eolas Magazine issue 61 Jan 2024 by bmf business services

Informing Ireland’s decision-makers...

Setting the pace Fexco’s Martin Ryan HSE CIO

Education

UCC Associate

Fran Thompson

Minister

Vice-President for

discusses the

Norma Foley TD

Sustainability

digitalisation of

outlines her ‘big

Brian Ó Gallachóir

healthcare

vision’ for

advocates for all-island

education

energy security

issue 61 Jan 24

Health

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Education

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ESG Forum 2024 Thursday 29 February • The Gibson Hotel, Dublin

Organisations are now operating in a changing world, with the growing challenges of climate change, transitioning to a circular economy, and inequality. There is now a need to consider environmental and social issues and have the necessary governance framework in place to support them. The ESG Forum, organised by Environment Ireland, will bring together visiting and local expert speakers to discuss the challenges and opportunities of ESG. The Forum will also feature dedicated Q&A sessions and networking with key stakeholders. Book your place to join us at the ESG Forum to meet with fellow leaders in sustainability.

Speaker panel Marcel Haag Director, Horizontal Policies, Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, European Commission Rob Cameron Vice President Global Head of ESG Engagement Nestlé Erika Eliasson-Norris CEO Beyond Governance

Key issues discussed will include: Marion Jammet Head of Policy and Advocacy Irish Green Building Council Alexa Toomey Head of Sustainability, Renewable Energy and Agtech Enterprise Ireland Ché McGann Director of Responsible Business and ESG Reporting Goodbody Clearstream and CDP Ireland

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European legislation Social considerations: Inequality, inclusiveness, labour relations

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Sustainable finance Tackling greenwashing Governance of public and private institutions Mitigate potential ESG and climate risks Building a strong ESG data foundation The challenge of double materiality Case studies

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Senior representative Tomás Sercovich CEO Business in the Community Ireland

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eolas Issue 61 Jan 2024 Digital

Events

Print Editorial

COP out... Perhaps it was inevitable that the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference – COP28 – would descend into farce when, in December 2023, it was hosted in a petrostate.

Ciarán Galway, Editor ciaran.galway@eolasmagazine.ie Odrán Waldron, Deputy Editor odran.waldron@eolasmagazine.ie David Whelan david.whelan@eolasmagazine.ie Fiona McCarthy fiona.mccarthy@eolasmagazine.ie

Similarly, perhaps it should come as no surprise that the President of COP28, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who doubles as CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), would insist: “There is no science out there, or no scenario out there, that says that the phase-out of fossil fuel is what is going to achieve 1.5oC.”

Joshua Murray joshua.murray@eolasmagazine.ie

The following day, in the official programme, a discussion titled ‘Responsible yachting: Today and tomorrow’ pondered “a variety of technical solutions developed to make the yachting experience more responsible and sustainable”. As island nations face existential crises, it must bring some comfort that the super wealthy will remain afloat.

Gareth Duffy, Head of Design gareth.duffy@eolasmagazine.ie

While the COP28 climate agreement improved on an earlier draft and advocates for an ambiguous “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner”, it bowed to opposition from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Ultimately, there is no explicit reference to a complete phase out of fossil fuels; a key objective of many countries vulnerable to climate change in the global south.

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That being said, the ‘UAE consensus’ is the first instance in which the words ‘fossil fuels’ have ever been included in a COP outcome. Perhaps there is some hope that the glacial pace of global consensus on climate action might eventually match that of glacial retreat.

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We wish all our readers a happy new year – Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi mhaise daoibh.

Ciarán Galway

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Digital

Events

contents 04 08 39 77

Matters arising

Cúpla focal

Issues

08 12

Economic overview of 2023 Cover story: Fexco’s Martin Ryan

Round table discussion: Generative AI and opportunities to improve the way we deliver care

Sinn Féin’s Darren O’Rourke TD outlines his party’s energy priorities

Hosted by

Health 40 52 64 74

HSE CIO Fran Thompson discusses digital health Maria McCann on the HSE rollout of the Individual Health Identifier Hospital waiting list crisis Benchmarking healthcare in Ireland

Technology and innovation 82 92 96

AI in the public service The CSO’s Paul Morrin on the role of National Data Infrastructure Open data: A five-year vision

Sponsored by

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172

184

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105 Education and skills 106 116 128 136

Interview: Minister Norma Foley TD Two decades of Irish education in review Student mobility: Institutional barriers Senior Cycle reform

149 Energy 152 155 158

Sponsored by

UCC’s Brian Ó Gallachóir discusses energy security in an all-Island context ORESS 2.1 Eurelectric’s Savannah Altvater discusses European electricity market reform

170 Europe 170 172

Chris MacManus MEP on the EU’s approach to the conflict in Gaza DG Environment’s Patrick Child discusses policy priorities for the environment in Europe

176 Public affairs 176 182 184 186 188

Séasúr na hardfheiseanna 2024: The year of elections Political platform: Éamon Ó Cuív TD NUJ’s Séamus Dooley: Truth is the first casualty of war Back page: Ana Liffey Drug Project CEO, Tony Duffin

149

170 176

matters arising

TECHNOLOGY

Ireland applies to join CERN In November 2023, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, announced that Ireland will apply to join the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, as an associate member. Founded in 1954, CERN is one of the world's largest and most respected centres for scientific research. Its member states are comprised of mostly EU members, along with the UK, Serbia (as Yugoslavia was a founding member), Norway, Switzerland, and Israel.

Irish teachers will be able to participate in CERN training programmes, and secondary level students will be able to participate through outreach activities. Furthermore, membership of CERN will allow Irish research to participate in scientific programmes organised by the research organisation, which will make the role of Irish scientists more prominent in the scientific research sphere. CERN will consider the application in midDecember 2023 and it is envisaged that the

State’s membership will ensure that Irish citizens will become eligible for fellowships and staff positions at CERN. Minister Harris said: “My department will continue to work closely with CERN, in order to expedite the application process and we hope that Ireland’s membership can commence in late 2024. We will continue to work with the academic community to make the necessary preparations for the Irish researchers to participate effectively at CERN from day one of Irish membership.”

JUSTICE

Domestic violence leave introduced Victims of domestic violence will now be entitled to five days’ paid leave, following passage of new legislation by the Government. The Government is aiming to reduce violence against women under the Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, still in development, but the Irish Observatory on Violence Against Women has said that “major challenges” remain if the strategy is to be successful.

eolas matters

Data shows that 52 per cent of women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, and 79 per cent of adults who experienced sexual violence as an adult did not access a service e.g. An Garda Síochána

The leave can be taken without prior

Under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, anyone experiencing or at risk of domestic violence will be entitled to take five days leave in order to access supports. They will also be entitled to full pay during the period of leave.

counselling; or other services.

notice and can be used to access help from An Garda Síochána; source alternative accommodation; get a court order; seek medical attention; go to victim services organisations; seek

The leave can be taken where the employee is the victim of domestic violence, including coercive control, or where they are supporting their spouse, partner, or child who is the victim.

matters arising

AG R I C U LT U R E

Significant drop in average farming income There has been a 44 per cent drop in income from farming in the State from 2022 to 2023, according to Teagasc, the Government advisory body for agricultural policy.

from a figure of €77,000 in 2022, to just €30,000 in 2023.

Teagasc states that the reduction in income has been driven by a steep decline in the dairy and tillage sector. In the dairy sector, average income went down by 60 per cent to €59,000. This follows a steep fall in the price of milk recorded between 2022 and 2023, with dairy farmers recording an average income of €151,000.

markets recovered from the initial shock of the Ukrainian

For the average tillage farmer, income dropped by 60 per cent

although pig prices are expected to fall.

Teagasc states that this was due to poor yields arising from bad weather, as well as a global drop in cereal prices as wheat market being unable to export in part of 2022. More optimistically, Teagasc economists have forecasted a 30 per cent rise in income for 2024, as dairy prices are forecast to rebound somewhat, and cereal prices are also expected to recover. Beef and sheep prices will also likely improve,

P U B L I C S E RV I C E S

New action plan for better public services Credit: Fine Gael

The Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has announced its Action Plan for Designing Better Public Services. Published in December 2023, the plan, which Minister Paschal Donohoe TD describes as a means to find solutions with “insight and imagination”, proposes three key themes in which there will be a “reimagining of solutions”. The first of these is to demonstrate design commitment. “By offering central design support, establishing funding mechanisms, streamlining design procurement, and integrating design throughout, we are underlining our steadfast commitment to design,” the Department states.

The second is to increase design capability. “Through upskilling programmes, facilitating skill-transfer, providing learning resources, and defining role descriptions, we are bolstering our design capabilities across the public service,” the action plan asserts. The third theme is to foster thriving design culture by “celebrating successes, showcasing standout projects, organising design challenges, and forming event partnerships”. Minister Donohoe says: “I am confident that the initiatives and strategies resulting from a design approach, will influence and elevate our public service landscape for decades to come.”

eolas matters

matters arising Credit: merrionstreet.ie

P U B L I C A F FA I R S

Referenda to take place in March 2024 In March 2024, the Government will hold referenda on removing the reference in Bunreacht na hÉireann to a women’s place being “within the home”, and a wider reform to ‘family’ definition. Having been delayed twice by the Government due to a disagreement on wording, the women ‘within the home’ referendum proposes deleting Article

41.2 of the Constitution to remove text on the role of women in the home, and insert a new Article 42B to recognise family care. The family amendment, officially the Thirty-Ninth Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023, proposes to amend Article 41.1.1 to insert the words “whether founded on marriage or on other durable

relationships”. It also proposes the deletion of the words “on which the family is founded” from Article 41.3.1. Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman TD, states that he intends to introduce the bills to the Oireachtas at the earliest opportunity. The referenda will be held on 8 March 2024.

Credit: August Schwerdfeger JUSTICE

Supreme Court approves Judicial Appointments Bill On 8 December 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the

Judges have historically been appointed by the President,

Judicial Appointments Bill is constitutional.

based on the “advice of the Government”.

Having been passed by both houses of the Oireachtas,

Legal representatives arguing against the Bill’s

Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D Higgins, for the first time in

constitutionality told the Supreme Court that the Bill would

his presidency, made use of his power, granted to him under Article 26 of the Constitution, to refer a Bill passed by the Oireachtas to the Supreme Court to decide whether it is in line with Bunreacht na hÉireann.

interfere with the Government’s power to appoint judges and with the independence of the judiciary, and that it unconstitutionally reduced the Government’s role to a “rubber stamp”.

Under the Bill, which will imminently become an Act, there will be a new judicial appointments commission to replace

Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Dunne, delivering the

the role carried out by the Judicial Appointments Advisory

court’s verdict, said that the Constitution provides that there

Board. This commission will have the power to recommend

should be rules as to who can or cannot be made a judge

three candidates to the Government, from which the

and the Oireachtas is constitutionally obliged to legislate in

Government must make a choice.

respect of eligibility requirements.

eolas matters

cúpla focal “You cannot build peace on the mass graves of children.” Simon Harris TD on the Israel-Hamas War

“To fail to keep global warming below 1.5oC has catastrophic implications for the most vulnerable communities and countries.” Former Uachtarán na hÉireann Mary Robinson, speaking at COP28

“[Henry Kissinger’s] influence and legacy will continue to reverberate well into the 21st century.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaking on the death of the former US diplomat

“It is not a céad mile fáilte that people need, it is a respect for their rights.” Bernadette McAliskey speaking to BBC NI on immigration after far-right riots in Dublin

eolas eolas cúpla matters focal

Is Ireland thriving? Ireland’s economy in 2023

Credit: Merrion Street.

issues eolas

A National Economic and Social Council (NESC) report poses the question: is Ireland thriving? Despite ranking highly in UN indices and an at-capacity labour market, pressures in the housing market and a tax base dependent on corporate tax make this a complicated question to answer. Macroeconomic outlook The UN’s Human Development Index, which covers living standards, life expectancy, and educational attainment, ranks Ireland eighth out of 191 states; the UN’s Social Progress Index, which covers social indicators and the environment, ranks Ireland 13th out of 169 states. These rankings point to a state that is, relative to the rest of the world at least, thriving, but as the NESC report states, there are “other indicators that point to pressures on current wellbeing in Ireland”. Housing is named as the “most obvious” of these. The report was published in October 2023, the same month in which Ireland’s record for total homelessness was once again broken as 13,179 people were recorded accessing emergency accommodation. In December 2023, the Government 8

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ceased providing accommodation to male asylum seekers, instead providing them with €113.80 per week – a rate per month that does not cover half of the average monthly rent in any of the State’s 26 counties according to Daft.ie’s rental report for Q3 2023 – and a tent and sleeping bag, meaning that homeless numbers are unlikely to fall any time soon. Other challenges illustrated within the NESC report are the high cost of living in Ireland, ongoing high unemployment among people with a disability, and low rates of pay that exceed the average for both the OECD and the EU. The report also notes that the State has the largest gap in trust in government between young and older people in the OECD; the OECD Trust Survey found in 2020 that 59 per cent of people aged 50 or over expressed trust in government, while just 28 per cent of those aged 18 to 34 expressed the same.

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Despite these challenges, the macroeconomic outlook of Ireland can only be described as good in traditional terms. The Quarterly Economic Commentary published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) for autumn 2023 states that the Irish economy “looks set to continue to grow in 2023 and into 2024”. However, this growth brings with it an expected contraction of GDP by 2.7 per cent in 2023, as stated in the ESRI’s winter 2023 Quarterly Economic Commentary. So often cited by government figures as an example of Ireland’s thriving economy, this will be the first episode of negative GDP growth in Ireland since 2012. Modified domestic demand, a metric that captures consumption and modified investment that is typically regarded as a more reliable indicator of the economy at large, is set to increase by 0.6 per cent in 2023, with ESRI data showing demand for Q4 2023 to be 2 per cent above Q4 2022 but 3.1 per cent below levels reported in Q3 2023. As such, the ESRI states: “In the past, GDP has generally tended to overstate the degree of growth in the domestic economy, in the present case, however, it actually understates the degree of activity in the domestic economy.” Ireland’s slowing GDP rates do not necessarily reflect a dip in the economic status of the State’s people, rather they show a slowdown in the activity of the multinationals that so disproportionately make up the State’s GDP. Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures released in December 2023 for the previous September showed a contraction of 1.9 per cent in GDP from Q2 2023 to Q3 2023 and an annual decrease of 5.8 per cent, meaning that the economy is technically in recession. Adjusted for seasonal factors, this means that GDP has fallen for four quarters in a row. Modified domestic demand showed an annual decrease of 0.4 per cent.

Labour market, inflation, and Budget 2024 Both the ESRI and the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI) state that the Irish economy is currently operating at full capacity, with unemployment having stabilised at 4 per cent over 2023, the ESRI points out that this is particularly felt in employment-intensive sectors such as construction. NERI predicts that modified domestic demand will grow by “close to” 2.5 per cent in 2024 and that employment will increase by close to 1.5 per

cent, meaning that the unemployment rate will remain close to 4 per cent and that the State will stay at full employment. However, NERI states that this analysis is predicated on: no further tightening of monetary policy; modestly stimulatory fiscal policy; a return to real wage growth as price inflation tapers; and the support of domestic demand via higher consumption caused by growth in real disposable household income. The ESRI states that “additional domestic pressures are likely to feed through to prices in the short term”, but that “targeting expenditure towards addressing infrastructure bottlenecks and improving the productive capacity of the economy can alleviate capacity constraints in the medium term”. It remains to be seen if the financial package delivered by the Government in Budget 2024 will bring about the scenario both the ESRI and NERI state is necessary to maintain levels of employment. The ESRI predicts inflation in Ireland to come in at 6.4 per cent for the year 2023 – an upwards revision of its previous predictions – and the International Monetary Fund predicts 5.3 per cent, while the ESRI predicts 2.9 per cent and the IMF predicts 3.2 per cent for 2024. In this context, the 8 per cent increase in core capital expenditure to €12.6 billion in Budget 2024 should go some way towards delivering the infrastructure bottlenecks and stimulatory fiscal policy. However, gross voted current expenditure across the ministerial groups tells a different story: just three departments (Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; Environment, Climate and Communications; and Rural and Community Development) received funding increases from the Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2023 to Budget 2024 that outstrip the rate of inflation for 2023 predicted by the ESRI. Two more (Housing, Local Government and Heritage; and Transport) received an increase greater than the IMFpredicted rate but lower than the ESRI prediction. Inflation is perhaps the key metric in understanding why popular sentiment in Ireland, particularly that of younger people who typically do not own their homes, is not aligning with rates of economic growth. The rate of 6.4 per cent as predicted by the ESRI represents an increase on previously forecast rates and comes with an admission that “inflation rates have not declined 4 as rapidly as we previously expected”.

eolas issues

issues eolas

The average wage in Ireland in 2022 was €40,283, a 56 per cent increase from 1991’s level of €25,811; in the same period, the average house price in the State increased by 466 per cent, from €66,914 to €311,514. While house prices are not the most indicative metric of economic success, they are emblematic of the challenges Ireland’s economy. The rate of prices far outstripping the growth in wages while the number of dwellings owned without loans or mortgages increased by 11 per cent from Census 2016 to Census 2022 perhaps sums up an economy where wealth has concentrated upwards, posting impressive growth numbers while leaving those in the middle classes and below on the losing side. The nature of Ireland’s housing market means that its stats will always outstrip that of general inflation, but the CSO’s Consumer Price Index shows that inflation of 84.6 per cent occurred between April 1991 and April 2022, the month in which Census 2022 statistics were recorded.

Corporation tax Underpinning current unease within the economy is Ireland’s dependency on corporate tax receipts: this was most acutely felt in autumn 2023, when September saw the State collect €1.8 billion in corporate tax, a 12.4 per cent decrease on September 2022 and the second month in a row that the amount declined significantly. With corporation tax down 23 per cent annually in Q3 2023, Department of Finance chief economist John McCarthy admitted that tax revenue would “undershoot” projections set out in spring 2023.

eolas issues

With corporate tax accounting for 27.5 per cent of tax revenue in 2022, it is key to Irish exchequer funds, a fact which has been consistently criticised as an unsound foundation for an economy repeatedly by both international and domestic economic commentators. After three months of revenue falls, November 2023 saw Ireland collect a record €6.3 billion in corporation tax, easing fears around its falling levels but once again emphasising its disproportionate importance in the Irish economy.

Conclusion Against the backdrop of record corporation tax incomes in November 2023 and a full employment market, Ireland still struggles with homelessness while there are over 166,000 vacant dwellings in the State and CSO preliminary findings for Q3 2023 show average weekly earnings to have had an annual increase of 4.6 per cent, which fails to keep pace with either the IMF or ESRI’s predictions for 2023 inflation. Meanwhile, residential property prices continued to increase throughout 2023, record an annual increase of 2.3 per cent in October. Over 3,000 people queued up from 4am outside Dublin’s Capuchin day centre on December 13 in order to access tickets entitling them to Christmas food vouchers. If the question is ‘Is Ireland thriving?’, the answer is that it depends on who you ask.

issues eolas

COP28: A farce to elongate oil influence that is hurting women more than anyone, women and children, the elderly, and those with disability and those most vulnerable”. She also said to Al-Jaber that the climate crisis exists “because we have not yet committed to phasing out fossil fuel. That is the one decision that COP28 can take under your presidency”. Robinson then implied a conflict of interest for Al-Jaber, who whilst being head of the ADNOC, is also the United Arab Emirates’ Climate Envoy.

The President of COP28, Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, an oil tycoon who intends for his company to increase production by 42 per cent by 2030, set the tone for the event when he claimed “no science” exists proving that phasing out fossil fuels would limit the climate crisis. COP28 has been hailed in some quarters as being the first COP agreement which explicitly refers to fossil fuels needing to be phased out. However, the language in the agreement itself, which states the need to be “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner”, means that the goal of oil interests of the avoidance of the phasing out of fossil fuels has been preserved for the foreseeable future. Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, said that there was a “slightly positive” feeling at COP28, and Tánaiste Micheál Martin TD announced €50 million in climate-related finance from Ireland for poorer and less developed countries with half of that money to be delivered between 2025 and 2027, which includes

just over €6 million to support a partnership strategy for small island development. However, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Simon Steill, warned of “alarmingly slow” progress in phasing out fossil fuels. COP28 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 30 November to 12 December 2023. Al-Jaber, the DirectorGeneral and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), also got involved in a dispute with former Uachtarán na hÉireann Mary Robinson when he said that he was “not in any way signing up to a discussion that is alarmist”. Robinson, the President of Ireland between 1990 and 1997, told Al-Jaber that the world is in “an absolute crisis

“Because you are head of the Abu Dhabi national oil company, you could actually take it with more credibility by saying ‘I now recognise we have to phase out fossil fuel with just transition for the workers and their communities, and just transition into renewable, accessible, affordable and clean energy’,” said Robinson. Robinson made the case that the United Arab Emirates was using its position as an oil economy to try and slow the energy transition required to adhere to the 1.5oC limit outlined in the Paris Agreement. “I read that your company is investing in a lot more fossil fuel in the future,” she said. Responding to the former Irish President, Al-Jaber said: “I do not think Mary [Robinson] will be able to help solve the climate problem by pointing fingers or contributing to the polarisation and the divide that is already happening in the world.” A spokesperson for COP28 described the coverage of the exchange between former President Robinson and Al-Jaber as “another attempt to undermine the [COP] presidency’s agenda”. Although in Paris in 2015, countries agreed to work to ensure that the rise in global temperatures is limited to 2oC or lower, preferably 1.5oC, the United Nations warned in November 2023 that the planet is on track for a “catastrophic” rise in temperatures of 2.9oC, exemplifying the need for progress at COP events.

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cover story

Setting the pace Ahead of the formal launch of Fexco Advisory Services in 2024, eolas Magazine meets with Martin Ryan in his Dublin office to discuss his efforts to blend the application of practical operational experience with advisory services and cultivate a new space in the professional services industry. 12

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While Fexco is foremost recognised as a financial services company, and a multinational success story with County Kerry origins, the lesser-told story is that Fexco has also been delivering managed services for three decades to some of Ireland’s most recognised public and private sector organisations. “Fexco has built a very successful business in the southwest of Ireland that has turned into a multinational success story,” Ryan outlines. “There is something special about its origins and heritage that attracts curiosity, but more often the business success is down to good people; our founder, Brian McCarthy, as well as the legacy of people that have come after that.” Having joined as Managing Director of Managed and Advisory Services in August 2021, Ryan’s arrival coincided with a planned reinvigoration of Fexco’s Managed Services business. “When I arrived, I found over 500 people who were undertaking an exceptional job on behalf of important partners and eager for this business to drive on to the next level. That is an exciting place to find any organisation,” he recounts, adding: “Emerging from Covid, there was a whole new invigoration and in the subsequent two years, we have reshaped the strategy for managed services, firmly positioning Fexco as the premium service provider of choice for our partners and the industry as a whole.”

“Fexco Advisory Services is designed to take 30 years of our practical operational experience and convert it into real-life practical advice.” Martin Ryan, Managing Director, Fexco Managed and Advisory Services

“Fexco is an operational delivery specialist, and for us, partnership is crucial. Informed by over 30 years of playing a fundamental role in the operations of our partners, Fexco has become a trusted advisor to these organisations. This is a strategic foundation from which to grow.”

Structure Today, Fexco is comprised of three pillars: 1. a payments division; 2. a business services division; and 3. a new ventures division. Located within the Business Services division, the Managed and Advisory Services business headed up by Ryan primarily serves Irish clients across the public and private sectors. It embraces

complex, multi-discipline operations from front-office customer management services to back-office administration services, with many transformation services, product creation services and digital services in between. If the professional services industry is a spectrum, with traditional business process outsourcing on one side and high-end consulting on the other, Fexco positions itself in the middle. “Running operations under BPO contractual arrangements has been part of our existence for three decades, and our sweet spot has always been to participate in the more complex operations that require a premium service provider. We will never turn our back on that side of the business” Ryan insists, adding: “However, we are now taking that significant practical operational

agenda issues coverissues story eolas

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theoretical consulting. Rather than being taught from the textbook, through our case studies, our advisors have developed practical experience over many years.” As such, Fexco Advisory Services will target partners who require practical advice and support services from people who are experienced in running successful, complex operations or successful transformation. “This model has validated Fexco’s role in supporting both the public and private sectors with our advisory services. We qualified for inclusion in the Office of Government Procurement consultancy framework. As such, the route to procure is there, which also represents a validation from a public sector perspective, both for existing clients, as well as the new book of business starting to grow with non-traditional clients.” Confident of the quality of the service delivery, Fexco is now seeking to recruit people who have both operational experience and consulting or advisory experience to “keep driving this business forward, with an ultimate goal of delivering value for our partners”.

Fexco Advisory Services

“Our intention is to set the pace of the ever-evolving digital, people, and process landscape, not keep pace or follow the pace...” experience and applying it to consulting advisory work. “We are cultivating a position in the middle where we are blending our operations and advisory elements to create a high value offering for our partners, at a good value for money position.”

Managed and Advisory Services In 2021, the post-Covid context demanded a reinvigoration of business. Fexco consolidated its managed services, ensuring that the right structures, the right people, the right processes, and the right technology were in place. After spending the first year of

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its new strategy optimising Managed Services, Fexco then spent the following 12 months infusing its Advisory Service business into a soft launch model.

Soft launch Throughout this soft launch, Ryan built an advisory services team and established an advisory methodology on top of existing operation processes. “We have spent much of the last year building our methodologies for Fexco Advisory Services and building a shape and structure that we know our partners will need and will consume. “Fexco Advisory Services is designed to take 30 years of our practical operational experience and convert it into real-life practical advice. It contrasts with

Indeed, when Fexco formally launches the Fexco Advisory Services brand in January 2024, Ryan intends to recruit an additional 35 people over the following 12 to 18 months to bring the total advisory services workforce to 50 people by 2025. Similarly, in the first half of 2024, senior appointments will also be made in the advisory services business. However, Ryan is determined to avoid Managed Services and Advisory Services becoming two mutually exclusive brands from a Fexco Group perspective. “As far as we are concerned, they are infused. We want our managed services operational delivery to go hand-in-glove with the advisory services’ service offering. One must learn from the other. “We envision both feeding each other with people, knowledge, and experience and with a finger on the pulse of what is happening in the industry. That is where the value emanates from.” Discussing the types of partners each offering will attract, Ryan believes that over time there will be a blend. In the meantime, Fexco Managed Services aims to serve public and private sector partners who need a premium, trusted, experienced, and flexible partner to

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support the delivery of their front- and/or back-office operations. Fexco Advisory Services, meanwhile, is on the lookout for public and private partners who need practical advice and support services from people who have run successful operations and large transformation projects.

Seven pillars In building its advisory services business, Ryan suggests that Fexco could easily have developed a range of service pillars. Instead, it focused on “our areas of expertise that we can effectively advise on” and limited the service offerings to seven key areas. These are: 1. Project and portfolio management; 2. Management consulting; 3. Customer excellence; 4. Operational excellence; 5. Data services;

to achieve higher efficiency, productivity, and quality,” Ryan adds. In addition, under the customer excellence services pillar, Fexco has a team of professionals who help organisations improve their interactions with customers to enhance customer satisfaction, loyalty, and overall business success. Their primary focus is on creating and maintaining a positive and memorable customer experience, utilising our customer experience and Fexco’s DIGITAL Framework. “The other challenge, of course, is that technology is evolving, digital is evolving, and AI is evolving. Our intention is to set the pace of the ever-evolving digital, people, and process landscape, not keep pace or follow the pace. This could not be more applicable at the moment at the rate of pace that intelligent automation is evolving the customer experience, and it is key we bring our partners on that journey.”

6. Energy and ESG advisory; and

Practical application

7. Function-specific advisory (e.g. grant management).

Reflecting on Fexco’s emphasis on practical and applied experience, Ryan recalls that when he joined the organisation, he was struck by the number of its people who excel at operations. Simultaneously, he recognised Fexco’s high frequency of long-term tenure which is relatively atypical within the professional services industry or the managed services industry.

Under the management consulting pillar, Fexco is utilising people with operational experience to provide practical management consulting. “Our management consultants have lived operations and have first-hand experience of what works and what does not work. This experience qualifies them to provide expert advice and services to organisations seeking to solve specific business problems, create appropriate business strategies or business structures, and identify and address risks and opportunities within their businesses,” Ryan observes. Likewise, within operational excellence, efficiency, productivity, and quality have become critical in an era of pervasive inflation. Prior to the current economic headwinds, two years ago, Fexco introduced a Lean Six Sigma programme across its business, resulting in over 100 people becoming at least yellow belt certified by the end of 2023 and a growing team of qualified green and black belts within the business. It also has a programme whereby every single person at Fexco Managed and Advisory Services, from entry advisor through to senior manager, will have completed a Lean Six Sigma introductory course. “Our team’s primary goal is to help our partners optimise their operations and processes

“People joined, stuck with us, and learned how to run operations very effectively. Now they can advise others how to do the same. That is our unique formula,” he asserts. “Our partners were interested in learning how we do it. As a corporate partner, we offered that advice. However, this also

caught our attention. Why were they asking us and not asking the other consultants? Why do they value our opinion? The rationale affirms our service delivery. We are collaborative, we value our partnerships, and we have the realworld experience.”

Vision Within the public sector space, Ryan does not envisage that Fexco will move away from its managed services offering. “We are Fexco Managed Services, and we will continue to offer that as a service. What I want is Fexco Advisory Services to be a sister business that is synonymous with Fexco Managed Services. “We will continue to run a solid managed services operation, with a culture of continual improvement, alongside a healthy blend of advisory services. This means challenging our partners on each of our pillars and saying: ‘You can do more. You can be more efficient. You can have a better customer experience. You can run your projects better. You can do more with your data’.” Discussing the blend of managed services and advisory services, Ryan concludes: “Operations needs to run the business of operations; that is its job, and it needs to meet the KPIs and the SLAs, as well as ensure a good customer experience. The advisory services side of the business is tasked with identifying and making improvements. Together, this means running operations solidly and making things better. “With experience of both service offerings, combined with the right commercial arrangements – a fair price for reliable results – this is the package we will deliver for our partners. Ultimately, with both service offerings, everyone is going to benefit.”

Profile: Martin Ryan Martin Ryan is Managing Director of Fexco Managed and Advisory services and a member of the Fexco Group Executive. Martin has spent most of his career working in consultancy, service management, service delivery, and commercial management roles across multiple sectors in Ireland and internationally helping to address the various business, operational, and ICT challenges they face.

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Government aims for ‘greater clarity’ with Planning Bill Minister Darragh O’Brien TD has boasted that the Planning Bill 2023, the third largest bill in the history of the Houses of the Oireachtas at 710 pages long, will “bring greater clarity, consistency, and certainty to planning”. The proposed legislation, currently at second stage in the Dáil, is the culmination of what the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage describes as a “complete fitness check” of the current legislation around planning in the State, the Planning and Development Act 2000. Housing and energy experts have consistently claimed that the planning process in Ireland is too complicated and that this is preventing further construction of housing and of would-be energy producing sites, with many cases ending up being drawn out in courts leading to delays in delivery.

Reforming An Bord Pleanála One of the central tenets of the Bill is that An Bord Pleanála will be re-named to An Coimisiún Pleanála, and that there will be a complete restructuring of the state planning commissioners, which will be responsible for all decision-making regarding appeals and applications made to them under the new Bill. There will be a separate corporate structure which would be led by a CEO, and have a strengthened management team and organisational structure, which would undertake all organisational and technical functions to support core decision-making roles. There would also be the governing body, which will be responsible for the governance and performance of the organisation.

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Other measures

Commentary

Under the provisions of the Bill, development plans would have a 10-year lifespan rather than the current six-year lifespan with Minister O’Brien claiming that these will be “more strategic in nature than under the 2000 Act”. An interim review of the development plan would occur in year five to take account of wider changes since the plan was prepared and to allow it to be updated.

The Irish Planning Institute (IPI) welcomed publication of the bill. In a statement, the organisation said it would “engage extensively with our members with a view to providing practical recommendations for amending and improving the Bill based on their insights and expertise of the planning system, across a range of backgrounds and sectors, as it makes its way through the Oireachtas”.

In tandem with this is the provision for the introduction of statutory timelines for decisionmaking, including for the first time, for An Coimisiún Pleanála. The Bill would introduce 10-year development plans for local authorities, with local area plans being replaced with specific types of area-based plans. The Minister states that this is with the aim of “enabling local authority objectives to be prioritised, rather than simply being mandatory in nature and drawing resources where not always most needed”. The objective of these measures is to ensure improved consistency and alignment throughout all tiers of planning. With the aim of tackling delays in the courts, the Government is proposing a reform of planning judicial review, which would include the introduction of a scale of fees and an environmental legal cost financial assistance mechanism. The Department is further proposing new provisions for urban development zones. These aim to facilitate the identification of areas with potential for significant development, including housing, to ensure the opportunities can be maximised and development can take place in a timely manner. It is hoped that these arrangements will provide for fast-track planning in accordance with an approved scheme.

Debating the Bill in the Dáil on 30 November 2023, Minister O’Brien stated, in response to an assertion from People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett TD that the legislation was brought forward too quickly for opposition TDs to be able to properly scrutinise it, there has not been “any truncation of the process” of forming the legislation. O’Brien added: “There is no doubt the planning landscape has changed profoundly over the past quarter of a century, and therefore it was clear that the legislation underpinning the planning system required a major overhaul. “Some have criticised the length it has taken to do this work while others have suggested the process has been rushed. The truth is this work has been conducted methodically, in the first instance underpinned by a 15-month review by the Attorney General, informed by dozens of key stakeholder voices in the planning arena.” Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly made the case that much of the State’s planning system “works well” but “decades of underfunding of our planning authorities by the Government, alongside years of bad Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael planning legislation have created problems that must be addressed”. There will still be a number of amendment stages for the Bill to go through, calling into question whether the Bill will be made into law before the expiration of this government’s term in office. However, if passed, the Bill will represent a step forward which will be broadly welcomed by those in the planning sector.

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round table discussion

Generative AI and opportunities to improve the way we deliver care Accenture hosted a round table discussion with key stakeholders from across the healthcare system – including senior clinicians and IT leaders – to discuss how generative AI (GenAI) can enhance the way care is delivered in Ireland. What are the opportunities for generative AI to improve healthcare delivery? Joe Gallagher There are many opportunities and one of the challenges is figuring out where GenAI will fit best, particularly in the regulatory context. Workflow optimisation might be the starting point because it will be easier to implement there, and it could initially be the biggest win. GenAI will also have a role in supporting decisionmaking and will be useful from a research perspective to identify people who may be eligible or suitable for studies.

Conor Manning Ireland has an ageing population and with that we see increased demand for healthcare services over the coming years. At the same time, there is a global shortage of healthcare skills. GenAI presents an opportunity to increase efficiency in healthcare delivery. Accenture has undertaken research on GenAI and its impact across industries, and we estimate that it has the potential to impact about 40 per cent of working hours within healthcare. That can apply in a clinical context, for example, where the AI listens to a doctor-patient interaction and documents the important points to save time on writing clinical summaries. It

Round table discussion hosted by

could also make recommendations for follow-up actions such as referrals. There would be apprehension around GenAI making decisions in a clinical context and rightly so. Instead, we envisage a humanplus-machine interaction where the clinician always makes the final decision.

Mike McCann A statistic to be mindful of is that people forget around 80 per cent of what a medical professional tells them in a 15minute consultation. There is an opportunity with GenAI to both simplify the language used and ensure that the patient is proactively involved in their own care via preventative care and rehabilitation. Conversely, one of the biggest challenges for all healthcare organisations is workforce retention. Currently, there is a massive challenge associated with medical profession burnout and we need to be cognisant of the fact that the more data we ask people to compile, the more overhead we are creating, reducing face-to-face time with patients. This is where GenAI can simplify things for both patients and clinicians.

Ken McDonald

Round table participants

I see GenAI being more assistive than autonomous. It will enable us to provide more effective and safer healthcare rather than take over from healthcare professionals. There are a specific areas I would prioritise: one is workforce enhancement in setting of skill capacity constraints. The population is getting larger, older, and more complex in terms of multimorbidity. GenAI could enhance the delivery of care in that context. The harmonisation of care is important to ensure equal access to care irrespective of where you live. Finally, there is capacity for this to provide a safety net for decision-making, not to replace human decision-making but to ensure that we are making the right decisions and minimising errors.

Joe Gallagher Joe Gallagher is a General Practitioner and the ICGP/HSE Integrated Care Lead for Cardiovascular Disease. He is a Clinical Professor at University College Dublin (UCD) where his research focuses on chronic disease, child health, digital health, and global health – all viewed through the lens of primary care. He is principal investigator on grants exploring the use of AI in chronic disease management and enhancing healthcare practices for childhood illnesses in Africa.

Conor Manning Conor Manning is Accenture Ireland's Health Technology lead. He has 18 years of experience in technology solutioning and delivery across health and public service clients. Conor has worked globally with healthcare organisations and was delivery lead on a large national electronic healthcare program serving 23 million citizens. He helps healthcare clients to leverage digital capabilities to solve their organisational challenges and improve patient experiences. He is currently studying advanced artificial intelligence in the University College Dublin Professional Academy.

Pete Struthers The use of synthetic data to accelerate innovation and research will be interesting. It is not without risk, but if it is done right, it creates the opportunity to use data quicker and more easily, while increasing its availability to people for things like treatments, drug developments, and also predictive analytics.

Mike McCann is the Group Chief Information Officer at Blackrock Health, where he manages the technology teams at Blackrock Clinic, Galway Clinic, and Hermitage Clinic. Blackrock Health offers patients quick and easy access to world-class clinical care utilising the latest medical technologies. Blackrock Health is currently undertaking a significant digital transformation programme as it enhances and simplifies digital services for their patients, consultants, and staff. Prior to his current role in Blackrock Health, Mike gained 15 years of experience in leading digital health projects across Ireland, the UK and Europe with a focus on implementing healthcare technology across the care continuum.

David Wall The area in which I see the most potential is patient outcomes, particularly with any image-based speciality. Many hospitals, including Tallaght University Hospital, have embarked upon AI-based projects and these provided significant improvements in patient outcomes and benefits. These have been defined by assistance for clinicians, not replacement of clinicians. Certainly, any image-based speciality is now primed for GenAI to assist clinicians. We also know that the healthcare sector is at risk of cyberattack, and we are now seeing a lot of cybersecurity becoming AI-based.

Ken McDonald Ken McDonald is Professor of Cardiology at UCD and Consultant Cardiologist at St Vincent’s Healthcare Group. He graduated from UCD in 1981 and carried out his cardiology training in Ireland and at the University of Minnesota in the US. He has been the Director of the Heart Failure and STOP-HF units at St Vincent’s and St Michael’s since their development and has authored in excess of 200 papers. He is an ex-President of the Irish Cardiac Society and is presently the Clinical Lead of the HSE National Heart Programme.

Pete Struthers Pete Struthers is the Chief Information Officer of St James’s Hospital. He has spent over 10 years specialising in healthcare technology and over 13 years working at Microsoft. In recent years, he was the Director of the Microsoft Technology Centre, helping business leaders across all sectors build and deliver their digital transformation strategies. Now as CIO, he is overseeing the digital strategy and operations for a hospital of over 5,000 users, expanding the use of clinical systems and data to deliver the hospital mission of providing patients with timely access to high-quality care.

How can we ensure ethical and responsible use of GenAI in healthcare delivery?

David Wall

Ken McDonald There is a bias in everything we do, and my own bias would be that this should be an assistive rather than an autonomous development in healthcare delivery. At a broader level, GenAI development is an intervention. As with any other intervention we bring into the healthcare arena, it must be tested rigorously. The predominant question is: does this enhance clinical outcomes and in a cost-

round table discussion

Mike McCann

David Wall is the Chief Information Officer at Tallaght University Hospital. Prior to joining Tallaght University Hospital, he held senior ICT positions in the Children’s Health Ireland, CHI Tallaght, and St. Vincent’s University Hospital. He is a member of the HISI Executive, Chair of the HISI ICT Leaders Forum, the Health Management Institute of Ireland ICT representative to the European Association of Hospital Managers, and member of HSE Acute Digital Oversight Group. David is a fellow of the Irish Computer Society and a CHIME Certified Healthcare CIO. In 2023, he was named as one of the top 10 healthcare CIOs in Europe by Healthcare Tech Outlook.

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Mike McCann Before utilising GenAI, we must be clear on how we are using it and when this impacts patients. Patients must be informed clearly of what it is, what it is not, and their opportunity to opt out. For instance, we now undertake a significant amount of robotic surgery, and it is explained to patients that the robot is simply an assistive tool used by the surgeon, who remains in charge. However, there are still some people who opt out and do not want to be a part of that, even if most outcomes show better results when robotics are involved. Irrespective, as healthcare providers, we must facilitate the decision-making on the part of the patient.

round table discussion

“[GenAI] can release more time for healthcare workers to undertake tasks which require their clinical expertise.” Conor Manning effective manner? The standards that we uphold should not shift just because we are dealing with something complex. Tried and trusted testing will help determine the responsible use of GenAI.

Pete Struthers Transparency is hugely important, especially when GenAI will have an impact on patients’ care. Transparently explaining how this technology has been developed and how it has made its decisions is important. For instance, if a patient has been moved down a waiting list, they will want to know why that decision was made and how the AI was trained. We need this transparency to help people understand that it is a support tool rather than something that is shaping the direction of their care.

Having ground rules and approval mechanisms to define these boundaries will be very important. While a national AI Ambassador has been appointed, the technology is overtaking all the processes that are currently in place and they must be brought up to the same level to compete with that.

Conor Manning Healthcare organisations must establish the responsible AI principles and approach that we want embedded within their organisation. This must extend to the technologies that they are using which have been developed by third parties. It is important to ask if the technology has been developed responsibly with consideration to data privacy, traceability, transparency, etcetera. It is important that these principles are embedded within the organisations’ culture and that employees have a good understanding of how and when they should use AI, given third party apps such as ChatGPT will continue to be available to employees.

David Wall We need appropriate rigour. Hospitals and healthcare institutions have thorough processes in place for things like research approval and while those may be time consuming, they are there for a reason. There must be clarity around what we are going to use GenAI for and what are we not going to use it for.

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“Ultimately, how we use GenAI will be determined by how we embed education and regulation into our organisations.” Joe Gallagher

Joe Gallagher Regulation is difficult because of the pace of change. It is better to establish principles rather than hard rules because principles allow for greater agility. Amid the hype, education is a key component of responsible use of GenAI. Bias is also an issue in our models as well, and if you explain too much you lose the power of the models, but if you explain too little it becomes difficult to know why a certain decision has been reached. Ultimately, how we use GenAI will be determined by how we embed education and regulation into our organisations.

How can Irish healthcare organisations overcome the most significant challenges to generative AI adoption? Pete Struthers

Conor Manning GenAI is dependent on very large volumes of curated data to be effective. In healthcare, the challenge is that a lot of data is on paper and where it is digitised, it could be in a silo, or hosted on a standalone server. It is important for health organisations to have strong digital foundations in place to capitalise on the potential of GenAI. This should include adoption of cloud where storage and computing are scalable on demand, security is inbuilt, and cloud native services are available. They should have an aggregated data layer and they should use modern SaaS platforms which have the latest AI capabilities inbuilt. That is not simple to resolve, and it will not happen overnight, but the important thing is to have the end-state target in mind and work towards it.

Mike McCann We still have a lot of legacy tech in Irish healthcare; things that should never interact with GenAI. However, we cannot afford to put GenAI initiatives on the backburner until everything is perfect because then we will never make progress. Areas such as radiology, where the technology is more mature and we have larger datasets, are where we should be starting because we know that

the risk is low, and the data quality is high.

David Wall There is a fear factor that GenAI will render certain roles obsolete. We must engage with the healthcare workforce and patients to address this challenge. With the healthcare workforce, particularly ICT departments, are we training and recruiting people with AI skillsets? The vendors have these skillsets, but I have a real concern that hospitals and healthcare organisations do not. We must recruit for the delivery of effective oversight, familiarity with regulation and technology, and an ability to explain these technologies to others.

Joe Gallagher We need AI governance committees replete with the requisite skillsets to make quick decisions and engage with stakeholders such as patients and clinicians. Healthcare is all about trust and if something goes wrong, things can quickly unravel.

Ken McDonald Education in GenAI is fundamental and it must be implemented at foundation level for anyone involved in healthcare delivery, from policymakers to anyone at the frontline of service delivery. We need training to help us understand GenAI as much as is possible. We must then be comfortable enough to explain it to people whose care is being influenced by this technology. What differentiates the use of GenAI in healthcare in comparison

round table discussion

There are national principles and guidelines which can educate citizens and healthcare staff, but there is also a challenge around what we do with our data. The benefits of GenAI will not be fully realised until we access the right data in the right way. There is a lot of work to be completed to get that right in a safe, secure, and ethical way for AI initiatives to take advantage of that.

“We want to use AI in an assistive manner to help treat more patients, have more personalised care, and deliver better patient outcomes.” Mike McCann to other sectors is the complex ecosystem involved in healthcare delivery. Coalescing this ecosystem around a unified approach is a massive challenge, so we need expert leadership nationally; people with a big-picture vision who will not tolerate parochialism or specific sector interest and will drive the national interest.

How can Ireland learn from successful adoption of AI in other countries? Mike McCann The US health system has led the way in developing new healthcare AI roles with clinicians being trained alongside data scientists – physician data scientists – to develop AI algorithms. This is a challenge to replicate in Ireland, where there are not enough medical professionals, but we must encourage a cohort of medical professionals into the IT sphere and cultivate a crosspollination. At the same time, with the technology moving so quickly and no known endpoint, it is difficult to keep pace. As such, organisations within the healthcare system must start small, clearly defined and be agile. There is also a significant amount of back-office administration in our hospitals that could be assisted by 4

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require processing. They would need 300 staff members to process them all and they have 40. We have collaborated with them on a GenAI solution which reads the letters, analyses them, determines the subject and sentiment of the letter, and prioritises them. From an Irish healthcare perspective, there are many elements of back-office administration that could benefit from this type of capability.

Pete Struthers

round table discussion

“I see GenAI being more assistive than autonomous.” Ken McDonald GenAI. This is broadly similar to other industries and offers a starting point.

