Domain 1: List of Contributors

Dr Denise Lyons is a social care worker who lecturers on both Social Care and Creative Skills modules in the Institute of Technology Carlow. She is also a qualified art therapist. Denise served as secretary for Irish Association of Social Care Educators (IASCE) for five years, and was one of the founding members of Social Care Ireland Executive, serving as president from 2012 until 2014. Denise’s publications include Creative Studies for the Caring Professions (2010) and Social Care: Learning from Practice (2014), which she co-edited with Noel Howard. Denise’s PhD, which she completed in 2018, explored the experiences of social care workers in different settings.

Dr Teresa Brown is a social care worker currently lecturing on Social Care degree and masters’ programmes in the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest TUS. Teresa has extensive experience as a social care worker in Northern Ireland, Ireland and Romania. She has practised in the areas of residential care, secure care and child protection/family support. Teresa is currently a board member of Social Care Ireland and an active member of the Irish Association of Social Care Educators (IASCE). Her PhD, completed in 2016, focused on social care workers’ experiences of relationship-based practice.

Lauren Bacon is a social care leader in an adult hub day service for individuals with intellectual disability. Lauren has a special interest in person-centred planning, relationships and sexuality. She has also practised in the area of disability residential services, including children’s services, young adults and older adults. Lauren has experience of working in special educational support in Canada and Ireland. In 2014 she completed an MA in Sexuality Studies in DCU; the focus of her thesis was on organisational supports provided to individuals with intellectual disability in relation to relationships and sexuality in Ireland.

Charlotte Burke is a professional qualified social care worker with a master’s in Child, Family and Community Studies. She has been involved in social care for over twenty years as a social care worker, social care leader (person in charge) and trainer. Since 2017, she has been the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Co-ordinator with Social Care Ireland. Part of that role involves speaking to social care practitioners and students on understanding the CORU process, CPD, statutory registration, mapping the standards of proficiency and the implications for future practice.

Catherine Carty began working as a social care worker in 1984, qualifying from Dublin Institute of Technology’s in-service programme in 1988. Since then, she has worked in a variety of social care settings prior to taking up her current post in Limerick Institute of Technology in 2013 where she teaches on both the BA and MA Social Care programmes and is the current Programme Lead for Social Care, Ennis. She is currently completing her PhD with the National University of Ireland Galway. Catherine has been a member of the Social Care Workers Registration Board with CORU since 2015, having held the post of Chair from 2019 to 2021.

Deirdre Connolly is a project lead with the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) developing evidence-based national standards and guidance for health and social care services, as well as tools to support frontline staff to put the standards into practice. She has been involved in social care since 1993, working in services supporting people with intellectual disabilities, third- level education access services, and has extensive experience in housing and homeless services, with a particular focus on quality improvement through stakeholder engagement. Deirdre holds a master’s in Social Care Leadership and Management from Technological University Dublin.

Anthony Corcoran is a supervisor and social care worker currently working for a homecare and day service disability provider. Anthony has a focused interest in the autism field along with areas of mental health. He has worked specifically in the area of disabilities services, including working with children, young people and older adults. Anthony has begun conducting research in the autism field with the aim of producing published research in this area.

Danielle Douglas is a lecturer in social care at Waterford Institute of Technology. Prior to becoming a lecturer in 2008, Danielle worked with marginalised young people in a variety of educational settings. In 2012, she achieved an MA by research on the topic of resilience, outcomes and foster care. Her interest in foster care stems from her multiple experiences as a care leaver, relative foster carer,and researcher of foster care systems. She was elected President of the International Foster Care Organisation (IFCO) in 2017 and was co-host of its 2014 international conference. She is also a core group member of Power4Youth, a European peer support network for care leavers. She is a member of Tusla’s Research Advisory Group. Danielle is currently undertaking a PhD in Children and Youth Studies in University College Dublin and her chosen topic is identity construction in foster care.

Laura Doyle, who is a social care manager employed in a service for adults with intellectual disabilities, graduated with a BA (Hons) in Applied Social Studies in Social Care in 2012 from Waterford Institute of Technology and worked as a social care worker for a number of years supporting adults with disabilities. Laura currently supports a team of social care workers in the provision of high-quality services and supports in a day service setting. Laura is also a PhD student in Waterford Institute of Technology, undertaking a research project on ‘Moving towards a human rights-based approach in disability services: An analysis of social care workers’ skills and competencies, which explores how policy manifests into social care practice.

Margaret Fingleton is a lecturer and tutor in the School of Law, Languages and Social Sciences in Technological University Dublin, City Campus. Margaret has worked in the statutory and voluntary sector over many years, has experience in residential and community care, youth and disability services and was owner and manager of Finwey Farm, which provided animal-assisted therapy/activities and forest school education. Margaret has co-authored a paper on an integrated framework for social care and is currently working on the development of this framework for educators, students and professionals.

Hazel Finlay is a social care lecturer in the Department of Applied Arts and the Programme Leader for the BA (Hons) in Social Care Practice at Waterford Institute of Technology. She holds a BA (Hons) in Applied Social Studies in Social Care and an MA (Research) on the topic of Human Security and Nurse Migration. Hazel has eight years professional experience working in residential care with adults with intellectual disabilities and young people in care. For the past eleven years, Hazel has been lecturing at Waterford Institute of Technology with a special interest in social policy, migration, disability and social care practice.

