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Walsh, Judy
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Walsh, Judy
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Walsh, Judy
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- PublicationThe ECHR, Socio-Economic Disadvantage and Access to JusticeThis Part addresses the dual, interrelated themes of socio-economic rights and access to justice. Both themes raise questions about the capacity of human rights law to effect positive social change in practice. The indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights is a core feature of the contemporary human rights regime, yet the inadequacy of mechanisms for redressing socio-economic rights violations in particular continues to feature in debates about the potential of transnational and domestic legal systems to combat social exclusion. The four chapters in this section, which are introduced below, tease out how well the Convention and the ECHR Act serve the interests of people living in poverty and other vulnerable populations. Significantly, they interrogate substantive and procedural aspects of European human rights law from the vantage point of such groups. As the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights observes access to justice does not simply correlate with the ability to invoke one's rights, it also encompasses the substance of those rights: Many laws are inherently biased against persons living in poverty, do not recognize or prioritize the abuses they regularly suffer, or have a disproportionately harsh impact on them.For example, in many legal systems, economic, social and cultural rights are not sufficiently protected, and discrimination on the grounds of socioeconomic situation is not recognized. Similarly, issues such as abuses in the informal employment sector or the exploitation of tenants by landlords, all of which disproportionately affect persons living in poverty, are often not legislated against in an effective manner. Meanwhile, actions which are undertaken by persons living in poverty out of necessity, such as sleeping in public spaces or street vending, are criminalized. Hence, reforms aimed at improving access to justice by the poor must not neglect the need to modify or repeal certain laws or strengthen others.
462 - PublicationEnabling lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals to access their rights under equality law(Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the Equality Authority, 2007-11)
; ; ; 2044 - PublicationCountry report: Non-discrimination: Ireland 2017Irish society is quite homogeneous. According to the 2011 census, of a population of 4 588 252, 84% are Roman Catholic, 6% non-religious, 2.8% Church of Ireland (Protestant), 1% Muslim, and the remainder are of various other religions. 85% describe themselves as ‘White Irish’ and 0.6% as Irish Travellers. 58 697 people identify as ‘Black’ or ‘Black Irish’. Between 2006 and 2011 ‘Other White’ (non-Irish) rose by almost 43%, largely due to immigration from Eastern European countries. 595 355 people, approximately 13% of the population, recorded having a disability. No census questions were asked as to sexual orientation but 4 042 cohabiting same-sex couples were recorded. Non-Irish nationals consisted of 544 357 (12% of the population), 386 764 of whom are nationals of another EU Member State.
1173 - PublicationRights-Based Approaches to Food Poverty in IrelandIn 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.
730 - PublicationWhat are the mechanisms that enable the reciprocal involvement of seldom heard groups in health and social care research? A rapid realist review protocol(Health Research Board, 2018-02)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Background: The University College Dublin (UCD) PPI Ignite Connect Network will fundamentally embed public and patient involvement (PPI) in health-related research, education and training, professional practice and administration in UCD’s institutional structures and procedures. A significant focus of the programme of work is on actively engaging and developing long-term reciprocal relationships with seldom heard groups, via our ten inaugural partners. Methods: This rapid realist review will explore what are the mechanisms that are important in actively engaging seldom heard groups in health and social care research. The review process will follow five iterative steps: (1) clarify scope, (2) search for evidence, (3) appraise primary studies and extract data, (4) synthesise evidence and draw conclusions, and (5) disseminate findings. The reviewers will consult with expert and reference panels to focus the review, provide local contextual insights and develop a programme theory consisting of context–mechanism–outcome configurations. The expert panel will oversee the review process and agree, via consensus, the final programme theory. Review findings will follow the adopted RAMESES guideline and will be disseminated via a report, presentations and peer-reviewed publication. Discussion: The review will update and consolidate evidence on the mechanisms that enable the reciprocal engagement and participation of ‘seldom heard’ groups in health and social care research. Via the expert and reference process, we will draw from a sizeable body of published and unpublished research and grey literature. The local contextual insights provided will aid the development of our programme theories. This new evidence will inform the design and development of the UCD PPI Ignite program focused on ensuring sustained reciprocal partnerships.408 - PublicationThe Convention in the Private SphereConvention jurisprudence concerning the private sphere is an especially dynamic field of human rights law. In this short chapter we clarify the meaning of the term 'private sphere', make some general observations on the salience of relevant case law, and then introduce the four substantive chapters. For the purposes of this Part, the term 'private sphere' refers, firstly, to the most intimate aspects of human experience. Addressed directly under Article 8, protection of one's private and family life, is critical for human flourishing. As the chapters in this section demonstrate, the Strasbourg Court has moved beyond traditional human rights doctrine, which tended to consider the inner circles of our lives as a zone to be safeguarded from an overreaching state. Secondly, the term 'private sphere' denotes the application of Convention provisions to the activities of non-state actors. Here too the ECtHR has developed the frontiers of human rights standards in both what Donnelly describes as the partially private sphere (where private actors perform governmental functions or provide public services pursuant to governmental outsourcing or privatisation) and the 'wholly private sphere' (which refers to relationships between private actors).
292 - PublicationAdult Safeguarding Legislation and Policy Rapid Realist Literature Review(Health Services Executive, 2017-05)
; ; ; ; ; The investigation of, and intervention into the alleged abuse of older people has become a dominant feature of social work in Ireland. The international definition of elder mistreatment adopted in most western countries including Ireland, is: ‘Elder abuse is a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes harm to an older person’ (WHO, 2008; WHO/INPEA, 2002). Operationalising this abstract definition is to describe types or categories of abuse that older people can be subjected to - physical, sexual, psychological, financial and neglect. Although valuable, the limitations of these narrow and mutually exclusive categories are increasingly recognised (Anand et al., 2013; O’Brien et al., 2011; Naughton et al., 2012). There is a major lack of understanding of the voice and experiences of older people in relation to abuse (Anand et al., 2013; Charpentier and Souliéres, 2013; WHO, 2002b). Irish research has demonstrated that older people conceptualise elder abuse as the loss of voice and agency, diminishing status in society, violation of rights and wider societal influences that undermine a sense of individualism and ‘personhood’ (O’Brien et al., 2011; Naughton et al., 2013).1278 - PublicationEquality for all Families(Irish Council for Civil Liberties, 2006-04)
; ; ; ; ; This report was co-authored by the members of the ICCL Working Group on Partnership Rights and Family Diversity.243