Louise Bayliss

Louise Bayliss is Head of Social Justice and Policy at the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) in Ireland, where she leads research and advocacy on poverty, income adequacy, and access to essential services. She holds an MSc in Equality Studies from University College Dublin and works to advance rights-based policy reform grounded in lived experience.

She currently serves as Chairperson of Treoir, the national federation for unmarried parents and their children, and is co-founder and spokesperson for SPARK — Single Parents Acting for the Rights of Kids — a grassroots network amplifying the voices of one-parent families in policy debates.

Her previous roles include Campaign Coordinator at Focus Ireland, working on homelessness prevention and evidence-based policy proposals, and earlier work in mental-health advocacy with the Irish Advocacy Network. She has coordinated submissions to Oireachtas committees, supported rights-based budget analysis, and built coalitions that connect data, casework, and international human rights standards. She also engages regularly with national media and public forums to highlight inequality and practical policy solutions.

Louise’s commitment to accountability was shaped by her experience as a whistleblower on the treatment of women in psychiatric care. Her focus is on turning sound evidence into clear policy changes—and tracking outcomes with measurable real-world data.

Louise joined the board of SiSi is 2025.