Cultures of Exclusion in Contemporary Ireland

This panel discussion will bring together Irish Research Council-funded experts to share their findings on homelessness and how the current housing crisis in Ireland intersects with other forms of exclusion and inequality.

Topics may include: direct provision and refugees; racial, gender, and class inequalities in social-housing provision; experiences of statelessness amongst the homeless and migrants; and what’s being done to tackle these interconnected issues and to make Ireland a more inclusive and equitable society, where every resident has adequate accommodation to call home.

Registration for the session is available through Eventbrite.

Panel Speakers

Prof. Daniel Carey is Director of the Moore Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Studies at the National University of Ireland Galway. He is on the board of the Irish Research Council and served as chair of the Irish Humanities Alliance 2014-16. He is on the Council of the Royal Irish Academy. He has written for the Irish Times, RTÉ Brainstorm, THES, and other venues on questions of politics, current affairs, and culture.

Prof. Niamh Hourigan is a Sociologist and Vice-President of Academic Affairs at Mary Immaculate College. She has published widely on a range of themes including inequality and social protest, community violence and inter-generational impact of austerity policy in Ireland. Her monographs including Escaping the Global Village: Media, Language and Protest (Lexington Books, 2003, 2004) and Rule-breakers: Why ‘being there’ trumps ‘being fair’ in Ireland (Gill and Macmillan, 2015). She is a former editor of the Irish Journal of Sociology and former Chair of the Editorial Committee of Cork University Press. She is currently a member of the Board of Dublin Housing Observatory and co-chair of the Limerick Food Partnership which seeks to tackle food poverty in the mid-west region. Having worked as a journalist while completing her PhD, she is a frequent contributor to the Irish media on themes of sociological interest.

Dr Rory Hearne is a Lecturer in Social Policy in the Department of Applied Social Studies, Maynooth University. He is an experienced author, researcher, and policy analyst in housing, economic inequality, and human rights. He is author of the book Public Private Partnerships in Ireland, the reports ‘A home or a wealth generator?’ and ‘Investing in the Right to a Home: Housing, HAPs and Hubs’. He also worked as a Senior Policy Analyst with TASC, as a community worker on the regeneration of the Dolphin House social housing community in Dublin’s inner city. He also a hosts a politics and society podcast, ‘Reboot Republic’, and has been involved in housing and social justice campaigns for over 20 years.

Dr Valesca Lima is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Social Science Institute at Maynooth, Ireland. Her research focuses on post-crisis housing policies, social mobilisation for housing rights and governance.

Karen Feeney is Head of Client Services with Galway Simon Community and brings with her over 25 years of progressive experience across the social care sector. Throughout her career, Karen has been dedicated to meeting the needs of marginalised people. Since joining Galway Simon twelve years ago, she has played a key role in the development of services in an increasingly challenging environment. She has been directly responsible for the initiation and development of responsive effective services that have made a significant contribution to Homelessness Prevention. Karen has a proven record collaborating with a range of service providers, to identify and deliver innovative solutions to resolve the housing and support needs of clients with complex needs. Karen holds an MA in Community Development, a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a qualification in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.