Now showing 1 - 10 of 15
No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Equality : frameworks for change

2001-01-30, Lynch, Kathleen, Baker, John, Cantillon, Sara

Report prepared for the National Economic and Social Forum for the plenary meeting on January 30th 2001

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Migrants and racial minorities in the labour market in Ireland

2010-09, Vasquez del Aguila, Ernesto, Cantillon, Sara

This report analyses the situation of migrant workers and ethnic minorities in Ireland over the post-economic boom period. From the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s, Ireland experienced extraordinary economic growth and this brought with it an unprecedented increase in the migrant population. As a result of the economic crisis, the total number of migrants coming to Ireland has fallen dramatically. However, despite this situation, Ireland is likely to remain a multicultural society and ethnic diversity and immigration have become an important issue in the everyday lives of people living in Ireland. This report demonstrates that not all migrants in Ireland experience the same situation of marginalization and vulnerability. Migrant status is not isolated from other factors such us nationality, race and language. Those most at risk of discrimination are black migrants and those from non-English speaking countries. There is evidence that the current recession and the sharp fall in employment has created racial tensions and reinforced racism and discrimination against migrants. Racial/ethnic minorities constitute the main group reporting discrimination in Ireland. Non-Irish nationals are more than twice as likely as Irish nationals to report discrimination in the work place and when looking for work.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Inequality

2016-12-15, Lynch, Kathleen, Cantillon, Sara, Crean, Margaret

The aim of this chapter is to analyse the impact of austerity policies on levels of economic inequality in the Republic of Ireland. Although the focus of the chapter is on economic inequality, the effects of austerity were not only economic; they were cultural, social, political and embodied (Coulter and Nagle, 2015). They found expression in anxieties and fears about unemployment, emigration, poverty and debt, all of which adversely impacted on emotional and mental health (Cronin, 2015, Mental Health Commission, 2011). The harms of austerity have been visible on the streets through increased homelessness and begging, in the distressed calls to national radio stations and help lines, in letters, comments and articles in newspapers and social media, and in Dáil questions and expositions. Thus, this chapter sets out to identify the inequality impact of the socializing of private debt arising from the collapse of the Irish banking sector. It will focus on how and why austerity impacted on living standards, especially among more politically powerless groups, highlighting increases in levels of economic insecurity that are not measurable by income alone.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Are married women more deprived than their husbands?

1998-04, Cantillon, Sara, Nolan, Brian

Conventional methods of analysis of poverty assume resources are shared so that each individual in a household/family has the same standard of living. This article measures differences between spouses in a large sample in indicators of deprivation of the type used in recent studies of poverty at household level. The quite limited overall imbalance in measured deprivation in favour of husbands suggests that applying such indicators to individuals will not reveal a substantial reservoir of hidden poverty among wives in non-poor households, nor much greater deprivation among women than men in poor households. This points to the need to develop more sensitive indicators of deprivation designed to measure individual living standards and poverty status, which can fit within the framework of traditional poverty research using large samples. It also highlights the need for clarification of the underlying poverty concept.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Discrimination on the ground of religion or belief in Ireland

2012-08, Vasquez del Aguila, Ernesto, Cantillon, Sara

This paper focuses on discrimination on the ground of religion or belief in Ireland. It is based on the analysis of academic sources, secondary data including Irish legislation related to religion; reports published by NGOs and governmental organisations; information from the Census 2011; and media reports and coverage. The Census 2011 shows that Ireland remains a country with a predominant majority who identify themselves as Catholics. There have been important social and cultural changes in Ireland over the last decades. Irish Catholics no longer have the same devotion to the Church that their parents had, and there are many important changes taking place in the State, the media, the public sphere and civil society towards religion. This report shows that despite these changes, the influence of the Catholic Church in Ireland and specifically in the area of education is still significant. The Catholic Church owns and runs the vast majority of primary and secondary schools in Ireland, and has the right, as do other religious groups, to impose its religious ethos in these institutions due to a specific exemption in Irish Equality legislation. This report describes some key policies and initiatives taking place in Ireland that could contribute to the development of a more plural and diverse society.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Older people and age discrimination in the Irish labour market