Lisa Hanlon is Healthy Campus Co-ordinator at Athlone Institute of Technology, where she also lectures on the part-time and full-time social care programmes. Lisa holds a BA in Social Care Practice and a master’s in Advanced Social Care Practice. She has worked as a social care practitioner in youth work, residential care, community-based care and day services. Her career spans over seventeen years working in the area of intellectual disability, mental health and health promotion.

Sarah Joyce currently works full time in frontline homeless services. She has extensive experience in numerous challenging environments from homeless services, education centres and direct provision centres to addiction services, dealing with people from a person-centred perspective. She holds a BA (Hons) in Social Care from Technological University Dublin.

Lynn Leggett is a social care worker currently working in a day service for people with intellectual disabilities. Lynn completed her BA in Applied Social Studies in the Institute of Technology Sligo in 2007 and her BA (Hons) in Applied Social Studies (Disability) at the Open Training College in 2015. Lynn was awarded the Gerry Clarke Memorial Award in Recognition of Outstanding Application of Learning to Practice by the Open Training College in 2015.

Karen Mahon qualified from Technological University Dublin Blanchardstown in 2008. Since graduating she has worked in a variety of settings with young people and their families. Karen began her journey as a youth worker in disadvantaged communities and working with ethnic minorities, and went on to work as a social care leader in various specialist residential services ranging from high support to semi-independent living units. Karen has been working in child and adolescent mental health for the last eight years and completed specialist training in child, adolescent and family mental health in Trinity College Dublin. She is an active member of the CAMHS Special Interest Group and has been the conference lead for the past three years.

Jennifer McGarr is a social care worker and senior lecturer in the Department of Humanities, TU Dublin Tallaght Campus, where she lectures on the Applied Social Care programme. Jennifer has a diverse range of experiences within social care, having worked for fifteen years across a variety of residential and community contexts. Jennifer is a PhD candidate, currently researching African women’s experiences of integration in Ireland. She is an active member of the Irish Association of Social Care Educators (IASCE) and Social Care Ireland (SCI), and sits on the SCI Education Advisory Group.

Moira O’Neill graduated from Technological University Dublin, Tallaght Campus with a first class honours in Applied Social Care having been accepted as an advanced entry student from Ballyfermot College of Further Education. She has social care experience in the areas of special needs, homeless services and youth mental health.

Iseult Paul graduated from the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown in 2007 with a first class honours degree in Social Care. Since 2005 she has been working in the intellectual disability sector, supporting men and women with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities. She is the author of Chapter 10, ‘The Stranger in the Mirror: Dealing with Dementia in the Intellectual Disability Sector’, in Social Care: Learning from Practice, edited by Noel Howard and Denise Lyons. Since graduating Iseult has acted as a practice placement educator, supervising social care students from the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown. Iseult is a practice educator and believes that having students on placement is a valuable opportunity not only for the student but for the men and women in the service to have a role and voice in shaping the future practice of social care workers.

Imelda Rea divides her work in Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (formally AIT) between lecturing in Social Care degree programmes and working as a community connector with the College Connect project, connecting with people who experience multiple marginalisation, supporting them on their journey into higher education, and beyond, as a student support worker. Imelda has worked in residential care, youth training initiatives and is a volunteer in community radio. She has an MA in Child and Youth Care and degrees in both Social Studies and Community Development.

Noelle Reilly is a social care worker currently working as social care placement co-ordinator and associate lecturer in Institute of Technology Carlow. Noelle has extensive experience as a social care worker in Ireland and has worked in residential care and in the disability sector. Noelle is currently a member of Social Care Ireland and is an active member of the Irish Association of Social Care Workers and a member of the Social Care Workers Registration Board.

Maria Ronan is a graduate of Waterford Institute of Technology’s (WIT) Applied Social Studies in Social Care degree programme. She lectures in WIT’s School of Humanities and also supports social care students during their practice placements. Maria does relief work in both day and residential services for adults with intellectual disabilities and thus continues to enjoy the rewarding aspects of social care work in addition to keeping her skills up to date. Maria has undertaken voluntary work for many years with a number of organisations in Ireland and abroad including St Vincent de Paul and the Citizens’ Information Centre and has fundraised for cancer research, Guide Dogs for the Blind and Amnesty International. Maria is a PhD candidate in WIT; the subject of her research is the impact of state apologies for institutional abuse.

Mark Smith is the Director of Crannóg Nua Special Care Service and has been in this role for the last ten years. Mark has worked in special care and high support since 2002 in a number of different roles including Deputy Director, Director and Interim National Manager for Special Care. Prior to this he worked since 1993 for the Los Angeles Society (now called Home Again) as the Director and Residential Manager. Mark first qualified from Dublin Institute of Technology in 1988 and has postgraduate qualifications in Child Protection and Heath Care Management. Mark is currently studying for a MA in Social Care Leadership in Technological University Dublin. He has been a member of the executive of the Irish Association of Social Care Workers and has represented this organisation in the initial discussions on registration; he also represents social care workers on the Expert Working Group looking at issues in social care.

Janine Zube has twenty years’ experience as a social care worker in services supporting people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities and supporting families and young people accessing services in the community in Ireland and Germany. She holds a postgraduate qualification in Management and a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management (HRM). Janine is passionate about creating opportunities to access education and employment for people with disabilities. As a case manager Janine works with a diverse population promoting community inclusion and engaging with a variety of stakeholders. Janine is an active member of Social Care Ireland, a founding member of Disability Special Interest Group and a member of the Workers’ Advisory Group.