David Wall The healthcare system must realise that new, multifaceted roles must be established within the workforce. At the same time, patients must be engaged and reassured of the regulation. Privacy concerns must be balanced against patient experience. If we want to provide patients with a better healthcare experience, there is a trade-off. Trust, transparency, and an understanding about why certain information is required.

more than 20 million citizens. Accenture began an automation journey with them in 2017 and this has been very successful, growing over time to save an estimated 24 million people hours in six years. Now, it has evolved into GenAI capabilities. Our UK partner receives eight million letters annually – some handwritten and some typed – which

Similar to what Ireland has delivered through the National Imaging System, there are many countries which have undertaken work to establish the digital foundations of GenAI, including Finland and the Netherlands. Ireland can also learn from what the NHS has achieved with its AI labs in the UK. This clearly illustrates to patients and clinicians the NHS’ AI principles, successful use cases, and how to engage. Meanwhile, out of necessity, India has managed to extend the reach of healthcare, collaborating with the indigenous startup community to identify safe use cases and transform niche tasks. It is important, therefore, for us to understand what the Irish tech industry can offer in this space.

Joe Gallagher The World Health Organization has undertaken significant work on AI, particularly in areas where there is no

Ken McDonald Learning from external experiences of GenAI is one aspect of the role of the national leadership. As with everything in Ireland, we must have a strong outward vision because there is much we can learn. However, not everything that is shown to be effective in another jurisdiction can be uniformly applied to Ireland. We have different healthcare systems, different population expectations, and different societies. We must be cautious and apply a critical lens.

Conor Manning One of my favourite examples in terms of successful GenAI adoption elsewhere is a UK government agency which serves

“Transparency is hugely important, especially when GenAI will have an impact on patients’ care.” Pete Struthers

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alternative. As well as learning from that, Ireland needs innovation hubs where existing solutions can be tested in controlled environments and their adaption to the Irish context can be observed before general adoption. This is not about technology alone; it is about securing the right fit for our healthcare system because the wrong fit has the potential to do more harm than good.

What impact will the adoption of GenAI have on the healthcare workforce? Joe Gallagher

Mike McCann We want to increase the amount of time allocated to care, and we want to use AI in an assistive manner to help treat more patients, have more personalised care, and deliver better patient outcomes. We must be careful to ensure that this is done systematically to avoid enhancing one area of the health system but not another. For instance, we must be careful to ensure that we do not make diagnoses easier but not treatments. When looking at use cases, particularly clinical use cases, we must ensure that we have collaboration between all users – end-toend – and take account of the entire care pathway. At the same time, we have shortage of talent in the healthcare system, and we are not seeking to replace people. Instead, we want to help those already working in the system. This message must be strongly communicated by leadership.

Pete Struthers There are two challenges relating to the workforce: fear and defensiveness. GenAI is potentially going to tell clinicians when they have made a mistake or oversight. This must be understood and embraced. Even now with ChatGPT,

“GenAI is helping us manage our risk, creating a safer and more effective healthcare system.” David Wall prompt engineering is a key component of GenAI. This means asking the right question. Clinicians will also need to change the way they interact with patients to ensure that conversations are understood correctly. For instance, with ambient technologies that are listening and reacting, how a clinician speaks to a patient will have an impact on the outputs from that engagement from an AI perspective.

David Wall GenAI is helping us manage our risk, creating a safer and more effective healthcare system. It is also creating many opportunities to identify new patient treatments. It is taking the data we have accumulated already, analysed it, accounted for the human factor, and determining what treatments are most effective. Simultaneously, there is a lot of discourse around new generations entering the workforce and their preferred methods of interaction. Patients are no different, and they have expectations for their healthcare. As a result, we must embed AI within professional training, ensuring that people are aware of the technology and know how it should be used and how it should not be used.

round table discussion

People are worried about losing their jobs, but I do not believe that this is a likelihood in healthcare. Instead, I envision that GenAI in healthcare will release more time so that people can do their jobs more effectively. Very few people enter healthcare professions to sit behind a computer; they do so to care for people. This is a contributing factor in burnout; spending time completing tasks which are repetitive and time consuming. GenAI will unlock more personalised healthcare, and, in time, clinicians will have conversations with patients which will be accompanied by a summary note. It will also augment the skills of healthcare professionals, ensure that better decisions are made, and create new jobs in a great variety of positions.

to arise, we must be proactive with this education, explaining to healthcare providers that AI will not replace jobs. Instead, AI can be used to enhance job satisfaction and reduce the risk of burnout. This reassurance will go some way convincing more sceptical healthcare colleagues because having a non-aligned growth of AI will not leverage it to its maximum capacity.

Conor Manning Education is key, as is the wellbeing of healthcare workers when GenAI is introduced. When GenAI automates more mundane tasks which do not require human intelligence, it can release more time for healthcare workers to undertake tasks which require their clinical expertise. By spending more time on this type of work which requires more thinking there is a new risk of burnout. GenAI should not simply be about introducing new technology but will need a reinvention of the way that care is delivered to enhance productivity while also improving the health and wellbeing of the workforce. This will be important to ensure the best talent is recruited into and retained within the healthcare system.

Ken McDonald As with any major change, there are fears and worries. That is understandable and education is central to the response. Rather than waiting for more challenges 23 23 23

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The report on the Consultative Forum on Security Policy has stated that there is a consensus for removal of the ‘triple lock’ on the deployment of members of the Defence Forces in foreign conflicts.

The triple lock is a mechanism that sets out the conditions under which more than 12 members of the Defence Forces may participate in overseas peace support operations. For the Defence Forces to take part in an operation overseas, the operation must be: mandated by the United Nations; approved by the Government; and approved by Dáil Éireann by means of a resolution. This has led to a rethink of Irish foreign policy from Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin TD, who has stated that this needs to be reformed given the veto power of the Russian Federation on the UN Security Council. The report, authored by chair of the Consultative Forum on Security Policy, Louise Richardson, in October 2023, has received less coverage than the Consultative Forum itself, in spite of the stand out recommendation that maintaining a policy of military nonalignment along with active political engagement in global forums will “continue to pose a challenge for Irish governments and diplomats, as will the need to balance a values-based foreign policy with taking seriously the security

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concerns and responsibilities of our partners”. The Consultative Forum garnered the opinions of experts in diplomacy and international relations, including academics, diplomats, and politicians. The forum, when it took place in June 2023, was subject to intense debate in the political sphere, with opposition figures speculating that this was to be a ruse for engaging Ireland in military alliances.

Neutrality/NATO membership Proponents of the forum, including Tánaiste Micheál Martin TD, have cited that security policy has been reviewed in most countries with a traditional policy of neutrality, including Sweden and Finland – both of which have applied to join NATO – and Switzerland, which has imposed sanctions on Russia in light of the escalation in 2022 of the war in Ukraine. The Tánaiste has been a proponent of “examining” the State’s security and foreign policy and has stated that Ireland is “militarily neutral”, but not “politically neutral”. Neutrality, rather than being underpinned in Bunreacht na hÉireann or in law, is a convention which was

Credit: Defence Forces.

Consultative Forum: Report states ‘consensus’ for triple lock removal

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adopted during The Emergency when thenTaoiseach Éamon de Valera adopted a neutral policy during World War II.

that there is “no agreed definition in international law either although most turn to the Hague Convention of 1907”.

The report acknowledges this move by de Valera as having been driven by a desire to avoid the invasion of the State by either Britain or Germany as Ireland’s military was too weak to defend its territory.

Not covered in the Consultative Forum report was the fact that Ireland’s air defences are subject to a secret agreement with the British Royal Air Force, a fact which was only confirmed by Willie O’Dea TD, the Minister for Defence between 2004 and 2010, in July 2023.

The report, in its list of recommendations, states: “It is clear that there is a strong and emotive attachment in some quarters to the concept of neutrality as part of our national identity. The attachment, however, appears to be more to an abstraction than to a specific policy. The contributions to the forum made clear that the practice of neutrality has varied widely throughout the history of the State.” Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin TD said in May 2023 that there was “no hidden agenda at play” regarding the holding of the forum and said there was no “secret plan” by the Government to join NATO. However, Martin has also latterly stated his belief that there should be no referendum required were a government to make the decision for Ireland to join the military alliance. Such an accession is unlikely to take place under this government term, given that the Green Party is opposed to joining NATO, that the remainder of the Government’s term would likely not give it long enough to complete accession (a process which can take two years to complete), and that public support for neutrality is consistently high in opinion polls. Nevertheless, opposition TDs have spoken of their support for a constitutional amendment which enshrines neutrality into Ireland’s foreign policy, with Sinn Féin’s foreign affairs spokesperson Matt Carthy TD having told eolas Magazine in October 2023 that it would be “very useful” if there was a definition outlined in Bunreacht na hÉireann of Ireland’s neutrality. “That would guide future governments in terms of setting the parameters for our involvement, particularly in military cooperation,” Carthy said.

While the report did specify that there are “clear indications of support for increased spending on defence”, exactly the scale of this prospective increase and what it would be spent on are less clear. Currently, the Defence Forces has a total of 7,764 active personnel and 1,706 in reserve. The Global Firepower Index states that Ireland’s military is the 90th ‘most powerful’ in the world.

Analysis The debate on neutrality has somewhat manifested itself as a red herring. The report itself states that Ireland’s involvement in allowing the United States Military to use Shannon Airport as a stopover for the Iraq War “does contradict most definitions of neutrality”, and emphasis that Ireland acted as a de facto belligerent in the Second World War. Given that the reforms negotiated to the Nice Treaty following its initial rejection by Irish voters in 2001 were that Ireland’s neutrality was to be honoured and given the shifting political climate with the war in Ukraine, as well as Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, it is not unreasonable to examine the merits of the State’s foreign policy. On 22 November 2023, Martin told the Dáil that “we cannot ignore the systemic challenges facing the UN Security Council”, suggesting that there is a need for removal of Russian veto power. In diplomatic affairs, this is a decision which will be made regardless of Ireland’s opinion on the matter. Regardless of UN reform, joining a military alliance such as NATO is highly unlikely, as public opinion in Ireland is simply not supportive of the measure. Martin’s efforts to make fundamental changes to Ireland’s role in the world may be in vain as he approaches what is likely to be his final year as a cabinet minister in this government.

This sentiment is echoed in the report, which states that there is “no agreed definition of the term neutrality”. However, it argues that this is a conundrum which goes beyond Ireland, stating

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Darren O’Rourke TD:

Sinn Féin’s energy priorities Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for environment and climate action, Darren O’Rourke TD, talks to Joshua Murray about the party’s vision for a “just and ambitious” energy transition. Joshua Murray (JM): What is Sinn Féin’s analysis of the Government’s environment, climate, and energy policy announcements in Budget 2024?

the energy transition by €293 million. What we need is an ambitious, state-led, just transition where communities right around the country benefit from the renewable energy transition, improved public transport, warmer homes, and sustainable living.

Darren O’Rourke (DO’R): Budget 2024 reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to a climate strategy that is both regressive and inadequate.

Instead of realising the potential of our renewable resources and maximising the potential state and community benefit of this, our electricity sector is, in fact, the worst performing of all sectors. 49.3 per cent of the 2021-2025 carbon budget has been used in the first two years, and we are on track to exhaust 123 per cent of the allocated carbon budgets by 2030.

Even if the Government was meeting targets, they are nowhere near ambitious enough to deliver at the pace and scale needed to rapidly reduce emissions, nor are they radical enough to ensure that our vast natural resources are translated into national wealth for all, and that those on the lowest incomes are not left behind in the transition to net zero. Sinn Féin would increase investment in 28

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Retrofitting people’s homes has the potential to be a key means of cutting carbon emissions while simultaneously lowering ordinary workers and families energy costs. Despite this, the

Government remains determined to stick with their plan that has been roundly criticised as not fit for purpose. Not only is it progressing at a snail’s pace, but the Government’s schemes remain the almost exclusive preserve of those with the most means, locking out low and middle income earners. Sinn Féin would radically overhaul the Government’s scheme, changing how it is funded, targeted, and delivered. We would invest an additional €152 million for residential and community retrofits, as well as an additional €43.5 million for local authority homes and a dedicated scheme for solid fuel homes. We must prioritise climate justice and delivering a transition. As well as measures to address wealth-related emissions, we plan to tackle the high cost of electricity and consequent high levels

issues eolas of energy poverty. It is high time that this chaos was reined in, and that ordinary workers, families, and hard-pressed businesses are given the relief they need. This would require an investment of €415 million. Alongside an energy price cap to reduce the cost of electricity, our plans would ensure that the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities is resourced properly.

JM: What specific changes would a Sinn Féin government make to the Climate Action Plan? DO’R: Wealthy people have more responsibility for emissions, but the Government is not doing enough to track and stop it. Sinn Féin remains resolute in its commitment to addressing emissions associated with wealth. The party has long advocated for a wealth tax, a private jet tax, the removal of tax credits on a tapered basis for individuals with an income exceeding €100,000, and the implementation of a second home levy. By recognising the unequal contributions to the climate crisis and implementing targeted policies that address the emissions of the wealthy, we can establish a fairer, more effective, and economically efficient approach to climate action. Sinn Féin remains steadfast in its commitment to combating climate change with justice and equity at the forefront.

JM: How would Sinn Féin seek to adequately resource state bodies such as An Bord Pleanála/An Coimisiún Pleanála and the CRU? DO’R: The Irish planning system is not fit for purpose. It is slow, adversarial, and racked with uncertainty. Alongside grid capacity, it remains one of the key barriers to the rollout of renewables and the transition to net zero.

Credit: Sinn Féin

To address energy poverty more specifically, we also propose the establishment of a civil society engagement unit as part of the energy poverty steering group ensuring that they are guaranteed a seat at the table and are seriously engaged with rather than being consulted as part of a tick box exercise. We would also establish a local energy advisor scheme, which is a key recommendation of NGOs in the sector, and increase and ring-fence funding for smart heating control grants. Despite the statutory timeframe [for a decision] being 18 weeks, many renewables projects are stuck in the planning system for over a-year-and-ahalf; the average wait time for a decision is 92 weeks. As a result, progress is stunting. It is abundantly clear that a step change is needed. This is why we proposed to hire 30 new staff to address this issue specifically, with new hires that hold significant expertise in environmental planning in particular. Similarly, to ensure Ireland’s offshore wind potential is not squandered, we would make resources available to 15 to 20 new staff in MARA. Informed by a Strategic Workforce Plan and Skills Needs Assessment, these new staff would have specific expertise in climate action and biodiversity including ecologists, marine biologists, ornithologists. To assist with efforts to tackle the crisis in biodiversity, we well as a new capital fund of €12 million to expand and restore national parks and, we would increase current staffing spend by €2 million to ensure that the NPWS are adequately equipped to carry out this work. With reference to the CRU, as well new legislation to give the CRU the mandate and regulatory teeth to regulate standing charges, hedging and anti-competitive behaviour, we would also legislate to mandate them to consider energy affordability in their policy direction as

well as increased reporting responsibilities. As well as these responsibilities, the CRU’s existing mandate is broad, and they have numerous responsibilities including many that relate to the green transition as the energy regulator. Therefore we would dedicate an additional €2.9 million for staffing and resourcing of the CRU.

JM: What is Sinn Féin’s vision for the role of the State with regard to the implementation of energy policy? DO’R: Sinn Féin believes that a fair funding model should be at the heart of the transition to an affordable, secure, and democratic decarbonised electricity system. The current funding model is structured in a manner which puts a disproportionate burden on lower income households, as well as stifling the pace, scale, and diversity of the renewable energy transition. We would allow for general taxation to supplement the funding that comes from the PSO levy to finance a more ambitious renewables programme. Expanding the role of exchequer-funded renewable energy supports is central to our aims of investing in renewable generation at a scale, pace, and diversity necessary to maximise longer-term socioeconomic benefits and national wealth without excessively impacting on 4 consumer in the short term.

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“By recognising the unequal contributions to the climate crisis and implementing targeted policies that address the emissions of the wealthy, we can establish a fairer, more effective, and economically efficient approach to climate action.” If we were to use exchequer funding to finance the additional costs of ensuring that 10 per cent of new generation is community-owned by 2030, this could see between €50 million and €60 million come from general taxation instead of consumer bills. As the PSO component of energy bills is expected to grow with the expansion of renewables, so too does the need for a fairer funding model. With households accounting for a disproportionate share of PSO levy costs, it is lower income households that shoulder a particularly unfair portion of the burden. The PSO is currently charged at a flat rate for every household regardless of income or electricity usage, making it both socially regressive and environmentally indiscriminate. The distribution and design of the PSO levy must be reformed to a more socially progressive and environmentally effective model. Adopting per-unit charges could provide the dual advantage of reducing the undue cost burden on the lowest income households and shifting it to high energy users. In Austria, for instance, there are exemptions from payment of levies to support renewable energy based on household income and household size. These measures would be in addition to our wider social protection package for energy. Before the current energy crisis, network charges accounted for around a third of electricity costs. As such, the design and

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distribution of network charges has a sizeable impact on electricity bills. As with the PSO levy, the current structure and distribution of network charges is both socially and environmentally regressive. In 2010, a decision was taken by the then-Minister for Energy [Eamon Ryan TD], who is also the current minister responsible for energy policy, to direct the CRU to redistribute network charges in a way which reduced costs for large energy users by hiking the charges paid by households – to the tune of an additional €50 million per year. Despite the obvious flaws, this arrangement has remained in place for over 10 years, surviving the tenure of five governments. Sinn Féin would have put an end to this subvention immediately. In the absence of direct action by the Minister to direct the removal of an abhorrent policy he initiated, the CRU have now stepped in to unwind it. This is over a decade too late. Since its introduction, it has been estimated that this subvention has added an additional €600 million to household bills; around €480 per household. The State should lead in delivering the investment necessary to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and to capture its full benefits. Ensuring that targeted funding streams are in place to support the delivery of projects that are key to our climate targets, energy security, and long-term economic prosperity.

At present just one port in Ireland – Belfast – is capable of hosting the construction of offshore wind farms. If we do not invest in and ready more of our ports now, we will lose the jobs and supply chain business from these multibillion-euro projects to other states. We would expand public ownership of renewables via state bodies such as ESB, Bord na Móna, and Coillte by revising their existing financial and governance mechanisms, and empowering them to maximise their role in the transition to a decarbonised energy system. Significant state investment is required to achieve our 2030 targets in renewable energy production. Unlike the current government, Sinn Féin believes that public investment should yield public dividends that can then be utilised for public good.

JM: How can the remit of the Minister of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science be enhanced? DO’R: The energy transition represents a great challenge, but it also represents a great opportunity. There is the potential to create tens of thousands high quality jobs here as part of the roll out of renewables. However, the success of this is not a given. Instead it requires decisive and determined action from both the public and private sector. This includes important roles for the Minister of Further and Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science and for the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. While we welcome the work that the Government has done more recently to develop and nurture green skills here, they do not go far enough and if things continue as they are, there will be significant gaps between what we have and what we need. Bridging the skills gap requires the Government to lead from the front on this, ensuring the universities, colleges, technical institutions, businesses and so on, are equipped with the necessary skills and resources to transition to net zero.

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Government to appoint science adviser Credit: Merrion Street

technologies and to needs identified by ministers and government departments. The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has stated that the new science advice structures will bring Ireland in line with countries in Europe and beyond who have also tailored advisory structures to meet their needs. It further stipulates that the new science advice structures will maximise Ireland’s participation in international science advice organisations. A public consultation was held in September 2022, and the outcomes from this, along with international models, have been considered formally as the new science advice structures. The Department states that new science advice structures will be integrated in the general public policy making process and complement existing government actions.

In January 2024, the Government will formally appoint a new independent Government Science Adviser, a measure which aims to bring Ireland in line with most other European countries. The adviser role will no longer be linked to the position of Director General of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the main funding body for research in the State. The dual role had been carried out by Mark Ferguson, whose term leading SFI finished in 2021, but was an point of controversy among academics. The president of one of Ireland’s leading academic bodies, the Royal Irish Academy, argued after the SFI position was advertised in 2021, that the role of chief scientific adviser should not be combined with any other role. In their capacity in the new role, the

Government Science Adviser will be tasked with chairing the National Science Advice Forum, and with that the task of providing cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary advice to the Government. The National Science Advice Forum will have an annual work programme which will be reported to Government. Delivery of the work programme will be evaluated after an initial three-year period.

The Government Science Advisor will be selected as part of the new science advice structures that aim to assist in informing quick responses to complex and challenging policy needs. At the time of print, applications for the role have formally closed, and an announcement is imminent in early 2024. Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, said: “It is absolutely essential government is guided by the best evidence available when addressing key challenges such as climate change and future pandemics. “The role of the Government Chief Science Advisor will be fundamental in ensuring government policy decisions are informed by quality science advice.”

These new science advice structures will assist in informing responses to complex and challenging policy areas like climate change, food sustainability, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and emerging

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Homelessness overshadows Housing for All progress Wayne Stanley, Executive Director of the Simon Community, has suggested widening the use of the Cost Rental Tenant in Situ scheme, a scheme which allows a local authority to purchase a home from a landlord who wishes to sell the property, which he claimed “appears to be delivering for hundreds of families”. More encouragingly for the Government, increases in the commencements of new dwellings have continued in 2023, with 23,923 homes having been commenced in the first nine months of 2023, an increase of 14 per cent on the same period in 2022. The number of planning permissions granted increased in the first six months of 2023, with 3 per cent more new homes approved compared to the same period in 2022. 20,382 homes have been granted permission in the first six months of 2023.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has stated that it is “confident” its 2023 target of 29,000 new homes will be exceeded. Although the Government can claim success in increasing the overall supply of new homes, the homeless population recorded at the end of November 2023 set a new State record, with 13,179 people, a figure which includes 3,991 children, accessing emergency accommodation. The Department, in its Housing for All update for Q3 2023, states that, following on from the introduction of the Cost Rental Tenant in Situ scheme,

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initially introduced as a temporary measure, that it will bring forward proposals to provide a permanent cost rental option for eligible tenants at risk of homelessness. This is due to happen in Q1 2024. Reacting to the latest homeless numbers, the Simon Community expressed its “deep concern” that these “alarming levels of homelessness will continue to grow into 2024 if more solutions are not delivered”.

The Government will extend the availability of the Local Authority Home Loan to finance the purchase and renovation of derelict and non-habitable properties. Currently, both vacant and derelict properties can potentially qualify for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, of up to €50,000 and €70,000 respectively. Currently, only habitable properties meet the property eligibility of the Local Authority Home Loan. However, given that the overwhelming majority of the more than 166,000 vacant homes in the State are situated in the areas which have the least housing demand and the lowest levels of homelessness, the effectiveness of this measure remains to be seen. Minister Darragh O’Brien TD expressed his satisfaction with the progress of Housing for All: “All the indicators, completions, commencements, and planning permissions, are showing a positive momentum and strong delivery.”

Saving lives at 30km/h Since the introduction of a 30km/h speed limit in 2022, driving through the Phoenix Park in Dublin has never been more relaxed and enjoyable. The experience is similar across Irish towns, villages, and cities, where drivers are reducing their speed in response to new 30km/h speed limits.

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One of those towns is Clonakilty in west Cork, the scene for Road Safety Authority’s (RSA) latest advertising campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the benefits to people living in towns and communities across Ireland when the speed limit is 30km/h. The campaign illustrates the safe interaction between a number of road users to raise awareness of how a lower speed limit in urban areas can lead to safer, greener, more liveable towns and communities. The campaign supports the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030, which aims to reduce the number of deaths and

serious injuries on Irish roads by 50 per cent over the next 10 years. This means reducing deaths on Ireland’s roads annually from 144 to 72 or lower and reducing serious injuries from 1,259 to 630 or lower by 2030. The strategy is the first step in achieving the 2020 Programme for Government commitment of bringing Ireland to Vision Zero. This is to eliminate all road deaths and serious injuries on Irish roads by the year 2050. Across Europe, countries are introducing 30km/h limits. Spain set a national 30km/h limit for all urban roads with a single carriageway in May 2021. In Wales, a new national 20m/h speed limit for cities, towns and villages in Wales became effective in September 2023. Paris has set a 30km/h limit for most roads, with many French cities following. The early results are very promising. The

number of deaths and serious injuries in Brussels dropped by 25 per cent in the first six months of 2021 following the introduction of a 30km/h limit for most roads. Scandinavian countries already have a de-facto 30km/h limit for most urban roads. Oslo and Helsinki recorded zero pedestrian deaths in 2022, with the 30km/h limit cited as a key reason. The World Health Organization has estimated that a 5 per cent reduction in average speed could result in a 30 per cent reduction in fatal collisions. Having these discussions and raising awareness of the impact speed has on a person’s likelihood to survive a crash, will help to save more lives. Research also shows that if hit at 80km/h, nine out of 10 pedestrians will be killed; and if hit at 60km/h five out of 10 will be killed. However, if hit at 30km/h, just one out of 20 pedestrians will be killed. Sam Waide, CEO of the RSA says: “Slower speeds save lives, and by complying with these limits, every road user contributes to a safer, more responsible road environment. I implore all road users to slow down and adhere to speed limits, including those in urban areas like 30km/h speed limits where they are in place.” Following a prolonged period of success in reducing fatalities on Irish roads, there has been a recent disturbing increase. In 2023, the Road Safety Authority welcomed Minister of State Jack Chambers TD’s decision to initiate a comprehensive review of speed limits. The Speed Limit Review makes a number of recommendations. Key proposals include: default speed limit on national secondary roads to reduce from 100km/h to 80km/h;

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default speed limit for the network of local and rural roads throughout the country to reduce from 80km/h to 60km/h; and

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default speed limit on urban roads, which include built up areas as well as housing estates and town centres, to reduce to 30km/h.

The RSA believes the review can contribute significantly to making Irish roads safer and reduce road deaths. RSA research shows that 64 per cent of

Sam Waide, CEO, Road Safety Authority

motorists admit to routinely speeding, with one fifth speeding daily and more than half of motorists’ speed at least once a week. Speeding does not result in drivers arriving at their destination significantly quicker. National records show that completing an average journey at 110km/h instead of 100km/h saves only 45 seconds. Completing an average journey at 60km/h instead of 50km/h saves only two mins and 44 seconds. There is overwhelming evidence that lower speed limits make streets safer and more pleasant places for children and adults to live, socialise, work and play. When parents and children can walk and cycle in their neighbourhood, families benefit from healthier children, less and stress. Lower speeds mean that people feel more comfortable to walk and cycle and

it is safer for children to walk to school. Vulnerable road users such as older people, people with accessibility issues or people with additional needs will feel more able to travel independently. Liz O’Donnell, chairperson of the RSA, adds: “Too many families have been devastated by road trauma and the loss or serious injury to a loved one. “As we look to 2024, we in the RSA are determined to reverse the upward trend in road crashes. We have made great progress in road safety in the past and we can do it again if we all commit to it by being aware and vigilant and taking responsibility for the safety of other road users.”

W: www.rsa.ie

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“Slower speeds save lives, and by complying with these limits, every road user contributes to a safer, more responsible road environment. I implore all road users to slow down and adhere to speed limits, including those in urban areas like 30km/h speed limits where they are in place.”

Economic risks ‘especially pronounced’ for certain areas amidst energy transition efforts Tarbert Power Station.

The concentrated nature of fossil fuel generation sites means that possible job losses in the well-paid electricity sector could “present a troubling cocktail of factors impeding transition efforts”, a new report has found. This contention is made in a recent report by the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI) that explores the idea of a “spatially just transition” and maps regional risk associated with the transition away from fossil fuels towards a system of “electrifying everything” and decarbonising electricity, with emissions reductions of 75 per cent from 2018 levels and 73 per cent from 1990 levels targeted in the Republic and Northern Ireland respectively. “Fossil fuel generation sites generating emissions are relatively concentrated in specific regions,” the report, written by Paul Goldrick-Kelly and Jonas Poulsen states. “This relative concentration and spatial distribution of sites, which will have to undergo some form of change if we are to meet our [all-island] emissions reductions goals, raises issues of spatial capacity and justice in relation to transition.” Amid this assertion, the authors pose the question: “If transition must occur at these sites, which may imply closure, are these areas equipped to deal with the economic and social effects?”

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Credit: SSE

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Using the generation capacity statement for the all-Ireland grid, the report identifies the key fossil fuel generation sites across Ireland as: Edenderry; Rhode; Moneypoint; Sealrock; Tawnaghmore; Tarbert; Great Island CCGT; Tynagh; Aghada; Whitegate; Dublin Bay; Poolbeg; Huntstown; Coolkeeragh; Ballylumford; Kilroot; and Contour Global at Knockmore Hill, Lisburn. The sites with the highest generation capacity in both jurisdictions were Moneypoint, generating 855MW in the Republic and Ballylumford, generating 709MW in the North. Changes are already afoot in the electricity sector, as the report notes. The 476MW generated by two steam turbines on heavy fuel oil and coal in Kilroot, County Antrim ceased operations in September 2023; Tarbert power plant in County Kerry is due to close its 592MW of gas and distillate oil-powered electricity to make way for a 350MW open cycle gas turbine station due to open in 2026; and Moneypoint’s coal and heavy fuel oil-powered operation is due to cease in 2024 to make way for a new renewable energy hub on the site. Further changes will take place in sites such as Bord na Móna’s plant in Edenderry, where use of peat on a 118MW steam turbine will be phased out by 2024, a move which will see the turbine powered exclusively by biomass; and in Aghada, where a 90MW gas/distillate oil turbine is to be taken offline by the end of 2023. NERI’s study shows that “the two power plants projected to cease operations completely… are both placed in the south-west of the island” and “within proximity to each other at the outer county borders of Clare and Kerry”. With Moneypoint and Tarbert, the plants in question deliver a “high volume of the electricity that is fed into the island-wide electricity grid”. It is then “reasonable to assume both plants are employing a significant proportion of workers” in the sector. Changes in employment are likely to be “less disruptive” in Kilroot and Edenderry due to the plants continuing to generate electricity, the report states.

‘A troubling cocktail’ Such disruption and the possible job losses that it would cause “could present a troubling cocktail of factors impeding transition efforts” due to the fact that jobs in electricity generation are a “key source of well-paid employment at the bottom of the labour market” and those leaving the sector would “face worse prospects at similar job skill levels elsewhere in the economy” in both jurisdictions, the report states. In both jurisdictions, “available data suggest that employment within the electricity sector is well paid in relation to the wider economy”, with weekly earnings in the relevant category found to be 35 per cent higher than the average weekly earnings in the Republic’s economy, and comparable data for the North showing relevant wages to be between 9 and 11 per cent higher than the rest of the economy as a whole in both median and average terms. The electricity sector also tends to show less of an earnings gap between top grade and other categories. In the Republic, while wages for managers, professionals, and associated professionals are typically 2.3 times the average of the wages of clerical, sales, and service employees, this figure falls to 1.7 in electricity; and in the North, entry into the lowest quintile of workers in electricity required a weekly wage of less than £418.90, 46 per cent higher than the threshold for the economy as a whole, where the lowest quintile earns £286.20 or less per week. Alongside its importance from a pay perspective, the sector is also vital to certain areas both north and south in terms of employment. Given that the sector comprises 0.5 per cent of aggregate employment across the Republic, NERI estimates a rate of 0.5 per cent employment in each council area, a rate that is significantly outstripped in areas such as Offaly (73.1 per cent), Kerry (21.5 per cent), and Clare (9.3 per cent). Fingal shows the highest level of overrepresentation in terms of total people employed, with 855 employed compared

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Generation site risk matrix Employment overrepresentation in local authority area

County/regional pay as % of national median

County/regional economic participation rate

County/regional household income as % of national average

County/regional poverty rate

Deprivation rate (ROI)/Poverty rate after housing costs (NI)

Dublin Bay

3.7%

109.9%

65.4%

115.7%

11.1%

16%

Huntstown

11%

109.9%

65.6%

115.7%

11.1%

16%

Poolbeg CC

3.7%

109.9%

65.4%

115.7%

11.1%

16%

Edenderry

73.1%

94.3%

59%

77.2%

11.1%

16%

Rhode

73.1%

94.3%

59%

77.2%

11.1%

16%

Moneypoint

9.3%

98.6%

59.4%

92.2%

13.3%

21.2%

Sealrock

-14.9%

97.1%

58.3%

112.7%

13.3%

21.2%

Aghada

-1.4%

101.8%

60.5%

102.9%

13.3%

21.2%

Whitegate

-1.4%

101.8%

60.5%

102.9%

13.3%

21.2%

Tarbert

21.5%

86.4%

58.1%

90.2%

13.3%

21.2%

Tawnaghmore

-22.4%

89.8%

57.4%

86.4%

18.6%

16.5%

Tynagh

-30.3%

98%

60.6%

92.4%

18.6%

16.5%

Great Island CCGT

-15.1%

87.8%

58.6%

89.3%

13.3%

21.2%

Ballylumford

-24.1%

95.9%

74.9%

104.7%

18%

16%

Kilroot

-24.1%

95.9%

74.9%

104.7%

18%

16%

Coolkeeragh

50.1%

88.6%

68%

89.3%

20%

22%

Contour Global

25%

110%

78.4%

114.4%

11%

13%

Generation site

Red = below relevant state average

to an expectation of 770. A similar exercise carried out by NERI in the North finds both Derry City and Strabane and Lisburn and Castlereagh to have significant overrepresentation in the sector, 50.1 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. The importance of these well-paid and overrepresented jobs is brought into even sharper focus when contextualised within county/regional labour market indicators. In the North, while Lisburn and Castlereagh is the highest performing local authority area in terms of economic activity (78.4 per cent compared to an average of 73 per cent), Derry City and Strabane is the worst performing local authority area with a rate of 68 per cent. In the Republic, the Dublin and Midlands region recorded labour force participation rates above the national average in the first quarter of 2023, but the west and southwest (where the soon-to-closed Tarbert and Moneypoint plants are located) showed rates 1.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent below the 64.9 per cent national rate respectively.

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When broken down into the county level, prominent counties within the electricity sector such as Offaly (2.2 per cent), Clare (1.8 per cent), and Kerry (3.1 per cent) register notable deficits against the national average. Counties Offaly and Mayo, alongside Derry City and Strabane, are also noted within the reports as areas with fossil fuel generation that also record significant gross disposable household income figures below national averages; 14.6 per cent, 22.7 per cent, and 10.6 per cent respectively. In the North, poverty rates before and after the incorporation of housing costs average at 13 per cent and 18 per cent respectively; Lisburn and Castlereagh performs well in this area with averages of 11 per cent and 17 per cent, but Derry City and Strabane is again the worst performer in this area with rates of 20 per cent and 22 per cent. In the Republic, the southern region underperforms against the national average in both the at-risk-of-poverty and enforced deprivation rates, while the eastern and midland region overperforms.

These stats, the report states, show “especially pronounced” risks for certain sites and their regions should job losses occur. Most notable among these sites are Moneypoint, Tarbert, and Coolkeeragh, which show risks across all factors measures, including broader labour market performance and poverty factors. Other sites such as Contour Global, Edenderry, and Rhode show less risk, although NERI does warn in the case of the latter two that “this is likely an understatement of risk” given their location in Offaly, which is grouped together with Dublin in State statistics. The statistics, the report says, “imply the sector presents a source of high-quality employment, particularly at the low end of the income scale” and that “transition plans must factor in these issues and respond accordingly”. Policymakers, NERI states, “should be attentive” to the challenges posed by their findings and “act to ensure that this transition is just”.

Health report

health report

HSE CIO Fran Thompson: ‘Healthcare is a whole ecosystem that must be digitised’ Ciarán Galway sits down with Health Service Executive (HSE) Chief Information Officer (CIO) Fran Thompson to discuss his vision for digital health in Ireland. “For modern healthcare to work, in an efficient and effective manner, it needs to be digitised,” Thompson says. As such, the HSE is establishing a digital roadmap so that the commercial and innovation spaces can link in with that ambition. “It gives us the opportunity to say to people, this is the direction of travel, this is where we are going, this is the train you need to be on,” he adds.

Digital Health and Social Care Strategic Framework Together, the Digital Health and Social Care Strategic Framework and the Digital Health Strategic Implementation Plan outline the overarching vision (“Better health outcomes enabled by seamless, safe, secure, and connected digital health services which support health and wellbeing for both our patients and providers”), the six principles, more than 40 initiatives, and the roadmap for future of digital health in Ireland. These are also aligned with forthcoming EU obligations. “Each of the principles of the Digital Health and Social Care Strategic Framework has several projects and programmes associated with it. When you look at them all in their totality, they are aimed at making improvements in tandem within the HSE that have a focus beyond the organisation. “Take, for example, the digitised radiology service which we integrate to the GPs. It would be great if we were able to use that route to send reports to the patient. For instance, when sending the radiology report to the GP, it can be decided whether to also send that to the patient or wait for several days for the result. That is just one system; one solution.” 40

Six Digital Health and Social Care Strategic Framework Principles Patient as an empowered partner

Digitally enabled workplace and workforce

Digitally enabled and connected care

Data driven service and capacity management

Digital health ecosystem and innovation

Digitally secure foundations and enablers

Health App Positioning the Health App within the context of the Digital Health and Social Care Strategic Framework, the HSE CIO emphasises ‘the patient as an empowered partner’ as one of its six principles (see textbox). Empowering Ireland’s patients, he suggests, means making them “a partner in their own care journey”. This is achieved via “seamless access to real-time information, innovative models of care, and collaborative platforms” which are intended to enhance patient experience and facilitate proactive health management. Ultimately, this relies on having the right information at the right time. “The Health App is one of the elements aligned with this principle. While version one will be our app, as we iterate it, we will be making APIs [application programming interfaces] available so that people can take data in and out, sharing it. Ultimately, by providing a lot more data, we will cultivate a much richer ecosystem. “Traditionally, there has been a narrative that once a project was delivered, that was the endpoint. However, the reality in healthcare is that systems and solutions must be optimised. Contexts change, solutions improve, processes evolve, and new standards emerge. This understanding must be applied to the Health App. It is impossible to deliver everything on day one,” Thompson explains. The focus, therefore, is not solely around whether it is technically possible, rather it is about the process change. “As such, all the relevant people must link together and must have a common goal. Once that is achieved, then the technology is often the easier component,” he observes.

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context of existing waiting lists, should somebody with greater need have greater priority. “The tech can play its role, the rest is down to process and people,” he comments.

Vision Outlining the HSE’s digital vision, Thompson insists that it is no different to other healthcare systems across the western world: a connected, digitised healthcare system from end-to-end. Ultimately, this requires large systems of record – such as the electronic health record – and a focus on the patient. “We would love to be able to say that we have provided everybody with a digital experience. That is efficient management of the process. We already have a payroll system and one of the largest estates in the State managed digitally. We must digitise everything, piece by piece. “The ultimate goal is that we have an electronic healthcare record [EHR] that is fully integrated with all the other elements of our hospitals, and that we have corporate solutions that are fully integrated and optimised. This will mean that the EHR can communicate in both directions; out to the GPs and to the patients, and in from the GPs and from the patients. This is endto-end; linking in with the National Ambulance Service, for instance. Healthcare is not simply the hospitals; it is a whole ecosystem that must be digitised, and the patient must be at the centre.”

The next step is defined by process optimisation. Using appointments as an example, Thompson suggests that an individual could feasibly cancel an appointment in a clinic and then seek to reschedule it to a time that suits them via the Health App. The question then is, in the 41

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Partnership between patients and doctors more critical than ever That is why it is critical for patients and doctors to ensure that the basic principle of a healthy partnership remains central to the patient-doctor relationship.

Guidance for medical practitioners With this in mind, the Medical Council’s nine edition of its Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Medical Practitioners (the Guide) will launch in January 2024. It reflects the most current, pertinent, and inclusive guidance on a wide range of scenarios that impact doctors and patients.

(L-R): Pictured at the Medical Council’s launch of the ninth edition of its Guide to Professional Conduct & Ethics for Registered Medical Practitioners are Jantze Cotter, Executive Director, Regulatory Policy and Standards, Medical Council; Suzanne Crowe, President, Medical Council; and Leo Kearns, CEO, Medical Council.

Medicine has innovated exponentially in recent years. Progress in vaccines for pre-teens to protect against cancer, evolution in artificial intelligence (AI), robot nurses, and organ transplants all stand out as milestones to celebrate, writes Suzanne Crowe, President of the Medical Council.

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The way in which doctors care for patients has also had to keep up with the ever-evolving demand for digital services. In Ireland, telemedicine has soared in popularity with those aged under 50, with around one-in-four (24 per cent) of adults accessing these services, including 21 per cent who have used GP services through telemedicine, a marked increase from 2 per cent in 2020. Telemedicine is just one novel way of enhancing access to health and GP services. Advances in tech, digital tools, and automated services can and do support greater access to healthcare, but with these advances comes a new set of 42

challenges, which are continuing to emerge with the rise in telemedicine, social media use, and AI. While communication often is considered a ‘soft skill’, its value – particularly in the context of providing patient care – cannot be overstated. Medical Council research conducted in August 2023 asked the public what being treated as a partner in healthcare in a medical setting would look like to you. Communication-related themes emerged prominently, with 15 per cent stating communication and clear explanations are most important, while 11 per cent referenced being listened to and taken seriously.

A partnership is not dependent on perfection, rather, a partnership rests on clear communication, listening to each other’s views and respecting those views. In preparing the ninth edition of the Guide when the Medical Council asked the public what kind of interactions they wished to have with their doctors, it was partnership that they asked for. This message is supported by the many contributions we received from patient advocacy groups, who requested respect for patient autonomy and choice. The Medical Council also took steps this year to identify individual groups of doctors whose voices are not as clearly heard, for example, international medical graduates, doctors seeking refuge from war, and doctors from minorities. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that when patients are treated as partners in their care, significant gains are made in safety, patient satisfaction, and health outcomes. By sharing their concerns, expectations and experiences of safe and unsafe care, patients are a vital source of learning and improvement. By becoming active members of the healthcare team, patients can not only contribute to the safety of their own care but also that of the healthcare system as a whole.

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The Medical Council office – Kingram House, Dublin 2.

Patients and families should be involved at every level of healthcare, from fully informed consent and shared decision-making at the point of care, to policymaking and planning.

Recommendations for patients

With the increasing number of doctors registering with the Medical Council year on year, we are also seeing an increase in doctors from diverse backgrounds. This should be celebrated – people from diverse backgrounds have the potential to positively influence the wider healthcare environment and society.

To enhance safety and the overall experience, in their discussions with doctors, patients should ask their doctor questions such as, ‘What do I need to know?’ ‘What do I need to do next?’ ‘What can I expect?’ ‘How will this help me?’

Partnership across all avenues

Being an active partner in your healthcare involves taking important steps to improve your own physical and mental wellbeing. Resources and tools are available from Healthy Ireland and various other groups, which can assist you in becoming more active, reducing your alcohol intake, stopping tobacco use, and promoting your own mental wellbeing.

A framework for medical workforce planning should strategically consider and identify actions that will improve doctors’ working conditions, resulting in a fit-for-purpose medical workforce that ensures high-quality patient care and safety.

The Medical Council’s Working in Partnership with Your Doctor booklet explains the different types of doctors that might treat you, what you can expect from them and how you can work with them to improve your care. If patients equip themselves with this knowledge, they can actively contribute and ensure their voices are heard.

Minority groups such as the elderly, migrants and refugees, and members of the Traveller community can be vulnerable and may face unique healthcare needs. There are many national health action plans in operation to support these communities. Doctors should not only acknowledge that these communities may have unique needs, but also develop empathy and an understanding of the challenges faced and help these patients to feel safe and heard in the healthcare environment.

Effective and strategic workforce planning can only be achieved through concerted collaborative working amongst policymakers, educators, planners, and employers, including the Department of Health, the HSE, the Forum of Irish Postgraduate Medical Training Bodies and Medical Schools. Suzanne Crowe is President of the Medical Council, and a consultant in paediatric intensive care in Children’s Health Ireland Crumlin. She is also a board trustee for LGBT Ireland, Cheshire Ireland, and The Down Syndrome Centre. The Medical Council maintains the Register of Medical Practitioners - the register of all doctors who are legally permitted to undertake medical work in Ireland. The Council also sets the standards for medical education and training in Ireland. It oversees lifelong learning and skills development throughout doctors' professional careers through its professional competence requirements. It is charged with promoting good medical practice. The Medical Council is also where the public may make a complaint against a doctor.

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We would also encourage patients to check the medical register for peace of mind as to whether or not the doctor they are going to see is authorised to practise medicine in Ireland, especially if this is a doctor who has not treated you before.

The principle of partnership is not solely relevant to the patient-doctor relationship.

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In a challenging budget for the health sector, an €808 million increase in total cash terms represents a real-terms cut. Among the headline figures arising from Budget 2024 from the perspective of the health sector was the decrease in the amount of money made available for new measures. While the vast majority of any health budget is dedicated to the maintenance of existing services, Budget 2024’s amount for new measures fell to €100 million from Budget 2023’s €250 million; this is despite an €808 million of core funding increase from 2023 Mid-Year Expenditure Report (MYER) levels. With Ireland’s inflation rate for 2023 predicted to be between 5.3 per cent and 6.4 per cent, this will mean that the 4.2 per cent increase in core funding will represent a cut in real terms. While this budget is indeed an increase in flat cash terms when compared with the 2023 MYER, it is also a decrease in flat cash terms when compared with Budget 2023. With a total allocation of €22.5 billion, Budget 2024 sees healthcare take on a decrease of almost 44

€1 billion from Budget 2023’s level of €23.4 billion health funding, a 3.8 per cent fall in funding. Core health funding has also seen a fall from €21.533 billion in Budget 2023 to €21.456 billion in Budget 2024, a much smaller decrease of 0.36 per cent. Details on what this funding would be spent on were scant on Budget day, with Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform Pashal Donohoe TD stating the €808 million would be dedicated to addressing “demographic and service pressures” and that €1.23 billion of capital funding was being provided as part of the National Development Plan under its provisions for the delivery of additional health infrastructure. In a further media briefing the day after the announcement, the Department of Health detailed measures to be provided under Budget 2024 funding, such as the creation of a Health Resilience Fund, which will “support

Credit: Merrionstreet.ie

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Budget 2024 delivers real terms funding cut for Irish health sector

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“Like this year [2023], it is entirely likely that a supplementary budget will be required next year because of healthcare inflation and patient demand.” Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD

service delivery in response to high inflation and increased patient demand among an expanding and ageing population”. Other measures include: €500 million to tackle waiting lists, including the opening of six new surgical hubs; expansions of free contraception to include women aged between 17 and 31; the recruitment of additional staff for child and adolescent mental health services teams; the first full year of the publicly funded IVF services; and a €36.3 million package of surge measures to respond to periods of heightened demand. In his speech, Donohoe stated that Ireland has seen a level of health spending “without precedent” in the three-and-a-half years from the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic to the October 2023 Budget day. Pointing to the provision of 2,500 additional hospital beds, the recruitment of 22,000 additional health staff, the cutting of costs for patients, and increased GP access, he said that Budget 2024 would continue this high level of investment.

necessary at year-end. While estimates at the time of the unveiling of the Budget stated that the supplementary budget would be at least €1.1 billion, the supplementary estimates announced by Donohoe in November 2023 included €960 million of health spending. In the wake of Budget 2024, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD told The Irish Times that he believes that another supplementary budget will be required at the end of 2024: “Like this year [2023], it is entirely likely that a supplementary budget will be required next year because of healthcare inflation and patient demand.” It is understood that the Department of Health sought extra funding of over €2 billion for the maintenance of the existing level of services from the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform during budget negotiations, but this request was rejected, with €708 million made available instead. Department of Health officials were said to have argued that the Department is underfunded rather than overspending.

