The Voting Behaviour of the Irish parliamentary party on social issues in the House of Commons 1881-90

Most studies of the Irish Parliamentary party and its leaders have, understandably, focused on issues directly concerning Ireland. There have been relatively few studies of the role of the Parliamentary party in broader British politics, particularly in relation to social issues. In order to assess this issue over a period of time, this study examines the division lists of the House of Commons in relation to votes on selected ‘social’ issues in the 1880s. An analysis of the Irish Parliamentary party’s voting record in the 1880s throws some light on the party’s broader views on social issues. The study examines the voting behaviour of the Irish Parliamentary party in the context of that of the other major political groupings in the 1880s Parliament. It looks in particular at i) The extent to which the Irish party members actually voted in comparison with MPs overall; ii) the internal cohesion of the Irish Parliamentary party votes, i.e. the extent to which those members voting expressed the same views; iii) their ‘likeness’ with the voting patterns of other major political groupings, i.e. the extent to which the Irish party votes were in line with other groups; and iv) the extent to which (if any) this changed over time.Roll-call voting analysis; Irish parliamentary party; social issues; nineteenth century Irish history

Occupational structures, migration, religion and poor relief in nineteenth century urban Ireland

Patterns of poor relief varied greatly amongst nineteenth century Irish cities. To date, however, there has been little examination of the reasons behind these divergences. One possible factor is the divergent occupational and demographic structures of these cities – ranging from the dramatic growth of an industrialising Belfast, to relative (post-Famine) stability in more service-oriented Dublin, to the slow decline of other southern regional capitals. This paper examines the occupational and social class breakdown of the six major Irish cities over the period from 1861 (after the Great Famine) to 1901 and explores whether the difference in these factors can help to explain the differences in poor relief policies adopted in the different poor law unions. It concludes that the aggregate evidence suggests little clear link between occupational structures and poor relief policies. While it would seem unlikely that occupational structures did not have some impact on such policies, it appears that the impact of such structures was mediated through a range of other policies and will only be revealed through detailed local studies. Drawing on broader work, the paper suggests that key influences in the different patterns of poor relief– in addition to overarching factors such as the wealth of a union – may have included both religious factors and the use of poor relief policy to control in-migration in the rapidly growing northern cities.Poor relief; urbanisation; occupational structures; Ireland; nineteenth century

The politics of poor law reform in early twentieth century Ireland

This paper looks at the reform of poor relief in Dublin (the capital city of the then Irish Free State) in the 1920s and 1930s. In particular, it examines the introduction of the Poor Relief (Dublin) Act, 1929 and the role of political parties and interest groups in shaping its final outcome. This study is of particular interest in that it came in the first decade of Irish independence in a transitional phase of political and policy development. As such it took place before the political system took on the more rigid structures to be found in the mature Irish polity. It is one of the very few examples of an initiative by an Irish opposition party leading to significant change in the welfare area. In addition, the reform took place at a time when policies were moving from the more localised model of the nineteenth century to a more centralised approach. This local focus shows very clearly the particular class interests at play in the Dublin reform.Welfare; poor law; politics; Ireland

The impact of the introduction of social welfare schemes in Ireland, (1930s-1950s)

The relatively few studies of the Irish social welfare system have focused mainly on the forces behind the introduction of social welfare schemes rather than the impact which these schemes had in demographic and labour market terms. This note presents a preliminary examination of the issues and evidence concerning the impact of two significant schemes: the widow’s pension and children’s allowance. Its findings are significantly limited by the non-availability of data concerning, for example, the living arrangements of widows and large families in the relevant period. The main findings are as follows: 1. In those areas for which there is data, albeit imperfect in many cases, there is limited, if any, indication of a significant impact of the introduction of these schemes, for example, in relation to the remarriage rate of widows, the employment rate of married women, the numbers of children in care, levels of fertility or marriage. 2. The one area where there would appear to be an impact is in the employment rate of widows, where the introduction of widow�s pension appears to have accelerated an ongoing decline. 3. In relation to poverty, there is no direct evidence of poverty rates in published data. However, the introduction of widow�s pensions must have improved the financial position of such widows as the introduction of children’s allowance must have improved the financial position of larger families. 4. There is a co-occurrence of the introduction of children’s allowance and the fall in infant mortality. However, despite other studies which suggest a strong link between the two, it is suggested that that the link may be less direct and that it is more likely to reflect concurrent, but as yet, unquantified, improvements in children’s health care staff. This is not to say that the improvement in the financial position of families had no impact on infant mortality. This preliminary study suggests that the published data provides quite limited information on the impact of social welfare schemes, and that in order to investigate this further, examination of original Census material, such as, for example, housing conditions and employment rates by family size would be required.social welfare; Ireland; demograhic and labour market impact

