The Grenfell Tower blaze in London tragically took the lives of almost a hundred people, and left many more without homes. As it becomes increasingly clear that this catastrophe is, at least in part, a consequence of years of austerity politics, Kevin Hargaden reflects on how it illuminates the problems with housing in Ireland.
Writing in The Irish Times Online Kevin Hargaden, Social Theology Officer in the Centre questions the fuss that is being made over Stephen Fry’s comments on blasphemy. Kevin argues that the fiasco has exposed the cultural gap between the concerns of real, actual religious people and the conversation about religion in Ireland.
The Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice has called upon the Government to adhere to the legislative requirements of the Climate and Low Carbon Development Act (2015) when formalising the National Mitigation Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Scriptures and the Christian tradition have a direct relevance for how to think about economic issues. So argues the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, Social Theology Officer, Kevin Hargaden, in the latest edition of the magazine Reality.
The Centre welcomes the Dáil’s decision to support the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill. The Bill will bring about legislation requiring Ireland’s National Strategic Investment Fund to withdraw over €8 billion worth of taxpayers money from fossil fuel companies, and ban any future investments in the fossil fuel industry.
In February 2016, the Jesuit Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology and for Higher Education in Rome published a Special Report on Justice in the Global Economy. The Report was compiled by an international group of Jesuits and lay colleagues in the fields of social science and economics, philosophy and theology. This issue of Working… Read more »
The latest report from the Central Statistics Office shows that half of young adults in prison re-offend within three years upon release. Clearly, a different approach is needed. Community programmes allow those who have caused harm to ‘pay back’ for the hurt caused, to make reparation.
Wednesday October 5th marked the ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change. Undoubtedly, this is a welcomed milestone in international efforts to curb dangerous climate change levels; however without committed, ambitious and tangible efforts at a national level, the goals of the agreement will not be achieved. In response to the ratification, the Stop… Read more »
The Centre has criticised the Government’s position towards tackling climate change, following the European Commission’s recent publication of its 2030 targets for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, for each Member State. Ireland received significant concessions, reducing its 2030 targets significantly, in comparison to the targets of other EU Member States. While some have described the… Read more »
The Centre has called on the Government to end ‘severe confinement’ for young adults in prison. Out of fear for their own safety, 100+ young adults (aged 18–24) are spending up to 23 hours a day in their cell. Our latest report, Developing Inside: Transforming Prison for Young Adults recommends that Youth Justice, under the Department of… Read more »
Working Notes is a journal published by the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice. The journal focuses on social, economic and theological analysis of Irish society. It has been produced since 1987.