Overspend 2024 will have lower levels of funding in both total cash and real terms when compared with 2023. Despite this, the health budget for 2023 was significantly overspent, with a supplementary budget

Reception Politically, the Budget was criticised by main opposition party Sinn Féin, whose health spokesperson David Cullinane TD stated that Budget 2024 was “lacking

vision and ambition” and that it showed that the Government had “thrown in the towel” on health reform. In its alternative budget, Sinn Féin stated that it would allocate an additional €1.143 billion in health funding, consisting of €688 million in current expenditure and €455 million in capital or one-off spending in 2024. Reception to the Budget has been negative among healthcare professionals, with the Irish Hospital Consultants’ Association stating that not enough funding had been provided to meet previously promised hospital bed and operating theatre capacities; in its pre-budget submission in July 2023, the association had stated that €4 billion in capital funding was needed to meet previous government commitments. The Budget was described as “another missed opportunity” by the Irish Medical Organisation, who predicted a “difficult year” for patients. “The additional core funding increase is unlikely to maintain additional services let alone meet increased demand from a rapidly growing and ageing population, and increased complexities,” the organisation said. “It is disingenuous to talk of overspends in healthcare when we consistently fail to provide for the needs of patients.”

Credit: Jim Corr

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Institute of Public Health marks 25 years of shaping public health policy

Professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Martin McKee, gave a keynote address, ‘Should governments make us healthier? Shifting the focus of public policy’, at the Institute of Public Health’s 25th anniversary event in October 2023.

2023 was a significant milestone for the Institute of Public Health (IPH), which marked 25 years of shaping public health policy north and south of the border.

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Set up in 1998, prior to the signing of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, the Institute provides support to the respective departments of health and chief medical officers in both jurisdictions. Its establishment recognised that a geographical border offered no protection against disease or ill-health and that people on both sides of the border faced similar health risks and challenges. As a north/south agency, IPH conducts research and provides evidence and analysis to inform public health policy development. It works with a wide range of stakeholders at local and national level to make lives better for all by improving health equity and reducing health inequalities. To mark this milestone anniversary, IPH hosted a special event on 4 October 2023 to bring together policymakers, public health professionals, and community representatives to consider if governments can make us healthier. In a keynote address, Martin McKee made the case for all government departments to invest in health by adopting a Health For All Policies approach. The Professor of European Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said: “We have long known that policies in other sectors – housing, transport, education and so on – can safeguard and improve population health, but we now recognise how better health is essential if we are to achieve success in other sectors. Healthier people stay longer in the workforce and are more 46

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The 25th anniversary event featured a panel discussion moderated by journalist and commentator, Alison O’Connor. Pictured (L-R) are Alison O’Connor; ESRI health economist Anne Nolan; SDLP MLA Colin McGrath; Empower CEO Adeline O’Brien; Sinn Féin TD David Cullinane; Community Development and Health Network Director Joanne Vance; and Martin McKee.

Pictured (L-R) at the Institute of Public Health’s 25th anniversary event in October were Bernie Hannigan, IPH Board Chair; Roger O’Sullivan, IPH Director of Ageing Research and Development; and Breda Smyth, Chief Medical Officer of Ireland.

productive. Healthier children get better educational outcomes. Healthier families invest more in small and medium enterprises.”

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In response, a panel of invited guests discussed the potential to shift the focus of health policy and investment and to place greater emphasis on illness prevention and health improvement. The panel included Sinn Féin TD and health spokesperson David Cullinane; SDLP MLA and health and wellbeing spokesperson Colin McGrath; CEO of Empower, Adeline O’Brien; ESRI health economist Anne Nolan; and Director of the Community Development and Health Network, Joanne Vance.

Costello said: “Faced with mounting challenges that affect our health – widening health inequalities, a cost-of-living crisis, the global climate crisis, and a rise in non-communicable diseases – there is a prime opportunity to reframe our approach to health on the island of Ireland and to harness enhanced cross border cooperation on shared public health challenges, such as alcohol harm, tobacco control, overweight and obesity, and the needs of an ageing population.”

W: www.publichealth.ie

The special gathering also heard contributions from the IPH Board Chair Bernie Hannigan, Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland Michael McBride, and Chief Medical Officer of Ireland Breda Smyth. Commenting on the 25th anniversary event, IPH Chief Executive Suzanne Costello said both jurisdictions could mutually benefit through enhanced cooperation, knowledge exchange, and information-sharing on public health. 47

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What has happened to Sláintecare? Sláintecare was launched in 2017 when Simon Harris TD was the Minister for Health.

Although Sláintecare formally remains the Government’s flagship health policy, its impetus has increasingly receded over the course of the Government’s term. Sláintecare was first proposed in 2017, during the Fine Gael minority government, following an Oireachtas report which outlined the need to establish a universal, single-tier healthcare system which can be accessed by all Irish citizens. The principles of the programme were supported by all of the major parties in the Dáil. When Sláintecare was introduced by then Health Minister Simon Harris TD in 2017, the Fine Gael TD stated that it was viable that Ireland will have a fully universal healthcare system by 2030. Ireland has the 15th most expensive healthcare system in the world, with an average spend on health of €5,547 per capita, ranking Ireland’s spending per capita on health higher than that of the United Kingdom in spite of the UK having a fully nationalised health service. With progress of the implementation of Sláintecare having been curtailed by the natural phenomenon of the Covid-19 pandemic, 2021 saw the programme face further challenges with the resignation of three high-profile figures. In her resignation, former Sláintecare chief executive Laura Magahy expressed her frustration at the slow pace of the implementation of the programme. This sentiment was echoed by the resignation of Anthony O’Connor from the council of Sláintecare in late 2021, in which, in a letter to Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD, he stated that that the original culture of Sláintecare had been 48

Although the Department of Health published its Sláintecare Action Plan for 2023 in March, the loss of momentum in the implementation of the programme can be exemplified by the fact that Minister Donnelly, as of 14 December 2023, has mentioned Sláintecare to the Dáil on only seven occasions since March 2023 when the action plan was introduced.

Health challenges In the Sláintecare Progress Report 2022, published in March 2023, the Department of Health states that it recognises that acute hospital scheduled care waiting lists are “far too long” and that many patients are waiting an “unacceptably long time” for care. The report also states that 22 per cent of doctors, 27 per cent of dentists, and 22.5 per cent of pharmacists are aged over 55 and will be approaching retirement, on average, in the next 10 years. The report asserts: “We need to significantly increase the number of training places available to Irish and EU students to study medicine, nursing and health and social care professional courses, in order to increase the domestic supply of doctors, nurses and health and social care professionals to work in our health service.” In spite of this, Budget 2024, introduced by Finance Minister Michael McGrath TD on 10 October 2023, introduced a net cut in health spending of just under €1 billion when compared with Budget 2023 and real terms cut when compared with the Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2023, with the Sláintecare programme not being mentioned by any of the Government’s ministers.

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“bulldozed” and that the Government’s replacements were “incongruous” with the principles of the reforms.

Instead of sticking to a wider strategy on health reform, Sláintecare has become as a point of reference occasionally mentioned by Government ministers, but as those who have resigned from the Sláintecare council have opined, it has become less of a priority for the Department of Health as it instead seemingly sees the introduction of measures as the key to health success. Responding to Budget 2024 in the Dáil, Independent TD Matt Shanahan accused the government of overseeing a “slow strangulation” of Sláintecare, adding that the Government was “forgetting that the Irish people were promised universal healthcare in 2011”. “In 2017, Sláintecare was presented as a genuine, all-party attempt to renew and reform healthcare in Ireland. Yet, even before the pandemic, it looked as though it had been dumped in favour of projects,” Shanahan said. Secretary General of the Department of Health, Robert Watt, said to the Oireachtas Health Committee on 24 October that there is a need for “better budgetary control, more efficiencies, and savings in the short term while continuing to deliver reforms on our health services”. The Secretary General stated that Sláintecare “offers a roadmap for achieving this reform and productivity as we need to deliver greater amounts of care closer to home and promising more accessible health services at a lower cost”. Sláintecare is formally still the overriding health policy of the Government, and it remains a government objective to see universal healthcare in Ireland by 2030. The loss of momentum for the initiative is undoubted given the disconnect between the measures recommended on recruitment in the Sláintecare Progress Report and the suite of measures announced in Budget 2024.

Building pharmacy capacity as part of a future integrated healthcare system

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Central to this commitment is the need to ensure a sustainable supply of pharmacists for patient-facing settings. In September 2023, we launched the Workforce Intelligence Report. Commissioned by the PSI and developed by Grant Thornton, it is the first time a baseline view of the pharmacist workforce has been established. This project was committed to in our corporate strategy covering 2021 to 2024, Assuring Public Trust in Pharmacy Through Effective Regulation, and is the culmination of a significant body of work undertaken in collaboration with a range of multi-disciplinary pharmacy and healthcare stakeholders.

Joanne Kissane, Registrar and Chief Officer of the PSI – the Pharmacy Regulator, reflects on her first year in the role and discusses work that is underway, aligned to strategic organisational commitments, to ensure pharmacy is equipped to play a full role as part of a future integrated

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healthcare system.

Pharmacy in Ireland is constantly evolving, and our work needs to account for the changing nature of pharmacy practice and services provided by pharmacists. We are committed to ensuring the public has access to trusted pharmacy services and that the PSI, as the regulator, makes a clear and demonstrable contribution to the availability and quality of those services.

7,300, but there are broader challenges

We have consistently seen an increase in the number of pharmacists registered with the PSI, currently sitting at over

commitment to align with the vision of

in recruitment and retention. As our population continues to grow, the need to plan for the right care, by the right healthcare professionals, at the right time, becomes more pertinent. Planning for the role that pharmacy will play is vital to ensuring the necessary governance structures and policies are in place. It also reflects the PSI Sláintecare, as part of a future integrated health system.

Our motivation to examine this issue was multi-factorial and driven by an absence of any previous national strategic workforce planning initiatives for pharmacy in Ireland. Despite the increase in pharmacists registered with the PSI, we have also observed emerging trends relating to difficulties with the retention and recruitment of pharmacists within patient-facing roles. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there will be a shortfall of over 10 million healthcare workers globally by 2030. The WHO attributes the predicted shortfall to retention and recruitment challenges, rising healthcare demands, more complex health conditions and more challenging work environments. The report identified emerging risks and mitigating actions for the continued supply of pharmacists in patient-facing settings, founded on evidence-based research, combined with data from a workforce survey and focus group conducted with pharmacists and finalyear pharmacy students. The development of a national strategic workforce plan for healthcare that incorporates pharmacy, and is informed by relevant and timely data, is a key priority which must be undertaken with involvement from pharmacy and health stakeholders as part of a collaborative approach. The recent report by the Higher Education Authority on building capacity in the higher education system is therefore timely. We were pleased to participate in this process in the context

There is a strong ambition among pharmacists to play an expanded role in a future integrated health system. The Workforce Intelligence Report findings showed over 90 per cent of pharmacists indicated a willingness and appetite to expand their scope of practice. The establishment of the Expert Taskforce to support the expansion of the role of pharmacists by the Minister for Health in July is significant. The Taskforce, comprised of representatives from across health, pharmacy, and education, is charged with examining ways in which pharmacists can expand upon their present scope of practice.

As the regulatory body charged with overseeing pharmacists and pharmacy services, it is incumbent upon us at PSI to assess the relevance of the current legislative framework that underpins the delivery of pharmacy care. In line with our regulatory remit concerning the

(L-R): Katherine Morrow, President of the PSI Council, Robert Watt, Secretary General, Department of Health and Joanne Kissane, Registrar and Chief Officer, PSI, pictured at the launch of the Workforce Intelligence Report

“Over 90 per cent of pharmacists indicated a willingness and appetite to expand their scope of practice.” protection of public health and safety, we continue to press for the need to reform the primary legislation by which we are governed – the Pharmacy Act 2007. In 2023, we published a position paper on the need for legislative reform. In 2024, and as part of our next corporate strategy, we will engage with the Department of Health to progress this work so that legislation reflects the changing nature of pharmacy care and its operating environment.

Report marks a new beginning for pharmacy workforce planning. As I look to the year ahead, I am excited by the significant work underway to address the challenges and capitalise on the opportunities across pharmacy practice in Ireland.

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The PSI’s involvement in the Taskforce further aligns with our strategic objective to facilitate evidence-based practice by pharmacists where this is required by patient need and public policy. The first recommendation of the Taskforce to be progressed, announced by the Minister for Health in November 2023, recommends pharmacists in Ireland be enabled to extend the validity period of a given prescription from a period of six months up to a maximum of 12 months if, in their professional judgement, it is safe and appropriate to do so. This new measure will take effect in March 2024, allowing time for the completion of the necessary legislative changes and for relevant guidance and educational supports to be put in place. This recommendation will play a significant role in alleviating pressure in the health system, improving patient access and leading to better patient outcomes. We look forward to continuing to participate in the multi-stakeholder taskforce in 2024.

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of our regulatory role in setting standards for pharmacy education and training at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. If the recommendations are implemented, there is the potential to create an additional 190 undergraduate places for pharmacy students annually which will make an important contribution to a sustainable supply of pharmacists, while lessening pressure on aspiring undergraduate students.

W: www.psi.ie

Reflecting on my first year in the role, it is particularly pleasing to see the commitment towards progressing the first Taskforce recommendation, which we are confident will make a clear and demonstrable contribution to the quality of healthcare provided to patients. Equally, the Workforce Intelligence

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Significant rollout of Individual Health Identifier Maria McCann is an organisational psychologist and Director of Health Identity Management Services in Health Service Executive (HSE). With responsibility for the identity management services of the HSE – particularly the delivery of the Individual Health Identifier (IHI) – she sits down with Ciarán Galway to discuss its rollout and the wider Health Identifier Service programme. Ciarán Galway (CG):

strategic systems, we can then work for

What are your strategic priorities in relation to the Health Identifier Service programme?

the multiple systems feeding of the

Maria McCann (MMC):

and other associated health identifiers

Our strategic priority for the Health Identifier Service is to continue the deployment of identity management services within key areas in 2024 including patient administration systems in hospitals, the Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS), the GP practice software management systems, the National Immunisation Office, and many more.

to support enhancement of the data

If we can work with the high-level

•

continuity of care: In time, the IHI will enable health records to be seamlessly accessible across care continuum; and

•

efficient healthcare operations: IHIs on patient records reduces administrative burdens, minimises duplication of efforts, and optimises resources.

patient administration systems can receive the Individual Health Identifier

quality for identity within the systems. Ultimately, for patients this will mean more a more efficient system and it will help us to find your records quickly. It will also deliver: •

improved patient safety: Reducing the risk of medical errors

Furthermore, it will enable eHealth applications and allow us to link patient records together from different systems.

associated with incorrect patient

CG: To what extent is the Health

records or treatments;

Identifier Service a business change or

governance programme rather than a technical implementation?

MMC: The programme, like all digital

Clear governance helps in avoiding fragmentation, ensuring accountability, and maintaining a strategic focus on the desired outcomes of the transformation program. We worked with the Department of Health and the HSE Data Protection Office to revisit at the Health Identifiers Act 2014 and make additions to the data sets named in the Act to futureproof the policy for positive patient impact. We created clear framework for decision-making and consumer engagement. Change management and communication is crucial, and organisations need to ensure that employees are informed about the changes, understand the benefits, and are motivated to contribute to the transformation journey. To this end we had strong engagements with the consumers and partnered with them on this journey of learning together. Digital transformation involves a cultural shift within an organisation. It is not just about implementing new technologies; it is about changing the way people work and think. Employees need to adapt to new processes, tools, and ways of collaboration. The success of a digital transformation programme depends heavily on an organisation’s ability to foster a culture of innovation, adaptability, and continuous learning. It depends on the people driving the change.

CG: To what extent has the Individual Health Identifier been rolled out?

MMC: The IHI is currently being rolled out to all acute hospitals which use the iPMS as their patient administration system in a phased approach. This phased approach is initially focused on technically enabling services to store the IHI in their systems. The phased technical implementation of the IHI into all instances of iPMS began in late 2022, with significant progress being made since then.

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health programmes, is very much based on organisational change and people driving digital transformations. When the Health Identifier Service started in the beginning of 2020, the focus was on clear governance and understanding of who could utilise the IHI as an authorised body with a relevant purpose.

“To date, the integration of the IHI into iPMS has been completed across almost all shared and single iPMS instances, representing 43 acute hospital settings nationally.” Maria McCann, Director of Health Identity Management Services, Health Service Executive To date, the integration of the IHI into iPMS has been completed across almost all shared and single iPMS instances, representing 43 acute hospital settings nationally. Future phases of the IHI rollout project will focus on supporting services to increase their IHI match rate, display the IHI in their patient systems, on patient healthcare records and patient related correspondence with other healthcare services. Engagement with acute hospitals, who use patient administration systems other than iPMS, regarding the implementation of the IHI is planned for the near future. This project is running in parallel to the implementation of the IHI into all GP practice systems nationally. IHI is now live in over 95 per cent of all GP systems nationally and other national systems, such as the PCRS, the National Screening Service, the National Immunisation Office, and all Covid related services. There have been 66 million direct interface IHI requests – with 43 million IHIs shared and 27.5 million IHIs seeded onto patient systems, as well as supporting the cyberattack response programme to contact affected persons, and research studies such as the HSE Fada Survey.

CG: How has the health landscape changed following the Covid pandemic and the May 2021 ransomware attack on the HSE?

MMC: I think there have been huge changes in the health landscape from a

technology, innovation and most importantly culture perspective. There was an acceleration of implementation and adoption of many health technologies, including our own with the roll out of Health Identity Management Services into many systems. There was an increased focus on supporting staff technically and from an educational perspective to manage teams and work in a hybrid environment. Personally, I feel from a cultural perspective, staff were more open to change as there was increased urgency to try new processes and technologies to support patients’ journeys, with less focus on fear of failure and more on making a difference efficiently and effectively. There has been a renewed focus on resilience both from a health system perspective and preparation for unforeseen challenges, as well as personal and staff resilience to balance unending demands. I feel the personal and staff resilience is an area that needs increased support and should receive an unwavering and constant focus as our staff are the people behind all HSE transformation and innovation. Also, collaboration and knowledge sharing across the health system in Ireland and globally, really accelerated as we all recognised the importance of supporting and sharing to increase innovation and transformation in healthcare as a global challenge faced by all. 53

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St. John’s: A hospital with rich past, delivering for the future

Assistant Director of Nursing Lorraine Quinn and staff of St. John’s Day Ward.

St. John’s might be among Limerick’s and the Ireland’s oldest hospitals, but it very much has a clear plan for a vibrant future at the heart of mid-west healthcare.

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That future has been painted in a fiveyear strategy for St. John’s – a member of the UL Hospitals Group (ULHG) – that will enable it to expand the excellent care synonymous with it for many generations and invest in its people and patients, including through a new bed block extension which will bring the total number of beds from 99 to 150. The Strategy is a roadmap that will enable St. John’s to play a key role in addressing capacity requirements in the Mid-West and was developed by the Board following deep consultation with all staff, its partners at the University of Limerick Hospital Group, UL, GPs, St. 54

John’s Hospital Patient Partnership Forum, and wider public. It is built around the hospital’s vision of being a leading provider of healthcare services where innovation and excellence are at the heart of the patient experience. Critically, it addresses the necessary capacity requirement to tackle public waiting lists by accommodating a very significant proportion of the scheduled care work in the region. Located in Limerick city centre, St. John’s is the only Model 2S (overnight surgical stays) hospital in the UHLG under the smaller hospital framework whereby more complex surgeries can be

performed. Building upon its strength of a city centre hospital, St. John’s works geographically close to part the Group’s Model 4 hospital, with shared pathways operating between the two hospitals. Among the strategy priorities identified in the consultation process are the development of a new modern facility complete with increased single ensuite rooms, greater access to services, development of services for the management of chronic diseases, and provision of seven-day injury unit services. The strategy is both patient and people/staff centric but very much contingent on the delivery of the new, state-of-the-art in-patient bed facility that will take the hospital from a 99- to 150bed hospital. The new facility, in addition to new beds, will also deliver a safer patient environment, increased in-patient access, and provide an overall improvement in patient experience as well as staff working experience.

To validate the plan, St. John’s has, with support from the HSE, undertaken a Strategic Assessment Report and Preliminary Business Case. Work is already underway and, when completed, the reports will be submitted to the national HSE and Department of Health for review. It is also intended that the reports will be presented at the national capital planning meeting in January 2024 to seek capital funding approval for the much-needed investment for the midwest. Bishop Brendan Leahy, Board Chair, Stephen Donnelly TD, Minister for Health, and Emer Martin, CEO.

“With an emphasis on transformational change at local level, each element of

As CEO of the Hospital Emer Martin says: “Our plans emphasise the connections between the high-quality services we provide while working with our HSE partners to achieve better outcomes, more effectively.” The CEO says that the hospital proposes to undertake a programme of building and clinical service developments that will greatly assist in speeding up and enhancing the delivery of care. “With an emphasis on transformational change at local level, each element of our plan facilitates the upscaling of services to enhance overall service provision in Limerick and the mid-west. Our plan has a particular focus on scheduled care, clinical support and recovery services, and management of patients with chronic illness who require a step-up from community level care. “There are important levers required to support the progress of each aspect of these developments: the biggest challenge being capital investment.”

“St. John’s has made an incredible contribution to healthcare in Limerick for almost two-and-a-half centuries and to this day delivers outstanding results. However, it has also been long since acknowledged that the facilities here are simply not fit for the purpose or the people; our exceptional people who come to work here every day and the

our plan facilitates the upscaling of services to enhance overall service provision in Limerick and the mid-west.” patients that they give that exceptional care to. That, essentially, is what this strategy is all about, finding a way to deliver this outstanding care in a modern, high-tech hospital to more people across Limerick and the midwest. “So, by any measurement, except of course for the facility itself, St. John’s is a model hospital, and it makes absolute sense to not alone address the shortcomings in the existing hospital but, in doing so, give more people access to this standard of care in the mid-west. We have the capacity on the site to do this and in a region that clearly needs key solutions like this to help address pressures on the system. It is a win-win for healthcare in the mid-west, for the UL Hospitals Group and the people of the mid-west.”

•

develop rapid access clinics in our key speciality areas;

•

continue our role as a regional service provider for our Clinical Recovery and Support Unit (CRSU);

•

continue our role as a regional service provider for interventional pain treatments;

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enhance our role as a regional service provider for endoscopy and bowel screening;

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to further develop our elective surgery including extended stay surgery and our role as a key provider of diagnostic work: e.g., radiology;

•

enhance our role as an exemplary teaching hospital for multidisciplinary staff in conjunction with the University of Limerick and UL Hospitals; and

•

enhance our role as a leading provider of innovative solutions to healthcare problems in conjunction with the University of Limerick and UL Hospitals Group.

Key features of St. John’s planned integrated service model: •

an elective hospital of choice for acute medicine including specialist areas of respiratory, renal and endocrinology services;

•

to increase our medical assessment unit service to a seven-day service;

•

continue to operate the busiest Injury Unit service in the mid-west;

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The condition survey of the hospital commissioned by the HSE in 2018 shows a clear and cogent case for serious capital investment in St. John’s Hospital. This five-facet survey report on the existing buildings outlines clearly their physical and functional deficiencies which strengthens the case for a new bed block.

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Furthermore, architects engaged by St. John’s are reviewing the current hospital building to see what enhancement works need to be carried out to ensure the new bed-block is supported by current services.

W: www.stjohnshospital.ie

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Innovation in the Irish health sector Kevin Kelly, General Manager – eHealth (Digital Workflow and Automation) with the Health Service Executive (HSE), speaks to eolas Magazine about the attraction of talent being the greatest barrier to innovation in the health sector and how the Covid-19 pandemic enabled significant change.

“We have the weight of evidence, and we are now trying to bring it to bear in the areas that are causing the most pressure for the organisation.”

Kelly has worked in a variety of technology roles within the HSE since 2004 and currently heads up the Digital Workflow and Automation team within eHealth.

Talent attraction and retention With many years of management experience, Kelly is in a prime position to identify the challenges facing the public sector today. “Attracting the right talent and then retaining it is a key challenge for the public sector,” he says. “For ourselves, we have a huge recruitment drive underway within eHealth. We are looking to fill 300 posts over the next 12 to 18 months across a range of disciplines such as robotic process automation (RPA), cyber, and data analytics.” Cognisant of the difficulties that the public sector faces in competing with private sector salaries, Kelly says that public organisations have had to “think more creatively” in order to tackle the challenge. “We are using apprenticeship models and internships very successfully,” he says. “It is about developing that pipeline of talent, but also the HSE is a national organisation which means that we can base people relatively close to where they want to live. “For example, in my own team we have developers based in Dublin, Donegal, Wexford, Limerick, and Westmeath. That is important for those people and hopefully it will help us to retain them.”

Covid-19

There was also a hint of good fortune about the timing of the demands placed on the HSE’s digital innovation team by the pandemic. “At the end of 2019, we had commenced two pilots in RPA with funding assistance from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform which were completed at the end of February 2020. Little did we know that one of those was to be instrumental in the pandemic response in the area of Garda vetting,” he explains. “We automated a process that was being carried out by our HR department; our robots were able to carry out that process 52 times faster. The impact of that was that hiring managers across the HSE were able to put people into post within days of the vetting status coming through from An Garda Siochana, as opposed to the previous waiting time of up to a month, which was hugely important during the Covid-19 response in 2020.” Following initial success, Kelly’s team turned their attention to further areas within the HSE. “We turned our attention then to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, who maintain the national register of infectious diseases,” he says. “Again, we were able to take 26 minutes of manual data entry effort for every single positive Covid-19 case away from surveillance scientists and public health staff to free them up to do far more meaningful work. The impact of that was absolutely massive. It was fortuitous given the timing since none of us could have anticipated the pandemic, but we instantly proved the worth of the technology. We did the same again in the aftermath of the cyberattack in 2021, where we were able to clear fourmonth backlogs of data entry work in just two weeks.

these waves of pressure so we can turn our attention back out to the organisation to address particular problems. Earlier this year, we spent two days walking the

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Having worked in the most critically affected sector during the Covid-19 pandemic, and now having the requisite distance to reflect on the lessons learned throughout, Kelly says that they were somewhat fortunate that they had “taken a punt” in the area of digital innovation. “As it transpired, we ended up having the right people in the right place at the right time; we did not know at the time how critical it would be, but that is how it panned out,” he says.

“Hopefully the dust has settled on both of

corridors of University Hospital Galway, speaking to staff there to find opportunities for automation within referrals, labs, radiology, and so on. We have the weight of evidence, and we are now trying to bring it to bear in the areas that are causing the most pressure for the organisation.” Kelly states that RPA is not the only area of innovation receiving attention from his teams, with forms digitisation, document understanding, and process mining also central to their work. “We are fortunate to be working in an area that allows us to take measured risks,” he says.

Looking to the future Kelly states that the “last two or three years” have been “incredibly tough”, but that they have also served as a “reminder of the importance of the work” done in the public sector. “I will never forget walking into Dr Steevens’ Hospital in early March 2020 alongside army personnel being brought in to work in the area of contact tracing; you realised then that something very serious was going down,” he remembers. “Similarly, walking into the situation room in Citywest in the days after the cyberattack in 2021 and it being run militarily. It was all a reminder that we are ultimately working for the benefit of the public and the seriousness of what we do should not be lost on us.” While the emergency nature may have subsided, the atmosphere is what has endured, Kelly concludes. “The way that we were forced to work, being allowed to take risks, red tape removed and just going for it; some of that has remained while elements of it has slipped back but people are generally keen to retain that working environment. But looking back, there is a different vibe to the way we are working in general, and I see that as a real positive.” 57

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NMBI’s State of the Register 2023 As a board, we recognise the opportunities and challenges that exist within the nursing and midwifery professions. To support our registrants and colleagues across the health sector, it is important that we have the capability to provide data which assists us in our work to maintain high standards and contribute to strategic workforce planning.

Our State of the Register 2023 As part of our digitisation programme, our aim is to ensure that we have modern systems in place to operate efficiently in the best interests of our registrants and the public.

Louise Kavanagh McBride, President of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI)

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Louise Kavanagh McBride, President of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) writes about its recently published State of the Register 2023, which provides valuable insights into the profile, trends, and challenges of our nursing and midwifery workforce.

In January 2023, I was privileged to become President of NMBI. As President, I am dedicated to ensuring that NMBI delivers on our statutory obligations to protect the public and the integrity of the professions, through the promotion of high standards of education, training, and professional conduct.

Midwives and a Candidate Register for

As the regulator for almost 85,000 nurses and midwives in Ireland, we maintain a Register of Nurses and

am proud of the positive changes we

students; set standards for education bodies for nursing and midwifery courses; set professional standards for nurses and midwives; and consider complaints against nurses and midwives who practise in Ireland. Having served on the Board since 2015, I have made to ensure NMBI is a modern and progressive regulator.

The State of the Register 2023 provides valuable insights into the profile, trends, and challenges of our nursing and midwifery workforce. The data we gather through the annual renewal process allows us to share emerging trends in health service staffing to assist our stakeholders in future planning. Now in its second year, the State of the Register 2023 is particularly crucial to NMBI and our healthcare colleagues as we can now provide a comparison to last year and identify areas of growth and potential gaps. The data in this report will assist policy makers and service providers to plan and resource our services in a way that meets the current and future needs of our patients, service users, and communities. We are delighted to see the nursing and midwifery professions growing. These numbers not only represent statistics but real individuals dedicating their lives to the betterment of healthcare in Ireland. The data in this report is essential for ensuring that we maintain and improve the standards of care and safety that we aspire to as professionals. I encourage all registered nurses and midwives and candidate registered student nurses and midwives to read this report and reflect

Current Registration Numbers As of 1 June 2023 there are 84,948 registrants on the register

79,489

are currently practising

Gender breakdown (of those practising)

5,459

71,456

not currently practising

FEMALE

Patient-facing registrants

70,969

8,520

are patient-facing

are not currently

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Of the 79,489 currently practising, there are 6,257 new registrants

8,030 MALE

3 PREFER NOT TO SAY

patient-facing

on its implications for their practice and profession.

Overview of the data The report, which is published annually, provides a detailed breakdown of the number of nurses and midwives registered in Ireland. All nurses and midwives who wish to practise in Ireland must be registered with NMBI. The 2023 report shows that there is total of 79,489 nurses and midwives currently practising in Ireland. The figure represents a 5 per cent increase in the number of practising, compared to 75,871 in 2022.

The 2023 figures show a 27 per cent year-on-year (6,257) increase in new registrants joining the NMBI register. New registrants include nurses and midwives qualified in Ireland, the EU, and non-EU countries. The highest percentage increases in new registrants

The majority of new registrants in 2023 came from non-EU countries. In the period of this report, 1,584 new registrants qualified in Ireland (up 2 per cent), 4,542 qualified outside the EU (up 50 per cent) and 131 qualified in EU countries (down 64 per cent). Since 2022, UK registrants are no longer included in EU figures. Nurses and midwives educated outside Ireland play an essential role in the Irish health system. In 2023, the top overseas countries from which new registrants came were India (3,272), Philippines (560), United Kingdom (232), and Zimbabwe (169). There were 250 new registrants from the UK in 2022 as opposed to 232 in 2023.

We will continue to engage with our registrants, the public and our key stakeholders to improve our focus, efficiency, and effectiveness. Together with the data we have from the State of the Register, we look forward to reporting on changes in the demographics of registrants. The full State of the Register 2023 report provides an in-depth look into the registration data for the nursing and midwifery professions in Ireland. It is available for download on the NMBI website.

W: www.nmbi.ie

From 1 June 2022 to 31 May 2023, NMBI issued 10,679 decision letters to overseas applicants. Getting a decision letter is an essential step in the process of overseas nurses and midwives applying to join the register. For most applicants, it allows them, to fulfil a required compensation measure before applying to join the register.

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The report indicates a steady growth in nurses and midwives registered in Ireland, underscoring the resilience of both professions and the sustained interest in critical healthcare roles. The data shows that, as of 1 June 2023, there are 84,948 nurses and midwives registered; a 4 per cent increase on the previous year and the largest number of registrants held by NMBI. There are 70,969 nurses and midwives in patientfacing roles (an increase of 7 per cent).

are in the General Nurses Division and the Midwives Division.

As we enter the second year of our Statement of Strategy 2023-2025, we will continue to ensure we can adapt to the evolving global healthcare environment.

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The health and economic cost of antimicrobial resistance Ireland will be one of the EU/EEA countries most exposed to a fall in labour market output if current antimicrobial resistance trends continue, a report by the OECD has found. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is essentially the body’s ability to reject the medical influence of antimicrobial agents in medicine, is acknowledged as one of the greatest public health threats globally. AMR is responsible for more than 35,000 deaths per year in the EU/EEA, a figure projected to rise to 79,000 deaths annually moving towards 2050, unless the issue is addressed.

classes of antibiotics have been rising by nearly 2 per cent since 2000. Current trends suggest that third-line antimicrobials, the last resort drugs against difficult-to-treat infections could be 2.1 times higher by 2035 in the OECD compared to 2005.

In Ireland, unless resistant infections are eliminated, AMR is estimated to claim the lives of more than 169 people each year.

Alongside excess deaths, AMR and the failure to properly address it have large economic costs. The OECD estimates that the cost of treating complications due to resistant infections can exceed €26.5 billion every year (adjusted for purchasing parity) across 34 OECD and EU/EEA countries.

One in every five infections across the OECD is now caused by superbugs, fuelled by high levels of inappropriate use of antimicrobials. Despite policy efforts to optimise antibiotic consumption, average sales of all

It is estimated that an additional 32.5 million days are spent in hospitals per year to treat the consequences of AMR, while the impact of AMR on workforce participation and productivity is estimated to be

equivalent to €33.8 billion, corresponding roughly to one-fifth of the gross domestic product in Portugal in 2020. Advocating the One Health framework, a multisectoral approach that promotes coordinated action across human and animal health, agrifood systems, and the environment, the OECD says: “The AMR pandemic is already here. While Covid-19 has led to efforts to prevent and control the spread of infections, there is no room for complacency in the fight against AMR. Results from the OECD analysis demonstrate that policy action that is grounded in a One Health approach is urgently needed to tackle AMR.” Ireland published its first national action plan on antimicrobial resistance in 2017, with a second One Health

Impact of AMR on labour market based on average wages, per capita per year up to 2050

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Source: OECD

National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance 2021-2025 currently in delivery. Some progress has been made. According to the OECD, resistance proportions for 12 antibiotic-bacterium pairs increased from 2015 to 14.9 per cent in 2019, however, this is still significantly below the EU/EEA average (21.3 per cent), and resistance proportions are projected to decline to 14.1 per cent by 2035 in Ireland. Ireland’s average 33.1 defined daily dose (DDD) per 1,000 persons per day in 2025 was above the 24.1 EU/EEA average. While projections are for antibiotic consumption to decrease to 30.8 per day by 2030, they remain above the projected EU/EEA average of 23.2. Ireland exceeds the World Health Organization’s target for access antibiotics to make up at least 60 per cent of national consumption, with first and second-line therapies with lower resistance potential making up nearly 67 per cent of all antibiotics consumed in 2015. Giving emphasis to the need to address the challenge, the OECD research highlights how estimated declines in workforce productivity translate into considerable financial losses for nations.

productivity by around €5.3 billion per year by 2050 in the EU/EEA, and Ireland is second only to Italy in estimations to incur the greatest losses in per capita labour market output across the EU/EEA countries. The OECD examined the impact of different policies including a mixed policy package that would involve the scaling-up of five policy priorities across sectors such as improving antibiotic stewardship, delayed antimicrobial prescription, and enhancing food safety. The estimations are that if Ireland was to invest €5 per person annually in a mixed policy package, annual gains would be:

• 6,011 infections prevented; • 76 lives saved; • €20 million savings in healthcare costs; • €34 million gained by increased workforce participation and productivity; and

Summarising that the cost of inaction to tackle AMR is high, the OECD says that alongside national action plans, policy priorities for action lie in bolstering nationwide implementation of programmes for infection prevention and control; investment in more robust surveillance systems; ensuring greater compliance with regulatory frameworks; and development of new antibiotics, vaccines and diagnostics. “By addressing many of the existing policy gaps, all 11 policy interventions modelled by the OECD are estimated to generate substantial health and economic gains. In particular, the following interventions yield the highest gains,” the report states. “Scaling up investments in One Health packages of actions against AMR is affordable, with a return on investment significantly greater than implementation costs… The health and economic benefits of implementing One Health policies as policy packages far exceed the benefits accrued by implementing these policies in isolation.”

• €2.13 return per €1 invested.

AMR is estimated to depress workforce 61

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HSE Data Collaborathon 2.0 In late October 2023, the Guinness Enterprise Centre, Dublin and Portershed, Galway simultaneously played host to the HSE’s Data Collaborathon 2.0. Ciarán Galway spoke with participants. Organised by Maria McCann, the HSE’s Director of Identity Management Services, the Collaborathon incorporated a series of case study presentations, workshops, and a fireside chat, with a closing keynote delivered by John Ward, Interim Technology Transformation Officer. Explaining the rationale informing Data Collaborathon 2.0, McCann explains:

“Data is key to many of my programmes of work. We see the impact of good data, we see the impact of good governance, and today is about determining how we share these experiences with our partners across the HSE. “There are many amazing projects across that Health Service Executive, the Department of Health, the wider

Anne Quirke, CTO and Deputy to the CIO, Beaumont Hospital “The key advantage of an event like this Collaborathon is the participation of multidisciplinary teams from across the healthcare system. It is impossible to keep up with all developments across the system and these types of events deliver a summary synopsis of what is happening, and the direction of the strategy moving forward with respect to the HSE, HIQA, and others. This one is definitely hitting the nail on the head from that perspective.”

health ecosystem, and across government. Today’s collaborathon is defined by information sharing for the benefit of the citizen or the patient the whole way through their patient journey. It is also about connection. “Defying some perceptions of the public service, our environment is very fast paced; there are many programmes of work. While there is an appetite to share expertise and learning, we must create a space to do so. Taking time today to connect with others can uncover projects that are relevant to our own. We are trying to connect silos of work and cultivate a genuinely positive culture around data within the health service, allowing people to communicate with colleagues who are in the same or similar positions.”

Ben Cloney, Head of Digital, Health Service Executive “My team is responsible for the HSE’s public website, social media, customer service, digital marketing, that space. As such, we work very closely with eHealth and the health identifiers, bringing a slightly different lens to the technology side of things, looking at how the human interacts with the technology. “Data collaborathons like this are very important because it is not just about the data in isolation. Rather, it is about how we present data to the public, how we make it easy to understand, and how we contextualise it. So it is super important for us to be at these kinds of events to get in the room with the ‘harder’ tech people and apply our different lenses collaboratively.” 62

Fran Thompson, Chief Information Officer, Health Service Executive

“For healthcare to work, all the components must work together. Quite often in ICT, we think ‘here is the road things should be on’. However, it is often not the right road, and someone will suggest an alternative. These types of events bring all the right people into a room to add dimensions so that when a platform or a solution is being delivered, it takes into account these perspectives.”

“The Spark Innovation Programme promotes a culture of innovation within the HSE. We take a broad look at innovation; everything from a different pathway to production of a new technology. The way Spark’s collaboration with the collaborathon kind of came around was fairly serendipitous. We know Maria [McCann] and John [Ward], having met them at a different conference, a link was made, and we had a chat to determine if there were any synergies in terms of what they aim to achieve and what we are exploring in terms of the support structure. As such, we came on board as a partner.

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“There is no island of knowledge in the HSE. Across the organisation, we all think we are brilliant at what we do; and we are, but for the health service to work, there is a multidisciplinary requirement across a huge spectrum. Not just in a clinical sense. For instance, while there is a multidisciplinary team looking after an individual’s healthcare, in turn, this team is supported by another multidisciplinary team, or another set of teams, which are delivering several other elements of healthcare.

Dermot Burke, HSE Spark Innovation Programme National Fellow for Innovation and Change, Health Service Executive

“We are very much the eyes on the clinical frontline. As such, when Maria and John were developing a questionnaire to gain insight into what people wanted from a collaborathon – as well as knowledge gaps across the system – we connected them to our network to help inform its development. “There is nothing better than being in the same room as people from across the health service. Consider the event today, there are clinical people, nonclinical people, private industry, and others all in the room. Everyone has a shared goal of ultimately enhancing and improving patient care.”

John Swords, National Director of Procurement, Health Service Executive

Loretto Grogan, Director of Nursing, National Clinical Information Officer for Nursing and Midwifery, Health Service Executive

“The benefit of participation today is for people to understand that while many people are working on digital, not everybody understands what others around them are doing. Events like this, enhance awareness of the work being undertaken in parallel to people’s own projects, and foster enhanced cohesion. This is the most important element; getting people to connect with each other.”

“A core group of us met in Drogheda after the Covid pandemic to consider the data governance space. We decided that holding a series of collaborathons would be a good idea. I was involved right from the outset, presenting at the previous collaborathon and then again today. “The value is in a mixture of both networking and content. With digital health, we are absolutely, definitely better together. Digital health is a multifaceted and complex field, and we must work together. The more events which are focused on discussing and sharing information around digital innovation and data, the better.”

Susan Treacy, Chief Executive, HealthTech Ireland Association “Through our collaboration international colleagues and as a member of MedTech Europe, HealthTech Ireland knows that healthcare trends such as ageing demographics and increased chronic disease management are presenting challenges for healthcare systems both nationally and internationally. The opportunity through digital health transformation to meet these challenges and provide value to the healthcare system, healthcare professionals, and patients is huge. “Cross sector forums for meaningful collaboration, demonstrated so well here today by the HSE teams are critical both to understand and to identify where we can best support. “HealthTech Ireland and HSE colleagues collaborate in several ways. At a strategic level, we support strategic development as described, and then at operational level, we listen, understand, and communicate where the HSE is at any given point in time to ensure that the companies can connect into that. Many organisations who are facing this evolving landscape will also often use HealthTech Ireland as a source of reliable information, with a credible finger on the pulse. “Today has been a truly collaborative day and it is wonderful to see the passion and drive from individuals and teams across the sector to deliver transformation. This continued open and trusted communication and engagement such as that exists between the HSE and HealthTech Ireland is a critical and valued relationship. HealthTech Ireland with its members are here to understand and support these teams in delivering this vision for patients.”

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Waiting lists decreasing but not at required pace Over 817,000 patients were recorded on the National Treatment Purchase Fund’s (NTPF) register of patients on hospital waiting lists in November 2023, showing a decrease throughout 2023. The majority of targets for waiting times, set by the 2017 Sláintecare report, continue to be missed. Of the total 817,180 patients listed in the NTPF’s latest data covering November 2023, 84,287 are inpatient/day cases, 23,279 are on inpatient/day case GI endoscopy waiting lists, and 580,055 are on the outpatient waiting list. The majority in each of these categories have been waiting between zero and six months: 54,988 (65.3 per cent) in of inpatient/day cases; 20,238 (86.9 per cent) in GI endoscopy lists; and 335,308 (57.8 per cent) of outpatients. Despite these figures, most worrying for government and health officials will be the fact that Sláintecare targets set in 2017 continue to be missed by the healthcare system. The report stated that that there should be maximum wait times of no more than 12 weeks for an inpatient/day case procedure or GI scope, and 10 weeks for a new outpatient appointment. In the case of inpatient/day cases, 57.8 per cent of patients (48,735) on the waiting list as of November 2023 were on the list past the 12-week deadline, a figure which rises to 71 per cent for child patients. 62.6 per cent (14,577) of GI scope patients on the waiting list were still within the 12-week target, making it the only one of the three active lists to not have a majority waiting past its deadline target. It is in the case of outpatients that the health system performs at its worst: of the 588,813 people on outpatients waiting lists, 70.1 per cent of them (406,497) had already surpassed the 10-week deadline by which they should have had their appointment.

Active waiting list numbers in 2023* 700,000 600,000 500,000 400,000

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300,000 200,000 100,000 0 January

February

March

April

May

Inpatient/day case (Source: National Treatment Purchase Fund)

June GI endoscopy

July

August September October November

Outpatient

* Correct at time of print

Overall, of the 687,621 patients across the three active waiting lists, 67.5 per cent of them have not been seen within their Sláintecare targeted timeframe. Despite this, the figures do show an improvement over the course of summer and autumn 2023 when compared with the NTPF’s data for April 2023, when there were more than 830,000 patients on national waiting lists, including 596,265 waiting for an outpatient appointment. The number of people whose waiting time had surpassed their Sláintecare target times also reduced in the seven months between April and November 2023: the 463,934 in November showed a 5.8 per cent decrease from April’s total of 492,639.

