Author Archives: oscharles

On April 16th, AISSN hosted its second webinar of the year on ‘Child Poverty on the Island of Ireland’. Presentations were given by Louise Bayliss, head of Social Justice and Social Policy at St Vincent De Paul and Christine Ellison, Senior Analyst with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) in Northern Ireland (NI). Speaking about theContinueContinue reading “AISSN Webinar briefing: Child Poverty on the Island of Ireland.”

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hsS_wnTfXXk?si=rmq8DTVEoqlNcQmf On February 9th, we hosted our first webinar of the year on ‘Earthquake in Slow Motion: The Psychosocial and Mental Health Impact of Ireland’s Defective Concrete Crisis,’ where Oisin Keenan (PhD researcher, Ulster University) and Professor Karen Kirby (Professor of Psychology, Ulster University) presented their initial findings on the psychological and family impacts of Ireland’s defective concrete crisis. SeveralContinueContinue reading “Defective Concrete Crisis Webinar – Feb 9th 2026”

On November 19th, the AISSN hosted a one-hour All-Island Social Security Network webinar on the initial findings from our comparative research on disability benefits North and South of the border. This paper endeavours to legally map out the respective systems in several key areas (material scope/eligibility, assessment and financial transfers) before comparing the two mostContinueContinue reading “Disability Benefits Webinar”

As the UK Government pushes forward with sweeping reforms to disability benefits, a coalition of academics and policy experts from across the island of Ireland has issued a stark warning: the proposed changes will disproportionately harm disabled people in Northern Ireland and risk deepening existing inequalities. The All-Island Social Security Network (AISSN), a group of researchers fromContinueContinue reading “The All-Island Social Security Network (AISSN) Respond to the British Government’s Disability Reforms”

Christopher Bowes of FLAC has recently joined the AISSN Steering Group, which helps shape the workings and organisation of the Network. Christopher is Policy & Public Affairs Manager at FLAC. He was called to the Bar of Ireland in 2020. As an independent law centre, FLAC frequently provides people with legal representation in the areaContinueContinue reading “New Steering Group Member/FLAC to appear before the Oireachtas Social Protection Committee Wednesday, 18 June at 9:45am”

On the 4th of June, the All Island Social Security Network (AISSN) collaborated with the Centre for Cross Border Cooperation (CBBC) to hold a webinar which examined the social security implications for cross-border workers. Anne Devlin (ERSI & AISSN) introduced the Network and thanked CBBC for hosting the webinar. Annmarie O’Kane (CBBC) then presented theContinueContinue reading “CCBC x AISSN Social Security Webinar”

Wednesday 4th June 11.30am – online The Centre for Cross Border Co-operation is currently hosting a range of webinars examining issues faced by cross-border workers and employers following on from a significant research project (linked) which found numerous barriers to the smooth operation of the all-island labour market which have implications for individuals and businesses acrossContinueContinue reading “CCBC x AISSN Social Security Online Event – Save the Date!”

In our final post of this series, we have some cross-sections of Professor Mary Murphy (Maynooth University) speaking about the importance of the intersection between climate change and inequality. Prof Murphy stressed the importance of research at this critical time, saying it is “a time for revolution, not patching” in that patching up policy orContinueContinue reading “Launch Event Contributions – Professor Mary Murphy”

Our series of posts from the December launch event continues with some key points made by Helen Johnston of the National Economic and Social Council. Helen’s presentation focused on the current state of the Irish welfare system. 1. Helen Johnston – The Irish Social Welfare System https://youtu.be/8NaAuWZ5e58 The Irish social welfare system is based onContinueContinue reading “Launch Event Contributions – Helen Johnston”

Arising from our December 2023 launch event at the School of Law, Ulster University, we are making some of the most pertinent moments of the day available. This first post includes contributions from Professor Madeleine Leonard (Queens University, Belfast) and Helen Barnard (The Trussell Trust UK). Professor Leonard opened proceedings and underlined the importance ofContinueContinue reading “Launch Event Contributions – Prof. Madeleine Leonard & Helen Barnard”