Health Care and Human Rights after Auton and Chaoulli

The judicial interpretation of the entitlement to health care under the Charter and human rights legislation has tended to swing between interventionist and non-interventionist poles. In Eldridge, the Supreme Court of Canada held that a failure to provide sign language interpretation where this was necessary to ensure equal access to health care was in breach of the equality provisions of the Charter. However, in a subsequent case, Auton, the Court narrowly circumscribed the limits of this approach, holding that the Canadian system of public health care was, by its very terms, a partial health plan. It followed that exclusion of particular non-core services could not, in itself, be seen as less favourable treatment.The Chaoulli decision marked a return to a more interventionist approach with the Court holding (by a narrow majority) that the prohibition on private health insurance provided for in Quebec law was inconsistent with section 1 of the Quebec Charter. This judgment has been cited in over eighty decisions of courts and tribunals. However, just how important has Chaoulli been in terms of the overall approach of the Canadian courts?The author suggests that Chaoulli—despite its significance in the legislative arena—has had a somewhat limited impact to date on the case law concerning health care, and that Auton has clearly had a greater impact to date. The author examines several examples from subsequent case law that point to the weakness of the approaches taken in both Auton and Chaoulli. The narrow approach adopted in Auton can lead to equality claims being dismissed without any proper discrimination analysis and shows the manner in which a broad use of the “benefit provided by law” requirement may weaken equality jurisprudence. Conversely, the case law highlights the fact that the courts will have to reject much more difficult claims than those upheld in Chaoulli unless they wish to develop positive obligations under section 7 of the Charter.L’interprétation judiciaire du droit à des soins de santé en vertu de la Charte et des instruments législatifs protégeant les droits de la personne a tendance à osciller entre les pôles interventionniste et non interventionniste. Dans Eldridge, la Cour suprême du Canada a statué que l’omission de fournir une interprétation en langage des signes lorsque nécessaire pour assurer un accès égal aux soins de santé constituait une violation des dispositions de la Charte protégeant le droit à l’égalité. Toutefois, dans une affaire subséquente, Auton, la Cour a étroitement circonscrit les limites de cette approche, en affirmant que le régime public de soins de santé canadien est foncièrement un régime partiel. Conséquemment, l’exclusion de services particuliers non essentiels ne peut, en elle-même, correspondre à un traitement moins favorable.L’affaire Chaoulli marque un retour à une approche plus interventionniste. La Cour y affirme par une courte majorité que la prohibition de souscription à une assurance privée de soins de santé dans la loi québécoise n’est pas compatible avec l’article premier de la Charte québécoise. Ce jugement a par la suite été cité dans plus de quatre-vingts décisions de cours et de tribunaux. Toutefois, quelle est réellement l’importance de Chaoulli en ce qui concerne l’approche globale des cours canadiennes ?L’auteur suggère que Chaoulli, malgré son importance dans la sphère législative, a jusqu’à présent eu une influence relativement limitée dans la jurisprudence concernant les soins de santé. Auton demeure clairement à ce jour une décision beaucoup plus influente. L’auteur examine plusieurs exemples de la jurisprudence subséquente qui éclairent la faiblesse des approches respectives retenues dans Auton et dans Chaoulli. D’un côté, l’approche étroite adoptée dans Auton peut mener au rejet de demandes de protection du droit à l’égalité sans véritable analyse de la discrimination alléguée, ce qui montre que l’interprétation large exigeant qu’un «avantage prévu par la loi» existe peut affaiblir la jurisprudence sur le droit à l’égalité. D’un autre côté, la jurisprudence souligne que les cours devront rejeter des demandes beaucoup plus exigeantes que celles acceptées dans Chaoulli, à moins qu’elles ne souhaitent développer des obligations positives en vertu de l’article 7 de la Charte

Book review: Social protection under authoritarianism: health politics and policy in China by Xian Huang

In Social Protection under Authoritarianism: Health Politics and Policy in China, Xian Huang explores patterns of welfare under an authoritarian system, examining the rapid growth in health insurance in China in the first decade of the twenty-first century. This valuable book throws light on how authoritarian states use social protection to further economic development and regime stability, finds Mel Cousins, and will form a sound basis for future studies in this important policy area. Social Protection under Authoritarianism: Health Politics and Policy in China. Xian Huang. Oxford University Press. 2020

Religious Freedom and Workers’ Compensation: \u3cem\u3eBig Sky Colony v. Montana Department of Labor and Industry\u3c/em\u3e

Social security litigation and health care litigation have played prominent roles in the development of the jurisprudence concerning the religious clauses of the U.S. Constitution. This note considers an interesting recent decision of the Montana Supreme Court that addressed the constitutionality of an extension of coverage under the Montana workers’ compensation code to colonies of the Hutterite (or Hutterian or Hutterische) Brethren Church. In Big Sky Colony v. Montana Department of Labor and Industry, the Montana Supreme Court, by a narrow majority, held the extension constitutional. The Court held that the extension of coverage did not breach the Free Exercise, Establishment, or Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. Following the Montana Supreme Court’s decision, Big Sky Colony, Inc. (Big Sky Colony) unsuccessfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari in this case. There is little doubt the Court was correct to refuse certiorari as the main argument advanced—that the analytical approach adopted by the Montana Supreme Court was incorrect—had not been made in detail to the Montana Supreme Court. Nonetheless the issues concerning how to determine whether a law is “neutral” and “generally applicable” are interesting and are discussed in this note. Although the petition was ultimately unsuccessful, it would suggest that unanswered questions remain both in relation to the analytical approach to be adopted and in terms of the compatibility of various exclusions from the workers’ compensations code and the Constitution. Part I of this note sets out the facts, while Parts II–V outline the ruling of the Montana Supreme Court relative to the Free Exercise Clause (Parts II and V), the Establishment Clause (Part III), and Equal Protection (Part IV). Part VI discusses the issues raised in the petition and Part VII concludes the note

Book review: The political economy of making and implementing social policy in China by Jiwei Qian

In The Political Economy of Making and Implementing Social Policy in China, Jiwei Qian explores how China’s bureaucratic incentive structure has led to a fragmented and stratified welfare system. This interesting book is a valuable addition to the literature of the Chinese social protection system, writes Mel Cousins. The Political Economy of Making and Implementing Social Policy in China. Jiwei Qian. Palgrave Macmillan. 2021