Georgina Ferry interviews Mary Daly, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy, 20 March 2023.
Topics discussed include (00:00:29) early interest in social work, degree studies in Ireland, master's in social sciences, research career; (00:01:50) research interests, including questions of wellbeing, analysis of the welfare state, concept of care; (00:03:30) main components of care, including activities of providing for other people's needs; (00:04:38) interaction between researchers and deliverers of care, including work with organisations, work with the European Union, Care Initiative; (00:08:04) first awareness of COVID-19; (00:09:50) pivot towards research into impact of COVID-19, including relating to care homes, information gathering, presentation to the Care Initiative; (00:14:27) inequalities that surfaced during the pandemic; (00:17:00) care for children, interest in families and inequalities reinforced by the welfare state; (00:21:49) policies around children and education enforced by high-income countries during the pandemic; (00:27:51) care home worker project; (00:32:45) evolution and structure of the care system; (00:35:25) funding by local councils; (00:37:00) personal threat from COVID-19; (00:39:13) changes to working conditions, including remote working; (00:40:19) changes to approach to work as a result of the pandemic.
