Social Justice Matters

The Programme for Government (PfG)- Securing Our Future, published in January 2025, outlines a series of commitments made by Government across a range of policy areas. Social Justice Ireland welcomed the PfG and believes that it contains several policies and proposals that, if resourced and implemented, would represent a significant step to creating a fairer and more just Ireland. These policies w...

William Welser IV is Chief Executive Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of Lotic.ai. As a passionate, curious, and creative technologist, he is dedicated to generating visions for the future that are big, bold, and fearless. In his roles at Lotic, he directs innovation, technology infrastructure, and user experiences. William has tackled, communicated, and solved complex problems thr...

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 po...

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 confer...

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 detai...

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 We...

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...

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...

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 202...

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 y...

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)...

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.

At our conference to mark the retirement of Seán Healy and Brigid Reynolds in January 2024, Dermot McCarthy presented a paper entitled ' The impact of social justice advocacy: a policy maker’s reflections '. To watch that presentation or any of the other speakers, the full conference is available here .   

Dr. Daithí Kearney is an Ethnomusicologist, geographer and performer. He is a lecturer in music, theatre and tourism and co-director of the Creative Arts Research Centre at Dundalk Institute of Technology. His research is primarily focused on Irish traditional music but extends to include performance studies, community music and music tourism. Daithí has toured regularly as a musician, singer and...

At our conference to mark the retirement of Seán Healy and Brigid Reynolds in January 2024, Dr Catherine Kavanagh and Dr Micheál Collins presented a paper, 'Income Inequality and Poverty: A fifty year view' .     To watch their presentation or any of the other speakers, the full conference is available here .   

Aileen is the Senior Research & Evaluation Manager at ALONE. Prior to joining ALONE, Aileen worked at Jigsaw, The National Centre for Youth Mental Health, where her efforts played a critical role in the development of youth mental health services globally. Holding a PhD in psychology, she possesses a strong academic foundation that complements her practical experience. She has published resear...

Raili Lahnalampi is Ambassador of Finland to Ireland. She served as the Chief of Cabinet for the Minister for Foreign Affairs in 2015 -2019. She was responsible for the foreign and security policy and for the relations with other ministries, state administration and representatives of other countries. Ms Lahnalampi has held various international positions and she has a strong background in foreign...

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 confer...

Research and Policy Analysts Michelle Murphy and Susanne Rogers chat through the key asks that will deliver for communities in Budget Choices 2025. 

EnergyCloud work to create solutions to divert surplus renewable energy - which would otherwise be wasted - to Irish homes, with a primary focus on those in fuel poverty. Derek Roddy is co-founder and CEO of climote, a home energy management company. He is a manufacturing and process engineer who represented Ireland in the World Skill Olympics. He developed a strong interest in the challenges of g...

Michelle Murphy, Research and Policy Analyst and Mansi Rawat, Economic and Social Analyst chat with Susanne Rogers about the key infrastructure asks in Budget Choices 2025.  100 Years of Irish Housing 

Nat O’Connor is lecturer in social policy in UCD’s School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice and part-time policy specialist at Age Action Ireland. He has taught politics and social policy since 1999. He has a PhD in political science from Trinity College Dublin and a MA in political science and social policy from the University of Dundee. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Acade...

Research and Policy Analysts Michelle Murphy and Susanne Rogers chat through the key asks for Rural Ireland and the environment in Budget Choices 2025.  Our Just Transition Policy Paper -  'Delivering a Just Transition for Ireland: Policy Options'

Gareth Redmond is Research and Policy Officer with Threshold Ireland . He chats with Susanne Rogers about findings in the most recent We are Generation Rent - Threshold's Annual Tenant Sentiment Survey 2024.  Simon Talks Webinar - Joined Up Thinking: Proposals on Social Housing Reform from the Housing Commission Book - Out of Reach - Inequalities in the Irish Housing System  Report of The Housing...

Research and Policy Analysts Michelle Murphy and Susanne Rogers chat through the key social welfare asks in Budget Choices 2025.