With the news that schools, colleges and childcare facilities are to close, we focus on the things that can alleviate the crisis: a rent freeze, increasing the fuel allowance, a Universal Basic Income and supports for businesses. Rory argues that government should act now to take the fear of having to chose between paying the rent or eating away from […]
The WHO have no declared Covid-19 a Global Pandemic. A woman has sadly died in the east of Ireland from the disease and there are calls for governments around the world to act faster. We discuss these developments, the need for personal responsibility, public initiatives like #selfisolationhelp and how we can all step up. The audio is a bit off […]
We are in unprecedented territory as Covid-19 spreads across the globe and Italy has locked down 60 million people. In Ireland the government have announced several measures as part of their containment strategy, but we would hope they will move more quickly to the mitigation stage. Martin, just out of hospital, argues for more decisive action and for the “I’m […]
We traveled to NUI Maynooth to sit down with Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the University of Bath, Ian Gough. Ian is also Professorial Research Fellow at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) and his current research project is on the intersection of climate change mitigation policy and social policy. For the last decade he has […]
Martin, whether he likes to admit it or not, is high risk when it comes to the Covid-19 outbreak and he feels strongly that not enough focus is on the people who will be the worst impacted by the disease. Protecting consumer sentiment won’t stop the spread; not spooking the markets won’t stop people getting spooked. So I called him […]
When Dermot Desmond wrote his article on the #Right2Housing many in middle Ireland seemed to feel this was a new idea. Rory Hearne and many others have been campaigning for this for years. In this short podcast Rory outlines the steps needed to tackle the housing and homelessness crises and the various ways Government can pay for it. Check out […]
We all love a good story and award winning director, filmmaker and sleep deprived daddy, Ross Whitaker, knows how to tell them. From the Shane Lowry doc to the Katie Taylor film and on to the upcoming Italia 90 doc – The Boys in Green – we’ve all seen and enjoyed his work. Ross came into The Tortoise Shack to […]
Workers in the hospitality sector experience bullying, verbal and physical abuse and sexual harassment at levels that should shame us all. But given that many of these workers are migrants we seem to hardly notice. Our guest in the tortoise shack is Organiser in the Hospitality & Tourism Sectors with Unite Union, Julia Marcianiak. She tells us about her journey […]