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Thought for the Day

“We should not be too concerned with our fame or what people say about us, either bad or good, because in reality fame could not make any serious difference to one’s life. Therefore we should have our priorities right, and seek what is truly of value.”

The Dalai Lama

From the Director General

Annual General Assembly - Update

The AGA of CORI 2008 was held in Athlone in early June and was attended by 133 Leaders of Religious Congregations.

The first day was mainly reflective and the main speaker from Germany was Fr. John Fuellenbach of the Divine Word Missionaries. The themes of his talks were: unwavering trust in the in the presence of the Holy Spirit and using our mental and imaginative powers in trying to know the way we have to move.

The second and half of the third day were devoted to business with reports from the Director General and all five desks of CORI; Child Safeguarding, Education, Healthcare, Justice and Northern Ireland, as well as the other normal matters of an AGM.

OECD - Education at a Glance –published on September 9, 2008
NESC Economic Report: The Irish Economy in the Early 21st Century
(published July 18, 2008)
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2007: The Irish Report
(published July 15, 2008)
National plan for equity of access to higher education 2008-2013 HEA
(published July 14, 2008)
Regional Quality of Life in Ireland, 2008
(published June 26, 2008).
Tackling Low Income and Deprivation: Developing Effective Policies
ESRI Research Series 1 (published June 26, 2008).
World Economic and Social Survey 2008: Overcoming Economic Insecurity - United Nations 2008.

To Access these and Other Reports click here

Dates for your Diary

“Santa, the Holy One”

with Thomas Moore
author of international best sellers,
“Care of the Soul”, “Dark Nights of the Soul”
and recently published “A Life at Work” at Nazareth House,
516 Ravenhill Road, Belfast, BT6 0BW
on Thursday, 11 December 2008 at 7:30 pm

“I think Santa Claus and gift-giving do indeed express the spirit of Christmas and are,
fully in accord with the birth of Jesus, in the true Christmas spirit. I’d like to make those connections
and affirm our celebration of the sacred time of light from darkness.”
Thomas Moore

About the speaker: Thomas Moore is the author of the bestseller “Care of the Soul”. He lived as a Catholic monk for twelve years and later became a psychotherapist, with degrees in theology, musicology and religion. He is a renowned international speaker and is due to lead the Advent Retreat at Drumalis in Larne from 12-14 December.

This lecture is sponsored by CORI (NI) and Drumalis.

Admission - £5 Everyone welcome!

Nov. 26, 2008: "Conversations on a Theme" Reflective day organised by CORI for Congregation Leaders

Reviews

Ubi Caritas: Facing the Crisis in Consecrated Life Today by Bother Rene Stockman

2007 Novalis, Saint Paul University Press, Ottawa, Canada (Available in Ireland from Columba Press)

In the last few years the publication of books on religious life has declined. So it was with interest that I read this book, written by a former superior general of the Brothers of Charity. Although originally written for members of his own congregation it has universal application to all religious life.

The author does not shy away from the realities of religious life today, especially as it is lived in the west - aging, diminishing numbers, lack of energy, but turns attention to re-examining the essence of religious life, including the vows and community, in a way that is theologically sound as well as contemporary in its interpretations.

While firmly rooted in a passionate belief in religious life, Stockman is also practical. His articulation of his vision of the servant-leader could well form the basis of a check list for any religious leader. Citing the theologian Metz, “How does the mystical passion for God become a political passion for humans?” he also turns attention to where he thinks religious ought to be in the world at this time.

Government publishes Finance Bill

Government published the Finance Bill on November 20th, 2008. They also published an explanatory memo and list of the items contained in the bill. All of these can be accessed from this site.

Finance Bill Download Pdf
Explanatory Memo, Finance Bill 2008 Download Pdf
Finance Bill - List of items Download Pdf

NESF to study child literacy and social inclusion

The National Economic and Social Forum (NESF) has been asked by the Government to focus on the Irish experience of successful and unsuccessful implementation of official policies. As part of this, an NESF Project Team, chaired by Professor Áine Hyland, has been set up to examine policies on child literacy and social inclusion.

Have you information and stories to share with the Project Team?

The NESF would like to know more about your experiences of child literacy initiatives in primary schools and communities experiencing social exclusion.They are particularly interested in hearing from teachers, support teachers, principals, parents and members of the community.

The latest Policy Briefing published by CORI Justice addresses the challenges which Ireland faces at this very difficult time. On the one hand services in areas such as health, education and welfare are not at the level expected of a country with Ireland’s level of wealth. Likewise Ireland’s infrastructure in areas such as public transport and broadband is very inadequate.

On the other hand Government plans to borrow €13.4bn in 2009 of which €4.7bn will go towards meeting day to day expenses. This situation cannot continue for long. Undoubtedly, a certain amount of improvement in Ireland’s fiscal situation could be achieved by getting better value for money in both services and infrastructure. However, such improvements will go nowhere near meeting the levels of expenditure that will be required if services and infrastructure are to reach the levels demanded by most Irish people. So, Ireland faces a crucial choice - whether to reduce the levels of services and infrastructure or to increase the tax-take to pay for these.

This Policy Briefing addresses the issue of how Ireland can finance public services and infrastructure in the long term.

