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Policy Issues Home

A wide range of material on many policy issues is available on this page.  This includes both material and commentary from Social Justice Ireland and material from other sources.  The policy issues are listed alphabetically in the menu on this page.

TDs take-home pay rose by €848 a WEEK while social welfare rates rose only €162 over past 25 years.

12th May 2010

There is no justification for reducing social welfare rates. Research produced by Social Justice Ireland shows that the take-home pay of TDs rose by €848 a WEEK since 1986 while unemployment benefit rates only rose by €135 in the same period. Government ministers’take-home pay rose by more than €1,533 a WEEK in the same period.

Tax wedge rises in Ireland but still far below the OECD average

11th May 2010

The tax wedge in Ireland remained one of the lowest in the OECD in 2009 with 24 countries out of 30 taking a higher percentage from single people on the average wage and 27 countries taking more from a family on an average wage according to the OECD’s annual publication ‘Taxing Wages’ published on May 11, 2010. This is the case despite the fact that Ireland increased the tax wedge in 2009 on single people with average wages by 1.5 percentage points and on families with

Pay agreement 2010-2014 - Full Text

5th April 2010

€7billion gift to banks likely to undermine State’s finances and public services for years to come while failing to secure credit for businesses

4th April 2010

Social Justice Ireland statement on NAMA and related issues.

NAMA documents - Update

4th April 2010
This country has come a long way since we introduced the State guarantee 18 months ago. Back then, our banks were on the brink of financial collapse and our economy had gone into reverse. Revenue had fallen steeply and unemployment had risen sharply. For the first time in a quarter of a century, we were experiencing negative growth.
 

Ignoring poverty could lead to serious problems according to EU Commissioner.

28th March 2010

POVERTY is something we cannot afford, according to the European Commissioner for employment, social affairs and inclusion.

Are Europe's leaders giving up on Europe's poor?

25th March 2010

Legislators need to know what poverty is and how it is measured

25th March 2010

Some legislators in Ireland are still working with illusions when it comes to measuring poverty. A meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs on March 25, 2010 saw a number of members of Ireland's Dail and Senate comment on what they thought the basis for measuring poverty was.

Social Justice Ireland challenges Government during presentation to Oireachtas Committee

22nd March 2010

In a presentation to the Oireachtas Committee today, March 25, 2010, Social Justice Ireland has called on the Taoiseach and the Irish Government to ensure that the European Council adopts a target of reducing poverty by 25% in the EU by 2020 and adopts social cohesion and social inclusion as explicit objectives of the European Strategy for 2020. The Council is set to meet today and tomorrow, March 25 and 26, 2010.

European Parliament passes resolution on taxing speculative financial transactions.

10th March 2010

The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling on the European Commission to analyse the possibility of introducing a tax on financial transactions such as a Tobin Tax or a Robin Hood Tax.  The motion was passed by 536 votes to 80.

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