Social Policy in a Divided Community: Reflections on the Opsahl Report on the Future of Northern Ireland

Abstract

This paper offers an account of some of the written and oral evidence presented to the Opsahl Commission established to enquire into possible ways forward for Northern Ireland. It examines issues about social policy raised by the contributors to the Commission, in particular in the areas of poverty and exclusion, children and young people, the role of women, community development and the voluntary sector, and the position of minority groups. Lastly, it relates these crucial aspects of social policy to concepts of citizenship in the context of the future for Northern Ireland.