Fionnuala Casey 
Dr Paul McKenzie (Ulster) – Fuel poverty is a significant issue across Europe and a particular problem within the UK and Ireland. Fuel poverty occurs when insufficient funds are available to pay for a warm and comfortable home. Households affected by fuel poverty are at risk of physical and mental health difficulties and are linked … Read more
Dr Mark Simpson (Ulster) – The protection of human dignity and poverty reduction are core functions of social security. Changes to working age benefits since 2010 have reduced claimants’ incomes, putting more people at risk of poverty and arguably reducing the ability of the system to support a dignified standard of living. Human rights law … Read more
Dr Paula Devine (QUB) et al: In Northern Ireland, as elsewhere, there has been a growing recognition of the needs of older people within a range of policies and strategies. Within these, the prioritisation of social inclusion for older people acknowledges that social inclusion and active ageing have strong links to health and well-being. At … Read more
Mrs Emily Smyth (Ulster): The European Landscape Convention commits the Northern Ireland government since 2007 to recognising landscape as a common resource to which everyone has rights and responsibilities for culture, quality of life and individual and social wellbeing, and economic activity; that changes in the economy accelerate landscape transformation; and that cooperation in protection, … Read more
Dr Damian Gallagher (Ulster), Dr Ann Pegoraro (Laurentian University, Canada), Prof Audrey Gilmore (Ulster) and Mr Ryan Bell (Ulster) – The principal aim of this presentation is to highlight a current gap in the government policy of Northern Ireland in relation to the business of sport. It seeks to stimulate debate and aid understanding of … Read more
Dr Heather Ritchie and Prof Greg Lloyd (Ulster): The island of Ireland, though physically small, faces big institutional challenges for the delivery of a sustainable blue energy future. Challenges stem from separate governance regimes across the island; with several government departments controlling functions across planning and regulation. Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is established as an … Read more
Prof J. Andrew G Cooper (Ulster): Recent storms on the Northern Ireland coast have caused widespread flooding and coastal erosion. Erosion threatens buildings, roads, railways and other infrastructure, but is also a vital natural process that sustains beaches, and is essential to maintenance of a healthy coastal ecosystem. Societal responses to erosion include: (a) hard … Read more
Prof Rory O’Connell (Ulster), Mr Eoin Rooney, Prof Colin Harvey (QUB) and Prof Aoife Nolan (Nottingham, ex QUB): This presentation discusses the findings of multidisciplinary research, to develop an approach to budget analysis, as applied to housing in Northern Ireland. The research is based upon a robust methodology incorporating economic analysis and legal principles, following … Read more
Ms Lindsay Shaw (Ulster): There are social inequality issues relating to low/limited income households being less able to afford a better standard of housing. While there is a ‘Fitness Standard’ (the minimum standard for housing in Northern Ireland), this is recognised as outdated and offers inadequate protection. In England, the fitness standard’ was replaced by … Read more
Prof Brigid Featherstone (OU) and Dr John Devaney (QUB): In both England and Northern Ireland there appears to be a policy consensus that early authoritative intervention is required with families in order to ensure vulnerable children do not remain too long in neglectful situations. Recent legislation in England – such as the Children and Families … Read more