UN Independent Expert Bohoslavsky has called for a human rights-based response to the current pandemic, asserting that austerity cannot be an option and that there must be an immediate emergency response for the vulnerable (including an emergency basic income, housing and essential services). Economic policies and entitlements must be consistent with public health and human rights and there should be some reflief of both private and sovereign debt. Fiscal policies should finance social justice, and the opportunity for a real global green change should not be missed.
The decision to put a new social contract and a focus on the wellbeing of Irish people at the heart of the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael Framework for a New Programme for Government is very welcome. So too is the assertion that there is no going back to the old way of doing things. The fact that the framework recognises the need for new, credible, quality-of-life measures of individual and societal wellbeing and progress, suggest that the next Programme for Government will go beyond economic priorities and targets and take a more holistic approach in its decision-making. Such a development would be very welcome.
Our initial 15-page response to the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael Framework for a New Programme for Government welcomes some aspects of the plans, raises concerns about others, and proposes a series of specific policy initiatives that would go some distance towards achieving each of the ten mission statements set out in the Framework.
Despite the inevitable economic aftermath of the current pandemic, the Government of the 33rd Dáil can make significant inroads into the challenges Ireland faces over the next five years. The next Programme for Government must deliver on five key areas: a vibrant economy, decent services and infrastructure, just taxation, good governance and sustainability.
Ireland and much of the rest of the world is facing into a major economic recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The circumstances and causes of this recession are very different from those that caused the recession in 2008/2009, but there are still lessons that can and should be learned. One of those lessons relates to government’s fiscal response. Faced with a recession that will exceed any in living memory, government must act on a scale that exceeds anything implemented during the financial crisis of a decade ago.
In this time of unprecedented crisis, the European Union must heed the lessons from the financial crash of 2008 and take substantial and coordinated action now. Failure to act quickly, decisively and appropriately will have devastating consequences.
The coronavirus pandemic is arguably the greatest crisis the world has faced in living memory. It has implications for several areas of policy, not the least of which is the economy. In the latest episode of our podcast, Social Justice Matters, we talk to Dr. Tom McDonnell, co-Director of the Nevin Economic Research Institute, about the Irish government’s response to COVID-19, what else might be needed to ensure a robust recovery when this pandemic subsides, and the lessons to be learned from this crisis.
As we face into the most difficult and challenging times most of us have ever known, it is important to acknowledge that despite well documented problems and challenges, Ireland is in the privileged position of having public services and social infrastructure to rely on at a time of crisis. In the coming months, when we begin to think of the future beyond the current crisis, we need to consider how we can deliver a social contract to meet our needs in changing times?
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.
