“I want to make a simple proposal that if our judges were more aware of the prison environment, to have walked the tiled floors or listened to the experiences of those they may have imprisoned first-hand, the numbers in pre-trial custody would reduce.” Peter McVerry SJ

  Economics and policy, a marriage made in the public, political and societal eye – is one that not even debt can tear apart. The two are inextricable , and the power dynamic within their relationship is an important one to consider. When fiscal priorities are the parameters that frame policies, the results may not… Read more »

  In early 1998, Tony Blair, then UK Prime Minister, addressed the French National Assembly. In fluent French, he described the political ethos shaping New Labour and, more broadly, Third Way politics, as “an attempt to make realistic sense of the modern world. It is a world in which love of ideals is essential but… Read more »

  At the start of last year, we in the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice looked forward to 2020. We were full of anticipation of progress on environmental issues, saw signs of hope in the growing divestment from fossil fuels movement and were able to celebrate the Irish Government’s participation in that process. What… Read more »

It is important to ask why a request to vaccinate prisoners in the early stages of the programme is met with vehemence and opposition. The force of emotion expressed reflects something of our punitive instinct around justice and this particular instance exposes how in the end, that desire is self-destructive.

On Saturday 21st November, the ACRE Project came together to construct a Bug Hotel in the grounds of its community house in Mullacreevie Park, Co. Armagh.

  Trade agreements are difficult things to discuss because they require such specialised knowledge and attention to detail. But they have such an impact on our economy and society that we must be alert to what they contain.

Perhaps the EPA report, which is unrelenting in its assessment, is the catalyst we need to become painfully aware of what is happening in our country as well as for a plan we can follow to change our collective habits.

  Amongst the news of the US election and of potential vaccines that will hopefully help end this twilight zone of social distancing we must not be deaf to the continuing reality of the climate and biodiversity emergency. Hurricanes, wildfires, and bog slippage , which are all part of the complex story of climate change… Read more »

The first step in this direction is acting on the promises made in the Programme for Government and definitively closing off all avenues of fracking importation and fossil fuel exploration in Ireland.