Land: The Claim of the Community: October 2003 conference

An international conference to explore initiatives in affordable housing, infrastructure provision and local government finance.

9th and 10th October 2003

This event was extremely timely: all levels of Irish government and society are beginning to address the core issues of land ownership, review initiatives abroad and suggest workable mechanisms to deliver social cohesion and sustainable development in Ireland.

Themes
Speakers
About the Organisers
Transcripts of lectures

Themes

The problem in Ireland
Symptoms and causes. The unsustainable costs of home ownership. Homelessness and the pressures on tenants in the private rented sector. Difficulties of acquiring land for social housing. The rural …

Lecture: “Building a Sustainable Economy with Renewable Energy” – Dr Hermann Scheer

Date: October 23 2003
Venue: Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton Street, Dublin 1

On October the 23rd 2003 Dr. Hermann Scheer launched FEASTA’s publication ‘Before The Wells Run Dry – Ireland’s Transition to Renewable Energy’. The book, which is edited by economist Richard Douthwaite, is the proceedings of the successful conference held in Thurles in late 2002 and features the transcripts of the presentations made by the speakers.

Dr. Hermann Scheer is a member of the German Bundestag (Parliament) and President of EUROSOLAR. In a career devoted to the replacement of nuclear and fossil fuels with environmentally sound energy …

Short Circuit

Short Circuit: Strengthening Local Economies in an Unstable World
by Richard Douthwaite. Expanded online edition published June 2003 with updates by Richard Douthwaite, Joanne Elliott and Caroline Whyte. Read Short Circuit online in its entirety.
Download pdf version(6 MB)

The global economy can no longer be relied upon to provide the necessities of life. Even in wealthy countries, the vagaries of free trade and the unimpeded movement of capital pose a threat not just to job security but to food and energy supplies as well.

Short Circuit proposes that each community build an independent local economy capable of supplying the goods and services its people would need should the mainstream economy collapse. It details the financial structures necessary for self-reliance, and it describes the techniques already in use in pioneering communities across the industrialized world. These inculde local currency schemes and community banks that enable local interest rates and credit terms to differ from those in the world economy. Efforts to meet local food and energy requirements using local resources are also reviewed.

Submission to the All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution Concerning Property Rights


12th June 2003

This is a submission from Feasta, the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability on the issues of property rights within the Irish constitution.

Download the whole submission in pdf format (44K)

Executive Summary


Introduction


Change to the Constitution re property rights is not legally necessary for social equity and sustainability. All the powers required reside in the current provisions — if broadly interpreted and fully and fairly utilised. A debate to reinforce important principles and dispel misunderstanding is more necessary that an amendment.


1. Sustainability is an important element of the ‘common good’.


An amendment to …