CORI calls for social justice and wealth for all

A FRESH crusade for social justice to ensure Ireland’s economic wealth flows down to all citizens is urgently needed Fr Sean Healy warned last night.

Marking the 25th anniversary of CORI Justice, the campaigner said as much effort had to put into sharing wealth as creating it.

“In Ireland, the feeling tended to be that if the economy came right then everything else would as well. People are now realising that isn’t so and we need to work on getting the other things right as hard as we worked on getting the economy better.

“We need to recognise that economic and social justice are two sides of the same coin and we have a long way to go — despite progress in the right direction in the new national agreement Towards 2016.”

Looking back on a quarter century of agitating for change, Fr Healy said CORI Justice had been a force for good.

“We do not say we have all the answers, but do argue that the issues we identify are important and need to be addressed in a comprehensive way if there is ever to be a world where human rights are respected, human dignity is protected, human development is facilitated and the environment is respected and protected. For CORI Justice, these are the core elements of a just society and all of our work is focused on developing such a world,” he said.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern praised the work of CORI Justice as he launched a book marking the organisation’s 25th birthday.

“CORI have been at the forefront of social policy debate and analysis in Ireland over recent years. Especially in the context of social partnership, they have put forward reflections and proposals which have had at their core the goal of enabling people to live life with dignity, especially those who require the support of the rest of the community if they are to achieve their full potential,” he said.