Capacity At the time of the release of the April 2023 NTPF data, the Health Service Executive (HSE) released a statement that said that additions to the waiting lists in 2023 had been “higher than projected”: “The HSE attributes this trend to a number of drivers, including post-pandemic pent-up demand, and highlight it is also the case internationally e.g., the NHS in Britain is seeing higher additions compared to previous years.” The Department of Health also stated that there had been 3.4 million outpatient and 1.7 million inpatient/day case attendances in the 12 months leading up to April 2023. “In addition to this planned care, our hospital system also treated 1.6 million patients during this same period in emergency care, which represents a 10 per cent increase on 2019 pre-pandemic levels and 4

Government recognises that acute hospital scheduled care waiting lists are far too long, and that many patients are waiting an unacceptably long time for care, we are beginning to see progress. Last year saw an 11 per cent fall in number waiting over Sláintecare targets (56,000 adults and children). This represents a fall from the Covid peak of 24 per cent.”

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The headline target contained within the plan is that the HSE and NTPF will reduce hospital waiting lists by 10 per cent in 2023. Without data for the full year available, it is impossible to determine the success or failure of this aim, but November 2023 shows a decrease from January 2023. November 2023’s total of 817,180 patients on waiting lists represents an decrease of 0.8 per cent since the start of the year.

reflects the ongoing pressure on hospitals from flu surges and increased emergency department attendances,” the Department stated. At the time, president of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association Robert Landers called on the Government to make “significant improvements” and “commit the necessary capital spend… to deliver the additional expedited bed capacity” needed. A March 2023 report published by the Research Services and Policy Unit of the Department of Health, Hospital Performance: An Analysis of HSE Key Performance Indicators, attested to the healthcare sector’s ongoing struggles with capacity. At the hospital level, 23 of 26 hospitals were found to be missing the HSE designated target of 70 per cent admission to emergency departments within six hours; incomplete treatment rates, which are targeted to be at less than 6.5 per cent in emergency departments, were found to be as high as 16.7 per cent in St James’s Hospital and as low as 1.3 per cent in St Luke’s, Kilkenny. Elective day-of-surgery admissions, target at 80 per cent by the HSE, were also found to be as low as 16.5 per cent in St James’s. In its report, Inpatient bed capacity requirements in Ireland in 2023: Evidence on the public acute hospital system, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) states that population increases, especially at older

ages, will “continue to increase demand for hospital care” in Ireland and that “additional public acute hospital capacity will be required”. The report estimated a shortfall in 2023 of up to “over 900 beds” in acute hospital settings, a shortfall that it stated would increase “the likelihood of overcrowding issues remaining a common feature of the Irish public acute hospital system”. The report also found that while Ireland’s rate of inpatient beds per capita had increased, it remained “among the lowest in the OECD” and that despite the fact that the population aged 65 and over accounts for more than half of all inpatient bed days, the rate of beds per 1,000 population of those aged 65 and over had “decreased considerably in recent years”.

Waiting List Action Plan The Government’s latest attempt to get to grips with healthcare capacity and thus reduce waiting lists – the Waiting List Action Plan for 2023 – was published in March 2023, setting out 30 actions focused on “delivering capacity, reforming scheduled care, and enabling scheduled care reform”. The plan allocated €363 million of the €443 million dedicated to tackling waiting lists in Budget 2023 to a multi-annual approach to reducing waiting lists and waiting times. Speaking upon the launch of the action plan in March 2023, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD said: “While the

There has been a decrease in the number of patients on the three active waiting lists: inpatient/day case; GI endoscopy; and outpatient. January 2023 – a month that recorded significant increases form December 2022 – saw a total 697,893 patients waiting across the three lists; this figure fell to 687,621 by November 2023, a decrease of 1.5 per cent. While data related to Sláintecare targets is unavailable for January 2023, February 2023 data shows that the situation has also improved in this regard throughout 2023. In February 2023, 75.5 per cent of outpatients, 64.3 per cent of inpatient/day cases, and 44.8 per cent of GI endoscopy patients were waiting past their Sláintecare target deadlines; each of these categories shows improvement in the November 2023 figures detailed above. “With the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, my department, the HSE, and the NTPF are taking the next steps in the multiannual approach towards achieving our vision of a world-class public healthcare system in which everyone has timely and transparent access to high-quality scheduled care, where and when they need it, in line with Sláintecare reforms,” Donnelly said in March 2023. While there has been marginal improvement in some areas, it is unlikely that Donnelly’s targeted 10 per cent reduction will be possible in 2023, meaning much work remains to be done.

IACP calls for increased access to counselling and psychotherapy our Budget 2024 submission that would help achieve our ultimate aim of establishing universal access to counselling and psychotherapy. 1. School counselling and

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psychotherapy initiative In order to address the growing need for timely access to counselling and psychotherapy services for children and young people, it is proposed that funding be provided to expand the pilot Programme of Counselling in Primary Schools to all primary and second level schools. 2. Expansion of tax relief to counselling and psychotherapy Chief Executive Officer Lisa Molloy updates members on the IACP pre-budget submission at the annual general meeting.

The IACP continues to urge the Government to act swiftly to expand tax relief for counselling and psychotherapy

As the largest counselling and psychotherapy association in Ireland with 5,000+ members, the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (the IACP) is a highly respected professional body.

services to be deemed an eligible expense in line with other health expenses. Minding one’s mental health is an integral component of a person’s general health and the fees for mental health services should be eligible for tax relief in the same way as physical health medical expenses are. 3. VAT exemption The IACP seeks equity of treatment and parity of esteem as mental health professionals delivering psychotherapy and counselling, with our peers who deliver physical health care, such as GPs and dentists. The IACP’s modest

We are a trusted link between those looking for counselling/psychotherapy and those who provide it. We supply information to members and set and maintain practice and training standards. The IACP has established a comprehensive code of ethics and practice. We represent counselling/psychotherapy at both national and international levels. As part of our mission, the IACP dedicates itself to promoting and advancing the profession of counselling and psychotherapy. We continue to achieve this through the promotion and provision of high-quality education, training, and professional development,

by raising awareness of the value and benefits of counselling and psychotherapy and by supporting members to work to the highest possible standards, for the service and the protection of individuals seeking therapy. The Find a Therapist Tool, accessible through iacp.ie provides a free comprehensive online directory of all accredited IACP counsellors/psychotherapists nationwide.

and fair proposals would facilitate the equal treatment for those accessing counselling and psychotherapy services in terms of tax relief and fairness, through reform of the VAT system, for mental health professionals.

W: www.iacp.ie

Lobbying and pre-budget submission 2024 The IACP proposed three strategies in

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EU reform prompts medicine shortage Ireland is set to establish a new national position on the security of supply of medicines in early 2024, following major European reform of pharmaceutical legislation. On 26 April 2023, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new directive and a new regulation which revise and replace the existing general pharmaceutical legislation. Viewed as the flagship action of the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe adopted in 2020, the revision of legislation aims to create a single market for medicines and address long-standing issues on medicine access and drug shortages. In Ireland, and across Europe, medicine supply concerns have been growing for years, with supply challenges becoming even more pronounced during the pandemic and international geopolitical situations. The EU’s dependence on non-EU countries for importing medicines and their active ingredients had led to three-quarters of member states reporting worsening of drugs shortages in 2022. In July 2023, the European Medicines Agency said Europe is walking a tightrope, and in the same month, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) indicated that there were over 300 medicine shortages impacting the Irish market. The Commission’s proposals include the control of drug production in the event of a public health emergency, manufacturers to give early warnings of shortages, and a requirement for stockholders to inform Brussels of supply levels. In response to the proposals, the Department of Health, the lead government

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department tasked with considering the legislative proposals, has held an initial stakeholder event to inform a preliminary Irish position on the proposals, allowing the Pharmaceutical Strategy Working Group (PSWC) to gather views. Initially set up in 2020 by the Minister for Health to act as a vehicle to assist in ensuring a universal and coherent national approach to the strategy, the PSWC ran a consultation on shortages, and security of supply until 8 December 2023. The Department was seeking to confirm the national position on the policy topic by the beginning of 2024. Alongside a single market for medicines, the EU’s reforms include an innovation-friendly framework for research, development, and production of medicines in Europe. It also aims to “drastically reduce” administrative burdens and speed up the time for medicines reaching patients, while enhancing availability to ensure medicines can always be supplied to patients, regardless of where they live in the EU. A major focus for the fresh legislation is around tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which is considered one of the top three health threats in the EU. Overuse and misuse of antimicrobials have led to increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR), meaning that antimicrobials lose their effectiveness, and it becomes more difficult to treat infections. It is estimated that AMR is responsible for 35,000 deaths per year in the EU/EEA and projections estimate 10 million deaths globally each year, reducing 2 per cent to 3.5 per cent in global gross domestic product. Commenting on the adoption of the proposal, the European Commission’s Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, says: “Today we add another central pillar to our European Health Union. We are putting forward proposals to ensure that medicines reach patients everywhere in Europe, in a timely and equitable fashion. “It is a reform which ensures that Europe remains attractive for business, and our pharmaceutical industry a global innovation powerhouse. Building a single market for medicines is a necessity both for our citizens and our companies.”

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Mental Health Commission: Driving and supporting change social services, and delivered to all communities in all parts of Ireland. December 2023 saw the culmination of a joint project with the MHC and the World Health Organisation which will ensure that everybody across Ireland, in the private, public, not-for-profit and NGO sectors, will have access to human rights training based on the United Nations Convention on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The current remit of the MHC is to regulate inpatient mental health services, which is just 1 per cent of all services provided. At present, 90 per cent of the services are over 90 per cent compliant. Full compliance, says Farrelly, will only be possible on the completion of a national capital investment programme by the State.

In a conversation with eolas Magazine, John Farrelly, CEO of the Mental Health Commission, which includes Ireland’s new Decision Support Service, outlines some of the strategic and systemic issues he encounters and the strides his organisation has made as Ireland transitions to recovery-orientated, human

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rights-based mental health and decision support services. In Ireland, inpatient mental health services have improved dramatically over the past five years but, according to John Farrelly, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Commission (MHC), the improvements are mainly due to the expertise and commitment of the people in the system. For change to be embedded, structural and process reform is required, along with adequate financial investment by the State.

The new 2023-2027 MHC strategic plan – entitled Supporting Change – focuses on supporting services to move to a human rights-based agenda which is what service users, their families, the public, and clinicians want, according to Farrelly. The overall goal, strategically, is to ensure that mental health services and decision support services are not just accessible, but that they are best-inclass, integrated with other health and

“I welcome that the majority of centres have been invested in and it is amazing to see how moving from old, outdated premises to new purpose-built modern facilities empowers both patients and clinicians. Over the next five years, the MHC will continue to work with the HSE and the government to complete a national capital investment programme so that all our inpatient units inspire hope, support healing, and enhance dignity.”

Working in the community In relation to the human rights-based approach, Farrelly says the MHC and the State, including the HSE as a service provider, need to continue to ensure that there is momentum and investment behind this shift, if it is to be achieved.

“We need to make sure that all this happens, and is supported, at pace. To do this, we need to build high-quality community services so that people can be treated as early as possible in their lives and in their own communities.”

“The failures in CAMHS have by now been well-documented and the task for the State is to ensure the Inspector’s recommendations for reform and regulation of CAMHS by the MHC are heeded.” Farrelly is also very conscious of the need for equal-opportunity access to services, saying: “In line with Sláintecare, we share the vision of an integrated community infrastructure where mental health practitioners work together with GPs, so it is essential that we invest in public services including the public mental health system. “Strategically, Ireland needs to avoid confusing integration with privatisation. At the moment, the playing field is uneven; those with private health insurance or who can afford to pay out of pocket have better care and treatment options than those who do not. People, including children, who may not be able to afford private health insurance, should not have to suffer, or have less access to mental health services. The State must fill this gap. In a republic, we are all equal.

The General Scheme to amend the 2001 Mental Health Act, as approved by Cabinet on 13 July 2021, set out the intention of the State to expand the regulation by the MHC of mental health services beyond inpatient services and into the community. Some argue that the

Together with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Mental Health Commission (MHC) recently launched training in a human rights-based model of mental health care in Ireland that they hope will transform how Ireland approaches and cares for people who experience mental illness. Pictured are (L to R) Superintendent Michael McNamara, An Garda Síochána (AGS) ; Michelle Funk, Head of WHO Policy, Law and Human Rights Unit; Chief Superintendent Ann Markey, AGS human rights section; and Chief Executive of the Mental Health Commission, John Farrelly Photography: Sasko Lazarov/Photocallireland

process of legislating is too slow. “It is only when our remit is expanded will we be in a position to set standards so that as services develop over the next 10 years, they are evidence-based, in accordance with the needs of the people, and not sporadic.”

Decision Support Service

service and one that is environmentally friendly and sustainable,” Farrelly states. He continues: “Embracing the digital age is part of our agenda to improve our services. Our statistics show that family members, people with disabilities and older persons are embracing this digital agenda, and so far, we have received very positive feedback on this aspect of

When asked about the recent launch of the Decision Support Service (DSS), Farrelly is immensely proud of the progress that he and his team have made up to this point. He explained: “Adults in Ireland can no longer be made wards of court, or subjected to old fashioned or outdated laws which were used on people who were in a vulnerable position. Rather, we now have a service where people’s will, preferences, and their rights are being vindicated. It is unique in Europe; in fact, it might be unique globally. It is something on which we worked hard with other state bodies and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and it has come to fruition.

our work.”

“It is so easy for people to get information on the DSS – they can go to www.decisionsupportservice.ie or Citizens’ Information where they can see exactly what is available to them. It is deliberately easy to access and there are no paper barriers, so it is accessible to all.

behalf of the State to move beyond

“At MHC, we have undergone a digital transformation. We have digitalised all processes, internally and externally, so that we can provide a quicker, better

Strategy Looking forward strategically, Farrelly says that the MHC will continue to play their part with all their stakeholders to ensure services in Ireland are rightsbased and accessible, which is, he says, what the public, service users and their families, and professionals want. In conclusion, Farrelly added: “We have come a long way in Ireland, and we need to make sure that we continue to drive and support change. I think closing large asylums and also replacing the wards of courts legislation shows a desire on

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“We witnessed during the recent pandemic that everybody was equal; that everyone was treated equitably and that everyone received the same care. When the medicines and the treatments became available, it was based on risk rather than ability to pay. We should never forget that, even though it is easy to do so. We should learn that lesson and ensure that this equitable approach applies to all our health services in the future,” he says.

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The MHC is aware of the need for significant investment in all community mental health services and the need to build an integrated community infrastructure. Earlier this year, the MHC published the final report of the Inspector of Mental Health Services on the Independent Review of the provision of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in the State.

outdated institutions and create highquality individualised, integrated community-based services which everybody can access, and which are based on needs rather than ability to pay.”

W: www.mhcirl.ie

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Reforming Ireland’s health service The Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group has reviewed Ireland’s approach to health policy and produced a report recommending a suite of measures as to how the State can now strengthen systems to ensure a comprehensive approach to public health. Published in September 2023, the report is an amalgamation of research carried out by a number of expert groups. The report makes recommendations on different areas of public health policy.

Learning from Covid On strengthening preparedness for future pandemics and other public health threats, the report recommends that pandemic preparedness and public health emergency preparedness become a stronger part of a strengthened health protection strategy, with formalised cross‑government, cross‑sectoral and inter‑agency links, making full use of national structures for emergency planning and management. It is further recommended that Ireland fully participates in international

mechanisms and the implementation of international agreements and treaties arising from Covid‑19. This activity should include the development of updated plans for known health threats and more general activities to build health system resilience and adaptability. Furthermore, research into pandemic preparedness should be increased and supported through national and international mechanisms, the advisory group asserts.

Improving mental health On achieving a comprehensive national public health strategy to guide coordinated delivery of the essential public health functions in order to protect and promote long and healthy lives across Ireland, the most striking

recommendation is that the Department of Health needs to develop a mental health strategy. “A new national public health strategy, led by the Chief Medical Officer, should be developed by the Department of Health to provide a coherent approach to the full set of essential public health functions,” the report states. “The Department of Health should engage across government and sectors to develop this strategy. It should also engage with the Health Service Executive (HSE), and other agencies engaged with public health activities. This should bring together, build on and further develop existing strategies across health intelligence; health service improvement; health protection; and health and wellbeing.”

To enable this, a programme of updated and strengthened public health legislation should be developed including full implementation of the International Health Regulations, legislation to underpin new public health roles and functions, and the independence of public health advice.

Benchmarking progress

An annual progress report on the delivery of the public health strategy monitoring the agreed outcomes, would need to be published by the Department of Health and delivered to the Government. The proposed national health information authority should be codesigned with those working in public health to support the monitoring of agreed public health outcomes, provide data to give insights on public health priorities, and work in close collaboration with bodies working towards improved public health outcomes.

Alleviating health inequalities To alleviate health inequalities, there is a need build on the dialogues formed during the pandemic with communities across Ireland to institute a continuous, formal process for listening to their priorities, according to the Public Health Reform Advisory Group. From this, there is a need to ensure that the public health strategy and all policies within it prioritise better supporting those with the worst public health outcomes. Making this work across the State will involve the development of a clear, integrated approach at local level to continuous engagement with and support of “the public and vulnerable groups” towards the improvement of their health outcomes and experiences, guided by their priorities.

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The report asserts that the new public health strategy should include an agreed public health outcomes framework building on and further developing existing public health outcomes frameworks in place for Healthy Ireland, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Government’s Wellbeing Framework, and the Health System Performance Assessment Framework.

“A new national public health strategy, led by the Chief Medical Officer, should be developed by the Department of Health to provide a coherent approach to the full set of essential public health functions.” Public Health Reform Expert Advisory Group Making health policy a cross-government priority This will require Department of Health to lead cross‑sectoral mechanisms to ensure preparedness for future public health emergencies, embed public health in policies across government, address health inequalities, and enhance recognition of population health as a national asset. Public health impact would have to be considered as part of major new policy developments across government. The report asserts that public health should be embedded in all policies, in a manner analogous to the way the climate crisis is being embedded across policy areas through the Climate Action Plan.

Health leadership Emphasising the importance of strong leadership, the report states that public health expertise and representation at national, regional, and local levels should be strengthened and embedded in line with the implementation of the Crowe Horwath recommendations, Sláintecare, and the implementation of the regional health areas. It further stipulates that this should include the appointment and alignment of key public health roles at national and regional levels building on recruitment that is already underway. Lines of management and communication must be clearly drawn as the regional health areas are developed in order to allow the national

leads to support those working regionally, and for those working regionally to learn from each other’s challenges and successes through a formal learning and communication process.

Ensuring a coordinated approach A strategic workforce plan, learning of which can be drawn from the one in the English National Health Service, should be developed to underpin the delivery of the 12 essential public health functions at national, regional, and local levels. This should include planning for surge capacity, including the development of a public health reserve corps. There is a call for a wider recognition that the impact the pandemic has had on the health workforce and focus on enhancing health service staff’s wellbeing and resilience, and on recruitment, training, development, and retention. The Department of Health and agencies would need to fully engage with the EU, its agencies, and other international bodies including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) to ensure access to international expertise, practical mechanisms, supports for dealing with cross‑border health threats, and learning opportunities for the public health workforce. 73

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Benchmarking Ireland’s healthcare Austin Smyth, Sean McKay, and Alan Orme assess how the health service in the Republic of Ireland compares against those of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Originally commissioned to produce comparative information on the healthcare systems in the UK’s four jurisdictions and Ireland, authors Austin Smyth, Sean McKay, and Alan Orme have compiled the data sets and reviewed relative performance covering five years across the five jurisdictions. The research used the data collected to answer two basic questions in relation to the health service in Ireland: 1. How healthy are citizens in Ireland compared to those in the other UK regions? and 2. How healthy is the health system in Ireland in comparison to the other jurisdictions? It proved very difficult to establish a comprehensive system which can provide the basis for a robust evaluation and comparison of UK and Ireland’s health services. However, despite the differences, the team developed a framework of comparative indicators that provided some measure of the relative levels of performance of health services in the Republic relative to the UK countries. In general, the measurement framework developed shows that people in Ireland lead long and healthy lives, however, some problems can still be identified across a range of measures. Behavioural risk factors, including 74

smoking, obesity, and abuse of alcohol remain important public health concerns. Alcohol consumption continues to be higher than the OECD average. Quality of health care is generally good, but access to services is constrained by costs and waiting times.

levels of infection and lower levels of vaccination in the North than in the Republic, and the former experienced death rates from Covid-19 significantly higher than the Republic. One way of illustrating the scale of these differences is to assume that if the Republic’s rate had applied to the

The arrival of Covid-19 in early 2020 delivered a massive shock to all healthcare systems. The research found, on the basis of infection and vaccination profiles, there was higher

North throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, it would have experienced up to 1,800 fewer deaths.

Cumulative total of deaths equating to an overall death rate of 263 per 100,000 population in the North compared to a rate of 166 per 100,000 population in the Republic. One way of illustrating the scale of these differences is to assume that if the Republic’s rate had applied to the North throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, it would have experienced up to 1,800 fewer deaths.

Figure 1: Ireland: Percentage of cancer patients undergoing treatment within target

Evidence gathered during our study demonstrates that as a result of the pandemic, there was a dramatic reduction in the numbers of people presenting to A&E across all jurisdictions. These people are coming forward now, many with advanced illnesses.

•

Overall hospital waiting lists are twice as long, per capita, as those in the Republic – while lists of people waiting over a year are over four times as long – in June 2023, over 281,000 people, per million people in the North were on a waiting list for appointments, compared with 138,000 per million in the Republic. For those who had been waiting over 12 months, the disparity is even larger: 140,000 per million in the North, compared with 30,000 per million in the Republic (Irish Times, 25 September 2023); and by June 2023, 17 per cent of patients waiting for inpatient care in the Republic had been waiting longer than a year just to get an appointment – in England just 5 per cent of patients waited longer than a year for the whole journey from referral to treatment.

Health status •

•

In 2023, life expectancy in the Republic was 82.4 years, 2.1 years above the OECD average; and The Republic’s performance on infant mortality per 100,000 was also lower than all UK countries in 2020 (2.7 deaths per 1,000 live births).

Preventive care •

70 per cent of women in the Republic were screened for breast cancer in 2022, slightly less than in the North (75 per cent). However, in

December 2019 (%)

March 2021 (%)

March 2022 (%)

December 2022 (%)

Urgent breast cancer within 2 weeks (target 95%)

Non-urgent breast within 12 weeks (target 95%)

Lung cancer within 10 working days (target 95%)

Prostate cancer within 20 working days (target 90%)

Radiotherapy treatment within 15 working days

Source: HSE Service Profiles; HSE Management Data Report

Figure 2: HSCNI Trusts: % seen within 14 days – Breast cancer treatment

Driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated curtailment of some healthcare services, all jurisdictions have seen a significant increase in the proportion of people waiting more than 12 months for out-patient, day, and inpatient services, with this increase more evident in the North: •

December 2018 (%)

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Access to GPs has fundamentally changed – there are much less face-toface appointments. This has resulted in more people presenting to emergency departments. In many cases, these people bypassed primary care. A number of Covid-19 sufferers are now experiencing ‘long Covid’ typified by respiratory and mobility problems persisting for a period of more than 12 weeks.

December 2017 (%)

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

Belfast

100

99.7

Northern

8.4

11.2

26.8

49.1

100

84.5

South-Eastern

11.2

17.4

98.3

98.6

100

Southern

14.5

14.8

100

18.2

Western

94.4

43.2

100

94.4

100

Source: Northern Ireland Waiting Times Statistics: Cancer Waiting Times, NISRA

2022, at 40 per cent per 100,000 population, the Republic had the lowest uptake rate of bowel cancer screening performance compared to its UK peers (average 60 per cent); •

smoking prevalence in 2023, at 16 per cent, was the same as the UK average;

•

alcohol consumption was higher than the OECD average; at 9.5 litres per capita versus 8.6; and

•

obesity prevalence in the Republic in 2022 was 21.0 per cent, slightly lower than that of the UK countries.

Relatively high cancer morbidity is partly driven by behavioural risk factors, for example, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and unhealthy dietary habits. Whilst smoking rates have decreased significantly in recent decades, adult overweight and obesity rates are of growing concern, together with alcohol abuse.

Cancer waiting times and mortality rates It is difficult to compare waiting times for cancer treatment between Ireland and the UK regions given the differences in the targets applied and how data is collected. Despite these

difficulties, the data gathered would strongly indicate that cancer patients in Ireland continue to wait longer than ever for treatment. The statistics on cancer prevention and care (Figures 15) represent priority areas for the Republic going forward. In the Republic, the almost three quarters (74 per cent) of people who die from cancer are over the age of 65 (NCRI, 2018). In the North, by contrast, 63 per cent of people aged 65 and over die from the disease. In the authors’ view, the healthcare system in the Republic can be improved if the Health Service Executive focuses its efforts on addressing challenges in the following areas: Interventions to reduce the time patients spend in the Republic of Ireland’s hospitals will be critical to improving the productivity of its healthcare system This will require diverting adequate resources to increase access to GPs and the reduction of hospital waiting times across all service areas – outpatients, in-patients, diagnostic testing, ambulances, and emergency departments. It also requires that 4 patients only stay in hospital until they 75

Figure 3: Republic of Ireland: Five-year survival rates by cancer type – age standardised 2012-2016 (%)

2014-2018 (%)

Lung

Breast

Colorectal

Urological/Prostate

Source: National Cancer Registry Ireland (NCRI), Cancer In Ireland 1994-2019, annual reports published December 2020 and 2021.

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2014-2019 (%) Lung

12.2

Breast

84.2

Colorectal

61.5

Urological/Prostate

Source: Cancer Incidence and Survival Statistics for Northern Ireland: 1993-2020, NI Cancer Registry, Published May 2022

Figure 5: England: Trend estimates five-year net survival for adults by cancer type – age standardised

Lung

2014-2018 (%)

2015-2019 (%)

15.1

16.5

17.9

Colorectal

56.5

56.4

56.6

Urological/Prostate

86.3

87.1

87.3

Breast

Source: National Disease Registration Service, NHS Digital, February 2022

are medically fit for discharge to home or another health setting: ‘bed blocking’ like this can have a negative knock-on effect back through the system, which has an adverse impact on waiting lists. The backlog in waiting times cannot be cleared with one big push. It is symptomatic of a system that is struggling to cope – not providing enough care to keep up with people’s needs and managing and prioritising the situation poorly, or both.

Delivering healthcare in the most appropriate setting We consider it essential that inefficiency within the health service is tackled urgently. This will require buy-in from Health Service Executive senior management, the public, and importantly, politicians in order that the changes needed can be realised. 76

We strongly believe that greater linkages between independent survey type data collected in the areas of primary care, secondary care, and social services along with quantitative data would enhance the types of analysis that could be undertaken. This would require improved data infrastructure for all jurisdictions.

Conclusion

Figure 4: Northern Ireland: Five-year survival rates by cancer type – age standardised

2013-2017 (%)

could lead to insightful performance assessment and evaluation of management information.

Historically, a wide range of services have been carried out at many small hospitals. The authors consider that centres of excellence for medical and surgical procedures are more efficient and effective than the current mismatch of services. This may be politically unpopular, but other jurisdictions have benefited from this best practice approach.

Overall, the health of the Irish population has improved substantially during recent decades and compares well with its UK counterparts. However, spending is elevated, partly reflecting a system that is strongly based on hospitals. An ageing population is exacerbating spending pressures. In addition, the health sector is dealing with past underspending, particularly in capital outlays in the years following the global financial crisis, that have constrained service delivery, contributing to substantial waiting lists and heavy pressure on staff. The Government has initiated Sláintecare, with the aim of broadening the coverage of universal care, decentralising provision, and enhancing the integration of primary, community, and hospital care. The reforms are complicated, reflecting a healthcare system that is complex and at times opaque. This is particularly the case with the interaction of the public and private parts of the system in which private patients enjoy easier access to care, leading to concerns about a twotier healthcare system. The Covid-19 pandemic has diverted policy-making attention just as the reforms got underway, but stepping up the efforts to address legacy issues and move forward on the reforms is now key to meet the coming challenges while using resources effectively. TAA Ltd was originally commissioned to produce comparative information on the healthcare systems in the UK and Ireland. This information was subsequently used to

Developing more effective performance management The main work of the report – to benchmark healthcare system performance across UK regions and Ireland – has demonstrated that there is an ongoing need for the relevant health administrations to identify and produce a basic set of comparable health system indicators such as those the authors’ have applied in its project. This

produce a separate independent review of performance, written by Austin Smyth, Professor Emeritus, University of Hertfordshire and Director of TAA Ltd., Sean McKay, an ex-Director of Value for Money Studies at the NIAO and Alan Orme, a former Audit Manager of Value For Money studies at NIAO and currently a Director of AO Accountancy & Consultancy Services Limited.

Find out more www.kpmg.ie/government

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connected for better experiences and to enable faster mission delivery. They are connected to

1. Connecting Government 2030

their citizens, their employees, and to each other, with an ability to deliver rapidly, safely, and at scale; •

powered by modern technology and embracing innovations to accelerate digital transformation so the entire organisation – front, middle, and back – is aligned to shift points of interaction to reflect citizen’s needs and preferences; and

•

trusted organisations value their citizens and their employees – implementing safeguards to protect their valuable data with the goal of creating transparency, ultimately

Connected The future is a connected public sector organisation delivered at market speed. Aligned and engineered around the citizen and the users of its services. It is a borderless organisation where people, data, and technology interact for new levels of productivity and value creation. This in turn allows the organisation to increase the speed to mission delivery, which is fast becoming a top priority for public sector organisations around the world. To increase speed to mission delivery, national, and local governments are combining separate business and technology strategies into a single delivery strategy, underpinned by modern technology which drives this strategy. We saw some successful examples of this at the recent Public Sector Digital Transformation Awards, where many public sector organisations demonstrated really innovative solutions to a range of business and citizenfocused issues, delivering solutions rapidly through the combined power of broad team collaboration and modern technology.

So how do public sector organisations focus on the right things to modernise faster? •

Fulfil people’s needs (humancentred design): Organisations that only focus on processes and technology in their digital journeys rarely achieve the outcomes they need. Leaders need to clearly understand people’s needs with each experience. Human-centered design can help build equity into the experience from start to finish. It guides the experience creation process by helping contextualise to understand the high-level problem to be solved and empathise by talking directly to individuals the program most affects. Digital applications that provide a positive

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Information technology operation model evolution Market Speed

IT as the enabler of product and service innovation, securely at speed and scale

Most government IT organisations today IT beginning to work with businesses as strategic enabler, adopting agile approach

IT as technical support, reactive order taker, maintaining legacy systems

user experience have the potential to benefit everyone. •

Collaboration across the public sector network: On their journey to offer citizen-centric services, governments should embrace digital leadership, creating platforms that make it easier for departments and agencies to share and access data, and that enable the concrete actions that deliver more successful outcomes for citizens.

2. Ibec: The Sky is the Limit, Benefit of Cloud in Public Sector

Keep pace with innovation: To increase speed to mission delivery, organisations are combining what was previously siloed business and technology strategies into a cohesive and holistic delivery strategy driven by technology. To run at market speed, public sector organisations should reimagine the role of technology and how they apply it.

Many public sector organisations are already realising the value of cloudbased infrastructure and solutions today, but with ongoing efforts to make it easier for public sector bodies in Ireland to procure cloud services, such as the OGP’s infrastructure as a service (IaaS) framework, the rate of adoption and value realisation is likely to skyrocket over the coming years. In line with this adoption trend, it is also becoming more prevalent that a multicloud deployment approach can leverage the benefits of multiple service providers to provide the flexibility needed to run workloads on any cloud depending on an organisation’s specific needs. This ensures that organisations can consistently migrate, modernise, and secure applications to leverage the best features of their underlying platform, wherever they are deployed. However, while a multi-cloud approach unlocks new benefits, it also creates new challenges. Understanding and managing the risks associated with your infrastructure and the data being distributed across multiple cloud providers is critical to success. Without a robust overarching plan to architect and manage a multi-cloud environment, one of the most-exciting advances in cloud computing can become just a resource-draining IT

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•

Start small, move fast: With limited budgets and growing digital services demand, public sector organisations should deliver digital solutions fast so employees can be productive, and citizens can access services. An agile development approach can speed up outcomes and help ensure they meet users’ expectations since the approach focuses on continuous improvement and how technology affects people.

•

The Government’s ambition for the digitisation of public services is clear, with multiple publications in 2022 outlining just that through targeted strategy and vision papers. The societal and economic benefits of this are also significant, with Ibec’s assessment that just a 10 per cent surge in cloud adoption within Ireland’s public sector could generate an annual economic benefit of €473 million2.

technology and innovation report

Leading government organisations today

Powered

“Over the next few years, modern technologies underpinned by cloud will increasingly be woven into the fabric of government and public services.” Richard Franck, Director, Cloud & Digital Transformation Lead 79

Modern Public Service: Connected, Powered and Trusted initiative that fails to deliver on its promise. Here are some important early considerations that can help underpin your success in a multi cloud model.

technology and innovation report

•

Comprehensive understanding of multi-cloud architecture: It is essential to align IT service management with your multi-cloud operating model and incorporate the right set of tools and technologies to support workload placement across diverse platforms and services. Establishing resilience: In today’s fast-changing and threat-laden environment, a new approach to resilience is indispensable – one that helps ensure your ability to ‘bounce back’ quickly from disruptions and maintain application availability. New functional capabilities and skills to embed resilience throughout solution design is the way forward and it will likely require businesses to give resilience greater priority. Leverage modern security practices: Security threats continue to soar in frequency, impact, and cost to the organisation. A modern multi-cloud security model features a common access-control model across platforms, applications and data governance. This enables the automation of key capabilities such as identity and access management, compliance for continuous monitoring, reporting, and testing of capabilities. Optimise total cost estimates: Amid different pricing models and various mechanisms to control costs among diverse cloud service providers, balancing the value of workloads with associated cloud

costs is essential. An understanding of the total cost of hosting an application is a key performance indicator to monitor in order to maintain financial control as the pace of change accelerates.

Trusted Trust is now a defining factor in any organisation’s success or failure. Research suggests that a trustworthy organisation is one that demonstrates three key characteristics: ability, humanity, and integrity. To take advantage of the new and emerging technologies effectively, organisations must incorporate trust into systems, processes, and products or services. Trust is built on consistent predictable action in the moments that matter, like keeping data safe, delivering the right product within the time frame you promised, using ethical business practices, complying with regulations, and partnering with credible third parties.

Trusted data and analytics A trusted organisation has traditionally been anchored by the behaviours and decisions of trusted people. As people increasingly integrate technology and data into their daily tasks and outputs, a trusted organisation also requires trusted data and analytics. Despite trust being critical to the success of organisations, a recent KPMG study identified that leaders question the trustworthiness of their data – 92 per cent are worried about the impact on reputation3.

In a recent poll run by KPMG Ireland at our Advancing Data Across Public Service event in October 2023, data quality emerged as the priority trusted data building block. So how can public sector organisations focus on the right things to ensure trust in their data? Consider the following as a starting point: •

Are the inputs and building blocks good enough? •

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Consulting

3. KPMG International Guardian of Trust

Effectiveness Do the analytics work as intended?

•

“The governance of technology must become a core part of governance for the whole organisation. Leaders will need to manage technology as rigorously as they manage their people.” Sean Redmond, Director, Risk

Quality of components

Integrity Is the data and analytics being used in an acceptable way?

•

Resilience Are long-term operations optimised?

Ethical use of emerging technologies Another critical component of trust is using emerging technologies in ways that ethically and efficiently meet users’ needs and support the mission as well as comply with regulations. Delivering the promise of emerging technologies

Find out more www.kpmg.ie/government such as Al and generative AI is not possible without including humans in the loop. For example, Al has no perspective, point of view, or purpose and requires humans to train, test, and tune. Organisations should train the workforce to cultivate Al until it becomes a trusted core capability.

It is important to weave security and compliance into all systems and transformation activities. When citizens, and employees interact with their public sector organisations, they expect their entire digital experience to be secure. It is each public sector organisation’s responsibility to deliver on that expectation. People and data are no longer within the walls of specific places – in environments with no perimeters, cybersecurity has to be more flexible and agile to protect data, networks, workloads, and user identities as users interact in cloud, mobile, on premises, and remote environments. Securing the digital experience is not new. What is new and critically needed is to build security in from the first vision of the citizen digital experience. Security is traditionally a separate topic, one that many believe gets in the way of innovation. Some project teams prefer to address security later in the development process to avoid delays and additional cost, but as we have seen both locally and globally, across both the private and public sector – it is vital to build security into the digital experience from the beginning. Public sector organisations also need to consider the following to enable secure digital experiences:

Cloud security strategy to secure cloud environments. Everything moves faster in the cloud, so some public sector organisations struggle to involve security early. It also takes specialised skills to deploy services and data into the cloud, to ensure alignment with organisational security objectives.

to embrace emerging technologies to innovate how they interact with and serve their citizens. While the opportunities are significant, value will only be realised through the right level of readiness and preparation to properly leverage these solutions, and deliver innovate, safe, trusted solutions quickly and at scale.

•

Cloud security shared responsibility model: Public sector organisations and their service providers share the responsibility for securing their cloud footprint. They should work closely together to define and understand who is responsible for which security functions.

Now is the time for governments to redefine their own functions, processes and limitations in ways that look ahead to a digital-first world.

•

explore new delivery models, foster new technology ecosystems, and promote integration;

Modern third-party risk management strategy: Public sector organisations need effective third-party risk management to evaluate and monitor risks before, during, and after contracts are in place.

•

put open data at the heart of their strategy and development;

•

foster a culture of innovation where staff can fail fast, learn, and evolve, all while bringing greater value to their roles and to the organisation;

•

examine and understand the organisational barriers that could be preventing them from taking advantage of this digital future; and

•

take a risk-based approach to protecting data: look to prioritise key assets, prevent malicious activity where possible and be ready to detect and respond to threats quickly.

•

Delivery of an easy-to-use digital storefront to citizens, secured with multi-factor authentication to manage citizen digital identities.

•

Identification of the capabilities employees will need, upskill or hire employees with digital capabilities — and provide an employee value proposition that includes upskilling and career development. Leaders should make sure each employee understands and follows organisation information security policies to avoid intentional and unintentional insider threats.

technology and innovation report

Secure and resilient operations

•

The leaders will be the ones that:

There are a multitude of opportunities available for public sector organisations

E: cormac.deady@kpmg.ie W: www.kpmg.ie

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“Governments must continue to improve the usability and reliability of critical digital services. It will take time and many conversations for organisations to bring security into the digital experience at the right time. It is a needed change to develop many digital capabilities organisations must have to deliver their missions.” Diarmuid Curtin, Director, Cyber Consulting Services

Modern Public Service: Connected, Powered and Trusted

Government departments’ AI approaches technology and innovation report

Statements have shown that AI is a challenge to which there is no single unified approach being taken by government departments. eolas Magazine asked all 18 government departments the following three questions: your Department 1) Has discussed the use of ChatGPT and/or other AI applications by officials?

what extent is your 2) To Department using ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence (AI) applications to conduct business?

is your Department’s rationale for the use of 3) What ChatGPT and/or other AI applications by officials?

Department of Defence Department of Foreign Affairs “The Department’s use of AI is grounded in its Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Interim Policy. It is exploring the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, as well as associated risks, and the various policy considerations that arise.”

“In line with the National AI strategy and the NCSC’s Cyber Security Guidance on Generative AI for Public Sector Bodies, the Department of Defence continues to keep the use of artificial intelligence for business purposes under review. “The Department of Defence is not using ChatGPT to conduct business. More broadly the Department’s core IT infrastructure is provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) under the Build to Share Managed Desktop shared service.”

Department of Justice “Department staff do not currently use ChatGPT or other GenAI tools for official business. However, the Department of Justice plans to assess the opportunities presented by AI tools to improve the delivery of services to our customers. This will be done in line with the National Intelligence Strategy for Ireland, AI – Here for good. As with all new technologies, its adoption will be subject to approval by the Department’s governance processes. “The NCSC issued useful guidance to all government departments in June of this year 2023 in relation to the use of Generative AI. At this time, [the] Department solely uses a pilot rules-based chatbot which provides FAQ type responses on the immigration services website.”

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Department of Education “The Department does not use any form of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate official text. No AI software is installed on officials’ devices. “In accordance with AI – Here for Good, the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland, the Department of Education is investigating the potential for AI to assist in improving the delivery of customer services.

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment eolas Magazine received no response from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

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“A pilot project on the potential for using AI technologies to analyse large volumes of publicly available information and support better customer service will commence shortly. “A pilot project to examine if AI technologies can support departmental staff in responding to customer queries is scheduled to begin in the coming months. The pilot project will focus on the potential for using AI technologies to analyse large volumes of publicly available information.”

Department of Finance The Department of Finance referred eolas to two statements made in the Dáil by Finance Minister Michael McGrath TD: 1) “Cybersecurity Guidance from the NCSC in relation to Generative AI issued to Government departments, including my department, during the year. A National AI Strategy, AI – Here for Good, prepared by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment was also published in 2021. The NCSC guidance referred to recommends that new technology should only be adopted based on a clearly defined business need following an appropriate risk assessment. I understand that the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment have established a working group on AI in public services. This group are currently drafting principles concerning the use of AI in public services, which the two departments expect to publish shortly. Guidelines on the use of generative AI will also be produced in the near future. Officials from my Department do not currently have access to the application in question to conduct official business.” 2) “I can confirm to the Deputy [Ciarán Cannon TD] that cybersecurity guidance from the NCSC in relation to Generative AI was issued to government departments, including my department, during the year. A National AI Strategy, AI – Here for Good, prepared by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment was also published in 2021. The NCSC guidance referred to recommends that new technology should only be adopted based on a clearly defined business need following an appropriate risk assessment. For operational and security reasons, my department has previously been advised by the NCSC not to disclose details of systems and processes which could in any way compromise departmental security. In particular, it is not considered appropriate to disclose information which might assist criminals to identify potential vulnerabilities in departmental cybersecurity arrangements, this includes any particular arrangements in place in relation to total spend on cybersecurity measures, cyber security tools and services. My department does not comment on operational security matters.”

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth “The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is currently in the process of upgrading its suite of standard office productivity tools to the latest version of these applications, which are based on the Microsoft 365 platform. This platform also includes additional business intelligence, app development, and app connectivity software applications that we will avail of to develop line of business solutions for the Department. “The underlying technology for this platform includes services that are labelled as artificial intelligence. DCEDIY does not generate any content using artificial intelligence and does not use artificial intelligence for decision making. DCEDIY is also guided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on ICT policy and security matters. “AI is part of a suite of digital technologies that will play a major role in shaping global competitiveness and productivity over the coming decades. Ireland is well-placed to be at the forefront of that change. However, AI adoption is not without risks. “The Department recognises that, increasingly, some forms of AI have been built into standard digital products and services; however, the Department is not directly employing the use of AI to carry out its functions. “For security reasons, the NCSC does not provide details of the tools and infrastructure it avails of.”

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Government departments’ AI approaches

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. eolas Magazine received no response from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Department of Health “The Department of Health does not currently use Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Department will continue to follow best practice advice from the Government’s A National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland, the NCSC’s Cyber Security Guidance on Generative AI for Public Sector Bodies, and through regular engagement with other departments/public service bodies in relation to the use of artificial intelligence.”

Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science “My department and its officials do not presently use ChatGPT or any other form of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate official text and no such software is installed on my official’s devices.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

“In accordance with AI – Here for Good, the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland, my Department’s ICT service, which is provided by the Department of Education on a shared services basis, has investigated the potential for AI to assist in improving the delivery of customer services. A proof of concept to examine if AI technologies could support staff in responding to customer queries has been completed. The proof of concept focused on the potential for using AI technologies to analyse large volumes of publicly available information. An external service provider assisted with this at no cost to the Exchequer. Officials will continue to review and follow guidance issued by the NCSC on the use of artificial intelligence for the future.”

“The Department does not use artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct business. As with all new technologies, my department is assessing the potential of AI in the delivery of services, in line with the NCSC guidance on its usage in the public service and works closely with the NCSC which encompasses the State’s national/governmental Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT-IE).”

Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform “Officials from the Department do not currently use the application in question to conduct official business. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), as with all enabling technologies, will be considered on a solution-by-solution basis. Any such considerations will be discussed, and a risk assessment conducted as appropriate. The Department has issued guidance to all staff reminding them of their responsibilities in using any applications or technologies available on the Internet which are not specifically provisioned for use by staff in the Department.”

Department of Rural and Community Development “The Department has as a once off this year trialled Artificial Intelligence to insert a voice-over into video content produced inhouse. There is some evidence that voiceovers on video content helps to increase accessibility. “It is important to emphasise that there are no plans to use AI regularly but management will continue to keep this position under review.”

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Department of Social Protection

“The Department currently engages in very limited use of AI. We are currently using an AI chatbot on the MyGovID platform. This chatbot linked on MyGovID provides the customer with advice on how best to use the MyGovID service.”

Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications “Given its wide application of to all sectors, high capacity for impact, growth and contribution to improving competitiveness, generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is one of the technologies with the greatest potential for transformation in all areas of productive activity. GenAI also poses significant opportunities in addressing and overcoming pressing societal challenges and creating new value and possibilities for everyone. However, it must be used sensibly and with a degree of caution…

technology and innovation report

“The Department of Social Protection is developing a responsible use of Generative AI policy before allowing the use of AI applications by officials. In line with the development of a Generative AI policy, the Department is evaluating where generative AI can be of use by its officials and will conduct a limited evaluation of Generative AI by a small working group.

“With the increasing advances in Generative AI there is the potential for both risks and opportunities. As with the introduction of all new technologies and software into an organisation, appropriate precautionary measures should be taken to implement suitable safeguards to mitigate risks. The area of GenAI will continue to rapidly develop, and it will be necessary to continuously monitor and evaluate these developments to better understand changes to the risks and benefits of these tools.”

Department of the Taoiseach “The National AI Strategy, and this crossgovernment engagement, will continue to inform departments’ future approach in seeking to leverage AI in relation to the work and functions of the Department. When developing any new systems, the Department assesses the risks and benefits of appropriate technologies, including AI, on a case-by-case basis. When implementing these technologies, advice is sought from all appropriate sources. Suitable policies and safeguards are then put in place. “The Department of the Taoiseach has not previously and does not currently use artificial intelligence services.”

Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media “The Department is guided by the NCSC in respect of all matters related to the use or operation of artificial intelligence. Chatbots are not utilised to assist with departmental functions, all applications and platforms used or operated by the Department must be in line with relevant policies and be consistent with advice provided by the NCSC on such matters.”

Department of Transport “As advised by the NCSC in their release Cyber Security Guidance on Generative AI for Public Sector Bodies published on 1 June 2023, staff in the Department of Transport are developing risk assessment frameworks and policy guidelines for colleagues to ensure that any use of AI tools is done in a safe and appropriate manner and on the basis of an accepted business case. Until this work is complete and in place, the Department has acted on the advice of the NCSC by restricting access to AI tools by default.”

technology and innovation report

Public procurement buyers should act now to retain past competition data In 2023, the national electronic tendering platform, eTenders, switched to a new service provider, marking the first time in a decade that eTenders has changed to a different platform. eTenders is facilitated and managed by the Office of Government Procurement (OGP), the national authority for public procurement within Ireland.

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To facilitate ongoing access to past procurement competition data that was hosted on the previous platform, public buyers and suppliers have up until now been able to access the previous (legacy) eTenders platform. This is changing soon, and access to the eTenders legacy platform is ceasing in May 2024. The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) is encouraging public procurement buyers to take action now and follow three key steps set out below, to ensure that they retain the procurement competition data they require.

Maintaining procurement competition records Using eTenders enables and facilitates public buyers to procure electronically and to comply with public procurement regulations. Contracting authorities and public buyers should maintain appropriate records 86

throughout the purchasing process and beyond in accordance with the public procurement, data protection, data retention, legal, and policy requirements that they are subject to. The National Public Procurement Guidelines state that “eTenders should not be used as a storage facility and that all relevant documentation records should be maintained off the platform by the contracting authority”. While eTenders was never intended as a facility for long-term record keeping, over the years, many buyers have become accustomed to the convenience of using eTenders to store and access past procurement data. For some public buyers, the legacy and current eTenders platform may have been used as part of their approach to meeting record keeping and data retention obligations. However, due to scale, complexity and associated risks to data integrity, past

technology and innovation report

procurement competition data was not transferred from the legacy eTenders platform to the current eTenders platform. To facilitate interim access to past procurement data, the previous eTenders platform has remained online and accessible to buyers and suppliers. However, this access to the eTenders legacy platform will cease in May 2024, and the OGP is encouraging public procurement buyers to take action now to ensure they retrieve the procurement competition data required from the platform in advance of this date.

Key steps to retrieve data from eTenders There are three key steps public buyers should take to retrieve data associated with past procurement competitions from the eTenders legacy platform: •

Step 1: Close: The first step is to close any procurement competition that you want to retrieve the data for.

Act now While the three-step process to retrieve data from the eTenders legacy platform is relatively simple, public buyers may have other internal operational arrangements they need to make and need to act now to identify which procurement competitions to retrieve and to prepare to store data for.

•

Step 2: Archive: Closed competitions can now be moved to the archive area on the legacy site. Public buyers can configure the legacy eTenders platform to automatically transfer data and associated documents for closed competitions into an archiving area on the platform, for any competition that has been closed for a specific number of days. Company administrators are able to choose the specific number of days that will best suit their organisation’s needs.

Access to the eTenders legacy platform will cease in May 2024, and the OGP is encouraging public buyers to take action now to ensure they retain the procurement competition data they require. By doing this, public buyers will ensure that they can continue to be able to meet their operational needs and their legal and policy obligations. For further information, please visit: •

of-government-procurement/ •

•

www.gov.ie/en/organisation/office-

The Office of Government Procurement The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) is the national authority for public procurement and is responsible for driving the public procurement reform programme in Ireland. The OGP operates as a Division of the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.

www.etenders.gov.ie/

A detailed guide with further information on how to close, archive and download procurement competition data from the eTenders legacy platform is available on the OGP website.

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Step 3: Download: Once a procurement competition has been closed and archived, you can download the archive file for the relevant procurement competition data and documents to your designated storage location. The archive file will include all relevant documentation, such as tender notices, bidder responses, messaging and an audit trail for the competition process carried out on the platform.

E: OpEx@ogp.gov.ie W: www.ogp.gov.ie

technology and innovation report

Modern Public Service: Connected, Powered and Trusted

Innovation in public services Experts from across the public sector offer their perspectives on how best innovation can enhance public services in Ireland. What are the key challenges facing the public sector? Kevin Kelly (KK): Attracting the right talent and then retaining them for ourselves. The private sector companies we are competing with are paying fortunes, so we are having to think a little bit differently, and we are looking at using apprenticeship models, internships, and we are getting some really good people through that. Gavin Ross (GR): Hybrid and remote working is a topic which has been to the fore over the last number of years, but I feel that we have not cracked it yet. There is a lot of technology that can enable more remote working and I think that is an exciting area which we can look at. 88

Emer Darcy (ED): Breaking out of siloes; this is something which is a challenge which people in all parts of the public service have grappled with but are starting to make progress and the direction of travel has been set. We all share the sense of public service which motivates us to do our jobs, and this will be a game-changer. Daragh O’Connor (DO’C): There is a lot being moved on at the moment and if you introduce these things too quickly then there is always a risk that comes with the quality of the final work. In the Department of Social Protection, we have introduced a creation kit which has all of the modules and all the core designs that we have come up with. This gives us a bit more pace in the development, but it also improves the testing and therefore the quality.

How is your organisation approaching innovation? GR: We moved away from a managed desktop platform from the OGCIO. The reason we did was partially because of a security element but also because it would allow us to be less reactive to external events and more proactive in our own agenda. We have done a lot with robotic process automation [RPA]; with the war in Ukraine there was a huge spike in fuel costs and there was a real need to roll out support to the whole industry. With the RPA platform in place, we were able to deliver that platform and that scheme very quickly. DO’C: We in the Department of Social Protection have taken a ground up approach to innovation. There are 177 projects that are led from small ideas or

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big ideas in various parts of the Department. There is a structure in place and at the top of that structure there is an assistant secretary who is watching it, and they ensure that it gets funding and resources.

ED: There are lots of innovations happening which are coming from our staff. We have a network of innovation advocates within the organisation. We developed our innovation strategy for which we were part of the pilot for the toolkit. We are trying to really get that people-centric focus in terms of that service delivery. The modernisation programme is dealing with the online.

Kevin Young (Chair): Director, Deloitte

Emer Darcy: Acting Head of Strategy and Reform Directorate, Courts Service

Kevin Kelly: General Manager, eHealth (Digital Workflows and Automation, Health Service Executive

What excites you most about the future of public services? GR: The AI tools that are coming through. If chatbots can be improved and simplified with their answers that can be brilliant. This is still in its infancy and that all has to be worked out. Within time, though, we will have a model which can be trusted, and this will give our staff a better means of working in a simplified way.

principles that we are talking about. We are pushing past boundaries which will allow us to work on and deliver for the people that we are working for.

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KK: The most important thing is managed risk-taking. Around 2019, with some funding from DPER, we commenced two pilots in RPA at the end of 2019 which were functional at the end of February 2020. Little did we realise that one of these was to be instrumental during the pandemic response in Garda recruitment. Our robots were able to make the recruitment process 52-times quicker. The impact of that was that hiring managers were able to have people in place within a week, rather than a month as had been the case previously. This switch was hugely important right through 2020.

extracted from enhanced services. We can all make a difference to people’s lives no matter where we work in the public sector. The most exciting thing is that this is something which is in front of us and is tangible. Those building blocks are now in place. We have the design

Daragh O’Connor:

Principal Officer, Digital Platforms, Department of Social Protection

DO’C: I am convinced that technology can help us deliver public services better. If you can tie down the data source that the AI is looking at, it would go a long way to tie down concerns which exist in these technologies’ present forms. KK: Staffing; in the last two years it has been incredibly tough in the area that we are in, but coming out of that I have perceived a sense of a reminder in the importance of the work we are doing. Staff are ready to innovate, and the sense of public duty is really at the core of our work.

Gavin Ross: Head of

Information Services Division, Department of Transport

ED: Public service value which can be 89

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The role of AI in

The intersection between road safety and technology has been on a long journey since the days of Mary Ward, the first recorded casualty of a road traffic incident back in 1869, underscoring our longstanding mission for safer roads, writes Brendan Walsh, Chief Operations Officer at the Road Safety Authority.

Today, as we stand in an era where technology has leaped bounds, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a potentially pivotal tool in this ongoing journey. It is imperative that we consider the transformative role AI can have in enhancing road safety. As we examine the integration of AI into our road systems, we focus on its practical applications and the tangible benefits it can bring to road safety. Forty years ago, in 1983, Ireland witnessed 535 road fatalities, and in the subsequent years, over 11,000 people have lost their lives while going about their daily activities. As of 2023, the trend indicates that this year might be the deadliest in the past decade.

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Over the past 40 years, how we use the road network has evolved significantly. Vehicle safety systems have advanced beyond recognition compared to those of the 1970s and ‘80s. Major road infrastructure investments and designs are now comparable with our EU neighbours, and our attitudes towards driving under the influence of alcohol have dramatically changed. While we can see improvements from 1983 to 2022 (535 fatalities versus 155 fatalities), we still face the challenge of eradicating this societal scourge, akin to losing an aircraft full of people every year over the last decade. The Road Safety Strategy (RSS) has identified 186 actions aimed at making our roads safer for all users. However, with the advent of AI, we must ask how AI can support our goal of zero deaths and zero serious injuries by 2050. The investment in vehicle safety by manufacturers, both cars and trucks, has been significant. Over two decades ago, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) emerged. Back then, the technology used radar detection that required precise calibration by a technician; otherwise, your vehicle might end up following the car beside you on a motorway instead of the car directly in front of you. Today, vehicle manufacturers are competing to develop autonomous vehicles (AVs) driven by changes in safety regulations and the increasing demand for “safe vehicles”. Additionally, smartphones’ ability to connect to the environment and provide traffic congestion information has offered unprecedented levels of information and 90

safety. So, what is the barrier to further reducing road deaths? Before we delve deeper, it is important to define what an AV actually means. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has developed a widely adopted classification system with six levels based on the level of human intervention: Level 0: No automated features. The driver is in complete control. Level 1: Equipped with one or more primary features, like cruise control, but requires the driver to perform all other tasks. Level 2: Equipped with two or more primary features, like adaptive cruise control and lane keeping, which work together to relieve the driver from controlling those functions. Level 3: Allows the driver to relinquish control of the vehicle’s safety-critical functions under certain conditions. The driver is expected to take over after a transition period. Level 4: The vehicle can perform all aspects of driving, even if the driver does not respond to a request to intervene.

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“AI has a significant role to play in reducing road deaths to zero. It is for humans to identify and prioritise how best to optimise this intelligence.” Sam Waide, CEO, Road Safety Authority

This technology allows vehicles to connect with each other, their environment (e.g., traffic lights, road signage), and other parts of the transport network, reducing collisions. This is achieved by enhancing “signalised intersections” with features like:

testing team having to consider how a vehicle with lane assist interacts with the road. These systems are designed to pick up the marker line on the roads. However, in our cities it is necessary to join the seam of a road repair with a filling agent, thereby creating a new line on

Level 5: Fully autonomous, capable of monitoring roadway conditions and performing all driving tasks throughout the trip, with or without a driver present.

•

signal phase and timing information;

•

emergency vehicle priority;

the vehicle picking up this road repair

•

green light optimal speed advisory;

as a marker line and results in the

Let us consider the infrastructure that our vehicles use. Much of the western world’s road and traffic infrastructure, especially in cities like Dublin, London, and Cork, dates back to the mid-20th century, with routes established during the Victorian era for horses and people. Today, our councils and corporations continue to invest in such infrastructure, with limitations to add new routes. The addition of bus lanes and cycleways has provided extra capacity to support safe road use, but as populations grow, we need to offer new solutions to meet societal needs. We have created vehicles that can “think for themselves”, and created the opportunity for technology enabled roads to enhance road safety whilst ensuring continual flow of people and goods. How do we harness AI to integrate with our road networks and achieve our Vision Zero target, the ambitious goal of eradicating road fatalities? Cities like Amsterdam, London, and Los Angeles are developing connected intelligent transport systems (C-ITS).

•

imminent signal violation warning; and

•

traffic light prioritisation.

It is important to consider what we can do today. A simple example is the impact of good road repairs on ADAS systems. This has resulted in our driver

vehicle correcting against the false marker. Quite concerning if you are a learner driver or under test at the time. It would appear that we not only need to continue to educate safe road use but that we need to continue to develop the technology to ensure safe vehicles. In conclusion, as we navigate the everevolving landscape of road safety, the integration of AI can act as a powerful tool, guiding the path to a safer future. Our commitment to Vision Zero is not just a target, but a promise to future

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To support these emerging technologies, it is important that we build an ecosystem with the human at its core. This of course will be a challenge – if the machines are thinking for us what do we have to worry about? Do any of us think about knocking off a kettle when it comes to the boil as our grandparent had to? Of course not. That is why it is our role to ensure we are educated on “safe road use”. To this end, the RSA has commenced reviews to its National Driver Licencing Service, driver education and driver testing programme and vehicle testing programmes to ensure that the services meet the needs of the road user into the future and to deliver on our Vision Zero commitment.

the road. Unfortunately, this results in

generations. By marrying technology with human insight, we can turn the tide against road trauma. As we continue to refine our strategies, from enhancing vehicle technology to educating road users, let us remember that every step taken is a stride towards a world where road deaths are a thing of the past.

W: www.rsa.ie

technology and innovation report

Modern Public Service: Connected, Powered and Trusted

National Data Infrastructure: Data as a strategic asset to the public service Paul Morrin, Assistant Director General, Central Statistics Office (CSO) talks to eolas Magazine about how the National Data Infrastructure (NDI) informs the formulation of public policy and what role the next generation of open, researcher, and operational data will play in doing so. Ireland’s NDI, Morrin explains, is built on three identification pillars: businesses, based on the unique business identifier (UBI) as provided by the Revenue Commissioners; household locations, based on Eircodes; and people, based on PPSNs. “Without this structure, we would always be working in silos, even at times within our own organisations,” Morrin says. “Looking at the future of data linkage, we need to have National Data Infrastructure at the core of everything we do.” Across 45 national data sets reported by the CSO, there are 43 million records per year, many of which are now updated on a real time basis. “65 per cent of new records coming into the public service had an Eircode in 2021,” Morrin says. “When we started measuring this in 2016, it was 15 per cent, so things are moving along rapidly. The PPSNs are high and always have been; it is at around 80 per cent at the moment and we expect it to go higher.” 92

‘An important enabler for nationwide renewal and transformation’ The CSO’s “number one reason for existence” is the production of statistics which are used as “evidence to inform decision-making in Ireland”. Traditionally, 80 per cent of the statistics produced are mandated by the EU, “but that includes surveys like the Labour Force Survey which are widely used for national purposes”. The proportion of statistics produced for national demands is moving closer to 50/50 in recent years. “We believe that people in Ireland have a right to live in an informed society, which includes how we present the statistics,” he elaborates. “We believe in the intrinsic value of statistics; we are not using them as part of a communications plan and so we try to present them in an unvarnished but clear and understandable way. We think that builds up trust among citizens in

statistics produced by the CSO. Our figures must reflect the lived reality of the people of Ireland, based on the highest quality standards.” Morrin further explains that, through its work in providing both statistics and data services to government and in seconding teams to public and civil service departments and agencies, the CSO’s role is as “an important enabler for delivery of nationwide renewal and transformation”. Renewal and transformation are arrived at, Morrin says, through the facilitation of policy and operational analytics within organisations by the NDI. “You can integrate data well within your own organisation if you are collecting these standard identifiers and that is the first step of doing data analytics in any organisation, making sure that your customers are clearly identified,” he says. “The next step in the public service is data linkage across different silos where it is legally facilitated. That

Find out more www.kpmg.ie/government is going to support much deeper analytics over time, when you can see your data in context and check it against other data sets. It will really support policy development in the public service, because it will allow people to see where their data fits into the overall population, allowing all kinds of analysis on policies.” Common standards are essential to data linkage in this future environment, and CSO is happy to engage with public bodies who wish to implement future proofed standards in their systems and processes.

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Analytics “is not a black box” and is “very much a human activity”, Morrin states, meaning that organisations will want expert advice on interpretation of the results. As such, the CSO currently has 40 statisticians on secondment in various government departments and agencies. The traditional role of these statisticians was production of statistical reports for their departments. However, many are now involved in business intelligence, the “use of statistical analysis and data visualisation to provide self-service reports” which makes “data available in a way that is understandable for people who are not experts”. Recently, data modelling has become the main growth area for seconded statisticians: “This is the development of machine learning models and the use of those models to support the business divisions to meet their goals. This is particularly where you do not want the business division trying to interpret a black box, you need someone explaining this to them.”

Privacy and open data The question, as Morrin states, on anyone’s mind when discussing data use is the respect of privacy while enabling public organisations to become data driven. “What is crucial here is differential privacy,” he says. “You apply the maximum level of privacy to the data while being able to execute the purpose you want to use it for. Open data is useful for monitoring where your customers are in relation to the national picture for different sectors of employment based on survey results. If you want to do policy analysis, you need to go down a level into researcher data, for which we have a secure service, where the only data you can take out is anonymous data from tables. For operations, it is justifiable to exchange ‘raw’ data for defined purposes and that is done through the Data Sharing and Governance Act.” Ireland is “very successful” with open data, which is a “big focus” for the CSO, Morrin says: “We publish statistics for about 20 government departments and agencies in an open format which meets the requirements of EU Directives. The next generation of open data allows the interrogation of the data, meaning that the tabulations can be ‘sliced and diced’, which will improve the usability of the data.” From a technology point of view, CSO and many of our seconded statistical teams are moving towards open-source analysis products. “Open-source software and data analytics

“We believe in the intrinsic value of statistics; we are not using them as part of a communications plan and so we try to present them in an unvarnished but clear and understandable way... Our figures must reflect the lived reality of the people of Ireland, based on the highest quality standards.” Paul Morrin, Assistant Director General, Central Statistics Office (CSO)

are not free; this has to be supported from technology teams and involves data engineering as well to ensure the data flows well to statisticians and other analysts, such as economists.” Morrin says that the CSO has learned from recent crises such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Covid-19 and that the CSO has organised a team to deploy at short notice in response, who can also support short-term analytical needs in public bodies. He concludes: “Looking forward, we hope to service the broader public and civil service. Data as a product is our traditional role, but now we are embracing data as a service as well. “We need to evolve and scale up in a targeted way; that is the goal. Innovation, collaborations, and partnerships are critical. We gain so much from the partnerships we have with various public bodies, and it is the way to go. We need to leverage each other’s strengths on this journey.” 93

The impact of NIS2 on Ireland’s domain name industry technology and innovation report

The European domain name sector is finding itself having to prepare for multiple new regulatory initiatives. Regulatory pressure in this sector is not new, but it is definitely increasing writes Declan McDermott, Internet Policy and Compliance Officer at .ie. A brief glimpse at the horizon shows that there are multiple regulations coming, like the Critical Entities Directive (CER); the eIDAS 2.0 Regulation, covering ecertificates for authentication, and electronic seals for electronic documents; or new regulations affecting intellectual property rights for everything from crafts to spirits. The one law that everyone in the domain name industry is (or should be) talking about though, is NIS2.

What is NIS2? NIS2 is an EU directive for a “high common level of cybersecurity across the Union”. It replaces the first Network and Information Systems Directive (hence the name NIS2). As an EU Directive, NIS2 sets out a goal that EU member states must achieve. However, member states are allowed to develop their own national laws in order to reach that goal. The goal in NIS2 is to have a “high common level” of cyber resilience and cybersecurity across the Union.

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In Ireland, NIS2 will be transposed into national law by October 17 2024 through the upcoming National Cyber Security Bill. This was announced in the Government’s Autumn 2023 Legislative Programme, but no further details on the contents of the Bill have been released. Just like any other law, the Bill will need to go through the normal legislative procedures of the Oireachtas.

Does NIS2 apply to me? If your business is operating in the internet domain name space, then it probably applies to you. Article 2 of 94

NIS2 explicitly names Top-Level Domain Registries (like the .ie registry), domain name service providers, and any “entity

What does NIS2 say, exactly?

providing domain name registration

For the domain name sector, there are a few parts of NIS2 that are most relevant:

services”. This includes domain name

•

registrars and resellers – the companies that users purchase the rights of a .ie domain or a .com domain name from. Unlike other sectors and businesses affected by NIS2, there is no size cap for registrars and resellers. Any entity providing domain name registration services will be subject to NIS2, no matter how small.

Database of Registration Data (Article 28) – Registries, registrars, and resellers alike will need to have a “dedicated database” of complete and accurate information of any registrant who signs up for a domain name. This database will need to include (at minimum) their name, email, phone number, and information for any administrative points of contact. This also means that registries and registrars will need to have verification processes.

Legitimate Access Seekers (Article 28) – Registries and registrars will also need to disclose this registration information to “legitimate access seekers” within 72 hours, if the request is “lawful” and “duly substantiated”. This means that each request has to be examined carefully to make sure that it is lawful.

•

Cyber Security Risk Management (Article 21) – Article 21 has a long list of cybersecurity measures that some entities have to implement. Registries like .ie will need to implement these measures as a designated “essential entity”. Registrars are not mentioned in Article 21 but may also be impacted because they are part of a registry's supply chain, and one of the measures is to ensure “supply chain security”.

More specific requirements will be clarified in a separate set of laws called implementing acts. These laws come from the European Commission, and will be passed by 17 October 2024.

The impacts and risks of NIS2 NIS2 presents an opportunity for Ireland to improve its cybersecurity resilience. But in the domain name industry, it risks bringing severe unintended consequences, particularly for small companies, if not transposed carefully in Ireland.

The cybersecurity measures under Article 21 may also impact smaller entities. We don’t know yet what the requirement measures will be, or how they will affect smaller companies that are part of the supply chain for essential entities (like .ie). Consideration needs to be given to an entity’s exposure to risk when prescribing these requirements. Those who will be within the scope of the NIS2 regulations need to have certainty without delay.

Because of the risk that NIS2, specifically Article 28, poses to the EU domain name sector, the Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries (CENTR) has developed a series of recommendations for member states and the NIS Cooperation Group on how Article 28 should be implemented. It is recommended that national laws: 1. should be proportionate to a registry’s and registrar’s actual exposure to risk; 2. should allow for diverse approaches to how registration data is verified; 3. should allow for gradual implementation of any new systems or processes to apply to the millions of domains already registered; 4. should be flexible and allow for riskbased processes to be adopted; 5. should allow for hybrid models, where either the registry or registrar can do the required verification;

promote harmonised verification processes across the Union and increase the prospects of NIS2 being implemented effectively and harmoniously.

Conclusion At .ie we are committed to demonstrating leadership for our sector and providing good governance. This includes meeting all our regulatory requirements, including NIS2. It is not an easy task, but .ie has the benefit of an expert multi-stakeholder Policy Advisory Committee that ensures its policies and procedures are consensusdriven and will help .ie navigate the rough regulatory waters ahead. On this matter, .ie will also continue to advocate for its stakeholders to policymakers, and collaborate with cross-border partners and government officials to mitigate any possible adverse impacts on registrars and internet users.

E: marketing@weare.ie W: www.weare.ie

6. should be respectful of GDPR and the principle of data minimisation;

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The requirement to have verification processes for registration data could overburden smaller registrars, especially if the information that must be verified is comprehensive or difficult to collect. Even the requirement to provide access to legitimate access seekers may overburden registrars if this term is defined too broadly. If the definition for legitimate access seekers goes beyond things like law enforcement, or government regulators, it will just make it harder and more expensive for companies to verify the access seeker’s identity.

Recommendations

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•

7. should be flexible for when verification is done; 8. should allow registries and registrars access to national databases and eID infrastructure if applicable; and, 9. should allow for self-identification of legal status (individual versus legal representative). If member states and officials negotiating the implementing acts follow these recommendations, it would 95

technology and innovation report

Modern Public Service: Connected, Powered and Trusted

Open data: A five-year vision Efforts to return Ireland to its previously held ranking of first for open data maturity across Europe’s member states have been underpinned by a new five-year strategy. Ireland has made massive strides in open data maturity, emphasised by its rise in EU rankings from 18th in 2017 to first from the three years from 2018 to 2020. However, in recent years, a focus by other countries including France and Denmark on their own open data policies and practices has seen them leapfrog Ireland to the top title. Published by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDPDR) in November 2023, the Open Data Strategy for 2023-2027

provides a framework for the actions the public service will take on open data over the next five years. The strategy aims to create easy access to high-quality government data to promote trust and innovation across the public sector. Ireland’s first open data strategy was published in 2017, following the establishment of an Open Data Unit in the Department of Public Expenditure in 2015. The value of open data was highlighted following the outbreak of the pandemic, when governments,

businesses, organisations, and public services were able to share vital information quickly, efficiently, and ethically. To date, Ireland’s open data portal, where data is published under an open licence to be freely used, re-used, and redistributed, links to over 15,000 datasets from some 160 publishers. The five-year strategy comprises a range of guiding goals for data publishers; data users; and the development of the Open Data platform.

Pillar

Publishers

Platform

Users

• standardised formats;

• a trusted source;

• accessible;

• good data governance;

• collaboration and partnership;

• quality data; and

• open communication; and

• responsive to user needs

• encouraging reuse

• data visualisation; • engagement; • effective feedback

Find out more www.kpmg.ie/government

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Source: © European Union.

The aim of the open data publishers pillar is to drive the production of high-value and highquality datasets responsive to users’ needs. Some of the key elements of the delivery of the goal include the facilitation of increased publication of relevant data not currently available to align with stakeholders’ data needs. In addition to seeking the education of a “critical mass” of public servants on effective data management strategies, the Department says that it wants to ensure the publication of high-quality and high-value datasets by building a community of practice through stakeholder engagement, training, and support. Ultimately, the aim is to create greater clarity among publishers and potential publishers on what data they should make available as open data. In relation to the open data platform pillar, aiming to drive a thriving open data ecosystem supported by a trusted open data platform responsive to stakeholders’ needs, the Department says that it will update the platform to deliver better searches, graphics, and “an improved personalisation of experience through effective stakeholder collaboration and feedback loops”. Additionally, the Department says it will strengthen governance frameworks to meet privacy, security, and ethics standards, building trust in the system.

Finally, for users the aim is to shape and improve easy access to and use of trusted open data sources, with the Department saying it will build data visualisation capability within the portal to make open data more user friendly; create effective feedback loops with user groups and communities of interest; and facilitate collaborative partnerships “to strengthen users’ involvement to co-create and increase open data use across sectors and in our communities”. Underpinning the publication of our open data is a technical framework that provides requirements for public bodies to ensure that published datasets meet clearly defined standards and are published in a consistent way that makes them more discoverable, accessible, and reusable. Encouraging all public bodies to ensure implementation of the strategy as he commented on its launch, Paschal Donohoe TD, Minister for Public Expenditure says: “It is essential that they collaborate to deliver the vision for Ireland as a country where the economic, social, and democratic opportunities and benefits of open data are recognised and achieved by all stakeholders. “I believe that the implementation of this strategy by all partners, under the leadership of the Open Data Governance Board, will deliver significant opportunities for Ireland over the next five years and beyond. I look forward to seeing the benefits of this for the people of Ireland.”

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It has never been this easy to run a fleet of microsites websites running on LGD, with many more in the pipeline. It is important to note that both LocalGov Drupal and the LGD Microsites Platform are built using opensource software. This means it is available for free and does not lock organisations into expensive contracts or service providers. LocalGov Drupal aligns perfectly with the Irish Government’s 2030 ICT Strategy. Build to Share, which forms part of the strategy, aims to rationalise disparate systems – decreasing the ICT cost base and saving time.

What is the LGD Microsites Platform?

The new LGD Microsites Platform offers organisations a way to manage unlimited sites easily and effectively, writes Annertech’s Mark Conroy.

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It has been the thing that many large organisations have been clamouring for, for years – one platform that will allow them to run a large number of microsites easily. The LGD Microsites Platform was developed because it was the most requested feature from the organisations that we work with on the LocalGov Drupal project. We created an easy-to-use, gamechanging platform that simplifies the once-arduous task of running many microsites simultaneously. Although it arose from local authority requirements, it has been designed in such a way that any organisation looking to run a fleet of microsites can use it. 98

It has been met with enthusiasm from those who have used it.

What is LGD? LocalGov Drupal is a groundbreaking CMS developed by councils for councils. As its name indicates, LocalGov Drupal – or LGD for short – runs on the Drupal platform, offering an out-the-box website solution for local government websites. The initial goal of the LGD project was to reduce costs by pooling resources, sharing the code, and creating the features that were needed by councils. The project has grown substantially as more local authorities became aware of it. There are currently 42 council

As councils signed up to the LGD platform more features were added to it. These included essential features as well as nice-to-haves. One of these was the stand-alone LGD Microsites Platform. The platform, which was released late last year, was built in a very generic manner so it can be used by any organisation. It allows organisations to operate their entire fleet of microsites from one place, giving them oversight and control of their entire digital estate. This platform is a stand-alone system and is independent of the software you may use for your main website.

Who can use this platform? Although LocalGov Drupal was developed for councils, the LGD Microsite Platform will benefit anyone running more than one site, from national government departments to universities, political parties, multinational corporations, sporting bodies and non-profit organisations.

Some of the features Unlimited microsites. One platform. With Annertech’s service offering of the LGD Microsites platform you can host as many sites as you want on all of our platforms. You are only restricted by the amount of disk space available on your plan and number of visits in aggregate to your sites.

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Create a microsite in three steps Yes. Just three steps. That is all it takes to create a microsite. When we say the platform is easy to use, we mean it.

Users and permissions The platform has a progressive permissions system, which is flexible enough to let users edit only the microsites they are members of, so external users (those who are not employed by the organisation running the microsite) could work on an internal microsite if they are given permission to do so. This allows for collaboration or co-branding opportunities that would not otherwise be possible.

Why Annertech? We are involved Not only is Mark Conroy Annertech’s Director of Development, but he is also the lead developer on the LGD Microsites Project and is on the board of the Open Digital Cooperative, the co-op behind LocalGov Drupal. We are experienced

Customised designs per site Are you creating a microsite for a specific event? Does it need to have its own branding? Or maybe it is a new department or club that is affiliated to a parent organisation, so its branding needs to be similar? Each microsite in your fleet can share the same design, or have its own, and you can use the user interface to change the design at will.

Annertech is a Drupal-specialist digital agency and has been creating ambitious digital experiences for our clients in Ireland, Europe and beyond since 2008. We have extensive experience with both complicated and simple websites and are in the perfect position to advise you on microsites setup and website solutions.

Conclusion

We make your life easier

Both LGD and the LGD Microsites Platform are great examples of what can be done when organisations “build to share” – developing software that can then be used by others.

We will take the pressure of hosting numerous sites off you with

As these platforms continue to grow and more features are added they offer savvy organisations the opportunity to do more with less.

and allows you to focus on your content and messaging. CMS updates, security and continuous improvement will be done by our ring-fenced managed services team of 15 support

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Not only does it decrease costs substantially but, because the code has already been written, sites can be built quickly. Plus, all the features have been thoroughly tested on real websites with real users, so you know they work.

our Drupal-primed hosting solution that eliminates downtime

engineers who solely look after our clients’ websites. We have multiple packages available for microsites hosting and support. Get in touch for more detail.

T: 01 524 0312 E: hello@annertech.com W: www.annertech.com/microsites

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Modern Public Service: Connected, Powered and Trusted

Creating a ‘quantum literate society’ In November 2023, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, published Quantum 2030. This is Ireland’s first national quantum technologies strategy and has the stated aim of “putting Ireland in a quantum super position”. With advances taking place in quantum research globally, there is scope for a considerable role in the technology, in the long term, to accelerate economic transformation. The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has outlined a vision by 2030 to make Ireland an internationally competitive hub in quantum technologies at the forefront of scientific and engineering advances, through research, talent, collaboration, and innovation. The strategy has been focused on five pillars, each of these will inform sectoral aspects of the advances being made in the quantum space.

Pillar one: Excellent fundamental and applied quantum research The first pillar of the strategy focuses on supporting “excellent fundamental and applied quantum research”. The Department states that the research carried out in forming the strategy underpins considerably advances which have taken place in quantum research in recent years globally. “Ireland has a strong track record in fundamental and applied quantum research,” the report states, adding that there is a need to “enhance this further” and “enable breakthrough discoveries and feed the pipeline in innovations and research”.

Pillar two: Top science and engineering talent The second pillar of the strategy is focused on enabling top science and engineering talent, which the Department describes as the “best way to move knowledge through our economy”.

100

Find out more www.kpmg.ie/government

The strategy document states that the Government will develop a pipeline of “agile, innovative, and highly skilled” set of experts across the spectrum of quantum science, engineering, and technology. In tandem with this, it states that it will work to ensure that there is increased equality, diversity, and inclusion in the broad sector, which it describes as a “no-regret investment for the State”.

Pillar three: National and international collaboration

technology and innovation report

The third pillar is focused on national collaboration, as well as ensuring that Irishbased experts have the means to collaborate internationally in the field of quantum technologies. This can be done through forums which exist in organisations such as the OECD, the UN, and the European Union. The report states: “As a small country, we need to build on the advantage of our interconnectedness while also contributing to, and learning from, international best practice.”

Pillar four: Innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic competitiveness The fourth pillar reflects the economic philosophy of the government in office, with the need for entrepreneurship and economic competitiveness key to the growth of and maximising of the opportunities of the research which will take place into quantum technologies. The Department states that this pillar seeks to “stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in quantum technologies and related areas”, including in Irishbased small and medium sized enterprises. The strategy also aims to strengthen collaborative work between academia and business in order to foster this innovation.

“This strategy is the product of forward-looking, longterm and community-driven work to prepare Ireland for Quantum 2.0. It supports the broader national goal to equip Ireland with the workforce needed not only today but in years to come.” Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD

Pillar five: Building awareness of quantum technologies and real-world benefits The fifth and final pillar is an all-encompassing one, with the focus on societal shifts which make the technology more accessible and better understood to the general public. Quantum technologies are still very new and are evolving at pace, and therefore the Government states its priority of ensuring that there is a mass awareness of quantum technology and the potential real-world benefits it can bring to the economy and jobs. “The purpose of this pillar,” the Department says, “is to have a quantum-literate society that takes full advantage, for everyone, of the benefits quantum technology can bring.” Upon launch of the strategy, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, said: “This strategy is the product of forward-looking, long-term, and community-driven work to prepare Ireland for Quantum 2.0. It supports the broader national goal to equip Ireland with the workforce needed not only today but in years to come. “My department will continue to work with the quantum community in Ireland and internationally to implement this strategy.” 101

technology and innovation report

Modern Public Service: Connected, Powered and Trusted

BUSINESS EXPENDITURE ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D) 2021-2022 These statistics have been compiled from figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in 2023. Key findings Research and development (R&D) expenditure in 2021 (€3.88 billion) was

19% higher when compared with 2019 (€3.26 billion).

Current expenditure, comprising of labour costs and other current costs, accounted for 89% (€3.44 billion) of all R&D expenditure in 2021.

Capital expenditure accounted for the remaining 11% or €440.1 million of total R&D expenditure.

Irish-owned enterprises reported a 22% increase in R&D spend between 2019 and 2021, up from €963 million to €1.18 billion. Enterprises estimated an R&D spend of €3.89 billion for 2022, consisting of 90% current expenditure and

10% capital expenditure.

Business expenditure on research and development, 2017 and 2019-20221 2017

2019

20201

2021

20221

Current expenditure

2,492,173

2,700,588

2,536,714

3,438,954

3,506,390

Capital expenditure

278,041

555,707

854,451

440,053

380,762

Total expenditure

2,770,214

3,256,295

3,391,165

3,879,007

3,887,152

858,849

962,985

977,845

1,177,296

1,143,697

1,911,365

2,293,309

2,413,320

2,701,711

2,743,455

of which Irish spend Foreign spend 1. Expenditure for 2020 and 2022 estimated. Source: CSO 102

Find out more www.kpmg.ie/government Share of R&D expenditure by enterprise size class Large enterprises (250+ persons engaged) had the greatest share of R&D expenditure in 2021, accounting for 62.6% (€2.43 billion) of all expenditure. This was an increase of 12.8% or €275.1 million compared with 2019. Small enterprises (<50 persons engaged) had a spend of €635.8 million in 2021, accounting for 16.4% of all R&D expenditure.

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Medium sized enterprises (50-249 persons engaged) spent €814.7 million on R&D during same period, representing 21.0% of total R&D expenditure.

R&D expenditure by nationality of ownership

R&D expenditure by category of spend Enterprises reported a spend of almost €2.05

billion on labour costs in 2021, accounting for 52.7% of all R&D expenditure. Other current costs, which include materials,

supplies, equipment, and overheads associated with R&D accounted for 35.9% (€1.39

billion) of total expenditure.

Capital expenditure accounted for the remaining €440.1 million or 11.3% of R&D spend.

Foreign-owned enterprises spent €2.70 billion on R&D in 2021, accounting for 69.6% of all R&D expenditure. This comprised of current expenditure of €2.47 billion (91.6%) and capital expenditure of €228.2 million (8.4%). In comparison, Irish-owned enterprises spent

€1.18 billion on R&D, with current expenditure accounting for 82.0% (€965.5 million) and capital expenditure accounting for the remaining

18.0% (€211.8 million).

R&D expenditure by sector of activity

R&D expenditure by region

In 2021, R&D spending was

eastern and midland region

highest in the services sector, accounting for

61.3% (€2.38 billion) of all expenditure, while manufacturing accounted for the remaining 38.7% (€1.5 billion).

Total R&D spending in the amounted to €2.49 billion in

2021, accounting for 64.3% of all R&D expenditure. •

Southern region (€1.05 billion or 27.0%)

•

Northern and western region (€338.1 million or

8.7%)

Labour costs accounted for 69.6% (€1.46 billion) of current expenditure for

In comparison with capital expenditure, current

enterprises in the services sector in 2021,

expenditure accounted for the majority of R&D

compared with 43.6% (€583.4 million) for manufacturing enterprises. In terms of R&D capital expenditure, services accounted for 62.8% (€276.3 million), while manufacturing enterprises

accounted for 37.2% (€163.7m).

spending in each region. In the northern and western region, current

expenditure accounted for 95.9% of all R&D expenditure •

91.7% for the southern region

•

86.4% for the eastern and midland region. 103

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Education and skills report

education and skills report

Education Minister Norma Foley TD: ‘Education is the great leveller’ While she follows in a long line of Fianna Fáil education ministers, Minister for Education Norma Foley TD became the first Kerry woman to sit at Cabinet when she was appointed in June 2020. The Minister sits down with Ciarán Galway to talk equality of opportunity, access, teacher recruitment, reform, and her vision for education in Ireland. Sitting at a large conference table at the centre of her office off the ministerial corridor in Leinster House, the Education Minister is overlooked by select scattering of children’s artwork exhibited on the walls, not least an homage to the woman herself. Naturally enough, these are complemented by picturesque County Kerry landscapes. Norma Foley is equipped with over 20 years of teaching experience – first as an Irish and English teacher at St Aloysius in Carrigtwohill, County Cork and then at Presentation Secondary School in her hometown of Tralee. Allied to this is a strong political lineage – her father Denis Foley was twice elected as a Fianna Fáil TD for Kerry 106

North. Ascension to the education portfolio, therefore, appears to be a perfect marriage of her persona. Having previously served on Kerry County Council between 2004 and 2019 – including as mayor in 2018/2019 – Foley secured the fifth Dáil seat in the Kerry constituency for Fianna Fáil in February 2020. Embarking on a career break from her teaching post, following government formation she achieved the distinction of becoming the first woman from Kerry to sit at Cabinet when she was appointed Education Minister. Acknowledging that she has brought “a particular perspective” to the role, the Minister recalls: “I would always say to my own students that my ambition for

them is limitless, there is nothing that they cannot do, and nothing that they should feel that they could not achieve. We need to make sure that they have the support and the opportunity, at all times, to realise whatever their dreams or ambitions might be.”

Priorities Outlining her strategic priorities as Minister for Education, Foley identifies several key policy themes and associated initiatives, including: •

equality of opportunity;

•

access to education; and

•

inclusive education.

“Fianna Fáil has always believed that education is the great leveller. I believe that fundamentally myself.”

Free schoolbooks Foley’s self-stated priority in education is equality of opportunity. Rationalising the introduction of the free schoolbook initiative at primary school level at a cost of €55 million in 2023/2024, she insists: “I do not believe that any child should feel disadvantaged, because they did not have the resources at home to purchase whatever they require for school or for their education.” However, while Budget 2024 extended the initiative to Junior Cycle students at a cost of €67 million, political opponents criticised this iterative approach, characterising it as a ‘missed opportunity’ to make both primary and secondary school education ‘genuinely free’. Responding to this, the Minister defends the decision, indicating that there was method behind the initiative’s implementation, including a budgetary consideration, and a determination to ensure its success. Articulating her department’s logic, she explains: “We are doing it this way because we were very clear that there would be great learning for us out of how it went in primary schools. A review has been done and is ongoing in relation to how that worked, what might we do differently as we move into the post-primary element of it, and we bring that learning into post-primary. Then how it works at Junior Cycle level will inform how we will deliver it at Senior Cycle.”

Yet, with over 20,000 SNAs – and a target of 21,000 by the end of 2024 – already among 40,000 professionals dedicated to special education, the Minister insists: “We have not had difficulty around [recruitment of] SNAs, I want to be very clear around that. We have very good uptake and [they are] adding so much and bringing extraordinary giftedness also into the world of special education.” In terms of special teachers, meanwhile, the Minister emphasises that “we are a country at near full employment” and that this is creating a staffing challenges in education, as well as other sectors.

Staffing initiatives Outlining the measures introduced by the Government in response to these challenges, she highlights: •

the introduction of a €2,000 bursary for postgraduate teaching students upon completion of their course;

•

free of charge upskilling courses for teaching staff to support subject areas which are experiencing particular challenges;

•

1,000 additional posts of responsibility being introduced;

•

working with the higher education institutes to release 3,000 student teachers into the system in 2023/2024;

•

increasing the number of days being provided by retired teachers into the system;

•

exploring shared teacher schemes; and

•

introducing a pathway for teachers who qualified outside the State to register complete their Droichead induction in Ireland.

Special education Our conversation then pivots to special education. After announcing the establishment of four new special schools for 2024/2025 in Limerick city; Enfield, County Meath; Gower, County Wexford; and in “the south Kildare area”, in addition to seven special schools established in Dublin and Cork in the previous four years, the Minister is evidently buoyed. However, as government seeks to recruit 744 additional special education teachers into the profession, alongside 1,216 additional special needs assistants (SNAs), ensuring sufficient skills capacity will inevitably be a challenge.

education and skills report

Minister for Education Norma Foley TD

“We are constantly looking at ways and means to ensure that there is a sufficiency,” Foley remarks, qualifying: “But I do not for one minute underestimate the challenge and the difficulty that there can be for principals in particular areas at particular times. So, we are happy to look at any measures going forward as well. We have been 4 proactive in this space and will continue to be proactive in the space.” 107

Overall though, as “somebody who comes from the teaching profession”, the Minister believes that teaching remains an attractive career prospect, as illustrated by CAO applications. Again emphasising that teaching “it is not a career without challenges”, she concedes that “more and more has been asked every single day of the education sector”.

education and skills report

Illustrating this point, she highlights the pivot to remote learning during the Covid pandemic, and classroom demographic changes amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine as two examples of “the education sector [stepping] up to the mark every single day”.

Housing crisis

Teacher shortage Regardless, a collaborative recruitment and retention survey published by the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN), and the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA) in November 2023 indicated that there was an “unprecedented level of vacant teaching posts in primary and special schools”. INTO Deputy General Secretary Deirdre O’Connor commented: “This survey indicates that in the schools who responded, there is a current shortfall of 809 teaching posts in the schools surveyed, with another 1,202 expected vacancies in the next three months. In the midst of a staffing crisis in our schools, particularly in our urban areas, all options must actively be explored to ensure that no child is left without a qualified teacher.” Asked about the extent to which the shortage of teachers in primary and secondary schools can be characterised as a recruitment and retention crisis, the Minister insists that retention is not a challenge. “Our staff that are in the system are staying in the system by and large,” she says: adding: “Even in terms of those who might choose to leave early, it is very, very low if you were to look at it comparatively across other sectors.” On recruitment, Foley responds: “It is important to say that we have never had as many teachers registered with the Teaching Council as we do presently.” 108

While this statement aligns with the fact that the Register of Teachers has expanded each year since 2006, with an annual net growth of 3,600 registrants according to Director of the Teaching Council, Lynn Ramsey, it may suggest that even increased teaching numbers cannot keep pace with rapidly evolving demographic pressures.

CAO applicants However, as a third-level qualification, teaching, the Minister insists, is still an attractive option for CAO applicants. “Across the CAO, we have seen a 14 per cent increase this year [2023] and that is on top of 9 per cent increase last year [2022],” she highlights. Not taking account of trends prior to 2022, this is accurate in one sense. CSO figures from July 2023 recorded 2,450 first preference applications for primary teaching and 2,561 first preference applications for post-primary teaching, compared with 2,592 and 2,242 in July 2022 respectively. This represents an annual decrease of 5.5 per cent in primary teaching and an annual increase of 14.2 per cent in post-primary teaching.

Challenges Acknowledging that there are “difficulties and challenges in some areas” of teacher recruitment, the Minister restates the Government’s measures to address these and reiterates: “There will always be challenges, but again, you must remember, there is a backdrop of near full employment in this country.”

Asked about the extent to which the housing crisis and the associated dearth of affordable accommodation is impacting on recruitment, especially for newly qualified teachers, the Minister emphasises that “the issues around housing are impacting lots of people in lots of different careers and professions” and that government is “being proactive in this space”. “It is no one measure that is going to eradicate the issues that we have at the minute but there is a general acknowledgement across government that – and [Housing] Minister Darragh O’Brien TD is working assiduously in this area – a whole suite of measures at different times to meet the different needs and the different challenges of people is what is required and each one of them needs to be supported,” she remarks.

