by Bryan Tierney | Aug 2, 2017 | News
Comments to European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) consultation on the Future of Europe in Dublin, Ireland, June 7, 2017
Social Justice Ireland, an independent Irish think tank and justice advocacy organization, has endorsed proposals for the introduction of an EU-wide basic income system. Speaking at an EESC event held in Dublin on June 7th, Dr Seán Healy, Director of Social Justice Ireland, identified two key areas eroding confidence in the EU:
“1.1. Failure to address the ongoing vulnerability of many EU citizens.
1.2. Failure of the European Commission to protect small countries against its larger, stronger members.”
Addressing the first point, Dr Healy referred to recommendations made in May 2017 by a UN expert group meeting on “Strategies for Eradicating Poverty to Achieve Sustainable Development for All”:
“The social welfare systems in developed countries are no longer fit for purpose. There should be an adjustment of the paradigm including promotion, and openness to study new ideas around a new social contract that is more appropriate for the 21st century. This may entail moving towards a universal basic income system, supporting a living wage rather than a minimum wage, recognizing all work (not just paid employment) as meaningful, and ensuring that all government decisions are subjected to a poverty-proofing process. While the centrality of employment and decent jobs to eradicate poverty is well recognized, employment growth has not been sufficient to absorb the growing labour force, particularly in those countries and regions with large youth populations. Further, there has been a divergence between productivity and wages growth, as well as growing employment insecurity and casualization in all countries.”
In his speaking notes, Dr Healy agreed with the UN expert group’s analysis and recommendations, adding that the EU has consistently ignored these issues. According to Dr Healy, none of the five options provided in the EU White Paper on the Future of Europe address these points, going on to note that:
“An alternative option is required that will protect the vulnerable and move towards a future that effectively addresses poverty, unemployment, inequality and exclusion. The EU needs to become, and be seen to become, a caring Union.”
In the context of Irish politics, universal basic income (UBI) has been endorsed by some of the main political parties. The Green Party has long been in favour of the establishment of a basic income, while Fianna Fáil—the country’s second largest party—has talked about the idea for many years. Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on social protection, Willie O’Dea, has called for radical reforms of the welfare system. The veteran politician and basic income advocate has said that, if Fianna Fáil were in office, a government-established commission would report on the idea within six months. Writing about UBI in a news article in January of this year, he said:
“While the broad concept of UBI has been around for a while, the challenges facing us today – particularly the changing and often precarious nature of work, not least the threat to jobs posed by automation and short-term contracts – make it a realistic and workable response.
“UBI would replace virtually every non-pension welfare payment except disability and housing benefits. Scrapping the myriad complex and often contradictory welfare codes would mean the end of welfare administration and expensive means-testing, an end to pointless and unproductive Intreo/job-centre interviews and hated sanctions. The biggest long-term saving, however, would stem from ending the poverty trap disincentives built into the current system, where taking a job can leave you financially worse off.”
The current government, which was formed following the appointment of Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach (prime minister) in June 2017, comprises the largest Irish political party, Fine Gael, and several independents, and is propped up by Fianna Fáil – Fine Gael’s historic rival – in a confidence and supply agreement. Fine Gael have been critical of Fianna Fáil’s basic income proposals and they do not currently have any proposals for the introduction of UBI. The Irish budget for 2018 will likely bring about increases to existing social welfare payments without any of the radical reforms proposed by rival parties.
References and further reading
Dr Seán Healy, Comments to the EESC Consultation on the Future of Europe, Social Justice Ireland, June 2017, <https://www.socialjustice.ie/sites/default/files/attach/publication/4855/2017-06-07-jointeventforeesc-seanhealyspeakingnotes.pdf>
Expert Group Meeting, “Strategies for Eradicating Poverty to Achieve Sustainable Development for All”, United Nations Headquarters, 8-11 May 2017, <https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2017/04/report-egm-poverty2017.pdf>
Willie O’Dea, “Basic incomes for all would end the welfare poverty trap and give people greater control of their lives”, Independent.ie, 19 January 2017, <https://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/basic-incomes-for-all-would-end-the-welfare-poverty-trap-and-give-people-greater-control-of-their-lives-35379503.html>
European Commission, “White Paper on the Future of Europe”, European Commission, March 2017, <https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/white_paper_on_the_future_of_europe_en.pdf>
Reviewed by Genevieve Shanahan
Photo: Irish flag, CC BY-SA 2.0 by jcdcv
by Genevieve Shanahan | Feb 12, 2017 | News
The Dún Laoghaire branch of the Social Democrats will hold a public debate on basic income on Tuesday, February 21. The discussion will be chaired by Social Democrat TD Róisín Shortall and speakers will include Eamon Murphy and Sean Ward, both from Social Justice Ireland, and Anne Ryan and Sinéad Gibney, both of Basic Income Ireland.
