The European Union faces many challenges in relation to healthcare, cost of housing and financial distress that will be further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. This is one of the key findings from the National Social Monitor – European Edition. In this Spring 2020 edition of our National Social Monitor, Social Justice Ireland outlines the present situation on a range of policy issues, comparative to the rest of Europe, that impact on people’s wellbeing and looks at what policies can be introduced to support the most vulnerable.
The European Union faces many challenges in relation to healthcare, cost of housing and financial distress that will be further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ireland and the EU urgently need to develop substantial coordinated actions on these issues.
Social justice matters. That is why Social Justice Ireland publishes our annual socio-economic review. This book is about charting a course to a fairer Ireland. At the foundation of that is what…
Social Justice Ireland believes strongly in the importance of developing a rights-based approach to social, economic, environmental, and cultural policy. Such an approach would go a long way towards addressing the inequality Ireland has been experiencing and should be at the heart of the development model for a just society. We believe that the next Programme for Government should acknowledge and recognise seven economic, social and cultural rights.
The Government of the 33rd Dáil won’t be able to solve all Ireland's challenges in just five years, but making the right choices can go a long way to delivering a fairer society with a better standard of living for everyone. This is why the next Programme for Government must deliver on five key areas: a vibrant economy, decent services and infrastructure, just taxation, good governance and sustainability.
Some of the key challenges facing rural Ireland are an older population, higher poverty rates and greater distances from every day services compared to urban areas. If we want viable rural communities in all parts of Ireland what is possible in the next five years and what policy proposals would move us forward? Read Social Justice Ireland's Election Briefing on Rural Ireland for an outline of a number of key challenges facing rural Ireland and some policy proposals that should be in the next Programme for Government.
Our Budget 2020 submission contains a half a billion euro investment package that would allow rural and regional Ireland needs to thrive, including in areas of tourism, rural transport, enterprise, and rural broadband.
The negative impact on rural towns and communities from the potential fallout from Brexit is receiving welcome attention at present. But what about the other threat to rural Ireland and regional development - the impact that automation and robotics will have on employment across the regions? This issue should be front and centre as Government rolls out the Climate Action Plan and the National Development Plan.
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: The Elimination of Poverty The Championing of Climate Justice Policy Coherence on the SDGs Delivery on the European Pillar of Social Rights Supporting an international treaty on Business and Human Rights
In this edition of our National Social Monitor, Social Justice Ireland looks at the budgets of each of the 31 Local Authorities and analyses where the money was spent, and where it wasn’t, to assess the priorities of local government.
