This section of our National Social Monitor Autumn 2018 provides a brief insight into the disparity of essential services such as broadband and public transport in our rural communities
With 10,000 people - including 3,600 children - homeless, 72,000 mortgages in arrears, and 86,000 households on social housing waiting lists, it can hardly be denied that Government policy is a dramatic failure.
The Government has today published its National Reform Programme 2018, as submitted to the European Commission. In informing this process Social Justice Ireland submitted two papers to the Department of An Taoiseach - our comprehensive Europe2020 report and our analysis on the Country Specific Recommendations set out in the 2018 Country Report for Ireland.
While the economy is doing well, it is crucial that policy-makers realise that many on lower incomes are not benefiting as they should. Almost 800,000 people in Ireland are living in poverty, a quarter of a million of whom are children. 1 million people in Ireland are experiencing deprivation. 105,000 people are working in a job with income so low they are living in poverty. Social Justice Ireland has a plan to fix this, and to build a fairer society for all.
The National Social Monitor is Social Justice Ireland’s annual contribution to the public debate that is needed on Ireland’s future and how Ireland is performing in terms of promoting the wellbeing of all in society. It examines progress in areas such as housing, healthcare, education, employment, rural development and the environment among others.
Ireland’s social contract is broken. The legitimate expectations of citizens are not being met. This is most obvious in areas such as housing and homelessness, a two-tier healthcare system, an ongoing failure to provide rural broadband and high levels of poverty and social exclusion, especially among children. 2017 is the first year of a new century for Ireland and now is the perfect opportunity to develop a new and radical social contract for Ireland’s second century.
The executive summary of Social Justice Ireland's Socio-Economic Review 2017 'A New Social Contract for a New Century' is available below.
The latest issue of Social Justice Ireland's Employment Monitor examines regional employment trends. Figures released in August by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show a wide divergence in the experiences of Ireland’s different regions as regards unemployment and job creation trends.
There will be nearly 1 million people aged 65 and over by 2031 – an increase of 86.4 per cent. Of these 136,000 will be aged 85 or over by 2031, an increase of 132.8 per cent. Now is the time to plan Ireland’s investment in services and infrastructure. This is one of the key issues highlighted in the National Social Monitor 2016.
The National Social Monitor is Social Justice Ireland’s annual contribution to the public debate that is needed on Ireland’s future and how Ireland is performing in terms of promoting the
