Our Committee
Nat O'Connor - Chair
Nat is currently Senior Policy Specialist at Age Action and an occasional lecturer at UCD and Maynooth University. Previously, he has worked in Dublin’s Homeless Agency, in the thinktank TASC, for the Labour Party in the Oireachtas and at Ulster University. He is the author or co-author of a range of publications, including Ireland’s first comprehensive report on economic inequality. Nat has a Masters in political science and social policy from the University of Dundee in Scotland and a PhD in political science from Trinity College Dublin.
Eithne Fitzgerald - Secretary
Eithne served as Head of Policy and Research at the National Disability Authority 2003 until 2016. She previously worked in the Department of Finance, the National Economic and Social Council, at Threshold, and as a lecturer in the social policy at both University College Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin. She is a former Minister of State, and introduced the Ethics in Public Office Act and the Freedom of Information Act. She was a member of the Commission on Social Welfare and chaired the Task Force on Violence Against Women. She is a board member of the National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities.
Michelle Murphy - Treasurer
Michelle is Research and Policy Analyst with Social Justice Ireland. She has done several pieces of research on social policy, with particular focus on the European Union and on issues realted to income distribution, poverty and social inclusion. She has two Masters degrees, one in Social Justice & Public Policy (DCU) and one in European Studies (UCD). She is a member of the steering committee of Basic Income Ireland, and a trustee of Feasta.
Dr. Sarah Craig - Vice Chair
Sarah is head of National Health Information Systems at the HRB. She has previously worked in the National Council for Special Education, the National Economic and Social Forum, and in the third-level sector. She served as chair of the ISPA, and is currently Vice Chair. She holds a masters and doctorate in social policy.
Dr. Ann Stokes
Ann is a Postdoctoral Researcher with the ENRICH research programme at the Department of Psychology, Maynooth University. She was awarded her PhD by Trinity College in 2015 for her thesis exploring the experiences of men who provide care in the context of dementia. She also holds a BA in Social Science and an MA in Social Policy from University College Dublin. She has a vast range of research experience, including with the Care Alliance Ireland, the School of Nursing and Midwifery (TCD), the Institutes of Technology of Ireland, the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, and University College Dublin.
Dr. Micheál Collins
Micheál is Assistant Professor of Social Policy at University College Dublin, prior to which he was a Senior Economist at the Nevin Economic Reserach Institute. He was a member of Ireland’s Commission on Taxation (2008-2009) and the Government’s Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare (2011-2014). Currently a member of the National Competitiveness Council, the TCD Pensions Policy Research Group and the Living Wage Technical Group, he is also a fellow of the Regional Studies Association (FeRSA). He has served on the ISPA committee in a number of roles since 2004, including as Chair from 2013 to 2016.
Dr. Geoffrey Cook
Geoffrey is an occasional lecturer in Social Policy at Maynooth University. He previously taught at University College Dublin for several decades, and is a long-serving ISPA committee member.