Globalisation:Centre for Social Justice: Work in Northern Ireland

In September 2010 Globalisation: 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 indebtedness. The CSJ concluded that there are five key ‘pathways to poverty’, family breakdown, educational failure, economic dependency, addictions and indebtedness. These pathways have all been recognised as being interrelated, children from broken homes are twice as likely to have behavioural problems, more likely to smoke and drink. Much research has helped to inform the work around these pathways and many policies from Breakthrough Britain and other CSJ publications are presented within the report as effective solutions

Recommendations of the Report

Chapter One: Economic Dependency and Worklessness in Northern Ireland

This Chapter of the report looked at the scale of worklessness in Northern Ireland and demonstrates a link between this and poverty, being ill health breakdown of familes and attempted to investigate and find a root of the causes of the problem and the impact of recent labour market policy on worklessness. Recommendations of chapter one of the report proposed in "Dynamic Benefits, we propose a redesign of the benefit system so that it relieves poverty over the long-term. We must account for how its shape and structure influence people’s movement into and out of work.47 People need to be recognised as dynamic, active participants in the economy, not as static, passive recipients of cash transfers – so effective welfare programmes must successfully overcome barriers to work rather than merely financing (and thus maintaining)worklessness". Key considerations of the proposed reforms included: The continued relief of poverty, The reduction of worklessness and benefitdependency, The support of positive behaviours by reducing the couple, mortgage and savings penalties, An increase in the affordability of the system to the state in the medium long-term. The CSJ concluded that these objectives could be met in a system in which: Earned income is valued over benefit income, Household rather than individual employment is of greatest concern for policy makers, Decision-making that enhances self-sufficiency is rewarded, The reduction of participation and marginal tax rates for low earners leads to an increase in employment that makes it self-financing over the medium-term.

Chapter two: Fragility in Northern Ireland

“The history of political conflict and civil unrest in Northern Ireland makes it unique in the UK in terms of its social profile as a region. The legacy of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland – a phenomenon which has largely characterised much of its history over the past 50 years – has profoundly affected not only its governance, but its communities and individuals. Many of those most profoundly affected by social breakdown have known severe disadvantage and heightened community conflict”. This chapter within the report attempts to show that the high prevalence rates of depression and mental ill-health in Northern Ireland are associated with problems of worklessness, addiction, and conflict-related trauma. The political climate during times of conflict usually tends to make the position of those who are disadvantaged already worse, this particularly being those who are the poorest off. The report stated ti would be "irresponsible to overlook the conflict in any social commentary of Northern Ireland and in the development of social policy". The political climate during times of conflict usually tends to worsen the problems for those who are already at a disadvantage and this is particularly seen to be the case in Ireland.