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.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.The recommendations of chapter two concluded that in order to address problems of personal fragility in Northern Ireland that is expressed in poor mental health, addiction and significantly influenced by troubles the CSJ stated that it is essential to implement effective policy solutions to reverse the cycles that they described within this chapter. Such policies and programmes included, Putting full recovery at the heart of treatment Reforming governance at national and local level and integrating policy, Expand the use of third sector solutions such as residential rehabilitation and recovery communities, More use of peer support, Prevention and education and Family centred policy solutions.

Chapter Three: The Next Generation in Northern Ireland

This chapter develops on the outcomes and findings of the chapters previous and suggests again that the problems in Northern Ireland require a prevention approach rather than one that aims to limit damage and or reduce harm. Children who grow up in households where they experience family breakdown, educational failure, addiction, worklessness and indebtedness are more likely than other children to reproduce these forms of social breakdown in their own families. In order to prevent this type of social breakdown, some form of social interventions need to take place as early as possible in a child’s life – an Early Intervention approach. The CSJ suggested that when designing a successful early intervention strategy to protect against behavioural problems in later life that guiding principles must be followed, such as, the promotion of emotionally healthy relationships, aim to be ‘family centred’ (not just centred upon children), to treat all family relationships as important, to enable people to build on their strengths as opposed to making them dependent on professionals, make effective policy solutions universally available, to ensure that an early years focus does not cause a disadvantage or exclude later years and prevention. Recommendations of this chapter of the report were early intervention policy, family policy and family fostering, these along with the guiding principles would provide an effective as well as efficient framework for change within Ireland.