Read Policy Briefing in html format

Download pdf of Policy Briefing

Download pdf of CORI Justice submission to the Commission on Taxation

“Santa, the Holy One” - Public Lecture

“Santa, the Holy One” is the title of a public lecture to be given by Thomas Moore, international best selling author, at Nazareth House, 516 Ravenhill Road, Belfast, BT6 0BW on Thursday, 11 December 2008 at 7:30 pm. Thomas Moore is author of international best sellers 'Care of the Soul' and 'Dark Nights of the Soul' as well as the recently published 'A Life at Work'. All are welcome. This lecture is sponsored by CORI (NI) and Drumalis.

Read more…html or Download Pdf

Rich-poor divide widens, says OECD

The gap between rich and poor has widened in most developed countries over the past two decades as economic growth has benefited the wealthy more than the impoverished, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The OECD report entitled ‘Growing Unequal?’ published October 21st, 2008 shows that Ireland’s level of inequality is almost as bad as it was in the mid-1980s having fallen in the period between then and the start of the present decade.

Ireland was seventh most unequal country – more than 5 per cent above the OECD average – using the Gini scale, which measures disposable household income adjusted for household size. The UK was ranked sixth with inequality 8 per cent above the OECD average.

Choosing Ireland's Future

The past few weeks have seen dramatic events ranging from the virtual collapse of the international financial system to the election of Barak Obama to the reversal of Budget decisions following protests by over-70s at proposed changes on entitlement to medical cards. We certainly live in interesting times - times that require major choices that will shape the future for decades to come.
Read more...

Number of people without enough food is rising

There is growing concern that the numbers of people without enough to eat in the coming months will rise, especially as the global economic downturn threatens to undermine recent efforts to alleviate the global food crisis.

The United Nations says the number of people living in hunger and poverty grew in 2007 by 75 million. The growing global food crisis according to analysts is being caused by a number of events, including rising fuel costs, erratic weather patterns, the widespread diversion of food crops for biofuels and escalating livestock production.

People at risk of poverty are much more likely to have higher levels of chronic illness according to a recent report produced by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) and Combat Poverty. Poorer people’s health outcomes are very influenced by social factors, such as poor housing, nutrition and education (known as the social determinants of health) which explains the higher level of ill-health found among poor and socially excluded groups in Ireland, North and South.

CONTACT Issue Number 46

The latest edition of the CORI Justice newsletter CONTACT addresses a range of issues including: the failures of the Celtic Tiger, the review of the National Social Partnership Agreement, the EU Social Agenda, the origins of the present financial crisis, health and the poor, corruption, zero carbon in Denmark and the importance of reclaiming our time in today's very busy world. Download Pdf

CORI Justice Analysis and Critique of Budget 2009

Working Poor and Children Lose Out in Budget 2009 Download Pdf

Budget 2009 did not protect the vulnerable. The working poor and children lose out in Budget 2009. Other social welfare recipients will also be worse off in real terms in the coming year.

This happened despite the fact that the distribution of resources in Budget 2009 was very progressive with the only net beneficiaries being people in receipt of social welfare payments.

On October 11, the Government published its White Paper in advance of Budget 2009.Without taking into account changes to be introduced on Budget Day it shows an expected Budget deficit of nearly €15bn in 2009, a reduction in capital spending of 6.3% and an expected fall in tax revenue of more than €1bn in 2009. Initiatives to be announced on Budget Day will cause these numbers to change. Download Pdf

Text of Review and Transitional Towards 2016 Agreement is published.

The text of the first formal review of the National Social Partnership Agreement, Towards 2016 has now been published. This review started in February and concluded in September 2008. During that period there were dramatic changes in the economic and fiscal context in which the review was taking place. The Community and Voluntary Pillar of Social Partners (of which CORI Justice is a part) played an active role in this review – with a special focus on Part One of the agreement which constitutes 60 per cent of the agreement and covers allmatters other than pay and conditions.

Ireland has a serious literacy problem. Some years ago an OECD survey found that a quarter of Ireland’s adult population had a very low level of literacy. A 2004 study for the Department of Education found that more than 30 per cent of children in disadvantaged primary schools suffer from severe literacy problems. Both of these reports highlight the two-tier pattern of Ireland’s educational outcomes. Many do well. Others are left behind.

The latest Policy Briefing from CORI Justice argues that a fairer tax system would be good for the economy and good for the vulnerable. The Briefing identifies many tax breaks that are of far greater benefit to the better off than to those on average incomes. Reforming these would provide Government with the additional resources needed to protect the vulnerable at this difficult time when new resources are scarce.

The Briefing also identifies the choices Government should make if it is to protect the vulnerable. Download Pdf

CORI Justice publishes its submission to Commission on Taxation

CORI Justice has made a detailed 81-page submission to the Government-appointed Commission on Taxation. In it we outline our proposals for tax reform in Ireland. The role of taxation, and the need to reform the current structures of the taxation system, have been central to the work of CORI Justice for many years. To date we have published numerous documents addressing taxation reforms1 and in 2004 we hosted a conference (and published a book) on the theme of A Fairer Tax System for a Fairer Ireland. All these publications have been guided by our core policy objective in this area:To collect sufficient taxes to ensure full participation in society for all, through a fair tax system in which those who have more, pay more, while those who have less, pay less. This core policy objective also guides the analysis, critique and proposals contained in this submission. All comments are welcome and should be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Download Pdf

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