Social Justice Matters Social Justice Ireland

Sarah Barrington is an engineer, Data Scientist and graduate researcher at the UC Berkeley School of Information. Her research interests span across computer vision, artificial intelligence, decentralized technologies and digital forensics. She graduated from Cambridge University with First Class Honors in General & Manufacturing Engineering (BA, MEng, MA), before working at McLaren Applied as an Associate Engineer & Data Scientist in the Modelling & Decision Sciences function.  She is the current US-UK Fulbright award holder for Data and Analytics (2021-22).
She chats with Susanne Rogers about blockchain technologies, the evolution to crypto and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT), regulation or lack of and what the future may hold. 

Dr. Larry O’Connell is the Director of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), and Chief Officer of the National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO). As senior economist in NESC, since 2007, he worked on a range of policy areas including Ireland’s transition to low-carbon and digital future; housing and land; climate change and sustainable development; higher education funding; and Ireland’s five part crisis.
Anne-Marie McGauran is Policy Analyst with NESC. Her work focuses on equality and social issues.  In NESC, she led the 2021 projects on digital inclusion, and the roll-out of the Community Call initiative to support vulnerable people during Covid-19 lockdowns. In 2022, she led the project looking at how well-being policies are implemented internationally. She is currently working on the NESC project on Ireland’s economic resilience and vulnerability, looking at social vulnerabilities. 
They presented their paper, Ireland’s Wellbeing Journey, co-written with Helen Johnston, Senior Policy Analyst, NESC, at our 2022 Annual Social Policy Conference on the theme 'Towards Wellbeing For All'.  The videos, graphics and papers for the conference can all be accessed Here.
 

Gabriel Makhlouf is the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, taking up that position on 1 September 2019. He chairs the Central Bank Commission, is a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, a member of the European Systemic Risk Board, and is Ireland's Alternate Governor at the International Monetary Fund. 
Before joining the Central Bank Gabriel was Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury and the Government's chief economic and financial adviser from 2011 to 2019. During his time as Secretary, he led reviews of New Zealand's three macroeconomic pillars (monetary, financial stability and fiscal policy) and the development of a new framework for the development of economic and public policy focused on intergenerational wellbeing.
He spoke at the Annual Social Policy Conference 2022 on the theme of 'Towards Wellbeing for All'. The videos, graphics and papers for the conference can all be accessed Here.

Michelle Murphy talks to Clare O’Connor, Energy Policy Officer with Friends of the Earth about climate change, climate action, protecting the vulnerable and COP27.

At the end of October 2022, the Living Wage Technical Group launched the Living Wage of €13.85 for 2022/2023. The Living Wage is a wage which makes possible a minimum acceptable standard of living and is evidence based and grounded in social consensus.
Two members of the group, Robert Thornton, Research Manager at Vincentian MESL Research Centre and Ciarán Nugent, Economist at the Nevin Economic Research Institute explain how the figure is arrived at and why it matters. 

Kathleen Moran is Chairperson of the School Libraries Group of the Library Association of Ireland to talk about school libraries in Ireland.  She chats to Michelle Murphy about the importance of school libraries and school librarians, and what needs to be done to ensure every child and young person in Ireland has access to a fully staffed school library.