The event page calls universal basic income “a new way to provide the people of Ireland the freedom to control their lives. It has the potential to help deliver on our ideals of a society based on values of equality, dignity and fairness, built on a strong and sustainable economy.”
This discussion will address how basic income would work in Ireland – what existing social welfare payments would be subsumed, how it would be financed and potential consequences.
The Social Democrats are a new centre-left party, founded in July of 2015. At present, it holds two of 158 seats in Dail Eireann, the lower house of the Irish government.
Given the affiliations of the speakers, it is fair to presume that the discussion will be fundamentally accepting of the idea of a basic income. It is possible, then, that the debate might focus on the details of implementation, rather than the general idea of basic income.
Basic Income Ireland is the Irish affiliate of BIEN. It has been active in promoting the idea of basic income in Ireland since the 1990s and hosted the BIEN international conference in 2008. They host monthly meetings in the Dublin Institute of Technology, the next of which will be at 6pm on February 15.
Social Justice Ireland, an independent think tank and justice advocacy organisation, recently published a social policy book titled “Basic Income – Radical Utopia or Practical Solution?” (available as a free PDF here), which was presented at their conference of the same name last November. Social Justice Ireland supports a basic income and is on the steering committee of Basic Income Ireland.
The public debate kicks off at 19:30 (UTC) and is scheduled to last an hour and a half. More information is available on the event’s Facebook page. While admission is free, the organisers request that attendees reserve tickets on their Eventbrite page.
Social Democrats Dún Laoghaire – “Can Ireland afford Universal Basic Income?” – a Public Debate, Royal Marine Hotel, Marine Road, Dublin, February 21, 2017.
Read more:
“Basic Income – Radical Utopia or Practical Solution?”, Social Justice Ireland, December 13, 2016.
Kate McFarland, “IRELAND: Papers and Cartoons from “Basic Income – Radical Utopia or Practical Solution?” conference available”, Basic income News, January 4, 2017.
Kate McFarland, “IRELAND: Social Policy Conference on Basic Income (Nov 22)”, Basic Income News, November 9, 2016.
Reviewed by Kate McFarland
Photo: Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, CC 2.0 by William Murphy
by Kate McFarland | Jan 4, 2017 | Research
As previously reported in Basic Income News, universal basic income was the theme of the 2016 Social Policy Conference of the independent think tank Social Justice Ireland (SJI). The conference explored current work on basic income in both the Irish and international contexts.
Local speakers included five members of SJI (Michelle Murphy, Eamon Murphy, Seán Ward, Seán Healy, and Brigid Reynolds), Roisin Mulligan (Basic Income Ireland), Michael Traft (Unite), Ursula Barry (University College Dublin), and Ronan Lyons (Trinity College Dublin). Additionally, Anthony Painter (the RSA, UK), Malcolm Torry (Citizen’s Income Trust, UK), Ville-Veikko Pulkka (Kela, Finland), and Sjir Hoeijmakers (independent adviser, The Netherlands) each spoke about proposals for basic income by their respective organizations and in their respective countries. SJI reports that the conference was attended by 125 delegates.
A compilation of the conference presentations is now available as a PDF book (Basic Income – Radical Utopia or Practical Solution?), downloadable for free from SJI’s website.
In addition to the traditional text-based format, the conference papers are available as cartoons.
Papers and cartoons for each of the individual presentations can be accessed here.
Excerpt of cartoon version of Seán Healy and Brigid Reynolds talk
Several participants have also published summaries and reflections on the conference:
“Basic Income as the key to resolving welfare and work challenges,” Social Justice Ireland, November 30, 2016.
Michael Staines, “Money for nothing – conference hears universal payment could solve social issues,” NewsTalk.com, November 22, 2016.
“Do you think welfare should be replaced by a basic income for all?” Irish Examiner, November 22, 2016.
Photo: “Ireland #3” CC BY-ND 2.0 Pierre Lognoul
by Kate McFarland | Nov 9, 2016 | News
Social Justice Ireland’s 2016 Social Policy Conference in Dublin will center on the topic of basic income in Ireland and throughout Europe.
Social Justice Ireland, an independent think tank and advocacy organization, hosts an annual Social Policy Conference, which focuses each year on a different issue related to social justice.
Its 2016 conference, which will take place on November 22 in Dublin, is titled “Basic Income: Radical Utopia or Practical Solution?” and will explore current thinking about basic income in both the global and Irish contexts.
Themes to be addressed include:
- The role of basic income with respect to citizenship rights and responsibilities.
- How a basic income provides a route to a “more inclusive, equal, and creative society.”
- The international experience on implementing a basic income, highlighting experiments planned for countries such as Finland and the Netherlands.
- Possibilities for implementing a basic income in Ireland.
2015 SJI Conference, image courtesy of Michelle Murphy
Conference Speakers
The conference will be divided into two main sessions: one on the international state of the basic income movement, with a focus on experiments, and one on the potential for basic income in Ireland.
The first session, on the international context, will bring in researchers and basic income experts from throughout Ireland, the UK, and beyond:
- Anthony Painter – Director of Policy and Strategy at the British think tank RSA (Royal Society of Arts); author of the RSA Basic Income Model.
- Ville-Veikko Pulkka – Researcher at Kela (the Finnish Social Insurance Institution); one of the lead researchers behind Finland’s forthcoming basic income pilot.
- Ronan Lyons – Assistant Professor of Economics at Trinity College Dublin.
- Ursula Barry – Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of the School of Social Justice at University College Dublin (who has previously presented at events held by Basic Income Ireland).
In the second session, Roisin Mulligan of Basic Income Ireland and Michael Taft of Unite (the UK’s largest trade union, which endorsed basic income in July) will speak about the Irish context, as will multiple members of Social Justice Ireland (Michelle Murphy, Eamon Murphy, Seán Ward, Seán Healy, and Brigid Reynolds).
Social Justice Ireland’s Stance on Basic Income
Social Justice Ireland supports a basic income and is on the steering committee of Basic Income Ireland, BIEN’s Irish affiliate.
The organization elaborates its stance on basic income in its 2015 policy proposal on income distribution (see pp. 68-72), from which the following excerpt was taken:
“As we are proposing it, a basic income system would replace social welfare and income tax credits. It would guarantee an income above the poverty line for everyone. It would not be means tested. There would be no ‘signing on’ and no restrictions or conditions. In practice, a basic income recognises the right of every person to a share of the resources of society.
“The Basic Income system ensures that looking for a paid job and earning an income, or increasing one’s income while in employment, is always worth pursuing, because for every euro earned the person will retain a large part. It thus removes poverty traps and unemployment traps in the present system. Furthermore, women and men would receive equal payments in a basic income system. Consequently the basic income system promotes gender equality because it treats every person equally.
“It is a system that is altogether more secure, rewarding, simple and transparent than the present tax and welfare systems. It is far more employment friendly than the present system. It also respects other forms of work besides paid employment. This is crucial in a world where these benefits need to be recognised and respected. It is also very important in a world where paid employment cannot be permanently guaranteed for everyone seeking it. There is growing pressure and need in Irish society to ensure recognition and monetary reward for unpaid work. Basic income is a transparent, efficient and affordable mechanism for ensuring such recognition and reward” (pp. 69-70).
More Information and Registration
See the website of Social Justice Ireland for more information about the upcoming conference, including schedule details and bios of all speakers:
www.socialjustice.ie/content/civil-society-policy/social-policy-conference-2016.
To register, go here: https://groupvite.io/v/tagqy.
According to the organizers, the conference will interest “policy makers, academics, social justice activists and others interested in looking at innovative ways of creating a more equal, just and fair society.”
Conference details provided by Michelle Murphy of Social Justice Ireland
Cover photo: Lady Justice at Dublin Castle CC BY-NC 2.0 Derek Bruff
by Kate McFarland | Nov 8, 2016 | News
This year’s edition of Ireland’s Kilkenomics Festival, the economics festival dubbed “Davos with laughs”, will include a panel discussion on the pros and cons of universal basic income, featuring Rutger Bregman and other noted authors.
Billing itself as “the world’s first economics and comedy festival”, the internationally-regarded Kilkenomics Festival is held annually in Kilkenny, Ireland.
The seventh edition of the festival will take place from November 10-13, 2016, and will bring in many notable participants, including its four headline contributors: behavioral economist and popular author Dan Ariely, former Milton Friedman associate Deirdre McCloskey, probability research and popular author Nassim Nicholas Taleb, and comedian Dara Ó Briain.
On Saturday, November 12, the festival will present a panel on basic income, entitled “Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income”:
Debate has become to heat up on the concept of governments providing their citizens with a fixed amount of money, regardless of their income. Recently, Barack Obama suggested that as technology and artificial intelligence begin to replace human paid work, it will become increasingly urgent. Our panel examines the pros and cons of free money for everyone.
The panel will star Dutch journalist and historian Rutger Bregman, the author the best-selling Utopia for Realists, in addition to other distinguished scholars and authors: Deirdre McCloskey, Brown University political economist and Austerity author Mark Blyth, Financial Times columnist Martin Sandbu, Economics for Dummies co-author Peter Antonioni, and author and playwright Gerard Stembridge.
For a complete schedule of “shows” and other details about the seventh Kilkenomics Festival, see www.kilkenomics.com.
More information about the basic income panel in particular, including a link to purchase tickets, is available here.
Kilkenny castle photo CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 vjpaul
