The Wheel Podcast

The Wheel Podcast

By The WheelSociety & Culture
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The Wheel Podcast episodes

  • S2 Ep1: The Rise of Anti-NGO Sentiment in Ireland

    In this episode of The Wheel Podcast, Dónall Geoghegan, Director of Policy and Advocacy at The Wheel, is joined by Shamim Malekmian, journalist with the Dublin Enquirer, and Rosie Palmer, CEO of Muintir na Tíre, to explore the rise of anti-NGO sentiment in Ireland.  

    Through their experiences and insights, they discuss the narratives surrounding NGOs, the impact of hostility and misinformation on organisations and the communities they support, and what can be done to build public trust and strengthen understanding of the community and voluntary sector.   

    29 min
  • S1 Ep1: Budget 2026: Charting a New Course
    Today, on International Day of Charity, we're very pleased to launch The Wheel’s new podcast with a very special opening episode, "Budget 2026: Charting a New Course" 
    In this first episode, we get to the heart of what's needed to tackle Ireland's most pressing issues—from the housing crisis to the struggle against poverty and the future of our communities. 
      
    Tune in to hear from leading experts, 
    • Susanne Rogers, Research and Policy Analyst with Social Justice Ireland 
    • Ber Grogan, Executive Director of Simon Communities of Ireland 
    • Fleachta Phelan, Policy Advocacy Manager at Disability Federation of Ireland 
        
      Along with our own Advocacy & Campaigns Manager, Guillaume Jacquinot, Susanne, Ber, and Fleachta share their insights on how the State can support our sector in Budget 2026, what should be avoided, and the course of action the new government should take over the next 5 years to allow the community and voluntary sector in Ireland to thrive and continue to show up for those who need us most. 
      Discover what's needed to enable our sector to truly address the challenges faced by vulnerable communities across Ireland, in a conversation you will not want to miss. 
      1 hr
    • S4 Ep1: The Problem of Parity
      This season, we’ll take the time to look at some of the not-so-good stuff affecting our members as 2023 draws to a close. But, more importantly, we’ll focus on the ways in which the people who keep our sector going—those who put their all into keeping civil society afloat—are managing to make things work and, ultimately, keep the lights on. 

      In our first episode, we discuss one of the biggest issues facing our sector today. The ever-widening pay gap between thousands of workers in the charity and voluntary sector—particularly those employed in Section 39, 56, and 10 organisations—and their counterparts in organisations directly funded by the state, has had a debilitating impact on the efficacy and viability of many health and social service providers across the country. 

      The collapse, in July, of talks at the Workplace Relations Commission was greeted with a widespread sense of frustration, and ultimately led to balloting on strike action. The strike itself was only recently called-off pending conversations with union membership.  And, while government has committed to some initial pay increases and the beginning of a process aimed at addressing key impasses, the conditions of people working in the sector have yet to be significantly improved.
      How then can we, as a unified sector, act to address these complexities, and, perhaps just as importantly, how can we communicate the need for improved conditions for staff and service users to the wider public? 

      On this episode, we talk with Dr Shana Cohen, CEO of the Think-Tank for Action on Social Change, or TASC, about a recent study produced in conjunction with The Wheel. The Future of Public Service Delivery by the Community & Voluntary Sector, analyses staffing, funding, and the demand for services among hundreds of Section 39, 56, and 10 organisations who deliver essential public services countrywide in diverse areas like health, disability, family support, childcare, eldercare, homelessness, and addiction. 

      Shana chats with The Wheel’s own Campaigns Manager, Dr Emily Bourke, about her work in bringing The Wheel’s 2024 Pre-Budget Submission, “A Budget for Civil Society”, to fruition, as well as how our submission encapsulates many of the key concerns shared by our members. 

      47 min
    • Special Episode: Year in Review 2021
      It's a bumper episode of The Good Stuff to round off 2021. Ivan Cooper, The Wheel's Director of Public Policy, joins us as host once again to look back at the highlights and challenges of the year, plus the big opportunities in store for 2022.

      Ivan is joined by special guests:

      • Sarah Monaghan, Campaigns Manager at The Wheel and Campaign Director for We Act
      • Mairead O'Connor, Senior Skills Development Manager at The Wheel
      • Emma Murtagh, EU Programmes Manager at The Wheel
        • 48 min
      • S3 Ep4: Special Episode: Where Next for Nonprofits?
        We interrupt our usual three-part series to bring you a very special podcast episode on the future of our sector.

        As we take some tentative steps back towards "normal" life, what have we learned from a year of crisis?

        Join us for a new 20-minute episode of The Good Stuff, where policy expert Dr Shana Cohen (TASC) and public affairs consultant John Gallagher weigh in on the big lessons of the COVID crisis for Irish nonprofits.

        23 min
      • S3 Ep3: Human Conversations — The Language of Empathy
        To round out our exploration of language and the nonprofit community, in this episode we're looking at empathy. Many of us in the nonprofit community work on behalf of other people, and few would contest the importance of keeping them at the centre of our work at all times. But although we're always working with this goal in mind, it can be a challenge to make sure that our language always reflects this reality.  
         
        In the first section of today’s podcast, our guest is public affairs consultant Kathleen O’Meara. Our second guest is Laura Murphy, a poet, activist, camapigner, and communications strategist — and an outspoken advocate for survivors of Mother and Baby Homes in Ireland. 
        30 min
      • S3 Ep2: Say What You Mean — Plain English for Nonprofits
        This is the second episode of our three-part series about language and the nonprofit sector. Today, we’re all about keeping it simple and saying what you mean. Our guest is Sean Driver, who works with the National Adult Literacy Agency as their plain English editor, and he explains why it's so important to use straightforward language whenever we can.
        18 min
      • S3 Ep1: Words Matter — The Language of Nonprofits
        The language of the nonprofit sector is constantly shifting, and in this series of The Good Stuff we’re looking at why that matters.
         
        In episode 1, we first talk to experts about why words matter, and how they affect the way that we perceive the world. Then we sit down with the Wheel’s own CEO, Deirdre Garvey, to discuss charities, community groups, voluntary organisations, social enterprises... and why so many terms exist that seem, from the outside, to describe the same thing. 

        22 min

      About The Wheel Podcast

      From the publisher's feed

      Welcome to The Wheel Podcast, a podcast by, for, and about the community and voluntary sector in Ireland and beyond.