Susan Mackey, Social Worker and Fiona Hurley, Legal Service Manager from Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre, will present this half day seminar.

Legal Service Manager: Fiona Hurley

Fiona Hurley holds a Bachelor of Law degree (BCL) and a Master of Laws (LLM) from University College Cork. Fiona completed her thesis on Judicial Deference and the Protection of Minority Rights. She is particularly interested in the area of human rights and international law.

Fiona joined Nasc in 2010. She previously held positions as a Legal Information and Capacity Building Officer, delivering immigration, asylum and social welfare training to statutory and non-statutory bodies including NGOs and Citizens Information Centres and was later appointed a Senior Legal Officer with Nasc. She is Nasc’s representative at the European Migration Forum, PICUM and the European Resettlement Network and was a former co-chair of the Migrant Consultative Forum (MCF).

Fiona also holds a diploma in Leadership and Management. She is a board member and Honorary Secretary of the Cork City Centre Citizens Information Service.

Irish Research Council Researcher: Susan Mackey

Susan Mackey holds a Master of Social Work (MSW), HDip Social Policy and BSc (Hons) from University College Cork. She previously worked as an Administrator and English language teacher (TEFL) at Nasc.

Susan has been awarded funding by the Irish Research Council through the Employment Based Postgraduate Programme, to carry out a research study on the specific needs of children and families from non-EU backgrounds who become clients of the Child Protection and Welfare System. This research will examine issues of overrepresentation, cultural competency and best practice responses in Social Work