ESRI Newsletter, September 2022

I write to you at a time when the headlines don’t seem capable of slowing down, but I’m happy to say that the ESRI continues to actively participate in, and make itself available for, discussions about the plethora of issues facing our society.

Today, we held our annual post-Budget briefing event, where members of our Macroeconomics and Tax, Welfare and Pensions teams discussed the impact of this year’s Budget on household incomes. You can find the slides from this morning’s presentation on our website.

This month, many of my colleagues also had the opportunity to communicate their work to policymakers in the Oireachtas. Researchers from across the ESRI spoke to elected officials on topics as varied as gender and work, energy costs and welfare. It is a reminder of how relevant our work is and will continue to be in this uncertain climate and I’m grateful for policymakers engaging with the ESRI in such a public, transparent and considered manner. It is a great honour to be invited to the Oireachtas for these discussions.

In terms of publications this September, we released two major reports. One, from EMN Ireland, focused on the experiences of non-EU migrant women in Ireland and the second looked at Ireland’s mortality rates. Both made for sobering reads, but I was struck by the finding common to both reports around the perinatal mortality rate: African-born and non-EU migrant mothers experienced significantly higher rates of perinatal mortality.

Next month, we have several events planned. Next week, there is an in-person launch of a report looking at which jobseekers are most at risk of long-term unemployment. I'm glad to see that ESRI work from earlier in the year is continuing to be discussed. On Wednesday, 12th October, the team who authored A North-South comparison of education and training systems: lessons for policy will be presenting at an event in Belfast. You can find further details about all these events below.

Regards,

Professor Alan Barrett

Director