2011-01, Cantillon, Sara, Vasquez del Aguila, Ernesto

This report presents an overview of the situation of older people in the labour market using the findings of recent research as well as information gathered from a variety of sources and organisations concerned with age and older persons and the Irish labour market. Compared to other EU countries, Ireland has a relatively young population and the ageing process will take place later than in the rest of Europe. However older people constitute one of the most vulnerable groups in Irish society. For instance, life expectancy for older people in Ireland is the lowest in Europe falling below the EU average for both males and females. The high prevalence of disability among older people illustrates the necessity for comprehensive policies towards this population that tackles their different needs and situations. Additionally, there are important employment barriers for older workers due to ageism that is deeply rooted in Irish society. In terms of gender, older women are more at risk of poverty than their male peers. The unequal distribution of care work between women and men illustrates the fact that in Irish society women continue to provide the majority of unpaid care work. This report analyses a range of key aspects of the situation of older people in the labour market. From media representations and public opinion to Government initiatives and the role that NGOs, civil society and the business sector play.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

The relationship between poverty and inequality

2000-10, Lynch, Kathleen, Baker, John, Cantillon, Sara

Paper prepared for the Combat Poverty Agency and the Equality Authority

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Rights-Based Approaches to Food Poverty in Ireland

2008-12, O'Connor, Deirdre, Cantillon, Sara, Walsh, Judy

In Ireland food poverty has emerged as an increasingly important issue on the social policy agenda. The reasons for this include the changing understanding of the nature of food poverty, its causes, dimensions and the development of solutions, as well as a growing awareness that food remains a central dimension of people’s experience of poverty even within industrialised countries. Alongside these developments there is a growing interest in the role of rights-based approaches to poverty alleviation generally and specifically to the issue of food poverty. This paper begins by mapping the main contours of the international human rights system and academic literature in order to ground food poverty within the overarching political and legal framework. In view of the fact that food poverty is central to people’s experience of poverty, it is necessary to review the conceptual literature on poverty generally and to identify the primary state-level mechanisms associated with poverty alleviation. More specifically, this study also identifies the key concepts, actors and interventions that pertain to food poverty in Ireland. This is followed by a summary of the discussion and analysis generated from a one-day workshop which took place in Dublin in March 2008, at which various stakeholders explored the potential of using rights-based approaches to food poverty in Ireland. The paper concludes that rights-based approaches have not featured prominently in interventions to address issues of poverty in general, or food poverty specifically, and activists and practitioners working in the arena of food poverty point to significant challenges in progressing this approach. Institutional resistance to the adoption of a rights-based approach is a significant factor, as is the primacy of private sector interests who are the ‘gatekeepers’ of the contemporary food system. At the same time, insights from the work of human rights organisations who work on food and those who use the approach in other settings suggest that it is a promising avenue to explore. Of particular significance is its potential to address issues of power relations between marginalised groups and policy-makers and to locate local issues and responses within a framework of international human rights law.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

Equality : a continuing dialogue

2007-06, Baker, John, Walsh, Judy, Cantillon, Sara, Lynch, Kathleen

We reply to discussions of "Equality: From Theory to Action" by Harry Brighouse, Joanne Conaghan, Cillian McBride and Stuart White. We find many of their points helpful and treat them as a useful contribution to a continuing dialogue on egalitarianism.

No Thumbnail Available
Publication

The economic case for equality in Ireland

2011-10, Cantillon, Sara, Vasquez del Aguila, Ernesto

The economic case for greater equality has been an increasing topic of academic debate over the past decade. Even though there are a number of studies that tackle the issue of discrimination in Ireland, the economic case for equality is not well developed. This report highlight some important contributions in the field of non-discrimination, diversity and equality in the labour market, and stresses the need to develop further research on the costs and benefits of antidiscrimination policies. Investment in so called ‘virtuous circles’ of greater equality and economic success has become standard practice across a growing number of companies and corporations worldwide. The cost for companies of ignoring the importance of diversity and equal opportunity policies can be directly translated into the high cost of replacing employees who leave because of lack of opportunities or discrimination within the workplace. This report shows how measuring issues such as discrimination and equality is a crucial task, while being very challenging and difficult to achieve. Several studies have established that diversity measurement is not just about numbers and representation by grounds. It is about measurement in the context of employee functions in the work environment. This report examines a variety of sources: from socioeconomic academic studies on discrimination, reports by NGOs, the Central Statistics Office, the Equality Authority, trade unions and business associations, among others.