverse on our island of stories – It takes a movement!

Dr Peter Doran is a founding member of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance hub on the island of Ireland and has worked with the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust on a wellbeing outcomes framework for the Northern Ireland Programme for Government. He is a senior lecturer at the School of Law at the Queen's University Belfast and a senior writer with the International Institute for Sustainable Development's reporting services at UN negotiations on environment and development. He has authored numerous articles on ecology and politics, and authored A Political Economy of Attention, Mindfulness and Consumerism - Reclaiming The Mindful Commons (Routledge 2017). A practising zen buddhist, Dr Doran draws heavily from zen and decolonial literature (the pluriverse) in his work on the wellbeing economy.  

Peter spoke at the Social Justice Ireland Annual Social Policy Conference in 2022 on the theme 'Towards Wellbeing For All'. You can also watch his presentation, view his slides and read more here.  

 

161. SJI Interviews Ep.101: Paul Goldrick Kelly, NERI, on carbon locks and Just Transition

In this week's episode, Colette Bennett, Economic and Social Analyst, chats with Paul Goldrick Kelly, Economist at the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI) about his latest blog on carbon locks. What they are, where they are, and what needs to be done to progress towards a real just transition.

If you're not familiar with their work, check out NERI's website - www.neriinstitute.net - and subscribe to their regular blog.

160. SJI Interviews Ep100: The 15 minute city in Ireland with Niamh Moore-Cherry

Niamh Moore-Cherry is Professor in the School of Geography, Deputy College Principal in the UCD College of Social Sciences and Law, and Honorary Professor at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. Her research is focused on understanding governance and the impact of territorial politics on urban and regional outcomes. She founded and leads the Cities, Governance and Sustainability (www.citiesgovernancesustainability.eu) research group in UCD which brings together academic, policy and community engaged work. In summer 2022, she was appointed as an independent member of the advisory National Economic and Social Council (NESC) by An Taoiseach.

She chats with Susanne Rogers about what the 15 minute city is and is not, the challenges and possibilities for the concept in the Irish context. 

 

159. *Special Edition* - Budget Choices 2024

Due to a technical glitch when we launched our Budget Choices 2024 policy briefing on Monday, 3rd July 2023, our launch did not record. But don't worry! We've recorded a podcast covering all of the relevant details from the launch, including your great questions. We hope you enjoy it.

 

Budget Choices 2024 is available to download here: Budget Choices 2024 | Social Justice Ireland

158. SJI Interviews Ep.99: Energy Poverty with Issy Petrie, SVP and Nicola Fox, MABS.

Issy Petrie is Research and Policy Officer with the Society of St.Vincent de Paul (SVP) and Nicola Fox is National Development Officer with Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS).  They chat with Susanne Rogers about energy poverty in Ireland, who is affected, what supports are available and policy asks into the future. 

 

Find out more about SVP HERE.

Find out more about MABS HERE. 

157. SJI Interviews Ep.98: The Financial Impact of Bereavement with the Irish Hospice Foundation

In this week's episode, Colette Bennett chats with Dr. Amanda Roberts and Avril Easton of the Irish Hospice Foundation on their research looking at the financial impact of bereavement. An estimated 300,000 people every year are impacted by bereavement and many of those will struggle, not just with the emotional fall-out, but the financial impact too.

If you want to start planning for your future, the Irish Hospice Foundation have a brilliant tool to help: Think_Ahead_Editable.pdf (hospicefoundation.ie)

If you or someone you know has been bereaved, the Irish Hospice Foundation have a range of supports: Irish Hospice Foundation - To Die and Grieve Well Wherever the Place

156. SJI Interviews Ep.97: Keith Adams on the Irish Prison System

In this episode, Colette Bennett welcomes back Keith Adams, Penal Policy Advocate in Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice and Doctoral candidate at Leuven Institute of Criminology. It will come as no surprise that we're talking all things prisons - the latest scandals, the unpublished reports, and what really needs to be done if the criminal justice system is to work effectively. 

If you want to learn more about Keith's work, check out www.jcfj.ie to read his many articles and publications, and check out the work of his colleagues across a range of areas too.

155. SJI Interviews Ep.96: Migrations in Our Common Home with Colette Bennett.

Social Justice Ireland is a member of the Roundtable on Migration in Our Common Home, a collective of organisations and individuals concerned about the shape of migration policy in Ireland and internationally. To date, three papers have been published which you can access below. Colette Bennett is one of Social Justice Ireland's representatives at the Roundtable and chats with Susanne Rogers about the work of the collective, gives a brief overview of the first two papers, sets out the current context and recommendations for the future. 

Migrations in Our Common Home: Forecasting for Change

Planning for Change: Climate Change and Migration

Migrations in Our Common Home: Responding with Care - Ireland's response to the Ukrainian crisis