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The European Commission last week (05 June 2019) published its Country Specific Recommendations for Ireland as part of its European Semester work programme.  The three recommendations for 2019/2020 focus once again on the need for Ireland to broaden the tax base, as well as supports for low work intensity households and targeted investment.  These are areas on which the European Commission have made recommendations previously and, while Ireland has made some improvements in recent years, we have a long way to go.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) this week published its fifth monitoring report on Ireland.  In it, the ECRI point to a number of improvements since its previous report was published in 2012, such as the establishment of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the recognition of Travellers as an ethnicity, and the revised Migrant Integration Strategy, however problems of racism persist particularly for Travellers and those asylum seekers living in Direct Provision centres.

Social Justice Ireland wishes our newly elected MEPs every success.  This is a pivotal time for the future of the European Union and MEPs play a key role in ensuring that social and environmental sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals are at the heart of Europe's future.   To this end we have formulated Five Key Policy Asks for our MEPs in conjunction with Trocaire. They are:

1. The Elimination of Poverty
2. The Championing of Climate Justice
3. Policy Coherence on the SDGs
4. Delivery on the European Pillar of Social Rights
5. Supporting an international treaty on Business and Human Rights

Social Justice Ireland regrets that to date Government has not committed to supporting European moves to introduce a Financial Transactions Tax. The tax offers the dual benefit of dampening needless and often reckless financial speculation and generating significant funds. Reports have estimated a net revenue yield of between €320m and €350m per annum in Ireland alone, while according to the United Nations, the amount of annual income raised would be enough to guarantee to every citizen of the world basic access to water, food, shelter, health and education. This tax has the potential to wipe out the worst forms of material poverty throughout the world.