Margaret Buckley is a Lecturer in Social Policy and First Year Co-ordinator of the Bachelor of Social Science degree. 

She teaches a diverse range of topics which include Irish social policy, politics, education, early intervention, and social research methods.

Her doctoral research examined life expectancy and mortality rates in relation to changing social policy measures, in particular the Old Age Pension. She has an interest in the areas of: the development of social policy; Politics; Demographics and population; Education and Poverty.

Her research includes; ‘Going the Distance’, an evaluation of Cloyne Diocesan Youth Services Mobile Garda Youth Diversion Project; Systems Accelerant? an evaluation of Simon Communities, Local Authorities and HSE Social Inclusion in ensuring that those experiencing homelessness were kept safe during the Covid-19 crisis; an examination of intergenerational service use with Good Shepherd Cork and Agency and Ageing in Place, which examined the views of older people living in rural areas in Ireland about ageing in place.

Her recent research, funded by the Housing Agency, was with Childhood Matters and is titled  Pathways towards Stable Housing for Parents and Children Exiting Residential Services. It documents the current housing policy position, at a local and national level, for parents and infants exiting residential services for families. It also hopes to identify a viable and practical model for successful transition from residential services to living in the community.

My main research interests lie in the changing political and social landscape of Ireland and tracing the routes through which change occurs. This interest stems from my research as part of my PhD which was based on information gleaned from in-depth quantitative analysis examining life expectancy, and then progressed to an exploration of the emerging welfare state and social policy initiatives, with the evolving recognition of old age and older people as a welfare category providing the contextual framing. It specifically examines the impact of the Old Age Pension (1908) on the lives of older people.
Outside of this, my research interests include: housing and homelessness; education; pension policy; equality; and the shifting nature of politics and popular thought.
I am, and will continue to be, very interested in the use of both quantitative and qualitative data and methods to produce evidence-based conclusions on social issues and evaluations of programmes and initiatives.