Senior Cycle reform Pivoting to address a final priority, the Minister delves into Senior Cycle reform. Alongside a new Primary Curriculum Framework, in March 2022, the Minister published the plan to reimagine Senior Cycle education. Guided by a vision of “equity and excellence for all”, the plan has three objectives: 1. “empower students to meet the challenges of the 21 century”; 2. “enrich the student experience and build on what is strong in our current system”; and 3. “embed wellbeing and reduce student stress levels”. “We have a Leaving Certificate, which is very highly respected and rightly so, but we have an acknowledgement as

“Look, we are one island at the end of the day.”

Consequently, an updated programme was announced in September 2023 to accelerate Senior Cycle reform, including the introduction of two new Leaving Certificate subjects – drama, film and theatre studies, and climate action and sustainable development – for students in 2024/2025. Contextualising this, the Education Minister contends that an achievement in a subject like drama, theatre, and film studies should have parity with an achievement in any other subject “because that is a talent and that is an ability”.

Assessment As well as introducing new subjects, the government is also overhauling Senior Cycle assessment. On a personal level, Minister states that she “never felt it was right that 100 per cent of a student’s ability could be examined on one single day in one moment in June”. In practice, this means ensuring that each subject has a second assessment component. As such, in future, at least 40 per cent of each Leaving Certificate subject will be assessed by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) prior to students sitting exams in June. “The type of assessment will be different to what they are doing presently. For example, there will always be a place for the written exam but there has to be a place as well for

Asked if she has given consideration to the INTO’s calls for an all-Ireland teaching council to be established within the Department of the Taoiseach’s Shared Island Unit amid the “erosion of teachers’ conditions in the North”, the Minister is reticent.

education and skills report

well that we can never stand still in education and if we want our young people to compete as we are doing here, for example, in [the OECD’s 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022], but to compete across the world now, they have to have appropriate curricula and they have to have appropriate assessment as well.”

there are great opportunities in education for us to share expertise and wisdom and experience. We are in the throes of doing that now, and you can see it from a higher education point of view in terms of research and an infrastructure point of view. Financial supports have already been put in place. There is enormous scope. Look, we are one island at the end of the day.”

application of knowledge,” she insists. Similarly, since the Covid pandemic, students have been provided with an opportunity for a second sitting of the Leaving Certificate. Emphasising the Department of Education’s role in serving students, the Minister adds: “I think that is fair. I think if there are circumstances from a health and wellness point of view that prevented a student from taking an exam in June, to the best of our ability we should be able to provide a second opportunity. “I want students to succeed to the maximum. For them to be able to do that, I have to ensure that they get the maximum of facility to do it... recognising their individuality in terms of their various talents.” Referencing generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in the context of assessment, the Minister notes that a work is underway. “We have tasked the SEC to look specifically at how we can harness the opportunity that AI is bringing to us, but also be mindful of the challenges. That also will inform how Senior Cycle and how education will work going forward.”

All-island cooperation Turning to the Government’s efforts to deepen all-island education connections and cooperation, Foley indicates that “a significant body of work is underway under the auspices of the Shared Island Programme”. “We are currently working on a north/south programme – and more of those details will unfold – but it is specifically in the area of education, and specifically in the area of [tackling] disadvantage in education and promoting equality of education. “I am a huge believer in the wisdom of the collective. We can garner so much more when we work with others and

“I am not going to comment on that,” she says, before adding: “Look, we have young people from Northern Ireland who are [living] on the border and working in the south, and we have people [living] in the south and working and crossing over. “Obviously, the more closely we can work together, learn from each other, and support each other [the better]... Opportunities going forward in terms of the teaching council and all of that, I have no doubt that all these opportunities can be looked at going forward.”

Vision for education Asserting that education is at “the very core” of her party’s philosophy, Foley outlines: “Fianna Fáil has always believed that education is the great leveller. I believe that fundamentally myself. It is the great leveller in society. If we can get it right in education, ultimately, we will get it right in society. That means ensuring that we have an education system that is inclusive, that is open and welcoming to everyone, and that is ambitious. We should always be ambitious as a country, so we should always have an ambitious education system.” Paying tribute to the “many who contributed to the richness of education”, Foley articulates her belief in “the capacity of Irish people”. “We see Irish people perform every day, not just on the local and the national stage, but on the international stage. That is the consequence of opportunity being provided, supports being provided, a good education, and a rootedness in community. I would like to think that we will continue that; that we will continue in education to promote equality, to promote inclusion, and to promote opportunity and access for all.” 109

learning works

education and skills report

Get ahead with NZEB and retrofit training of education and training boards (ETBs) across the country at City of Dublin ETB, Cork ETB, Laois and Offaly ETB, Limerick and Clare ETB, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim ETB and Waterford and Wexford ETB. Funded by SOLAS, the Further Education and Training (FET) authority, the centres provide training in all areas of NZEB and retrofit, including anything from starter programmes, post apprenticeship, upskilling to conversion courses. These are part of a broader suite of national green skills FET programmes that aim to provide every learner with green skills and sustainability awareness to become agents of change in climate action.

Bebhinn Kennedy, Enterprise Engagement Officer, at The National Construction Campus, Mount Lucas.

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As we look ahead to the future of construction, it is vital that the right skills are developed in the Irish construction workforce to ensure that we can meet the requirements of the construction industries sustainability agenda and deliver on the Government’s climate action and retrofit targets in line with Ireland’s green transition. Retrofitting and nearly zero energy building (NZEB) are shaping the future of green construction, with training and upskilling programmes crucial to equipping construction workers and industry professionals with the expertise required to ensure buildings have a very

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high energy performance in line with industry requirements. A growing number of NZEB and retrofit programmes are available across the country, delivered at little to no cost by a network of NZEB centres of excellence that have been established by a number

NZEB centres of excellence have an important role in upskilling thousands of workers and new entrants to support the sector in meeting its housing and sustainability targets. Working in collaboration with industry to address the skills needs, the NZEB centres of excellence develop programmes in collaboration with industry for industry to ensure the provision of training in these centres is both relevant and current. The National Construction Training Campus in Mount Lucas, County Offaly is leading the way in construction related training for the country, which includes an NZEB and Retrofit Centre of Excellence, all under the provision of Laois Offaly ETB. Bebhinn Kennedy, Enterprise Engagement Officer, at The National Construction Campus, and member of the NZEB Retrofit Centres of Excellence Construction Steering Group, tasked with ensuring consistency and standardisation in NZEB and retrofit provision across the country outlines that “depending on the course that we are developing, we would

education and skills report

The National Construction Training Campus, Mount Lucas

work with stakeholders within that specific industry to ensure that the training provision that we are developing is meeting their needs”. All business models and working schedules have been carefully considered in the delivery of training programmes, with a blended approach to learning offered by the Mount Lucas NZEB and Retrofit Centre of Excellence. Courses are also available for evening and weekend delivery, to accommodate traditional operating hours. The theory element of programmes is delivered online where possible to minimise the time off site for companies. All courses are fully funded for both unemployed and employed learners. An exciting new development in construction skills training developed by Laois Offaly Education and Training Board and the National Construction Training Campus at Mount Lucas is the Mobile NZEB Training Unit. Designed to increase the flexibility of training provision, the mobile unit travels to construction companies and schools across the country to ensure greater accessibility to upskilling opportunities for workers in construction, as well as introducing students to Modern Methods of Construction.

visitor is fully immersed in low energy construction technologies from the minute that they walk through the doors, be it for NZEB reasons or for retrofit.” The National Construction Training Campus offers a broad suite of NZEB courses tailored to meet the needs of new entrants to skilled managers and professionals, including NZEB fundamental awareness, NZEB retrofit, NZEB site supervisor, retrofit skills, air tightness and vapour control, external wall insulation installer, and many more. NZEB fundamentals is an introductory course (one day onsite or two half days online) that leads learners on to a variety of pathways into further NZEB training across various trades, with specific courses identified for both site supervisors and construction workers. NZEB and retrofit courses incorporate digital construction technologies. For example, the retrofit skills course includes virtual reality (VR).

All courses are City and Guilds assured or QQI validated and Construction Industry Federation (CIF) approved, with Construction Industry Register Ireland (CIRI) Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points available. Mount Lucas will also be home to Ireland’s first ever Demonstration Park for Modern Methods of Construction, which will be key in the continued provision of critical construction skills of the future.

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Kennedy outlines the full “range of innovative methods of education on site” including fully immersive training through a simulated construction hall, in addition to two varieties of VR assimilation training. This state-of-the-art construction technology “allows the learner to experience a range of real-life scenarios, simulating real construction sites”. “We have installed a range of equipment for demonstration and training purposes, and we hope that the learner or the

Bebhinn Kennedy, Enterprise Engagement Officer, National Construction Training Campus with Nerea González, Building and Surveying Technician, KRA Visionary.

Discover NZEB and Retrofit courses provided by the NZEB centres of excellence across the country at thisisfet.ie/nzeb. Training is also delivered through the NZEB Centres of Excellence at City of Dublin ETB, Cork ETB, Laois and Offaly ETB, Limerick and Clare ETB, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim ETB and Waterford and Wexford ETB.

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education and skills report

Education in Budget 2024 Budget 2024 delivered real terms funding increases for both of the Goverment’s education departments when compared with Budget 2023, but real terms decreases when compared with the Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2023. When compared with Budget 2023, the Department of Education saw an increase in total voted expenditure from €9.625 billion to €10.467 billion, an increase of 8.7 per cent that outstrips the predicted rate of inflation throughout 2023, which stands at 5.3 per cent, as predicted by the IMF, and 6.4 per cent as predicted by the ESRI. The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science received an increase in total voted expenditure from €3.888 billion in 2023 to €4.148 billion in 2024, an increase of 6.7 per cent that also outpaces the rate of inflation. The Department of Education and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science received current expenditure funding increases when compared with the Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2023 of 4.6 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively, which amount to real terms cuts. In terms of capital expenditure, the Department of Education saw an increase of 9.3 per cent and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science received an increase of 4.5 per cent.

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Department of Education The €10.467 billion allocated to the Department of Education in Budget 2024 contains within it an increase in current core expenditure of €421 million, a 4.4 per cent increase from Budget 2023 that amounts to a real terms cut in current core expenditure. The Government states that the funding will “provide supports to primary and post primary schools, while investing significant resources in special education”, with key measures cited including: the provision of 1,216 additional special needs assistants;

•

free school books and classroom resources for Junior Cycle students in the free education scheme in autumn 2024, meaning that circa 212,000 students at Junior Cycle level will receive free school books;

•

the progression of 500 school building projects, including 300 already at construction phase and 200 proceeding to construction;

•

the provision of 774 additional teachers for special education;

•

an increase in capitation funding;

•

additional funding to support students at risk of education disadvantage;

•

continued investment in the School Transport scheme;

•

continuation of the Enhanced Summer Programme; and

•

increased provision of management and staffing supports in special schools.

education and skills report

•

Speaking after the publication of the Budget, Minister for Education Norma Foley TD stated: “The significant increased investment is the largest education budget in the history of the State and reflects the Government’s commitment to a quality inclusive school system and improved learning outcomes for every student.” However, despite its record level of funding, the education budget has come in for sharp criticism from teachers’ unions, particularly for a failure to tackle Irish class sizes and a reduction in additional funding to meet day-to-day costs such as heating and electricity in schools. Having stood at €90 million in Budget 2023, this figure was cut to €81 million in Budget 2024. General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation stated Budget 2024 “fails miserably” and said: “There is no getting away from the fact that Ireland’s primary school classes are the highest in the eurozone, remaining almost three pupils per classroom more than the average throughout the EU… It would have been a legitimate hope that a government with a record budget surplus would have taken decisive action. Instead of doing that, today’s no-change announcement will add to overcrowding in schools. Our politicians had a once in a lifetime chance to reach the EU class size average. They missed an open goal.”

Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science received an increase of €164 million current core expenditure in Budget 2024, a 4.3 per cent increase from Budget 2023 that fails to keep pace with Ireland’s rate of inflation. Benefits from this level of investment, as outlined by the Government, include: •

additional funding of €194 million in current expenditure to provide €60 million for Funding the Future, over €30 million for additional student supports for those attending third-level education, and measures to ensure greater access to the further and higher education sectors;

•

an additional allocation of €67 million to provide for the continued growth of the craft apprenticeship system from 13,000 places in 2022 to over 16,000 places in 2024;

•

the allocation of €31 million to increase all non-adjacent maintenance grant rates by €615 with a pro rata for students in the current academic year; and

•

the increase of all adjacent rates by 10 per cent.

Also included in the budget was a €3,000 increase to the PhD stipend, which Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD stated is not the “end of the story” after coming in for criticism from the Postgraduate Workers’ Organisation of Ireland, which stated the increase did not go far enough. An independent national review of State support published in May 2023 recommended that the stipends be increased to €25,000 per year. “It is step one,” Harris said. “The independent report … says we need to get to €25,000. This, I think, is the largest increase in PhD stipends in many, many years. This is not the end of the story, far from it. “I think €25,000 is where we need to get to, but I would argue that by any fair measure €3,000 in one go is a good step. I am pleased that we have been able to do it.”

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behalf of the State to the highest standards of quality, security, and integrity.

education and skills report

The provision of the State examinations is a key national service which touches on the lives of over 130,000 young people and their families each year. The SEC works with the education system in the provision of this service and relies hugely on the collaborative efforts of school leaders, teachers, the education stakeholders. Teachers marking the examinations are the lifeblood of the examinations system. In 2023, we worked intensively, including with stakeholders, to ensure that sufficient numbers of teachers engaged in this critical work. The SEC is extremely grateful to those teachers who engage in the State Examinations in a variety of roles, and to school leaders in supporting our efforts.

20 years of the State Examinations Commission

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Andrea Feeney, CEO of the State Examinations Commission (SEC), tells eolas Magazine how the SEC’s new Statement of Strategy 2023-2027 lays Andrea Feeney, the path for development which takes CEO, State Examinations Commission account of the organisation’s ambitions to develop the State examinations service for the future, while holding to its enduring mission of providing a highquality candidate-centered service.

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The certificate examinations provided by

the Board until 1924, when the

the State Examinations Commission are

Department of Education provided the

part of a rich tapestry of public

State Examinations for the first time.

examinations in Ireland, which stretches

Following a major restructuring of the

back almost 150 years. Second-level

Department of Education, the State

examinations were first provided by the

Examinations Commission (SEC) was

Intermediate Education Board for Ireland

established on 6 March 2003, to deliver

in 1879 and continued to be provided by

the national certificate examinations on

In the 20 years since our establishment, much has been achieved; the examinations system of 2023 is very different to 2003, especially in the range of services we provide and in how we provide them. What remains constant is our absolute commitment to continued partnership with stakeholders to deliver a system of examinations that enjoys high levels of public trust and confidence.

New Statement of Strategy Our Statement of Strategy 2023-2027 follows a wide-ranging consultative process with stakeholders from across the sector including the Department of Education and agencies, school leadership and management bodies, teachers and teacher unions, and the important voices of students and their families. Six ambitious goals support our mission “to provide a high-quality candidatecentred State examination service” and our vision of “a progressive, fair, and responsive examination service and organisation with a positive impact on learners and society”. Those goals are: 1. To provide a high-quality, fair, and inclusive State examinations service. 2. To develop a State examinations service for the future. 3. To provide all candidates with opportunities to demonstrate their attainment. 4. To seek opportunities for improved service delivery to meet current and future challenges.

5. To be organisationally excellent with staffing, infrastructure, and systems aligned to deliver on our mission. 6. To be accountable for our decisions and actions.

Delivery and curricular reform

The SEC has a central role in curricular reform at both Senior Cycle and Junior Cycle working with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the Department of Education. Over the lifetime of our strategic plan, we look forward to working on the ambitious programme of Senior Cycle redevelopment which has been announced by the Minister, including undertaking research into generative artificial intelligence (AI) and digital assessment; and introducing additional assessment components worth at least 40 per cent in all subjects.

Digital transformation

Under our new strategic plan, we want to exploit many more opportunities for improved service delivery to meet current and future challenges.

Supporting students with special educational needs The SEC provides fair access to the examinations through inclusive design and the provision of appropriate accommodations under its Scheme of Reasonable Accommodations at the Certificate Examinations (RACE) Scheme. The scheme enables candidates with special educational needs to demonstrate what they know and can do, without compromising the integrity of the assessment. An extensive range of individual supports is available through the scheme including assistance with reading; writing accommodations; access to assistive technology; and the provision of modifications, waivers, and exemptions. In 2023, almost 30,000 candidates (22 per cent) out of the overall cohort of 132,000 candidates required access arrangements under the RACE Scheme. The scheme is continually evolving to better meet the needs of candidates with special educational needs while preserving equity and fairness. Deferred Leaving Certificate examinations were introduced in 2022, for candidates experiencing serious accident, injury or illness, or close family bereavement at the time of the main sitting. The provision of read-only PDF papers to vision impaired Leaving Certificate candidates was piloted. These are significant, improvements which make very real differences in the lives of young people taking the State examinations.

Supporting candidates with special educational needs is a strategic priority for the SEC and over the lifetime of the next strategic plan we aim to increase the use of assistive technology to enhance access and integrity and to support independent learning.

Conclusion We have experienced many challenges in our history, particularly in recent years given the impact that the pandemic has had on candidates due to take their examinations. Fortunately, we have a very strong innovation culture, which really stood to us in our pandemic response as we demonstrated agility, and creativity in meeting the unprecedented level of change required to the various arrangements for examinations candidates which were introduced in the years 2020-2023. Team work is exceptionally important to the SEC as we are driven by a common purpose in providing an examinations system which places the candidate of everything that we do. We are extremely fortunate to have an excellent staff who consistently deliver outstanding work year on year. In delivering our strategic objectives we intend to build on our achievements and use our history and experiences to enhance our capacity to innovate and develop a world class examinations system for the future.

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In recent years, the SEC has undertaken transformative change involving a number of complex digital projects. These include online marking of scanned examination scripts, which is now our normal way of working, with over 4,000 examiners using the system in 2023. Of the one million Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle results issued this year, 98 per cent were in subjects which were either fully or partially marked online. The adoption of a design for digital approach in relation to examinations coursework is underpinned by our Schools Portal, which facilitates secure transmission of digital coursework to the SEC. We have also integrated digital coursework directly to the online marking platform to provide fully digitised end-to-end assessment. Finally, we provide the Candidate Self Service Portal (CSSP) to offer a complete one-stop shop of examination services to Leaving Certificate candidates. The SEC is a world leader in terms of openness and transparency in the examinations. Through the CSSP candidates access not only their overall

results but also the marks they achieved in individual subject components, and they can also view their scripts online to see how their work was marked.

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The number and modalities of assessment deployed in the State examinations continues to grow on foot of the introduction of new subjects and through reform of existing subjects. In 2023, only 13 of the 41 curricular Leaving Certificate subjects were examined exclusively by written examination. Assessments include point in time written, aural, oral, and practical tests; coursework components involving research reports and portfolios; and physical or digital projects.

T: 090 644 2700 E: Info@examinations.ie W: www.examinations.ie

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Irish education: A 20-year review The Department of Education’s Overview of Education 2002-2022 publication demonstrates the significant shifts which have taken place in Irish education settings over the last two decades. Over the 20-year period from 2002 to 2022 there was an increase of 114,423 (25.8 per cent) in enrolments in primary schools (both mainstream and special), although the Department has stated that enrolments are projected to fall over the coming 11 years. Looking at total enrolments in primary schools, the report states that in 2022 there were 558,143 primary school pupils, an increase of 3,355 on 2021 when the total was 554,788.

Primary school enrolments When the change in enrolments by administrative county over the past 10 years is examined, the data shows the largest proportional increases occurred in Roscommon at 13.1 per cent, followed by Dublin at 9.9 per cent, and Monaghan at 9.5 per cent. The smallest increase occurred in Mayo (1.1 per cent) and Tipperary (0.6 per cent), while Offaly, Clare, and Donegal were the areas that saw the largest decreases by 1.1 per cent, 0.9 per cent, and 0.2 per cent respectively.

Primary schools by religion The total number of mainstream primary schools has declined by 57 since 2012, from 3,152 in 2012 to 3,095 in 2022. However, the pattern is not uniform, with 118 Catholic schools and 11 Church of Ireland schools closing between 2012 and 2022, while the number of multidenominational schools has increased by 69 in the same period.

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These clear trends in school ethos are a result of the closure of schools with declining enrolments and the amalgamation of schools in close proximity to each other, as well as the opening of new multidenominational schools in response to parental choice. All 25 newly established mainstream primary schools opened in the last five years have been multi-denominational in ethos, spread over various patrons. Despite these changes, Catholic schools still comprise the vast majority of primary schools, with 88.5 per cent of schools having a Catholic ethos in 2022.

Post-primary education While enrolments in primary schools peaked in 2018, enrolments in post-primary schools continue to rise and, according to the published post-primary projections, are expected to reach their peak in 2024. In post-primary schools, total enrolments stood at 406,392 in 2022, an increase of 14,694 on 2021. Enrolments have risen by 48,984 over the past five years. The largest increases can be seen in Roscommon (42.4 per cent), Meath (34.3 per cent), Laois (31.4 per cent), and Kildare (31.2 per cent), all of which increased by over 30 per cent, while Monaghan (2.7 per cent), and Sligo (0.5 per cent) saw smaller increases. There is a growing importance of large schools in the post-primary system. While small schools (less than 300 pupils) made up 29.8 per cent of all schools in 2012, this has dropped to 19.8 per cent in 2022, while the number of large schools (800+ pupils) has more than doubled (from 65 to 148). The number of pupils attending small schools fell by 12,614 over this period, while the number of pupils attending large schools has increased from 62,038 to 143,088. More boys than girls consistently attend mixed-sex schools, with 72 per cent of boys in a mixed school in 2022 compared with just 64.6 per cent of girls. This is reflected in the number of schools by gender category; in 2022, there were 124 all-girls postprimary schools, compared with 96 all-boys schools. Looking at the changing participation rates in Leaving Cert (LC), Leaving Cert Vocational Programmes (LCV) and Leaving Cert Applied (LCA) since 2002, the percentage of pupils following the LCA programme stood at 6.4 per cent in 2022, up slightly on 2021 (5.8 per cent); participation in the LCV programme stood at 27 per cent, which shows a change in previous downward pattern for this programme (23 per cent in 2021), while LC stood at 66.6 per cent, a decrease on 2021 (71.2 per cent). In terms of pupils who participate in transition years by gender and Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) status, more females than males consistently do Transition Year (TY), and uptake is lower in DEIS schools than in nonDEIS schools. However, there has been a small fall in TY participation in both school categories between 2019 and 2020, and an increase in the following years, 2021 and, especially, 2022. There is a consistent pattern of more boys than girls attending fee-charging schools. Overall, 7.6 per cent of boys were enrolled in a fee-charging school in 2022, compared with 5.8 per cent of girls. Enrolments in fee-charging schools, as percentage of total enrolments, are down on 2020 and represent a continuing pattern of falling attendance at fee-charging schools. The report overall shows a shift away from denominational ethos in education, albeit marginal, towards increased secularisation of education in the State, which correlates which societal shifts outlined in Census 2022 which show more people moving away from religion.

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Spearheading talent and futureproofing businesses

(L-R) Pictured at the launch of the CPA Ireland Skillnet ‘Metaverse’ programme for financial services professionals are: Dave Flynn, Director of Business Networks, Skillnet Ireland, Trish O'Neill, Director of Member Services, CPA Ireland, and Gary O’Sullivan, Managing Partner UK and Ireland at Sia Partners Consulting 4.0.

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Ireland’s international reputation as an innovative, agile, and high-performing economy is critically dependent on its talented workforce. As the national agency responsible for spearheading workforce development for the enterprise sector, Skillnet Ireland is taking the lead in addressing 21st century skills challenges in an efficient and targeted manner. A new report commissioned by Skillnet Ireland reveals valuable insights into the current and future skills needs of businesses. Ireland’s Talent Landscape 2024 presents the findings of a nationally representative survey of five hundred business leaders from businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. In this European Year of Skills, the report represents a timely assessment of our skills, talent, and workforce development needs.

landscape is evident in the 56 per cent of Irish business leaders who have seen a shift in their skills requirements in the past two to three years, with six in 10 anticipating further changes over the coming three years.

The report demonstrates a commitment from enterprise to invest time and resources in people development to ensure competitiveness and future success. It also shows how crucial business leaders are in providing strategic direction and in recognising the value of lifelong learning and workforce development.

64 per cent of all businesses surveyed consider ‘energy efficiency’ to have the potential to facilitate growth in the next two to three years, with 69 per cent of large businesses highlighting the increasing importance of sustainable supply chain management, and 41 per cent of SMEs planning to focus on developing circular economy skills. These findings are consistent with the Skillnet Ireland Talent for Ireland’s Green Economy report published last year in partnership with the Economic and Social Research Institute, in particular, the importance of green marketing, sustainability skills, and regulation.

“The needs of industry are changing constantly,” says Skillnet Ireland Director of Business Networks Dave Flynn. “Companies have to react quickly to changes in the broader environment. This has implications for skills needs and the education and training required to meet them. Skillnet Ireland has an important role to play in facilitating partnerships between industry and higher-education institutions around the country to develop impactful talent development projects which will help meet those needs.”

Rapidly changing skills landscape Accelerated digitalisation and the ongoing shift to a net zero carbon economy are resulting in widespread changes across all sectors and occupations. This evolving 118

Accelerating digitalisation

Skillnet Ireland also nurtures industry and academia collaboration by investing in the co-creation of new cutting-edge programmes with universities to address digital skills needs. For example, Cobotics Skillnet in partnership with the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) developed a new Higher Diploma in Engineering in Automation and Digital Manufacturing. Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet has also developed a number of programmes in recent years including the MSc in Artificial intelligence in

(L-R) Pictured at the launch of the Climate Ready Academy Stackable Microcredits in partnership with the University of Limerick are: Ken Stockil, CEO, 20FIFTY Partners; Kerstin Mey, President, University of Limerick; Senator Róisín Garvey; Paul Healy, Chief Executive, Skillnet Ireland; and Brian Leddin TD.

partnership with UL, and the MSc in Fintech Innovation in partnership with Munster Technological University.

respond proactively to climate change and to capitalise on the business opportunities transitioning to a lowcarbon economy presents.

Developing skills for climate readiness

Flynn outlines: “It is vital that businesses across all sectors and regions have

Businesses play a vital role in Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon and environmentally sustainable economy and the development of new workforce skills and competencies in this space is critical to ensure businesses remain competitive and resilient and can explore new opportunities for innovation and growth. Businesses are increasingly aware of this challenge, as proven by almost two-thirds of businesses who highlighted that their staff will require some form of upskilling in climate action and sustainability in the coming two to three years.

access to leading edge development

Skillnet Ireland supports businesses in developing talent for climate change through a range of initiatives, focusing on skills within the areas of energy management, sustainable finance, offshore wind, water stewardship, biodiversity, efficiency in building systems and the circular economy. In 2022, over 1,790 businesses and 5,800 employees benefitted from climate and sustainability upskilling programmes through the Skillnet Climate Ready Academy and specialised Skillnet Business Networks including Green Tech Skillnet and Sustainable Enterprise Skillnet. Skillnet Climate Ready Academy developed the first stackable micro-credentials in climate leadership in partnership with the University of Limerick to enable businesses to

to meet the talent requirements of a

programmes which keep their employees up to date with the latest trends and innovations to develop a sustainable business and contribute to Ireland’s ambitious climate targets. This report demonstrates a strong commitment from enterprise to invest time and resources in people development, and a deep understanding of the importance of this for business competitiveness and future success.” The findings in this report support Skillnet Ireland’s strategic commitment digital future, to foster the growth of a low-carbon and sustainable economy, to enhance small and medium-sized enterprise leadership, and to bolster foreign direct investment through talent

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As digital technologies continue to permeate and transform every aspect of a company’s operations, business leaders are acutely aware of the need for talent to adapt and thrive in the ‘digital economy’. 65 per cent of businesses surveyed said their staff will require some form of upskilling to facilitate their digital transition, with over 30 per cent indicating that over half of employees would need digital upskilling. Skillnet Ireland works with businesses to help them diagnose and assess their digital maturity to determine exactly where they are in their digitalisation journey and aligns skills needs to company objectives. We focus on the development of specialised talent for new or emerging technologies, in addition to raising baseline digital skills across all sectors. Overall, Skillnet Ireland supported 13,470 workers in 2022 through its dedicated digital focused networks across multiple sectors.

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Now more than ever, businesses need access to an agile, diverse, and talented workforce that is continuously acquiring and developing new skills so they can sustain their competitiveness in this rapidly changing environment. As evidenced in Ireland’s Talent Landscape 2024, there is growing awareness among Irish business leaders that upskilling, reskilling, and talent development are intrinsically linked to growth. Flynn explains: “We know businesses and workers often struggle to engage with and commit to upskilling programmes. These barriers manifest in a variety of ways including cost, time, relevance, uncertainty of offerings, but in a recent Skillnet Ireland study we found that existing time commitments is the main barrier preventing workers from engaging in upskilling programmes. However, despite these difficulties our research also highlighted that almost three-quarter of employees have engaged in some form of upskilling in the past 12 months.”

development. Skillnet Ireland will continue to respond to talent and skills challenges in a proactive and agile manner, and future-proof Ireland’s businesses by equipping workforces with the essential skills, knowledge, and capabilities, for the world of work.

To learn more about Skillnet Ireland visit: www.skillnetireland.ie

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QS World University Rankings 2024

Trinity College Dublin.

Seven of Ireland’s top 10 universities rose in the QS World University Rankings in 2023. For instance, Queen’s University Belfast rose by 31 places and is now ranked as the 202nd best university in the world. Trinity College Dublin retained its position as Ireland’s best ranked university and is now ranked as the 81st best university in the world.

1. Trinity College Dublin

2. University College Dublin

3. Queen’s University Belfast

Rank: 81 ↑ 17

Rank: 171 ↑ 10

Rank: 202 ↑ 31

Status: Public Research output: Very high Academic faculty staff: 1,383 Total students: 16,019

Status: Public Research output: Very high Academic faculty staff: 1,852 Total students: 22,484

Status: Public Research output: Very high Academic faculty staff: 1,940 Total students: 21,850

4. University of Galway

5. University College Cork

6. University of Limerick

Rank: 289 13

Rank: 292 ↑ 11

Rank: 426 ↑ 104-116

Status: Public Research output: High Academic faculty staff: 1,876 Total students: 15,444

Status: Public Research output: Very high Academic faculty staff: 1,521 Total students: 16,709

Status: Public Research output: High Academic faculty staff: 988 Total students: 12,110

7. Dublin City University

8. Ulster University

9. Maynooth University

Rank: 436 ↑ 35

Rank: 498 ↑

Rank: 801-850 =

Status: Public Research output: High Academic faculty staff: 1,306 Total students: 14,728

Status: Public Research output: High Academic faculty staff: 1,219 Total students: 18,197

Status: Public Research output: Very high Academic faculty staff: 718 Total students: 11,757

↑

10. Technological University Dublin Rank: 851-900 = Status: Public Research output: High Academic faculty staff: 1,466 Total students: 20,790

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The rankings are determined by key indicators which include academic reputation, staff-to-student ratios, citations per faculty, and the international dimensions of the workforce and student populations.

20th anniversary of the NFQ: A cause to celebrate Information

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We have revamped Qualifax – with the new tagline ‘every course explained.’ The new site was launched in September and has a new, vibrant look and uses responsive technology so that learners, as its primary users, can access it on mobile devices. We have also further developed the Irish Register of Qualifications (IRQ.ie), as the authoritative guide to quality-assured qualifications in the NFQ. This site contains all the awards made by the universities and QQI (therefore including most of FET and private HE).

Challenges for the future •

Resolving the issue of two major awards at Level 6 and the associated different credit systems used in further and higher education;

•

ensuring consistency and clarity regarding non major awards, including micro-credentials, at levels 6-9 in terms of credit volume, titling, information, and quality assurance; and

•

considering if the two awards available at Level 9 are sufficient and being appropriately used for increasing levels of qualifications.

Padraig Walsh, CEO Quality and Qualifications Ireland; Irene Sheridan, Chair, Quality and Qualifications Ireland; and Grant Klinkum, Chief Executive, New Zealand Qualifications Authority at a QQI conference to mark 20 years of the National Framework of Qualifications.

The National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) has stood Ireland well and has worked its way into the national lexicon over the last 20 years. Achievements to date The iconic NFQ fan diagram is apposite, depicting a rainbow that can be traversed rather than a ladder that must be scaled. A lifelong learning path through the Framework can and should involve going across and back down the Framework as well as going up.

Prior Learning (RPL) and particularly the concept of RPL for Award. Last year, the first graduates of the Level 6 Hairdressing apprenticeship offered by Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board received their awards solely through the formal recognition of their prior learning. One of the main benefits of the NFQ was

QQI has been given the statutory responsibility to keep and maintain the Framework, to review the policies and criteria on which it is based, to review its operation and to amend it from time to time. We believe it is timely to confront some of the challenges highlighted above – and we look forward to working with our stakeholders in the task of further developing the NFQ over the years ahead.

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In 2015, the pre-existence of the framework and its associated levels allowed for the Framework for Junior Cycle to make explicit reference to the NFQ and its ready accommodation of NFQ Level 1 and Level 2 learning programmes. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and Quality and Qualifications Ireland are committed to working collaboratively to determine the appropriate inclusion of the various elements of senior cycle reform within the NFQ.

been its facilitation of the Recognition of

that it allowed Irish education and training to respond quickly to the Covid-19 pandemic and the sudden pivot from face-to-face teaching and assessment to

W: www.qqi.ie/national-framework-ofqualifications

an online environment.

Another strength of the Framework has

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Government aims to tackle school bullying

In April 2023, Minister Norma Foley TD launched the implementation plan for Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying; the Department of Education’s approach to preventing and addressing bullying in schools. Launched in December 2022, Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying was developed by the Department of Education in collaboration with a steering committee led by Noel Purdy of Stranmillis University College, Belfast. A report in 2018 by UNICEF, found that 44 per cent of Irish schoolchildren are bullied in school. The study found that male and female students are equally at risk of bullying, with female students more likely to be subjected to psychological forms of bullying, while male students are more likely to be at risk of physical violence and threats. Since passage of the programme, the Department of Education has established a Student Participation Unit, which aims to promote the participation of children and young people in the development of department policy. 122

The Department has also established an expert group to advise decision-makers on how best the Student Participation Unit can progress its work. Laura Lundy, professor of education law and children’s rights at Queen’s University, who developed the Lundy Model of children’s participation, has been appointed as chair of this group. The Government has set aside €5 million to pilot a programme of counselling supports for primary school students. The Department further states that work to update the anti-bullying procedures for schools is underway with continuous professional development and training being developed for all school staff, board of management members and parents. The implementation plan for Cineáltas commits to implementing each of the

61 actions contained in the original Cineáltas publication within a five-year period and sets out timeframes and information about how the Department is going to implement the actions Minister for Education Norma Foley TD, who marked Anti-Bullying Week by issuing Cineáltas flags to all primary, post-primary, and special schools, said: “Cineáltas means kindness. AntiBullying Week is an important week in the school calendar where we can increase awareness about bullying behaviour and its impact on children and young people. We can also remind ourselves of the importance of kindness. All our schools are receiving their Cineáltas flags this week, during Anti-Bullying Week.”

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OECD: Ireland’s education positive but spending low The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Education at a Glance report has delivered generally positive reviews on Ireland’s education outcomes; however, the report makes it clear that Ireland ranks low in terms of education spending as a proportion of GDP. Published in September 2023, the report states that, out of 38 OECD member states studied, Ireland spent 3.2 per cent of the national GDP on education in 2020, ranking the State precisely last in the list and below the OECD average of 5 per cent. More positively for Ireland is the OECD’s reporting on regional variation in the share of young people who are neither employed nor in education or training (NEET). These regional disparities, the OECD asserts, are smallest in Ireland, Denmark, and Norway where the gap between the highest and lowest regions is below 2 percentage points. Further positively for Ireland is that, on average across OECD countries, the gender gap in employment rates among younger adults with vocational upper secondary or post-secondary nontertiary attainment has hardly changed between 2015 and 2022. Australia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, and Slovakia, however, bucked this global trend, with a reduction in these states’ respective gaps of between 7 and 16 percentage points. Although in many countries upper secondary vocational education and training (VET) serves both teenagers and adults, in a few countries initial upper secondary education is predominantly general. Among these countries is Ireland, where the OECD states that vocational programmes mostly serve those who have completed their initial schooling, and less than 12 per cent of 15–19-year-old upper secondary students are pursuing VET. In contrast to this, there are 11 OECD countries where the majority of 15–19-year-olds enrolled in upper secondary education are in vocational programmes. In Ireland, as well as Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, and Switzerland, around nine out of 10 upper secondary VET students are in a combined school- and work-based programme, spending at least one-quarter of their time in work-based learning, but in 10 countries, the share is less than one in five. 124

Integrating refugees The report outlines measures taken to ensure that education was delivered to refugee students across many global countries. It states that Ireland aims to support all Ukrainian students “throughout all phases of the learning process”. “This includes staff support in regional education and language teams placed around the country, resources for students include tutors who can offer academic guidance, among other localised forms of support. Furthermore, the Irish Universities Association is in the process of establishing a Central Irish Higher Education Helpdesk with the aim of providing support to those who wish to enter VET programmes.”

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In May 2022, Ireland established the National Student and Researcher Helpdesk to assist displaced students and researchers from Ukraine to apply to the higher education system or to be matched with a principal investigator to continue their research.

“It is shameful that at a time of budget surpluses, Ireland is in last place when it comes to investing in our young people.” Geraldine O’Brien, President, Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI)

The OECD outlines that over 1,126 students applied. The report praises that further support to these students – a temporary tuition fee support scheme – was implemented with the Irish Government paying tuition fees for students studying a full-time course in a publicly funded higher education institution. Students were also provided with a financial stipend of €1,150 from the Erasmus national grant. These measures were for the 2022/23 academic year only.

Tertiary education transition The theoretical age of transition, referring to the age when students are typically expected to enter upper secondary education in the given country, once again shows positive outcomes for Ireland, where the OECD states that this transition has been “particularly smooth”. Ireland, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, and Norway recorded at least 95 per cent of students at the theoretical transition age enrolled in upper secondary education. This is in contrast with Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, where the report says that the transition appears “less smooth”. In these countries, over 15 per cent of the cohort are still in lower education one year after the expected transition age. Reacting to the publication of the report, the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) stated that that although Ireland’s education system is delivering generally positive outcomes, that these outcomes are not resulting in prosperity for Irish teachers and education staff, with well-established destinations for Irish teaching graduates, such as Canada and Australia, offering significantly higher starting salaries. The President of ASTI, Geraldine O’Brien, also said: “It is shameful that at a time of budget surpluses, Ireland is in last place when it comes to investing in our young people.” 125

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Championing engagement, partnership, and collaboration collaboration with a network of approximately 60 primary schools, special schools, post-primary schools, and special schools since 2018, we have involved teachers, school leaders, and early childhood professionals in the redevelopment of the primary curriculum, ensuring their insights directly influence the changes happening. In the words of one teacher: “The Schools Forum provides a space to ponder big questions such as what we value in education, what its purpose is, how and what children should be taught, what is important in our current context and what the future might demand.”

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s (NCCA) engagements, partnerships, and collaborations extend across the Irish early childhood, primary, and postprimary education sectors and beyond. Advertorial

NCCA’s approach to developing curriculum and assessment advice is marked by creative thinking and a keen eye for opportunities to bring together diverse views, perspectives, and areas of expertise to challenge and advance thinking on learning, teaching, and assessment. Guided by eight principles, one of which emphasises partnerships and collaborations, NCCA employs a variety of interaction formats to collaborate with early childhood settings and schools, and with the broader education sector in shaping curriculum 126

and assessment developments. This commitment translates into five specific actions. 1. Support for the capacity of schools and settings: NCCA supports schools and settings in developing, introducing, and enacting changes in curriculum and assessment. We work proactively in a busy and dynamic environment with schools and settings as we develop, discuss, and review key developments. Through proactive

2. Inclusive consultations: NCCA ensures that the diverse voices and the experiences of children, students, parents, and communities are central to discussions and consultations on curriculum and assessment developments. We are committed to using a variety of ways for people to share their thoughts and experiences. Here are some examples from early childhood, primary, and postprimary. At early childhood, we are updating Aistear: the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework. This involves a far-reaching public consultation with the early childhood sector as well as consultation with babies, toddlers, and young children to hear their ideas on what they would like to see as part of their early childhood learning experiences. At primary, we are working closely with Hub na nÓg and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth (DCEDIY) to provide spaces and opportunities for children to tell us about their hopes for the future of the primary school curriculum. At post-primary, as part of the broader redevelopment of senior cycle, a

3. Strategic collaborations: NCCA actively participates in research, curriculum, and assessment initiatives through collaborations with agencies, organisations, and networks. Examples include membership of the Consortium of Institutions for Development and Research in Education in Europe (CIDREE). Involvement in this network enables us to contribute to and take account of national and international developments, including international curriculum reforms. Collaboration with external advisory panels is informing the redevelopment of the primary curriculum and the redevelopment of senior cycle. The panel members advising on the primary curriculum are drawn from Ireland, Scotland, England, and the USA. The panel members advising on the redevelopment of senior cycle are drawn from Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland. Members of both panels share their time, their expertise and experience within other education systems with NCCA.

“The Schools Forum provides a space to ponder big questions such as what we value in education, what its purpose is, how and what children should be taught, what is important in our current context and what the future might demand.” networks, and other fora. We use up-to-date best digital practice and strategic digital activities, continually modifying communication approaches to suit the needs of different audiences. Our noble goal is to ensure that any person or organisation who wishes to express their views on curriculum and assessment is enabled to do so. 5. Alignment with wider policy: NCCA aims to provide a strong, representative, and responsive basis for our work. As an advisory body, with representation on our structures from various stakeholders, including early years educators, teachers, students, school managers, parents, thirdlevel educators, and business interests. NCCA takes account of relevant policies in the wider education sector as it develops curriculum and assessment advice for the Minister. NCCA ensures that its work aligns with the priorities of

the Department of Education; Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; and other relevant priorities from across government departments. NCCA is deeply committed to fostering lasting and meaningful engagements, collaborations, and partnerships both within the Irish education system and internationally. The varied perspectives, voices and experiences gathered through such interactions enrich and strengthen NCCA’s work in generating advice for the Minister for Education. These partnership activities are critical to providing curriculum and assessment advice that, in turn, ensures that children and young people benefit from quality educational experiences in the 21st century.

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4. Building capacity for change: NCCA collaborates with the partners in education, support services, and further and higher education institutions supporting early years educator programmes and initial teacher education. This collaboration spans all phases and stages of curriculum development, incorporating strategic and systematic opportunities for collaboration and networking with early years educators, teachers, school leaders, parents/guardians, children, young people, school management bodies, professional bodies, and teacher unions. We do so using a number of approaches and formats including but not limited to online and in-person seminars, webinars, symposia, bilateral meetings, focus groups,

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revised Transition Year Programme Statement (TYPS) is currently being developed. During the consultation on the draft TYPS, NCCA included the voices of parents, students, teachers, TY coordinators, and school leaders during school visits. For schools not involved in the school visit component of the consultation, a school-based survey was available. NCCA hosted joint consultation events with the Irish Second Level Students’ Union (ISSU) and members of the TY Teacher Professional Network.

T: +353 1 661 7177 E: info@ncca.ie W: www.ncca.ie

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Credit: William Murphy.

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Institutional barriers inhibiting student mobility Student Mobility in Ireland and Northern Ireland, a Shared Island Unit/Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) study examining undergraduate mobility within Ireland and between Britain, has highlighted a relatively insignificant level of student mobility, not least as a consequence of institutional barriers. Contextualising the ESRI’s research into student mobility, the report highlights the “increasing focus in policy development internationally and in Ireland on the globalisation of higher education and student mobility”. Consequently, this enhanced volume of research has focused on the drivers of and obstacles to studying abroad. However, hitherto, there has been a dearth of systematic research into the factors which influence mobility within Ireland and Britain. The report produced six main findings. In the 2020/2021 academic year, a mere 1,255 students in the Republic were from Northern Ireland, while only 1,170 students in Northern Ireland were from the Republic. This equates to 0.6 per cent and 2.4 per cent of the total student population in each jurisdiction respectively. Students from Northern Ireland that did opt to study in the Republic are more likely to apply for third-level courses in locations in border counties and in Dublin. While it is possible for students in Northern Ireland to apply through the Central Applications Office (CAO) process in the Republic, applicants must undertake four A Levels in order to achieve the maximum available CAO points. This process is

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“Current higher education entry requirements in Ireland appear to disadvantage students from Northern Ireland...” Emer Smyth, Research Professor, ESRI

hindered by the fact that most students in Northern Ireland undertake a total of three A Levels. Similarly, while many third-levels courses in the Republic have restricted access on the basis of a foreign language requirement, fewer A Level students in Northern Ireland take a language compared with Leaving Certificate students in the Republic. Meanwhile, more than three times as many students from Northern Ireland (13,685 in 2020/2021) study in Britain when compared the average total number of students from the Republic who study in Britain (around 4,000). Students from Northern Ireland are willing to relocate across Britain. However, there is relatively little mobility in the opposite direction as a consequence of the high degree of competition for third-level places. Often, mobility is determined by availability of places, and this is particularly reflected in the significant number of applications to study competitive medical courses elsewhere. Overall, a minority of students from Northern Ireland or from Britain complete the CAO process, are offered a place in a higher education institution (HEI) in the Republic and accept it. Where students from Northern Ireland do meet the minimum entry requirements, they are less likely to accept an offer. One explanation is that

they are using an application elsewhere as a safety net for an application to a high demand course. Additionally, they often receive an offer to study at a HEI in the Republic after they have received an offer for a HEI in Northern Ireland or in Britain. At the same time, the rate of successful applications to HEIs in Britain are lower for applicants in the Republic. In relation to these institutional barriers, report coauthor, Emer Smyth, observes: “Current higher education entry requirements in Ireland appear to disadvantage students from Northern Ireland. An adjustment of the points equivalences would likely make studying in Ireland a more realistic option for those from Northern Ireland. Although only one barrier to mobility, a change would have an important symbolic value in being seen as welcoming to students from Northern Ireland.” Overall, the decision to study elsewhere is a consequence of several interacting dynamics, including tuition/registration fees, financial support, and cost of living. While many students from the Republic will find lower accommodation costs elsewhere, a large proportion avoid such costs by remaining in their family home.

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Policy implications Emphasising the value of student mobility, both for the students personally and for HEIs, the ESRI’s report has three main findings. 1. Career guidance within schools could promote enhanced awareness of thirdlevel options elsewhere and this process could be supported by HEIs.

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2. A rationale exists to redesign the CAO points equivalence to A Levels given the context in which very few students in Northern Ireland undertake four A Levels, and to reexamine modern foreign language requirements given that relatively few second-level students in Northern Ireland study a foreign language. 3. Given the significance of cost-of-living factors, prevailing accommodation costs and inadequate housing supply are inevitably acting as barriers to students from Northern Ireland and Britain studying in the Republic. As well as benefiting students and HEIs, report coauthor Merike Darmody suggests: “Student mobility has the potential... to foster greater cohesion between Ireland and Northern Ireland. The study findings highlight the scope for greater cooperation across the island of Ireland in meeting student needs.” Launched by Fine Gael Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, Student Mobility in Ireland and Northern Ireland was coauthored by the ESRI’s Emer Smyth and Merike Darmody. Conducted in conjunction with the Department of the Taoiseach’s wider Shared Island programme, the ESRI report is one of the relatively few pieces of systematic research focusing on the institutional factors influencing student mobility within Ireland – north and south – and Britain. The report addresses three research questions: 1. What is the level of student mobility within the island of Ireland and Britain? How has this changed over time, particularly during the pandemic? 2. What factors are associated with student mobility? 3. To what extent is there potential to increase student mobility across the island? Is this a desirable objective from a stakeholder perspective?

Context A cap on undergraduate places in Northern Ireland’s universities poses a challenge by imposing a limit on options, increasing entrance requirements for high demand courses. As a result, more than one-third of undergraduates leave for universities in Britain. Furthermore, insufficient understanding and perceived complexity of the higher education admissions systems – CAO and UCAS – has a negative impact on student mobility. Similarly, insufficient understanding of the transferability of UK qualifications also acts as a barrier to undergraduate mobility. At the launch, Minister Harris asserted: “Today’s report shows us once more the vital role education plays in strengthening relations north and south. I am pleased to launch this ESRI Shared Island report which provides some really valuable insights on student mobility across this island and also between Ireland and Britain. “I am committed to working with Higher and Further Education Institutions and with partners in the UK Government and Northern Ireland to make it as easy as possible for students to choose to study in either jurisdiction. This is really important in deepening our connections both north/south and east/west and in ensuring that young people have access to the best possible educational opportunities.” In her response to the report, Terri Scott – a former Pro Vice Chancellor at Ulster University and former President of IT Sligo – concluded: “A joined-up approach to maximising the return on investment in tertiary education, on an all-island basis, will present greater choice, opportunities and employment prospects for the graduates of the future.”

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TrustEd: A new benchmark for international education education and skills report

to allow national and international learners to complete their studies with another provider or, where this is not possible, to receive a full refund of their fees. For Ireland’s more than 50 HE and 140 ELE providers, TrustEd offers a distinctive, competitive edge in the global education market. Providers authorised to use the TrustEd mark will have been evaluated against a comprehensive code of practice for either HE or ELE and examined in areas such as ethical marketing and recruitment, learner support services, administrative processes, recognition of qualifications (HE providers), quality assurance of academic programmes (ELE providers), and overall organisational integrity.

Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), the state agency for tertiary education and training in Ireland, has announced TrustEd, a groundbreaking international education mark designed to guarantee the excellence of education received by international learners in higher education (HE) and Englishlanguage education (ELE) institutions in Ireland. courses leading to qualifications that are respected and recognised worldwide. In addition to setting high educational standards, TrustEd will be underpinned by a Learner Protection Fund to which all private/independent HE and ELE providers will be required to contribute. The fund will ensure that, in the unlikely event of a programme being discontinued, arrangements will be made

Taken together, these measures will ensure that only providers meeting the highest standards of quality and integrity will be awarded the TrustEd mark. The mark will signify adherence to robust standards and a commitment to delivering excellence in education and learner welfare, fostering trust among prospective international learners. The TrustEd application process will open in early 2024 with the first cohort of successful applicants expected to receive authorisation in early 2025.

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Aimed at reinforcing and protecting Ireland’s reputation as a premier global education destination, it will set a new national standard for quality provision and learner protection for international learners. With rigorous quality monitoring mechanisms and a focus on safeguarding learner interests, TrustEd reflects QQI’s commitment to upholding and enhancing the integrity of Irish education, ensuring that this €2 billion sector remains competitive and prestigious on the world stage.

In addition, private/independent HE and ELE providers will have undergone a robust due diligence assessment of corporate governance, finances and compliance with the law to assure QQI that they have the capacity and capability to deliver high-quality programmes.

E: international.education@qqi.ie

For learners, the benefit of the mark will be clear: whether enrolling in ELE or HE programmes, the TrustEd mark will indicate that an education provider has met rigorous quality standards and offers

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education and skills report

Capacity and supports central to education sector The Department of Education is to prioritise improved capacity, service delivery, and supports for all those with special educational needs and their families in the next two years to 2025. The Department’s Statement of Strategy 2023-2025 sets out the direction and high-level work programme that the Department plans to undertake during the next three years, underpinned by a vision for an education system that is of the highest quality, where every member of educational communities feels valued and supported. A number of key challenges and opportunities shape the 2023-2025 strategic direction, not least the ongoing war in Ukraine, which has inflated the trend of international migration, requiring effective adaptation of the education system. As of May 2023, 15,589 Ukrainian pupils had been enrolled in schools across Ireland, with 10,105 accommodated in primary schools and 5,484 in post-primary schools. The higher-than-expected migration has somewhat distorted what was an

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existing challenge of managing demographic pressures. Existing projections were for postprimary enrolments across Ireland to increase by 8 per cent from 2021 and peak in 2024. At primary level, projections were for a steady decrease, reaching a low point in 2023, however, migration trends mean that both levels sit above projections for 2022/2023 school year. The war has also had an economic impact, increasing inflation and thereby increasing pressure on finances and budgets. The importance of these budgets can be seen in the context that services are not just seeking to deliver business as usual, but to continue to address the impacts of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in relation to the wellbeing of children and young people. Alongside the provision of measures to address this, the Department says:

“The Department continues to harness the learning from the experience of responding to the pandemic including the potential and importance of digital learning and use of digital technology in education. We must continue to develop the digital capacity of our education system and the digital skills of our students and wider school communities.” Overarching these challenges is that of necessary climate action within the sector, but also for skills provision to ensure a net zero future is possible. To assist with meeting these challenges and grasping future opportunities, the Department has developed four strategic goals for the period of 2023 to 2025.

High-quality education The first strategic goal of the Department is to “enable the provision of high-quality education and improve

Among the key strategic actions, the Department will seek to deliver is continued support to address the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly for those children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage. The Department says that as well as supporting school communities in the use of digital technologies in teaching, learning, and assessment, it will build upon actions to support the supply of teachers and other members of the education workforce, while also supporting the current education workforce to strengthen their capabilities through professional learning.

Opportunity Strategic actions under the second of the Department’s goals: “Ensure equity of opportunity in education and that all children and young people are supported to fulfil their potential”, are also wide-ranging. Some of the major actions include the implementation of the Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice and Cineáltas: Action Plan for Bullying, to support the mental health and wellbeing of children. Additionally, the Department says that it will work together with the National Council for Special Education, and the HSE, to plan, design, and deliver an integrated suite of education supports aiming to support the participation and progression of children and young people with special educational needs. Alongside a pledge to ensure policy in the area of special education is fully up to date following the review of the EPSEN ACT, the Department says that it aims to reduce the retention and

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the learning experience to meet the needs of all children and young people, in schools and early learning and care settings”.

achievement gap between schools in the DEIS programme and non-DEIS schools. Finally, the statement of strategy says that the Department will continue to provide access to high-quality and inclusive education for children and young people arriving in Ireland, while continuing the process of reconfiguring schools to increase diversity and strengthen the relationship between schools and their local communities.

Leadership Goal three of the strategy is to: “Together with our partners, provide strategic leadership and support for the delivery of the right systems and infrastructure for the sector.” The strategic actions range from the delivery of an extensive school infrastructure programme through to a school transport scheme, while also developing and delivering shared services and information systems for the Department and the sector.

Excellence The final goal of the strategy is towards “organisational excellence and innovation”. The Department says that it aims to deliver efficient and effective customer-centric practices that best serve the public, the Government, and the Oireachtas. Additionally, plans are for the enhancement of the strategic planning capability, including horizon scanning and strategic foresight, to support the design and delivery of the education system of the future. Finally, the Department says that it will continue to monitor its performance, “acknowledging success when achieved, learning when things can be improved, and committing to continuous quality improvement”.

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education and skills report

Rethinking the meaning of “skills” in education policy

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In recent years, the primary measure of success in education has centred on skills and employment. This has been particularly evident since the 2007 global recession when, according to adult education advocate Denise Shannon in AONTAS’ Adult Learner Journal, “the concept of skills replaced lifelong learning as common ground” in Europe.

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We can still see this in 2023, designated

changes and to fully engage in society

European Year of Skills by the EU. The

and democracy”. In her State of the

stated goal is to “get the right skills for

Union address announcing the Year of

quality jobs [and address] skill shortages

Skills, President of the European

in Europe”, and so “empower people to

Commission Ursula von der Leyen noted

successfully navigate labour market

that “we need an enabling business

environment [and] a workforce with the right skills”. It is worth asking what this consistent pairing of the word “skills” with the needs of employers means to people who return to education as adults. Does it allow for a conception of success in education that is not solely determined by participation in the labour market? We at AONTAS, the National Adult Learning Organisation of Ireland, see success in education as measured by how individual lives and communities are improved by learning. We also prioritise the intangible benefits of adult education, such as developing a sense of identity,

According to AONTAS’ evidence-based research into lifelong learning, published in 2023, major factors that facilitate participation in adult learning include being younger in age, being employed, living in an urban centre, finishing school, and having third-level qualifications. The research found that university graduates are more likely than the sample average to continue with some form of learning. This aligns with the Matthew Effect, which suggests that earlier successful outcomes lead to continued successful outcomes. People from more privileged or economically wealthy backgrounds, with greater access to education, are more likely to continue in or return to education.

Moving to this broader understanding of “skills” would be more than a linguistic shift. How we use language shapes our society. When it comes to public policy and education, the words we use are central to how people perceive

themselves and others. The use of terms such as “low-skilled workers” often suggests a personal, individual failure or disinterest, rather than recognition that not all people are born with the same opportunities and privileges. Given the diversity of social and cultural roles needed for our society to function, it is less helpful to classify people as having higher or lower levels of skills, than to see people as having different strengths. This issue has been observed for years. In 2016, David Mallows wrote that “a focus on what adults cannot do is likely to further stigmatise those with poor literacy, numeracy or digital skills and make it less likely that they will either seek or accept support in improving those skills”. It was reflected in a keynote speech by Kathleen Lynch at the 2023 AONTAS Adult Education Summit, who highlighted the growing “tendency to reduce students, and citizens, to customers”. In Ireland, we still see frequent use of “educationally-disadvantaged adults” and “marginalised people”, without reference to social and political causal factors that contribute to this. Recognition of these factors is especially urgent now, given the homelessness and cost-of-living crises and the increase of disenfranchisement and far-right activity in Ireland. There are signs of progress, and moves towards a more inclusive approach to education. These include the new Unified Tertiary Education System, launched last

year which allows people to move from adult education to higher education through a joint course. There is also an increased focus on the target groups identified in the National Access Plan; annual funding through the Reach Fund (for which AONTAS was a key advocate); and new funding for participants in online and part-time courses. This means that, for the first time, adults from underresourced communities can benefit from specific support in accessing education. These measures show gradual changes are happening to meet different needs, and perhaps to recognise the (often unconscious) socio-economic discrimination embedded in current structures. A pertinent change to the way we use terms such as skills, disadvantage, and educational success should accompany them. We in AONTAS are committed to advocating and lobbying for these kinds of changes, and raising awareness of the impact of adult learning on people’s lives and on society.

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We need policies that specifically address factors relevant to people from groups that have been underserved through a failure to recognise and legislate for injustice, inequality, and biases based on social class, intellectual ability, ethnicity, gender, or race. Without policies that take a holistic approach to human experiences and needs, the “skills”-based agenda risks continuing to serve only the educational needs of people who already live in relative comfort and with a relatively high level of education. The European Association for the Education of Adults recently called for a wider perspective to be included in European policy, urging institutions and policymakers to “use the remaining months of the European Year of Skills to promote a holistic understanding of skills that empowers all citizens, regardless of their status on the labour market”.

“Given the diversity of social and cultural roles needed for our society to function, it is less helpful to classify people as having higher or lower levels of skills, than to see people as having different strengths.”

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belonging, and purpose. In times of great societal change and myriad perceived threats to safety and ways of life – including AI, war, political extremism, disease, and climate change – these intangible elements are essential to maintaining stable societies and activelyengaged citizens.

AONTAS The National Adult Learning Organisation 2nd Floor, 83–87 Main Street, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 T: 01 406 8220 E: mail@aontas.com W: www.aontas.com

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Significant change in Senior Cycle An updated programme for Senior Cycle redevelopment will see the shelving of plans for teacher-based assessment. Teacher assessments shelved Minister for Education Norma Foley TD announced the update to the Senior Cycle redevelopment programme in September 2023, with plans for teacher-based assessment shelved. Long a source of friction between secondary teachers and government, Foley has backtracked on plans she had touted as recently as February 2023 to introduce teacher-based assessment components worth 40 per cent of final marks into every Leaving Certificate subject, citing the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) technology as her reason for doing so. Fears that students could use AI technologies such as ChatGPT to generate essays on their behalf have previously been raised. On 4 November 2023, Foley told eolas Magazine at the Fianna Fáil ard fheis that that there remains a “learning

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curve” to be overcome among decision-makers as to better understand AI. “I am particularly conscious of the more recent accelerated evolution and growth in generative AI, and I understand there is a need to explore the opportunities afforded by these developments in an educational context, as well as the challenges they might present,” the Minister said when announcing the new assesment model. “With that in mind I have asked the SEC that further research would be commissioned on the potential role and impact of generative artificial intelligence in teacher-based assessment in particular. While this work is ongoing, I have decided to progress additional and practical components that will be externally assessed by the State Examinations Commission (SEC).” Practically, this means that revised

certification purposes is based on fairness for all students and trust in exams system. Today’s announcement by the Minister validates these concerns. In this regard, it is clear that meaningful and continuing collaboration with the second-level teacher unions, that recognises and acknowledges the voice of classroom practitioners, is vital to ensure that future Senior Cycle change is educationally sound.”

New subjects

Welcoming the decision to revert assessments to the SEC, the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) said that the decision was “both sensible and inevitable”. ASTI President Geraldine O’Brien said: “The ASTI had expressed its serious concerns to the Minister that her announcement in March 2022 contained significant change proposals which were not part of the National Council for Curriculum Assessment (NCCA) Senior Cycle Review Advisory Report to the Minister. Specifically, teacher-based assessment was not contained in the NCCA’s recommendations to the Minister.

Also notable within Foley’s statement is the accelerated roll out of new and revised Leaving Cert subjects. Chief among the revised subjects will be biology, physics, chemistry, and business, while two new subjects will be introduced into the Senior Cycle: drama, film and theatre studies and climate action and sustainable development. Originally due to be rolled out at the beginning of the 2027/28 academic year, these new and revised subjects will instead now begin at the beginning of the 2025/26 academic year. A second tranche of revised subjects will then begin with the 2026/27 academic years, with further tranches set to be introduced annually from then on.

“The ASTI also emphasised to the Minister the need to protect the integrity of the Leaving Cert and to ensure assessment of students for state

Central to the revision of these already existing subjects will be the introduction of coursework and non-exam-based assessment elements such as essays

education and skills report

curricula across seven subjects – including biology, physics, chemistry, and business – will now include nonexam assessment elements such as essays or project work, as in subjects such as history before them, these new components will be marked by the SEC rather than by the examined students’ teachers. The change in plans marks another reversal of course in Foley’s attempts to reform the Senior Cycle examinations following her abandonment of plans to move Paper 1 of both Irish and English to the end of fifth year.

and research projects, meaning that students will no longer sit exams that account for 100 per cent of their overall mark, an area within the Senior Cycle structure that has long been criticised. Initially due to be piloted in seven schools before its wider rollout in 2027/28, Foley has now taken the decision to skip the pilot phase and introduce the changes throughout the Senior Cycle. Speaking upon the launch of the update programme of reform, Foley said: “The student experience has always been central to the redevelopment of the Senior Cycle. Over the past two years, I have visited hundreds of schools and listened to the experiences and feedback from Leaving Certificate classes, and it was unanimous that what our students want, and need is for broader choice, reduced pressure and they want it now… “In this new phase of the programme, there will be an accelerated national roll out of the revised subject specifications for the seven existing Leaving Certificate established subjects within tranche one in September 2025, two years sooner than previously announced. Each tranche that follows will be rolled out nationally on an annual basis, ensuring further renewal at a greater pace.”

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education and skills report

Creating a literacy-friendly Ireland

Colleen Dube, Chief Executive Officer, The National Adult Literacy Agency

The National Adult Literacy Agency Chief Executive Officer, Colleen Dube, speaks about adapting their services to meet learners’ needs, collaborating with a wide range of public sector organisations on their plain English requirements and advocating to government on behalf of literacy learners.

Learn with NALA In 2023, the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) shared its knowledge and expertise with a wide range of adult learners and public sector organisations to enhance literacy skills and awareness in Ireland.

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We are proud to say that since 2000, NALA has provided personalised, confidential one-to-one tuition, flexible independent learning opportunities with recognition of prior learning (RPL) and national certification options to adult literacy learners. Over the last two decades, we have supported 5,050 learners with 42,637 one-to-one personalised over-the-phone tuition sessions and 14,428 learners to achieve 48,327 Quality and Qualifications Ireland minor awards in literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy at level 2 and 3.

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In March 2020, we launched, Learn with NALA, our new website and brand, which continues to offer adults the opportunity to develop their skills and gain national qualifications on a state-of-the-art learning management system. A key aspect of Learn with NALA is our tutoring service which provides personalised one-to-one tuition in literacy, numeracy, and digital literacy to adult learners. Our aim is to accommodate the learner as best we can, so tuition is delivered by NALA’s adult literacy educators through 30-minute calls once a week over the phone or virtually through Zoom. Learners receive materials after each session by post or email which they can review and work through in their own time. The Learn with NALA service is entirely free, confidential, and designed to give

adult literacy learners a positive educational experience, build their confidence and motivate them to continue their learning journey. We are currently completing a research report analysing the profile, activity, progression, and feedback from Learn with NALA users between March 2020 and November 2022. Some key findings are that 62 per cent of our online learners are between 18-45 years of age, 54 per cent are women, and 56 per cent are independent learners rather than learners in educational settings. Learner feedback allows us to adjust and improve Learn with NALA as needed. The following quote from one learner is an example of positive feedback we receive: “When I was isolated, I saw NALA online and I went for it. It has given me great

confidence and I work on it through the iPad. I just felt it was something I was doing for myself as I fell through the cracks in school and probably at home as well. I really did enjoy it and got so much from it. I did Level 2 computers and I think it is a wonderful course.” It is evident from these findings and feedback that Learn with NALA is making a valuable contribution to Ireland’s ambitions for life-long learning, social inclusion, and upskilling.

One in six people in Ireland has difficulty understanding written text such as publications and websites. Our plain English editing and training service is delivered collaboratively so that organisations can make their information and services more accessible to people with these literacy needs. As Angela Denning, CEO of the Courts Service, stated plain English lifts “unseen access barriers to justice”. Throughout 2023 we worked very closely with the Courts Service as part of its Modernisation Programme to make their web and other content more accessible. We also contributed to its Civil Forum on projects such as the Four Courts video and met their network of plain English champions regularly during the year. We also collaborated with the Department of Education in 2023, who said the following: “We pride ourselves on our commitment to plain English. This year we worked with NALA’s Plain English Editing Service to further improve how we communicate with our stakeholders. Our subject matter expertise combined with NALA’s input greatly helped us improve the quality and clarity of our information. Our team learned a lot from this collaboration and continue to apply these learnings in all our communications.”

We have worked with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to train over 80 staff in using plain language. We also have a

work on it through the iPad. I just felt it was something I was doing for myself as I fell through the cracks in school and probably at home as well. I really did enjoy it and got so much from it. I did Level 2 computers and I think it is a wonderful course.”

Learn With NALA, Learner

close relationship with the Citizens Information Board and their Digital Content team. In 2023, we led over 20 training sessions and content critiques where those team members review each other's work in a collaborative setting. Our LinkedIn Plain English Network now has close to 400 members from across the public and private sector. It is a vibrant community of practice where you can learn from your peers, share resources, and learn about what is new in the world of plain English and clear communication. One recent participant on a plain English training course said: “[It was] very helpful to have the course online as I could participate while working from home and there were no office distractions, it was a lot to take in so two sessions was ideal. The exercises were very helpful and useful to complete them in a group setting. The facilitator was excellent and approachable.”

Policy submissions to government In 2023, NALA drafted over 23 policy submissions and survey responses to the Irish Government’s calls for consultation. Policy submissions are essential to maintain the profile of literacy at national level, to advocate on behalf of literacy learners and apply our expertise to relevant policy areas. Our evidencebased submissions draw on our own and international research. They are intended to have impact by reminding policy makers of the extent of literacy needs in Ireland and recommending actions to address unmet literacy, numeracy and

digital literacy needs in the design and delivery of public services. Some key submissions from 2023 include, the Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy Consultation, QQI Broad Standards, QQI Online and Blended Learning Guidelines, Financial Literacy Strategy, the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy, and the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science examination of the Future of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) in Irish Education. Our recent submission to the consultation for a new Traveller and Roma Education Strategy was informed by our outreach work with Traveller organisations. These kinds of relationships enhance our understanding of certain communities’ experiences and help us to advocate effectively in solidarity with them. This submission highlighted the connection between discrimination and disadvantage in school settings and literacy challenges in adult life. It was based on the principle of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, that policy must address the needs of the “furthest behind first”. In 2024, we will continue this work along with collaborating on the Government’s Adult Literacy for Life strategy to create a literacy friendly Ireland. Please do not hesitate to get in touch for more information.

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Plain English training is also a key focus of our work by offering a culture change approach in a mix of bespoke training days and mentoring sessions. In 2023, we trained over 1,300 staff from over 50 organisations such as the Pensions Authority, the European Commission, and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.

went for it. It has given me great confidence and I

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Plain English editing and training

“When I was isolated, I saw NALA online and I

T: 1800 20 20 65 E: info@nala.ie W: www.nala.ie X: @nalaireland

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Irish students best performers in reading literacy in OECD and EU The 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report has found that Ireland’s 15-year-olds rank first in both the EU and the OECD for reading literacy and second among the 81 states surveyed. Reading literacy Students in Ireland achieved a mean reading literacy score of 516 from PISA, an OECD education project. This score exceeds the OECD average by 40 points and only one country – Singapore, noted as “significantly higher” – recorded a higher score. Four states – Japan, the Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), and Estonia – recorded scores that “did not differ significantly” from Ireland’s and 75 states recorded scores significantly lower than Ireland’s. Ireland’s 2022 mean reading score is 2.1 points lower than its 2018 score, although this is said to be “not statistically significant”, especially set against an OECD average of a 10.3point decline in the same period. The percentage of students in Ireland performing at the lowest levels of reading literacy (11.4 per cent) is less

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than half of the OECD average of 26.3 per cent, while the proportion performing at the highest level (10.3 per cent) also outperforms the OECD average of 7.2 per cent. Female students “significantly outperformed” their male counterparts in reading literacy testing, a pattern that was repeated in all but two (China and Costa Rica) of the states surveyed. However, the gender difference in Ireland was reduced from 23.2 point in 2018 to 18.3 points in 2022, meaning that Ireland once again outperforms the OECD average of 24.2 points. Ireland’s gender gap in reading literacy is more pronounced at the lower rung of scores; 14 per cent of males perform below baseline level compared to 8 per cent of females, while 11.2 per cent of females achieve the highest proficiency levels, in comparison with 9.4 per cent of males.

Mathematics Students in Ireland ranked 11th overall in mathematics, a placement 10 places higher than 2018. Ireland also ranks seventh among OECD member states, and third among EU member states. The mean score of 491.6 achieved outperformed the OECD average of 472.4, with nine states said to have performed significantly higher than Ireland, eight states said to have not differed significantly from Ireland in their performance, and 63 states said to have performed significantly less well. The mean score of 491.6 is “a significant” 8.0 points lower than Ireland’s 2018 score, although even this significant decrease is less than the decrease of 14.9 points in the OECD mean score; 41 of the 72 states surveyed that can compare 2018 and 2022 results showed decreases in their mean mathematics score, with “many

Reading proficiency

Male students outperformed their female counterparts by almost 13 points in Ireland, a rate that is larger than the OECD average, with males outperforming females by 9.1 points internationally. The results show little difference between males and females performing below baseline proficiency – 18.5 per cent and 19.6 per cent respectively – but males are significantly more likely than females to reach the highest level of proficiency, with the OECD recording a rate of 9.6 per cent in comparison with the female rate of 4.7 per cent.

Science Ireland’s students rank 12th overall in their performance in science, an improvement that sees them climb the rankings by 10 places when compared to 2018. Ireland also ranks eighth among OECD member states and third among EU member states. The mean score of 503.8 recorded by Ireland is significantly higher than the OECD average of 484.6. Nine states are said to have performed significantly higher than Ireland, eight did not significantly differ, and 63 performed significantly worse.

OECD (37)

EU (26)

1. Singapore

1. Ireland

2. Ireland

2. Japan

2. Estonia

3. Japan

3. Republic of Korea

3. Finland

4. Republic of Korea

4. Estonia

4. Denmark

5. Chinese Taipei

5. Canada

5. Poland

6. Estonia

6. United States

7. Macao (China)

7. New Zealand

8. Canada

8 Australia

Ireland up from 8th in

Ireland up from 4th in

Ireland up from

2018

3rd in 2018

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cases” showing drops of over 20 points. 19 per cent of students in Ireland performed at the lowest levels of proficiency in mathematics, a rate significantly lower than the OECD average of 31.1 per cent and only bettered by seven states. However, just 7.2 per cent of Irish students performed at the highest levels, a proportion lower than the OECD average of 8.7 per cent that is bettered by 28 states.

Overall (81 countries)

Science proficiency Overall

OECD

1. Singapore

1. Japan

1. Estonia

2. Japan

2. Republic of Korea

2. Finland

3. Macao (China)

3. Estonia

3. Ireland

4. Chinese Taipei

4. Canada

5. Republic of Korea

5. Finland

6. Estonia

6. Australia

7. Hong Kong (China)

7. New Zealand

8. Canada

8. Ireland

9. Finland 10. Australia 11. New Zealand 12. Ireland

The mean score of 503.8 is 7.7 points higher than Ireland’s score in 2018; while science scores were said to have remained broadly stable, the OECD average did record a drop of 2.4 points. Ireland recorded 15.6 per cent of student performing beneath baseline proficiency in science, a rate much lower than the OECD average of 24.5 per cent and one only bettered by eight states. Ireland’s rate of students performing at the highest level in science was exactly in line with the OECD average, 7.5 per cent. This rate shows improvement from 2018, when a decrease from 2015 was recorded, meaning that Ireland’s 2022 rate has now realigned with its 2015 rate. There was no significant gender difference recorded in overall science performance in Ireland. Although male students achieved a higher mean science score than their female counterparts, the gap of 5.6 points is deemed “not statistically significant”. In its report, Education in a Dynamic World: the performance of students in Ireland in PISA 2022, the Educational Research Centre states that it is “noteworthy” that there was an increase of about 11 points for males in science on average, but no significant change among females. 16.1 per cent of males and 15 per cent of females were found to be performing under baseline proficiency, while 9.5 per cent of males and 5.5 of females reached the top levels of proficiency.

Ireland up from 12th

Ireland up from 17th

Ireland up from

in 2018

11th in 2018

Mathematics proficiency Overall

OECD

1. Singapore

1. Japan

1. Estonia

2. Macao (China)

2. Korea

2. The Netherlands

3. Chinese Taipei

3. Estonia

3. Ireland

4. Hong Kong (China)

4. Switzerland

5. Japan

5. Canada

6. Republic of Korea

6. The Netherlands

7. Estonia

7. Ireland

8. Switzerland 9. Canada 10. The Netherlands 11. Ireland Ireland up from 21st in

Ireland up from

2018

16th in 2018

11th in 2018 141

education and skills report

Léargas: Opportunities in education Léargas, Ireland’s national agency for Erasmus+ and other EU programmes, supports organisations and individuals to access funding and to engage in European initiatives like eTwinning, EPALE, and training and cooperation activities (TCAs).

Erasmus+ funding opportunities

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There are two main funding avenues available across school, adult education and VET sectors. Both avenues that enable teachers, facilitators, learners, and staff to participate in international exchanges, share best practices, and develop impactful projects that benefit communities.

Key Action 2: Partnership projects (collaboration with international partners) A partnership project is where an organisation works with other relevant groups in different countries to exchange ideas or to develop, transfer or implement innovative practices. Funding is available for Irish organisations, institutions, companies, and research

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Key Action 1: Mobility projects (international learning exchanges)

organisations that are active in adult education,

Mobility projects are essentially learning exchanges where participants travel to another country to train, job shadow, or learn. The organisation or school applies for funding to prepare and manage the project, including costs of travel and participation.

training, or youth.

school education, vocational education and

Visit the Léargas website at www.leargas.ie to find out more about each key action and the possibilities for your specific sector. The next application round closes on 20 February 2024.

Léargas also manage other European initiatives which can serve as a pathway to Erasmus+, allowing participants to dip their toe into European programmes and exchanges before undertaking an E+ project. These initiatives are also great for building capacity and enhancing ongoing Erasmus+ projects. They provide valuable forums, innovative ideas, and educational resources that enrich learning experiences and enable networking and partner finding. Participation in any of the below will help organisations develop the skills and competencies to deliver an impactful Erasmus+ project.

EPALE – Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe EPALE (Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe) is an initiative funded by the European Commission that serves as an online platform for professionals and stakeholders in the field of adult education. EPALE aims to facilitate knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration among individuals and organisations involved in adult learning across Europe.

more than one million teachers across Europe. It supports primary and post-primary schools to fosters digital collaboration and partnerships among schools across Europe. It provides a safe and secure online platform for educators and students to connect and work together on educational projects in any curricular area, using information and communication technology. The programme aims to promote crosscultural understanding, innovative teaching practices, and the exchange of knowledge and experiences. It serves as a valuable tool for schools to initiate and develop international collaborations, enriching the educational experience for students and educators alike. To learn more visit www.leargas.ie/etwinning/

Training and cooperation activities Across sectors, Léargas organise short training courses and cooperation activities, both in Ireland and in other countries. Many are open to newcomers, so you do not need to be part of an existing Erasmus+ project. Activities cover a range of themes, from mental health and anti-racism to digital innovation, inclusion practices and more. To learn more visit www.leargas.ie/trainingand-events/

Léargas is the Irish agency that manages national and international programmes in youth work, education, and training, including Erasmus+, European Solidarity Corps and eTwinning.

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This platform provides a space for adult educators, trainers, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to access and share resources, best practices, and insights related to adult education. EPALE promotes the exchange of ideas, promotes professional development, and supports the continuous improvement of adult learning practices. It plays a pivotal role in enhancing the quality and effectiveness of adult education efforts throughout Europe.

education and skills report

Exploring pathways to Erasmus+ and building capacities

E: info@leargas.ie W: www.leargas.ie X: @leargas

To learn more visit www.leargas.ie/epale/

eTwinning – the digital platform connecting schools in Europe eTwinning is funded by the European Union and is a free online platform connecting 143

education and skills report

Education attainment in Ireland Statistics have been compiled from the Education Attainment Thematic Report 2023, released by the CSO on 13 December 2023. The 25-34-year-old age group has the highest level of third level attainment at 61%,

followed by the 35-44-year-old group

Highest level of education attained by persons aged 15-64, classified by age group, Q2 2023

at 60%.

In Q2 2023, females aged 25-64 years old with a third level qualification were nearly three times more likely

to be employed (85%) compared with females with a primary education or no formal education

(30%). Females across all age groupings (25-64 years) had higher levels of third level attainment than males.

Males aged 25-64 years old with a third level education had an employment rate of 92% compared with males with a primary education only or no formal education at 49%. In Dublin, 62% of those aged between 25-

64 had a third level qualification compared with 45% in the south-east.

Around 3% of people aged between 25-64 had only a primary school education or no

Employment rates increased as level of educational attainment

increased, with this relationship evident in both sexes. Over eight in 10 (85%) females aged 25-64 years old with a

third level qualification were employed, compared to three in 10 (30%) females with a primary

formal education.

education only or no formal education.

In 2022, Ireland was well above the

Males aged 25-64 years old with a third level qualification had an

EU-27 average for third level attainment across all age groupings (20% difference in each), except for the 55-64 year old grouping showing a difference of 12%.

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Education level and labour force

employment rate of 92%, dropping to 49% for those with a primary education only or no formal education.

Percentage of persons aged 20-24with at least a higher secondary education in EU member states, 2022

education and skills report

Education level and labour force In 2022, 84% of all 20-24 year olds in the EU27 member states had attained at least a higher secondary level of education. Ireland had a rate of 95% of 20-24 year olds with at least higher secondary level of education, ranking the country second behind Croatia among EU member states.

Unemployment rates of persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and highest level of education attained, Q2 2023

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education and skills report

Supporting students all the way Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) is Ireland’s national awarding authority for further and higher education grants.

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A business unit of City of Dublin ETB, SUSI administers student funding in line with legislation set out by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in the Student Support Act 2011 and annual Student Grant Schemes and Student Support Regulations. Established in 2012 to replace 66 regional awarding authorities, SUSI delivered a centralised, single, awarding authority for student funding. SUSI’s mission is to empower students to transform their lives through tertiary education and since 2012, has processed over 1.16 million applications, awarded over 880,000 grants to students and paid almost €3.5 billion in funding. In recent years, as well as implementing the most legislative changes in over a decade, SUSI’s commitment to students increased further as its remit expanded beyond the Student Grant Scheme. SUSI now administers the PLC Bursary for Displaced Persons Ukraine Scheme and the International Protection Student Scheme. In addition, SUSI provides assistance to the higher education institutions in delivering the 1916 Bursary and processes applications for funding for 146

the new tertiary education programmes. SUSI is also the paying authority for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science’s scholarships and bursaries including the All-Ireland Scholarship. Commenting on SUSI’s evolution over the past 12 years Philip Connolly, SUSI’s Director of Services says: “SUSI is committed to delivering continuous service improvements for students. We are always exploring ways to innovate and enhance our service so that students can quickly and easily access funding. These improvements are achieved through a focus on our people, our systems, our processes, and our provision of accessible information.” Connolly adds: “The development of our people is key to delivering a quality service to our students.” As a people-focused organisation, SUSI identified the need for a dedicated unit to support staff development, tailor training programmes, and recruit new team members. This resulted in the establishment of an organisation development unit in 2019, which has helped ensure SUSI has a

Connolly continues: “Consistent development of our systems has supported both the delivery of an online application system as well a centralised system for the swift assessment of grant applications.” Recognising students as predominantly digital natives, SUSI created an online student portal. The portal provides students with a convenient way to submit their application as well as enabling them to view correspondence, track the progress of their application and where applicable, view the status of their grant payments.

Data sharing agreements with government bodies such as the Department of Social Protection, Revenue Commissioners and CAO have also supported the delivery of a streamlined application process by reducing the need for students to send documentation to SUSI.

Securing the direct payment of the grant to students’ bank accounts via electronic fund transfers has removed the need for cheques and helped ensure eligible students receive their payment as quickly as possible. “As the work we do is based on legislation, we understand the need to make information about funding readily available to students in a format that is easy to access and understand,” says Connolly. SUSI redeveloped its website last year with a design that has user experience at its core. This new website has helped to drive awareness of student funding by giving students access to key information including eligibility criteria, income thresholds, payment schedules, and more. The addition of the eligibility indicator means students can quickly check if they might be eligible for funding. SUSI’s responsive support desk has ensured that students and the public can contact SUSI with any questions they have about student funding and the application process. SUSI’s team of access officers provide assistance and guidance to persons with disabilities throughout the SUSI application process and act as the direct point of contact for the applicant during their time as a SUSI service user. While the dedicated Stakeholder Helpdesk and annual stakeholder training enables

SUSI to support students through a number of key stakeholders including public representatives, HEI access officers, and students union representatives. As well as meeting students and parents in person at events such as college open days and career fairs, SUSI also hosts its own virtual event for students and their families. Here students can find out information about student funding as well as share any questions they have with the SUSI team. Looking ahead to the future, SUSI’s commitment to students is stronger than ever. Connolly concludes: “Our five-year strategy places the student at the centre of everything we do through building an agile organisation and harnessing cutting-edge digital systems. We will proactively lead the advances necessary to further develop service delivery for students in the form of enhanced user experience, increased self-service, and improved responsiveness. We look forward to broadening our supports to more students in the years to come.”

Student Support Desk T: 0818 888 777 E: support@susi.ie W: www.susi.ie

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SUSI also created a centralised online system for the swift and consistent assessment of grant applications. This system drives efficiency in the assessment process improving the time it takes for a student to receive a decision on their application. In academic year 2023/24, the mean time for the initial assessment of an application was just under one week with the time being just over one week for assessment of returned documentation.

In 2022, SUSI embarked on a pilot project to explore the benefits of robotic project automation (RPA). As a result, the number of manual tasks within SUSI processes has decreased allowing team members to focus on other tasks which support the student.

education and skills report

strong team fully enabled with the skills and knowledge required to support its students. The organisation’s work in this area was highlighted last year when SUSI received gold certification in the National Standards Authority of Ireland’s (NSAI) Excellence Through People scheme.

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conference report

Irish Retrofitting Conference 2023 Stuart Hobbs, SSE Airtricity; Marion Jammet, Irish Green Building Council; Ciaran Byrne, SEAI; and Clive Ahern, Dublin City Council.

The Irish Retrofitting Conference 2023, in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and sponsored by SSE Airtricity, took place on Thursday 26 October at the Dunboyne Castle Hotel, County Meath. Over 150 delegates met for the third annual get-together to discuss the Government’s new area-based and one-stop-shop approach to retrofitting at least 500,000 homes to a B2 energy rating by 2030. The conference discussed key points such as progress to date and any learning from the implementation of the programme. Delegates in attendance heard from speakers, both visiting and local, from organisations including the Irish Green Building Council; Dublin City Council; Clúid Housing; University College Dublin; Connect Housing; Arthur Cox; and the Health Service Executive.

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Terry Boyle and Helen Williams from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

Shane Toye, Mitsubishi Electric Ireland with David Calt and Austin Nevin, Chadwicks.

A delegate visits the Mount Lucas exhibition stand.

Philip Coleman, Fingal County Council tries WWETB virtual reality experience.

Lisa Ryan, University College Dublin; Paul O’Brien, Solar Energy Solutions; Clare O’Connor, Friends of the Earth; and Paul O’Donnell, Heat Pump Association of Ireland take part in the panel discussion.

Ciara Dooley from Arthur Cox speaks at the conference.

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Hitachi Energy: Drive toward the electric future Offshore windmill park in the ocean, aerial view.

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Hitachi Energy is advancing a sustainable energy future for all by integrating renewable sources into the next generation of energy systems.

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The significance of transportation in sustainable development was first recognised at the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit, with Agenda 21 highlighting its role. The UN General Assembly in 1997 reiterated that transportation would be a key driver in increasing energy demand. Today, it is the largest energy end-user in developed countries and the fastest growing one in developing nations.

expected to rise, its role in climate change cannot be overstated.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) underscores the centrality of the transport sector in achieving the Paris Agreement goals. With transport contributing nearly a quarter of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, a figure

Electrifying energy, transport, and infrastructure is key to meeting these goals. Renewable energy, including predictable sources like hydropower and geothermal, as well as variable ones like solar and wind, is expected to lead to a carbon-neutral future. However,

The transition to sustainable energy is vital for environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Globally, nations are setting climate targets to address these challenges. For instance, Ireland's Climate Action Plan 2021 aims for 80 per cent renewable electricity and net-zero emissions by 2050.

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Solar power farm aerial view.

maintaining system stability is essential. This involves using existing and emerging technologies, such as battery energy storage systems (BESS), pumped hydro, and renewable hydrogen, to integrate renewables without compromising energy security. In this context, multi-sourced electricity will become vital, powering everything from transport to industrial processes. Hitachi Energy is playing a pivotal role in this transformation. In Ireland, the company offers innovative solutions across the electrification value chain to various sectors, including utilities, industry, transport, and infrastructure. Hitachi Energy enables its customers’ success – from clean energy generation to network infrastructure and electrification of end-use sectors. As renewables replace fossil fuels, Hitachi Energy helps power systems remain resilient and adapt to fast-changing demands, with as little disruption as possible. Hitachi Energy offers its customers industry-leading expertise spanning the full range of renewable energy project challenges, including: financial services;

•

consulting services;

•

front-end engineering and design (FEED) solutions, development, construction, operations, and maintenance;

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service and digital transformation support; and

•

energy and renewable energy certificates, trading, and risk management.

With over a century of experience in rail and urban transportation, Hitachi Energy continues to innovate in electrification and digitalisation, supporting transport operators in their shift to sustainable options. As urbanisation increases and the push for reduced CO2 emissions intensifies, the need for sustainable mobility solutions grows. Hitachi Energy’s Grid-eMotion®1 Fleet offers efficient charging solutions for large electric fleets, complemented by digital asset and energy management. A recent collaboration with Bus Éireann exemplifies this. Hitachi Energy Ireland is electrifying the Roxboro depot, involving the installation of a new medium voltage electricity substation, 24 charging points, and all necessary civil and cabling works. Funded by the National Transport Authority, this project marks a significant step in transforming Ireland’s urban bus fleets towards zero tailpipe emissions. In summary, Hitachi Energy is leading the way to an electric future, offering cutting-edge, secure solutions for integrating renewables and electrifying transport, thereby playing a key role in the global shift towards sustainable energy.

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•

management. Its comprehensive approach makes it well-equipped for renewable energy projects.

As the energy system undergoes a comprehensive transformation, Hitachi Energy’s expertise becomes increasingly crucial. The company aids in integrating renewables into the power grid, ensuring its resilience and adaptability to rapid changes. Hitachi Energy’s offerings include financial and consulting services, FEED, development, construction, operations, maintenance, digital transformation support, and energy trading and risk 1. Grid-eMotion® Fleet is an EV fleet charging solution suitably designed to offer the flexibility of connection to the utility grid and ensure compliance with power quality requirements. Chargers are available from 50 to 600kW power, combined in cabinets to facilitate maintenance. Charging points are designed to ensure full interoperability with current and future EV fleets charged in DC via plug or pantograph.

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energy report

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Energy security in an all-Island context Brian Ó Gallachóir, Associate Vice-President for Sustainability at University College Cork (UCC), assesses whether worrying electricity generation inadequacy necessitates an all-island focus on energy security. Ó Gallachóir heralds the development of the all-island Single Electricity Market (SEM) as one of the “hidden giants” of greater all-island cooperation, 25 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. In 1995, the North South Electricity Interconnector was restored after almost 20 years of inaction and since then several significant electricity and gas infrastructure projects have been developed on the island, ranging from the commissioning of the Moyle electricity interconnector to Scotland in 2021 to the approval in 2018 of a second North South Interconnector. While benefits to consumers have been evident in the delivery of cost reductions per kWh, the all-island market has also been critical to providing timely warnings on supply

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risks via generation system adequacy reports. “These reports significantly helped enable us to look at the challenge of meeting our electricity demands through electricity supply on an allisland basis in an efficient and cheaper way,” explains the Cork-based academic.

1) shows large levels of surplus electricity on an all-island basis. However, the report also indicates tight margins for the North from 2016 onwards, providing an impetus to build and plan for the second interconnector.

“That focus on efficiency leads to emissions reduction relative to what otherwise would have ensued. Similarly, efficiencies also lead to price reductions, relative to if these markets had continued to evolve separately.”

“The signal at that time was important in terms of flagging what might be important,” says Ó Gallachóir, adding: “Rolling forward to 2017, we saw even starker warnings of the situation, but this time in both jurisdictions. This foresight has been very important in terms of informing the policymakers, the regulators, and the industry of the challenges ahead.”

Significant infrastructure developments in the all-island electricity and gas networks have provided a high degree of reliability. The Generation System Adequacy report for 2012-2021 (Figure

In the past five years, energy policy developments have been significant. The transition of the SEM to the I-SEM as part of the European electricity market developments in 2018 was

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Figure 1: Generation System Adequacy 2012-2021 2,200 2,000

1,600

energy report

Surplus/Deficit (MW)

1,800 -TB 1,2,3

1,400

-TB4

1,200

1,000 800

-GI 1,2,3 +EWIC

600

+Large Tidal +Oﬀshore wind

-BL4,5,6

400 200 0 2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Ireland

2020

2021

All-Island

Source: EirGrid All-Island Generation Capacity Statement 2012-2021

impacted by Brexit and in the last three years there have been strong policy developments relating to supply security, but also in terms of the energy transition to a low carbon future. Both jurisdictions on the island share a number of ambitions in relation to net zero by 2050, including the target of an 80 per cent renewable energy share of electricity generation by 2030. Key to achieving this ambition will be the increased focus on interconnection. The Greenlink Interconnector between County Wexford and Pembrokeshire, Wales is currently under construction with a commission date of 2024. The second North South Interconnector continues to face challenges but has a target commissioning date of 2026. Additionally, the Celtic Interconnector linking Ireland to continental Europe via France is set for commission in 2027, while the Lir Interconnector, connecting the North and Scotland, should be active by 2029. One of the key achievements of the SEM has been the levels of variable, non-synchronous renewable electricity that has been integrated onto the all-

island electricity network, which at times has breached 75 per cent. Ó Gallachóir explains that absorbing such levels of renewable generation on a small power system is “world-leading”, but points out that wind variability does mean there are instances when the share of wind-generated renewable electricity is low.

Security of supply Highlighting the role of natural gas in providing energy security, the Associate Vice-President of Sustainability at UCC points to a period in early January 2021 of low winds and cold weather where the power system on the island compensated for the low levels of wind with increases in natural gas power. “The level of flexibility and agility that our system has developed in order to deliver the growing amounts of wind energy that we have on the all-island system is another key feature that is sometimes hidden in our electricity supply mix,” he explains. “It is important that we can maintain this going forward but it requires significant changes to electricity

markets. There is a need to focus not just on the energy payments associated with the market make-up, but also the system services and capacity payments.” Highlighting that auctions have not always delivered as much capacity remuneration contracts as required, which requires policymakers to rethink market support for new back-up generation capacity, he adds: “We have the theories in terms of how to support and remunerate for capacity, but unfortunately, we have not sufficiently delivered and this is why we have this short-term adequacy challenge.” More challenging, Ó Gallachóir suggests, is the fact that many of the capacity remuneration contracts for additional gas-fired power plant which have been awarded, have not delivered on the amount of generation initially pledged that is required to be available at times of low wind speed. This has led to a situation where in winter 2023/2024, the loss of load expectation is 21 hours. While this is less than the 50 hours recorded in winter 2022/2023, it is still well above

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Electricity and gas infrastructure on the island of Ireland energy report

• 1970: North-South Electricity Interconnector built • 1975: North-South Electricity Interconnector retired for 20 years • 1995: North-South Electricity Interconnector restored • 1996: Scottish Northern Ireland Gas Pipeline (SNIP) commissioned • 2001: Moyle electricity interconnector to Scotland commissioned • 2002: Second gas pipeline built (Ireland-Scotland) • 2006: SNP (South North Gas Pipeline) built • 2012: East-west (500 MW) electricity interconnector commissioned • 2018: Second North South Interconnector approved • 2022: Celtic (Ireland-France) electricity interconnector approved

Government recently published an Energy Security Strategy, while in the North, the first caverns of the Islandmagee (County Antrim) natural gas storage facility are expected to be operational by 2026. However, Ó Gallachóir says that in the context of progress of the all-island electricity market, the question has now been raised as to whether storage at an all-island level for gas should be considered.

the guideline of eight hours at most. Ó Gallachóir explains that blackouts and brownouts have been avoided because of policy decision to extend older power plants that were scheduled to retire, and the procurement of temporary emergency electricity generation, which is more expensive, more carbon intensive, and does not represent a long-term solution to the challenge. Temporary electricity generation is in the main fuelled by natural gas.

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent price hikes of imported natural gas shone a focus on Ireland’s reliance on fossil fuels to ensure energy security. Although Ireland was relatively insulated from the physical risk to security of supply because of gas interconnections to Britain and a low Russian dependence, it is an outlier in the absence of gas storage. Progress is, however, being made. The

Concluding, the academic raises some concern that the SEM and the benefits of an all-island approach – not least improved energy security – are underappreciated. In the context of an ongoing demerger between EirGrid, the national electricity grid operator, and the System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI), he says: “I would hope that as we move forward, we refocus our efforts on ensuring we look at energy security, not just through the lens of each jurisdiction, but on an all-island basis.”

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ORESS 2.1:

including their potential construction window up to 2040.

Up to 900MW of renewable electricity is

Ireland’s indicative roadmap sets out a number of steps towards ORESS 2.1, modelled on different scenarios, including whether a draft Designated Maritime Area Plan (DMAP), for marine waters off the south coast, is published before or after summer 2023, and whether any decision is judicially reviewed.

Ireland’s south coast

plan for offshore wind development off Ireland’s south coast. The Government has published an indicative roadmap for the State’s next offshore wind auction, which will be named ORESS 2.1.

west coast (450MW). ORESS 2.1 will take place off Ireland’s south coast and will procure up to 900MW of offshore wind.

ORESS 1 took place in May 2023, marking a milestone for the country’s offshore wind market, and awarded roughly 3GW of offshore wind generation capacity.

ORESS 1 secured an average price of €86.05/MWh, one of the lowest prices paid by an emerging offshore wind market in the world.

The Government aims to generate 5GW of renewable electricity from offshore by 2030, rising to 20GW by 2040. ORESS 1 awarded licenses to two projects off the east coast (2.6GW) and one off the

The publication of the indicative roadmap contributes to the publication by the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC), of which Ireland is a member, of its long-term plans towards the development of offshore wind up to 2040. All nine NSEC member states put forward their indicative auction timelines for offshore wind auctions to 2030,

energy report

set to be secured in 2025 under a new

In 2022, during Ireland’s co-presidency, ministers of all nine NSEC member states agreed to reach at least 260GW of offshore wind energy by 2050, which represents more than 85 per cent of the EU-wide ambition of reaching 300GW by 2050. Intermediate targets for NSEC include at least 76GW by 2030 and 193GW by 2040.

The indicative timeline begins in March 2024, with the potential publication of the draft South Coast DMAP and licenses for generation are expected to be awarded between February and October 2025. Commenting on the publication, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD, says: “The success of Ireland’s first offshore wind auction earlier this year highlighted Ireland’s enormous potential in offshore wind. ORESS 2.1 will be another important milestone towards the delivery of our offshore wind ambitions and to reach our climate targets. “Our ambitions in the area will be further supported by the publication next year of Ireland’s Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and the Future Framework for post-2030 Offshore Wind, by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications.”

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European electricity market reform As the European Union seeks to reform the electricity market, Eurelectric’s Savannah Altvater discusses the critical components she believes must underpin market design fit for net zero. Eurelectric believes that electricity market reform must be underpinned by three critical components in the shape of ensuring consumer choice; diversifying longterm instruments; and delivering manageable financial rules. Eurelectric is an EU-level trade association representing over 3,500 utilities across 31 countries and is currently involved in lobbying the European co-legislators to help shape reform proposals currently under negotiation. Reform of the electricity market is the EU’s long-term response to the energy crisis experienced in 2022 and amends electricity regulations and directives set out in 2018 and 2019. Implementation of the Clean Energy Package, finalised in 2019, was severely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and price spikes in the gas market as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This led to a recognition that not enough implementation of the existing market reform had taken place to protect consumers from volatility in the market.

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The EU’s marginal price structure means that the most expensive technology sets the price. Electricity prices tracked gas price spikes and short-term markets were exposed to extreme price fluctuations, particularly for imported fossil fuels. Altvater explains that the situation exposed the need for liquidity in forward markets to guard against these massive market fluctuations and hedge against spot market fluctuations. In response to the energy crisis, member states delivered a diversity of emergency measures ranging from clawback mechanisms to price caps. As well as fragmenting the internal market and ultimately increasing prices for the consumer, Altvater believes that these measures breached investors’ confidence and created real disincentives for investment. “Inframarginal price caps failed to deliver expected revenue in member states and hindered the market,” she explains, highlighting a 53 per cent decrease in the Iberian forward market between 2021 and 2022, as well as a 75 per cent drop in the signing of utility power purchase agreements (PPAs). Altvater believes that a central component of ensuring market design is fit for the energy transition is increasing consumer choice to shield against excessive volatility. “Rather than seeking to decouple gas and electricity, a structural reform should provide customers with a better choice of products,” she states. Giving consumers better access to long-term pricing and supply offers, enabling them to decide on their exposure to spot prices, can be done by removing existing barriers to longterm contracts, promoting the standardisation and transparency of PPAs, and reducing credit risk on those PPAs, Altvater says.

To guard against the privatisation of profits but socialisation of losses, Eurelectric advocates for more stringent financial robustness checks to ensure only reliable retailers remain on the market.

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“Unexpectedly higher bills, supplier failures, and supplier inability to offer competitive fixed contracts left consumers in a tight spot,” explains Altvater.

To this end, Altvater says that Eurelectric is opposed to the Commission’s proposal for obligatory hedging requirements to be in place. “The challenge with obligatory hedging requirements is you can lock in high prices if the hedges are put in at a certain point and suppliers are not able to unfold those hedges in a systematic way. The risk is a shortening of the forward markets because, essentially, what you have is a run on the forward contract markets at the same time to be compliant with these obligations. “There is a need to strike the right balance between consumer protection and supply regulation in order to preserve competition and we believe that stress tests are a better mechanism than obligations.”

Long-term investment signals A second key component of market reform raised by Altvater is that longterm investment signals are key for the build-out and mitigating price volatility. Describing the investment needs for renewable energy across the EU by 2030 as “colossal”, Altvater highlights the need for over 700GW of new capacity, the renewal of existing capacity, build out of storage, and demand response. “To keep adequate hedging in the forward market we need to enhance liquidity by removing barriers, one of which is the long-term transmission rates. Currently, TSOs only generally offer long-term transmission rights (LTTRs) for a one-year interval and we are asking for an extension to longer timeframes to enhance the liquidity and then consider voluntary market making,” she says. Altvater believes that Contracts for Difference (CfDs) can serve as a complement to market-based

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investments but warns that retroactive changes should be avoided, only applying to new build and deep retrofits of existing power plants where necessary.

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Additionally, she says: “We should consider implications on forward markets and public budgets. When we talk about measures to support consumers that come from the State budget, we talk about moving the cost from the energy bill to the tax bill and this is something we also have to take into consideration when it comes to CfDs. The devil is in the detail when it comes to the design and use of CfDs. They are just one tool in the toolbox and therefore should be voluntary, not mandatory. There is no ‘one-size-fitsall’ CfD and so adequate design and contractual innovation matter. “Given that a massive use of CfDs would create challenges for investment signals and forward market liquidity, our position is that CfD use should be strategic and sparing.”

Turning to capacity mechanism, Altvater wants to see these become a more integral and integrated part of the market design. Pointing to the long lead-in time for capacity mechanisms to be approved and then implemented by member states, she says: “We are looking for these to become a permanent part of the market design, so that energy companies know that they can count on this in the long term. Then, of course, we must ensure technological neutrality and include all kinds of energy sources, as well as flexibility.” In October 2023, the Council reached an agreement on the electricity market design (EMD), enabling the beginning of negotiations with the European Parliament. With European elections scheduled for June 2024, Altvater points out the need for urgency to have the reform finalised, signed, and published no later than April 2024, with implementation likely to take around one year on average for member states to transpose the changes.

Eurelectric’s three pillars for European electricity market reform

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Ensure customer choice

Diversify longterm instruments

Manageable financial rules

For more competitive prices and increased price stability.

CfDs, PPAs, capacity mechanisms, and forward hedging all have a role to play to incentivise investment.

Widening the options for non-cash collaterals will ensure the necessary level of liquidity in the forward markets.

Drive towards the electric future today with Hitachi Energy.

Government introduces energy security strategy been tasked with returning a detailed proposal to government for final approval in 2024.

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Oil Ireland has pre-existing commitments to keep strategic oil stocks of at least a 90day supply, and also be able to release these stocks quickly, effectively, and transparently in the event of major supply disruption. Under the new strategy, the Government has committed to strengthen the supply chain of secondary fuels for gas-fired power.

A floating natural gas storage facility and increased oil reserves are to be considered in the Government’s plan to increase energy security. Energy Security in Ireland to 2030, the Government’s first energy security strategy published in November 2023, outlines national plans to increase energy security, while also delivering on the 2050 commitment of net zero. Two major areas are highlighted in the report for action; increasing Ireland’s resilience in the event of a disruption to natural gas supplies and developing the anticipatory capacity of the energy sector in Ireland. Central to energy security plans is the progression of existing plans for renewable generation growth, demandside flexibility, new back-up gas-fired generation, interconnection, and storage. In parallel, the continued electrification of viable sectors will enhance the security of Ireland’s future energy supply. However, also included in the plan is recognition of a need for fossil fuel reserves while the energy system transitions to greater renewable use. In relation to natural gas, the Government says that while current supplies and infrastructure are adequate to meet demand projections, any future disruption could impact

heavily on energy security. While the longer-term strategy is for the development of indigenous, renewable gas supply and compatible storage, in the medium term, there is a need to introduce a strategic gas emergency reserve. Stressing that reserves would be used only if a disruption to gas supplies occurs, Energy Security in Ireland to 2030 says that it is anticipated that floating gas reserve (FSRU) will best meet the needs of the criteria set by government. Gas Networks Ireland has

Alongside a commitment to an assessment of whether further enhancements can be made to strengthen the secondary fuelling capability in Ireland, the strategy says that a study will be taken forward to help understand and resolve the long-term sourcing issues for improved oil security. Commenting on the launch of the plan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, says: “By reducing our import dependency through our energy efficiency measures and our investment in a diverse number of renewable energy sources, Ireland will reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels and dramatically reduce our exposure to energy shocks.” A follow-up to the Energy Security Package will be published in 2030, and every five years thereafter.

Six key pillars of analysis underpin the Energy Security in Ireland to 2030 report: •

• • • • •

The Review of the Energy Security of Ireland’s Electricity and Gas Networks, the studies by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA) to support this and the over 450 consultation responses to this analysis; the Independent Review on the Security of Electricity Supply (the McCarthy Report); the conclusion of the National Energy Security Framework (NESF); the Climate Action Plan 2023; ongoing policy analysis on oil security of supply; and the Government of Ireland ‘Summit on Energy Independence: Realising the Opportunities for Ireland’. 161

Researching Ireland’s cleaner energy future with green hydrogen energy report

compatible infrastructure and reliable energy backbone which will continue to play a central role in the country’s future clean energy and hydrogen economies. The team at Gas Networks Ireland has been working diligently for an extensive period of time on preparing the existing gas network to accept hydrogen and natural gas blends from the UK, as well as preparing for the injection of indigenously produced renewable hydrogen at appropriate locations around Ireland into the gas network. The cost of repurposing the existing gas network to transport hydrogen is estimated to be a fraction (10 per cent to 35 per cent) of the cost of building new dedicated hydrogen pipelines. Launching the HyEnd report at the annual Hydrogen Ireland Conference in Belfast, Gas Networks Ireland’s Customer and Business Development Director, David Kelly said: “Introducing blends of hydrogen gas into the existing gas network would cause minimal disruption to Irish industry and businesses connected to the gas network as the pipelines are already in the ground and the majority of their infrastructure and equipment is proven to already be hydrogen compatible, as demonstrated through this research.”

The EU is predicting that circa 14 per cent of energy consumption across Europe will be from hydrogen by 2050, while it is expected to between 20 and 35 per cent in the Netherlands, and up to 50 per cent of the total energy demand in the UK. With over 80 per cent of the State’s natural gas requirements being met by gas imported from the UK, how ready is Ireland for its hydrogen future?

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Preparing Ireland’s gas network for hydrogen In line with the Climate Action Plan (CAP), there is a need to decarbonise the national gas network with renewable gases such as biomethane and hydrogen. Gas Networks Ireland first introduced domestically produced biomethane onto Ireland’s gas network more than two years ago and it is seamlessly replacing natural gas, as well as being fully 162

compatible with existing appliances and technology. With one renewable gas – biomethane – successfully being piped through the Irish gas grid, Gas Networks Ireland is preparing for the introduction of the next renewable gas – hydrogen.

Ireland’s gas network will be ready for hydrogen The gas network is Ireland’s hydrogen-

Gas Networks Ireland is confident that the State will be in a position to onboard hydrogen as and when industry partners are ready to produce the renewable gas, as results from the utility’s studies indicate that Ireland’s gas network will be ready.

Domestic appliances are compatible with up to 20 per cent blends of hydrogen The operator of the 14,664km national gas network, Gas Networks Ireland, has been working with University College Dublin’s Energy Institute (UCDEI) on a research project at its Network Innovation Centre in Citywest, Dublin, to investigate the potential use of hydrogen in Ireland. Phase one of the research with UCDEI, which was completed in late 2022, focused primarily on domestic appliances, which were tested with a variety of hydrogen blends. The research found that domestic appliances could take up to 20 per cent of hydrogen blended with natural gas without the need for retrofitting, modifications, or additional costs.

Irish industry is ready to take up to 20 per cent blends of hydrogen

Biomethane Structurally identical to natural gas, biomethane is a carbon neutral renewable gas that can be made from farm and food waste through a process known as anaerobic digestion.

Green hydrogen Green hydrogen is a carbon free gas that can be made from renewable electricity through a process known as electrolysis and stored until needed, making it an attractive option to decarbonise the Irish and EU energy systems and a strong example of how greater integration between Ireland’s gas and electricity networks can support a low-carbon economy.

Government’s National Hydrogen Strategy

The results of this research, published in the Renewable Hydrogen and End-users Considerations for the Transition to a Renewable Gas Network (HyEnd) report, are significant as they give an indication of how ready Ireland is for blended hydrogen, which is likely to be on the gas network in the UK within several years. Along with findings from Gas Networks Ireland’s overall research and hydrogen programme – which aligns with the main takeaways in the Government’s National Hydrogen Strategy to get clarity on end users’ needs and enable infrastructure – it will form part of the roadmap on integrating renewable hydrogen and decarbonising Ireland’s gas network. Phase three of this research, HyGreenNet, which will focus on the gas distribution network and investigate pressure, safety, and material compatibility, is underway with results expected before the end of 2024. Aside from this research, Gas Networks Ireland is one of several industry stakeholders funding a €16 million strategic partnership with Irish third-level institutions that will examine how to holistically decarbonise the overall Irish energy sector. Led by UCDEI, NexSys (Next Generation Energy System) is also supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI). Finally, Gas Networks Ireland continues to invest in other strategic hydrogen research partnerships, including one with Ulster University on hydrogen blend safety and with AMBER (SFI Centre for Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research) on materials compatibility with hydrogen.

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The report published by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) during summer 2023 outlines the future role green hydrogen gas – harnessed from offshore wind – and the gas network will play in specific areas of Ireland’s energy system the hard to abate sectors such as transport, industrial heating, and power generation. In light of this strategy, Gas Networks Ireland continues to undertake a programme of research and testing to ensure that Ireland’s gas transmission network is capable of transporting hydrogen and is compatible with our European neighbours’ gas networks.

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Phase two of the research, which concluded in late 2023, involved over 300 of the largest users of networked gas in the country and found that 90 per cent of the end users’ equipment is compatible with blends of 20 per cent hydrogen, while the remaining 10 per cent of Irish industry would need further assessment to determine the modifications required.

W: www.gasnetworks.ie/renewables

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Low-carbon flexible power: The missing piece of Ireland’s net zero jigsaw

SSE Thermal is developing a new power station running on biofuels at its Tarbert site in County Kerry.

As Ireland navigates to net zero, low-carbon flexible thermal will be essential in keeping the lights on, writes Catherine Raw, Managing Director of SSE Thermal.

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We are now one month on from the end of COP28, where much of the debate and discussion was focused on the need to phase out unabated fossil fuels. I was privileged to be in SSE’s delegation to Dubai and see first-hand the effort being exerted in these crucial climate talks with clear, positive action being taken by countries around the globe. There is global consensus that renewables will do the heavy lifting when it comes to reaching net zero. That is certainly the case in Ireland, where ambitious climate targets have led to significant success in renewables rollout to date. But while renewables will rightly

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form the backbone of the electricity system in Ireland, we cannot ignore the critical role of flexible generation. Today, flexible power is crucial in keeping the lights on across Ireland when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine. With increasing intermittency on the system, the importance of flexibility will only grow and at SSE Thermal, we are on a mission to ensure that flexible power is low-carbon in its own right. In doing so, we can keep the lights on and the electricity grid stable by responding fast and flexibly to system

need, ramping up and down quickly to make sure that demand for electricity is met. That will help with security of supply concerns, something which is particularly acute in Ireland.

At SSE Thermal, we are proud to own and operate multiple flexible power stations including Great Island in County Wexford which is Ireland’s newest and most-efficient gas-fired power station. As a company, we are laser focused on bringing forward the next generation of flexible power stations. In Britain, that has led us to develop new assets which would incorporate carbon capture or hydrogen technology. Ireland, however, is at an earlier stage of its low-carbon journey and that has led us to pursue a different approach. Specifically, we are developing two power stations which would run on 100 per cent sustainable biofuels. One is being developed at Platin, County Meath for 170MW while the other 350MW plant would be located at our historic Tarbert site in County Kerry. By using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), these new assets will provide a lower carbon alternative to traditional fossil fuels and crucially, both plants would be capable of converting to hydrogen in the future, once appropriate policy mechanisms and infrastructure are in place. In April 2023, we secured 10-year capacity agreements for both Tarbert and Platin projects, highlighting the role this technology can play in meeting Ireland’s acute security of supply challenge and net zero ambition.

That is why the publication of a National Hydrogen Strategy was so encouraging and represented an important milestone in the sector’s development. Now, we

“If we are to meet our net zero ambition, we cannot wait until the 2040s to deploy low-carbon flexible power.” need to build on momentum and explore how policy can support the entire value chain from production to storage to offtake, including industry, transport and power generation. In particular, there is a need to actively progress enduring business models to support the emerging hydrogen economy. We believe Ireland should also consider the potential of carbon capture, something which the Government has begun to explore. We believe carbon capture has a role to play in Ireland, with carbon dioxide emissions from gas power generation being captured and safely stored instead of released into the atmosphere. As a result, we support the early completion of a feasibility study on carbon capture and storage and look forward to sharing our view on how it could be deployed in Ireland, building on our learnings from Britain where we are currently the only company with consent for a power CCS project.

Together, carbon capture and hydrogen can make a major contribution to the Ireland’s net zero targets. If we are to meet our net zero ambition, we cannot wait until the 2040s to deploy lowcarbon flexible power. We need to move quickly and at the very minimum any new generation plant must be capable of being decarbonised, avoiding carbon lock-in. It is time to seize the low-carbon moment and ensure policies are in place to enable build-out of the next generation of decarbonised flexible thermal generation.

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While these are important bridging projects, it is key that Ireland moves quickly towards a hydrogen future. That is because 100 per cent hydrogenfuelled plants would produce zero carbon emissions at the point of combustion, something which would help propel Ireland towards its net zero goals.

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Within the last few months, the Government has published its Energy Security Strategy, a welcome step to tackling some of the key challenges the country faces. Within that strategy is clear recognition of the need to decarbonise ‘non-renewable’ components of the power system coupled with a stated aim of building 2GW of new flexible generation capacity.

W: www.ssethermal.com

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Drive towards the electric future today with Hitachi Energy.

Reforming electricity markets:

A global perspective Global expert in energy market reform, Todd Bessemer, questions whether the dramatic increase of non-synchronous renewables onto energy systems across the globe requires a greater focus on capacity retention and reliability incentives to ensure an orderly transition to a reduced carbon system. Bessemer, who was a lead advisor to EirGrid and SONI when the Single Electricity Market was established on the island of Ireland from 2005 to 2007, has advised on energy markets in over 15 countries spanning four continents. He believes that the ‘soft-landing’ mechanisms utilised in traditional energy markets provide useful lessons management of the dramatic increase of renewables in an orderly manner, rather than the observed trend in some parts of the world of market reform through crisis resolution.

The evolving nature of ‘market reform’ Bessemer explains that the term “market reform” has evolved from the

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early days of deregulation. Then, reform centred on the introduction of competition, necessitating changes to industry structures, the introduction of market trading, and changes to related arrangements to support competition. Now, “market reform” is about the changes required to support government policy regarding environmental and resource mix outcomes. “This still involves changes to market arrangements, and the processes to support these, but now it also involves significant externalities in the form of subsidies and support mechanisms to bring renewables to market, and we have little in the way of structural reform going on,” he explains.

Drive towards the electric future today with Hitachi Energy.

Challenges in the operational timeframe

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This evolution is raising significant challenges. Previously, classical generation was considered to provide a market commodity in the form of electrical energy, which could be sold in both real-time and ahead timeframes. Various market-procured and non-market system/ancillary services existed, such as reserves, reactive power, and black-start capability, and a range of assumptions could be made, not least, that demand was mostly passive but predictable. Distribution-level activity could be homogenised and represented as load, and locational challenges were ‘simplified’ from the market, as an issue for the TSO to address. Some “services” were provided implicitly as a bundled part of energy provision, such as dispatchability, rate-of-change of frequency, voltage waveforms, and flexibility. Outlining a “new world” in relation to energy markets, Bessemer says that the evolving resource mix means that fewer resources are now able to provide those previously implicit services. “As we get more resources coming onto the system that are both unpredictable in their output and non-synchronous, we are finding fewer resources are left in the system that can provide these services. This was not a problem when there was low non-synchronous penetration, but becomes a substantial issue at higher penetration levels. “We now need to look at how we explicitly incent the provision of these services, and this is a challenge globally, not just in Ireland,” he says. “Market constructs must evolve to properly compensate those providing the key technical attributes required to operate the system.” The market reform expert says that demand will need to shoulder more of the balancing and system services burden. As a result, distributed energy resources (DER) become a key part of the mix. This also requires that “the ‘where’ and not just the ‘what’ must be better addressed by the market”.

The need for product review and maintenance Bessemer believes that all of these factors are driving a need for an active culture of product review and maintenance amongst spot markets, explaining that futures markets have long had the concept of ‘product maintenance’; an active review of and modifications to product specifications as the market evolves. Bessemer notes three key market design principles to guide this evolution. Quoting Larry Ruff, he says that “a market should be as simple as possible, but no simpler”. The market should keep as much activity in the primary energy market as possible; and markets should incent the attributes desired, not specific technologies. The reality of how this is playing out in current markets globally is that while a range of new system services are being defined in various markets, such as fast-frequency response and firming products, they are happening outside the energy market. “The number of providers for those products is often small which creates liquidity issues and potential market power problems,” says Bessemer. “On top of that, they are often services where you have a monopsony buyer in the form of a TSO versus a plurality of demand. Is it a true market when you have only one buyer?” Changes are being made to incent for more dynamic performance in markets. In Australia and the competitive markets of the US, five-minute settlement has been mandated to address ramping problems. More granular pricing is occurring worldwide, and flexibility markets are emerging in Europe, though there seem to be a range of definitions for the scope and products of these.

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Drive towards the electric future today with Hitachi Energy.

The energy markets expert explored one potentially interesting implication of more active demand-side participation – that it could create explicit cross-market price linkages between power systems, even if no interconnection exists. “Consider disparate regions that are electrically remote from each other. Now consider that these are connected by global data connections. We know that we have less controllable generation, so that is going to force demand to more often be the flexible part of the balancing equation and, increasingly, demand will become the marginal price setter.

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“In many of the markets I am involved in, we are seeing that, increasingly, data centre load is particularly displaceable across geographic regions. Data centres tell us that their energy costs are typically higher than their data costs. It is likely then that the price in one region will guide whether to displace processing load to another. “In time, this may create an explicit cross-market price linkage, where load displaces from the east coast of the US to Europe or Asia, or vice versa. If that is the marginal resource, then we are actually going to see linkages between prices, even though there is no electrical interconnection between these markets.”

Challenges in the investment timeframe Turning to the challenges facing market reform in the investment timeframe, Bessemer says that ‘new’ locations of renewables are driving a lot of non-market costs, particularly on the transmission side. Associated with this is an increase in transmission queues, with TSOs coming under increasing pressure to accelerate the connection process, and prioritise projects that may have joined the queue later but are likely to be ‘shovel ready’ sooner. Bessemer points to the creation of competitive renewable energy zones as a potential solution to the geographic challenge, which has enabled TSOs in some regions to batch up projects. A further challenge discussed by Bessemer is that renewables subsidies are often not well coordinated with system security needs. Most renewables still require subsidies – in the form of portfolio standards/RECs, emissions permits, tax credits – to be ‘investable’. These subsidies create significant economic externalities, which suppress energy and capacity prices. This has sent a lot of traditional generation tumbling out of the system earlier than planned or desired due to loss of revenue, inducing scarcity, and others to cut back on maintenance, impacting reliability. For example, recent data from the AEMO’s 2023 Electricity Statement of Opportunities showed that every state in Australia is now projected to breach the reliability standard in the next few years unless serious corrective action is taken.

Where is the transition in ‘The Transition’? However, corrective actions tend to be reactive rather than proactive and, as countries around the world move to delay planned retirements of some traditional generation in the name of security of supply, Bessemer poses the question: “Where is the transition in ‘The Transition’?” “When we first set up electricity markets, we put a lot of thought into making sure that we had a ‘soft landing’. We recognised that participants may not fully understand these things initially, and so we put in place mechanisms like vesting contracts and phased retail competition to ensure that no one lost their shirt on day one. “However, it appears that much of this thinking is lacking in the energy transition. As we move to ever higher levels of non-synchronous renewables, where are the incentives to retain capacity, and incent the reliability attributes needed, until a point of stability has been reached? Where is the soft landing?” he concludes.

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ENERGY IN TRANSPORT FORUM 2024 Thursday 8 February • Dunboyne Castle Hotel, County Meath Sponsored by

Energy Ireland is organising the Energy in Transport Forum which is taking place on Thursday 8 February 2024 in Dunboyne Castle, County Meath. Energy Ireland has held energy in transport events on an ad hoc basis over the years. The 2024 Forum will focus on energy aspects of transport – although we sometimes touch on this in both Energy Ireland and Transport Ireland conferences we want to cover the issues in more depth.

Speakers include:

Key issues examined include:

Caoimhín Ó Ciaruáin

Julia Poliscanova

Department of Transport

Transport and Environment

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Shane McDonagh

Philip Hannon

International Energy Agency

Liquid Gas Ireland

Jim Meade

Shane Malone

Iarnród Éireann

Byrne Ó Cléirigh

Mattias Goldmann

Neil Walker

Goldmann Green

Ibec

Fionn Rogan

Ken Rooney

MaREI, University College Cork

Dublin Port Company

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Renewable energy use in transport in Ireland Accelerating electricity vehicle take-up Developing the e-mobility supply chain in Europe Decarbonising the Irish rail network: electrification, batteries and hydrogen Biofuels in Ireland’s future energy mix Fossil-independent transport: lessons from Sweden The use of hydrogen in transport Case studies

Exhibition opportunities This is an excellent way for organisations to showcase their expertise and raise their profile with a key audience of senior decision makers. For further information on how your organisation can benefit, contact +353 (0)1 661 3755 or email jillian.wallace@energyireland.ie.

To register Online www.energyintransport.ie

By email registration@energyireland.ie

By phone +353 (0)1 661 3755

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‘EU has turned a blind eye to the plight of the Palestinian people’ In recent years, the EU has turned a blind eye to the plight of the Palestinian people. Moral courage is required to stand up and call for a ceasefire in Gaza, writes Sinn Féin MEP for Midlands–North-West, Chris MacManus. Since its foundation, the European Union – and previous iterations – has been, at its core, a peace project, brought about by a determination to ensure the powers of western Europe would not repeat the horrors of the two world wars. After the fall of the Berlin Wall this project expanded eastward, thus spreading the values of peace and reconciliation. Values we understand on the island of Ireland. As it grew, the EU has spent the better part of the last three decades positioning itself as a geopolitical player, albeit with limited success. That said, the economic strength of the bloc meant it would be heard, at the very least. However, built on that ethos of peace brokerage, the position of the EU institutions has been – and should always be – to push for dialogue and conflict resolution wherever conflicts brew within and beyond its own boundaries. Unfortunately, in the 170

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case of the recent conflict in Gaza, the EU has failed to hold such a stance. The EU ought to strive to maintain an impartial diplomatic balance, fostering relationships with both Israel and Palestine. The challenge lies in mediating without alienating either side, as tensions often escalate, making it challenging to find common ground. Thus far, the European Commission has failed spectacularly in this. Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission President, took a sledgehammer to the EU’s credibility when she met with Benjamin Netanyahu and effectively provided him with what can be interpreted as unconditional support for Israel’s attack on Gaza, amounting to what the UN considers “a blatant violation of international law and constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law”.

Credit: Sinn Féin

Chris MacManus MEP:

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“Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission President, took a sledgehammer to the EUs credibility when she met with Benjamin Netanyahu...” Chris MacManus MEP

The projection of an Israeli flag, at her behest, onto the Berlaymont building in Brussels further undermined any slim possibility of the EU being considered impartial arbiters of peace. How could the EU ever imagine bringing both sides of the conflict to the table for peace talks in the wake of such bias? Von der Leyen said she spoke for the peoples of Europe yet had no authority to do so. Such actions are a clear reminder why EU foreign policy can only be made with unanimity. It is up to the sovereign governments of the European Union to come to an agreement on the foreign policy of the bloc. It is not, nor should it ever be, the prerogative of a European Commission official on a solo run. We must all agree that there is no justification for the killing of civilians by anyone. All acts of violence must end immediately. International law must be respected and enforced. We should all be able to say that the violence we have witnessed since 7 October 2023 is unacceptable. Though if the EU is to regain any credibility and play a positive role in bringing about a ceasefire, it must also accept that the violent and unacceptable Hamas attacks on 7 October did not happen in a vacuum, as the UN Secretary General has rightly pointed out. For years Palestinian communities across the West Bank and Gaza have been under a state of siege by a racist, apartheid regime. That situation makes conditions impossible for a functioning healthy democracy and society in Palestine, and there is no willingness by Israel to change that. It is clear to me, that decisive international intervention is needed. The reality, however, is that

von der Leyen has severely damaged any chances of the EU playing any proactive and constructive role in any such intervention. The challenge for the EU now, and for the Commission in particular, is that it must accept, acknowledge, and articulate that if to enter a phase of conflict resolution, there needs to an immediate ceasefire. That ceasefire must then be followed by meaningful dialogue to bring about solutions underpinned by UN resolutions. I believe the EU where possible should be impartial brokers of peace. Bias is ill-advised and will not assist to de-escalate the current situation. Dialogue is key. We have a responsibility to pave the way for an immediate ceasefire and an urgent need to bring all sides to the table for emergency talks. Given our own history in Ireland, we are in a strong position to offer leadership and help seek resolution. With our history of neutrality and peace brokerage, Irish leaders are well placed to be a voice of reason and encourage the international community to pursue all avenues of peace and reconciliation. As I have previously asserted, rigorous, impartial international leadership is required. This has been lacking for years as the EU and specifically the European Commission has turned a blind eye to the plight of the Palestinian people. The shocking truth for all of us is, at the time of writing, neither von der Leyen nor the European Parliament have actually had the moral courage to stand up and call for a ceasefire. Surely that is the most basic of actions to begin a road towards peace.

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European priorities for the environment economy, nature protection, and zero pollution.

Circular economy Highlighting some of the most significant of the 50 legislative proposals, Child points to the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan, included in which is a new regulatory framework for batteries, an important step as member states strive to increase electric vehicle use. “The framework takes a life cycle approach so that batteries are longer lasting, made with recyclable materials, and designed to repurposed, remanufactured, or recycled,” explains Child.

Deputy Director General of the Directorate-General for the Environment (DG Environment) at the European Commission, Patrick Child, discusses policy priorities for the environment in Europe. Setting the context for a wide ranging and comprehensive legislative programme being pursued by the European Commission under the European Green Deal, the Deputy Director General outlines the understanding that the triple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution facing the world are interlinked and therefore must be tackled together. “This is what we are trying to do through European environment policy, joining up these challenges in a unified manner under the overall agenda of the European Green Deal,” he explains. “The Green Deal offers a path to a different economic model, changing the way we produce and consume. We are getting ready for a zero carbon, zero pollution, more circular, and naturepositive economy.”

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Underpinning the Green Deal, explains Child, is a “wide ranging and comprehensive” legislative programme. Currently, over 15 substantial proposals relating to biodiversity, the circular economy, and zero pollution are awaiting approval by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, with hopes that 50 new legal acts will be in place under the Green Deal by the end of 2024.

“This new legal text on batteries is, in a way, a pilot example of what we are trying to achieve in the circular economy more generally. For example, legislation we proposed last year on eco-design, obliging producers to make goods which last longer, are cheaper to repair, and use less energy and fewer resources.” The Deputy Director General says that negotiations are underway in the European Parliament and Council to establish the framework for the future circular economy model, which will then be implemented across different sectors through tailor-made, dedicated legal acts in the coming months and year.

Child believes that this legislation is “laying the ground for systemic changes needed to keep on the right side of our planetary boundaries”.

One of the first sectors being targeted, explains Child, is textiles. The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles was published in March 2022, aiming to create a new textiles ecosystem, which creates economic value, while cutting negative impacts of trends such as ‘fast fashion’.

In May 2022, the European Commission’s eighth Environment Action Programme, geared at guiding European environmental policy until 2030, entered into force. The strategy covers three main policy areas in the form of the circular

Similarly, building on a European Strategy for Plastics in 2018, which aims to improve the economics and quality of plastic recycling, cut waste, and drive investment in innovation throughout the value chain, the DG Environment is

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working on new legislation which proposes to cut packaging and packaging waste to ensure all EU packaging is reusable by 2030.

Biodiversity Turning to work on nature and biodiversity, Child points to the recently adopted regulation on deforestation which will enter fully in to force in 2024. “Europe is facing up to its responsibility as a major market and our plan is to decrease our contribution to the products that are linked to deforestation around the world, and instead favour products which are deforestation-free,” he says. “Importantly, this is a legal framework which applies equally to products which are made in the European Union, and those imported from third countries. Therefore, we are working very actively with major private producers of forest products, globally, to ensure a smooth transition.” Child believes that the decisive action on deforestation is an exemplar of the European Union’s “global leadership on biodiversity”, which he says it is proud to exercise. Describing such leadership as vitally important to global climate ambitions, he also highlights the establishment of a “groundbreaking agreement” of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted during COP15 following a four-year consultation and negotiation process. The far-reaching agreement, to restore 30 per cent of the world’s degraded ecosystems by 2030, while also substantially increasing financial support for developing countries (€200 billion by 2030), requires “challenging but necessary” work in the years ahead.

Zero pollution Child explains that the third major pillar of the EU’s environment strategy, is the one addressing citizen concerns for the want to breath clean air, drink clean water, and consume toxin free products. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), over 300,000 Europeans die prematurely each year as a result of air pollution, and the deputy Director General believes it to be among the EU’s largest environmental challenges,

particularly because of recognition that the impacts tend to be greatest on the most vulnerable, and the resulting associated high costs to the economy for health care systems. The European Commission has recently proposed to revise the Ambient Air Quality Directives to substantially improve EU air quality standards in line with the WHO objectives. Child adds: “We are also working very actively to finalise negotiations on proposals to modernise our Industrial Emissions Directive, to reduce pollution further and to steer the green transition of large industries and agri-industrial installations, by controlling their emissions to the air, water, and soil. “Under our zero pollution framework, we are also modernising the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, an increasing concern in many member states, particularly as they deal with changing weather patterns and increased flood risks.” Linked to progress on zero pollution, the European Commission continues to deliver actions on the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, published in October 2020. In particular, Child says that proposals are currently being developed for a targeted revision of the REACH regulation, the main regulatory framework for the management of chemicals in the European Union. Child says that the aim is to achieve the ambition of safe and sustainable chemicals, with a high level of protection if the environment, while preserving the internal market. Originally expected to be adopted before the end of 2023, the REACH revision has now been shifted to the next Commission mandate and is now not expected to gain approval until late 2024 or early 2025.

Ireland Pertinent to the island of Ireland, Child points to progress particularly in the Soil and Nature Restoration directives. According to the Deputy Director General, up to 70 per cent of European soils are in a poor state, costing more than €50 billion annually.

This will be beneficial to Irish farmers because more sustainable soil management will lead to improved fertility. As well as increasing yields, this has the potential to reduce inputs like water and fertiliser, which are increasingly more costly over the longer term,” he says. “Turning to the Nature Restoration Law, which has a very direct impact on our rural and farming communities, it is an important proposal under our Biodiversity Strategy and is a major need. Today, 81 per cent of protected habitats, 39 per cent of protected birds, and 63 per cent of other protected species are in a poor or bad state. There is an urgent need to make good the damage of the past, going beyond the protection of habitats and landscapes, to nature restoration, and investing to restore nature. “This means investing in food security, in the availability of fresh water, clean air, flood protection and the other ecosystem services. We hope that with the EU Council and Parliament having now reached their positions on these proposals, we will make swift progress and get agreement by the end of 2023.”

Priorities Speaking in the days following European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union address, Child emphasises the point made by the President that 90 per cent of the Commission’s proposals outlined in its original declaration, including the European Green Deal, have already been delivered. With European elections set to be held in June 2024, Child says that the focus is on finishing the job, requiring the continued support of member states to not only get legislation adopted, but more importantly, ensure effective implementation. “We have achieved huge progress with the European Green Deal in the past few years, notwithstanding the challenges of the global pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We look forward now to the full and effective implementation of this agenda,” he concludes.

“Our idea is for new rules on soil to give the same legal protections which air and water have been enjoying for decades.

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Ireland chastened by European Commission Credit: Adam Jones

The European Commission has reiterated that the Government must quicken its pace with regard to the publication of its latest river basin management plan as a 2027 deadline for all inland and coastal waters to achieve at least good status looms large. The latest warning from the European Commission was communicated to Ireland and seven other laggard EU member states in September 2023, stating that the failure of these member states to publish finalised river basin management plans was in violation of both the EU Water Framework Directive and the EU Floods Directive. The Commission’s latest rebuke of Ireland in this arena stems from the Government’s failure to finalise its River Basin Management Plan, which has been available in draft form since 2021. With the plan originally set to cover the period from 2022 to 2027, its publication and implementation will be key to either achieving or failing the 2027 deadline set out in the Water Framework Directive. The Directive requires that all inland and coastal waters reach at least good status by 2027. Significant improvement in the ecological status of rivers and loughs will be required within the State if the target of all inland and coastal waters being in good standing by 2027 is to be met. Central Statistics Office data shows that just 51 per cent of monitored river water bodies were classified as reaching “good or high” status between 2016 and 2021, with the remaining 49 per cent classified as moderate, poor, or bad. The data, published in August 2023, also found that conditions in rivers were deteriorating, with 9 per cent fewer river water bodies reaching good or high 174

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status when compared to 2010-2016. Loughs, in contrast, saw a 4 per cent increase in the number in good or high status. The transposition into national law of the Directive has been a 20-year process of delay and criticism between the State and the European Union. Despite the State initially transposing the legislation in line with the original 2003 deadline, the European Commission found the legislation to be insufficient and sent a letter of formal notice to the Government in 2007, with a reasoned opinion following in 2011. Following amendments to the legislation, the Commission sent an additional letter of formal notice to Ireland in 2019, followed by another reasoned opinion in 2020. Despite “some progress” with 2022’s Water Services (Amendment) Act and the Framework for the Future Delivery of Water Services, the Commission stated in January 2023, while referring Ireland to the European Court of Justice, that the State has “not yet fully addressed the grievances” and that efforts to do so have been “to date been unsatisfactory and insufficient”. The areas named by the Commission as needing further attention are: water abstraction; impoundment; and activities causing hydromorphological changes such as dams, weirs, and other interferences in natural water flow.

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2024 European Commission Work Programme That is why the Commission is to reduce reporting requirements by 25 per cent, although it insists that this measure will not undermine wider policy objectives. “This will rationalise and streamline such requirements, which have a disproportionate impact on businesses, including SMEs and micro-companies, and administrations, and ensure they fulfil their intended purpose,” the work programme states. European Commission decision-makers have warned that the projected decline of green politics in the upcoming elections, with green parties votes in many member states expected to decline, will mean that there is a need for green policies such as the European Green Deal to be entrenched through legislation.

Ahead of elections to the European Parliament in June 2024, which will likely culminate in a new composition of European politics, the European Commission has released its work programme for 2024. With a change at commission level likely due to the elections, the European Commission states that it will introduce a long-term EU budget with the objective of addressing the EU’s “most imminent needs”. In what may be her final State of the Union speech, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined that expansion of the EU, and continuing to aid Ukraine, is a priority for the EU. Therefore, the 2024 work programme states that there is to be a targeted increase in EU spending to deepen EU

support for Ukraine, finance action on migration, bolster the EU’s capacity to respond to heightened economic and geopolitical instabilities, humanitarian crises and natural disasters, and boost investments in strategic technologies with the aim of fostering long-term competitiveness. Another objective for the Commission, which may face challenges if there is to be a different political composition postelection, is reducing administrative burdens to maintain the competitiveness of European businesses.

The Commission Work Programme states that the EU continue efforts to ensure that the green transition is done in a “just, smart and inclusive way, leaving nobody and nowhere behind, while also engaging actively with our third country partners including to strengthen green growth”. To this end, the Commission will initiate a series of green dialogues in order to fully and directly engage with citizens, as well as clean transition dialogues with industry and social partners. In parallel, the Commission states that it will continue preparatory work for the implementation of the future Social Climate Fund which, together with the Just Transition Fund, aims to provide support to support vulnerable citizens, businesses, and regions in the transition. The Commission will also launch a strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture in the EU, further engaging with farmers, stakeholders in the food chain and citizens, with the objective of achieving a transition towards sustainable food systems and getting buy-in from the agricultural sector to the climate transition.

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Séasúr na hardfheiseanna

November 2023 saw two of Ireland’s big three parties, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, hold their ard fheis. In addition, the Green Party and the DUP held their annual gatherings in October, and Fine Gael held a special agricultural conference. Ciarán Galway and Joshua Murray have been attending ardfheiseanna around the country.

Fianna Fáil: Delivering for Ireland. Delivering for you. About to enter his 13th year as the leader of Fianna Fáil, Tánaiste Micheál Martin TD keynoted a relatively restrained, nonvoting ardfheis at which senior party figures took turns in championing the party’s record in government, and in which Martin emphasised his Foreign Affairs remit, projecting an image of international statesman.

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Martin, whose three general elections as leader of Fianna Fáil have been the three worst in the party’s history by vote share, had confirmed before the ardfheis that he will be leading the party into the next election.

Micheál Martin TD is set to be only the third Fianna Fáil leader, after de Valera and Haughey, to lead the party into four general elections.

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Although Delivering for Ireland, