Globalisation:Centre for Social Justice: Work in Northern Ireland

In September 2010 the Centre for Social Justice published Breakthrough Northern Ireland Report. This report attempted to look at a wide range of areas including Scale of worklessness in Northern Ireland, Barriers to labour market engagement, Worklessness and family breakdown, Worklessness and youth unemployment, Worklessness and mental ill-health, Pensioner poverty, The unemployment system, Welfare to work,The benefit system and provided Policy recommendations.

The CSJ attempted to work alongside many of Northern Irelands poverty fighters and attempted to establish connections with a variety of voluntary and community organisations, who have conveyed the complex and deeprooted nature of poverty in Northern Ireland. The CSJ concluded that the problems of Northern Ireland had too long been focused on conflict and sectarian divisions, that whilst these were important many of the issues and social problems of Northern Ireland are replicated throughout the UK as a whole.

The CSJ concluded that there are five key ‘pathways to poverty’, family breakdown, educational failure, economic dependency, addictions and ndebtedness.