While the Irish Government has paid lip service to the existence of both a housing and homelessness crisis and to a climate crisis, Budget 2020 reveals that action is reserved for the fiscal crisis that could emerge from a No Deal Brexit. A Budget Without Precedence Last Tuesday, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe used language… Read more »

The Irish Government’s afforestation plan is to plant 22 million trees every year for the next 20 years. While this sounds ambitious it will do nothing more than reach quantitative targets as it currently lacks the substance and complexity to reduce our carbon footprint, says Ciara Murphy. On the surface the Government’s plan sounds positive.… Read more »

A recently published report by the European Commission echoes the view of the JCFJ that there is “statistical obfuscation, if not corruption” in the Department of Housing’s monthly homelessness figures, says Keith Adams. Much has been written in the past three years about the homelessness and housing crisis in Ireland. Analysis and human-interest pieces are… Read more »

The Global Climate Strikes that take place this Friday (20th September) are about demanding that climate breakdown be addressed with the urgency it requires by governments. Part of this process is engaging with, and moving towards, a just transition to a low carbon economy. A Just Transition*, according to the Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) is… Read more »

As our approach to the climate emergency is informed by Laudato Si’, our Social Theologian Kevin Hargaden has created Homily Notes to be used in church to accompany the day’s readings, or by lay persons as a reflection for prayer. On Friday, September 20th the School Strikes for Climate will take place around Ireland as… Read more »

On Friday, September 20th, there will be a Global Climate Strike, a protest led by school students who are calling on everyone to make their voice heard and demand action on the climate emergency. Ciara Murphy is joining them. “I’ll be one of the thousands of people marching on Friday 20th September because I want… Read more »

Hundreds of homeowners have been left high and dry by the SEAI retrofit scheme. Kevin Hargaden asks if the Government is really as invested in climate breakdown mitigation as it should be? The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) launched a pilot programme in 2017 to experiment with how best to approach the mammoth task of… Read more »

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on land use was published today [8 August 2019]. It paints a stark but familiar picture of the impact human activities are having on the environment. The report, which draws on contributions from over 100 leading scientists from 52 countries across the world, highlights the need for… Read more »

Ireland’s bogs are more than a distinctive feature of the landscape, they are a part of our identity. Restoring them is important for biodiversity, cultural and ecological significance, as well as in the fight against climate chaos, says Dr Ciara Murphy.

When published on 19th July 2016, the Irish Government’s Rebuilding Ireland action plan for housing and homelessness described the Irish housing sector as ‘dysfunctional and under-performing’. Three years later, by practically every metric, the crisis has deepened, leading Peter McVerry SJ to label it ‘an abject failure‘. Rebuilding ‘Rebuilding Ireland’, our analysis of the plan,… Read more »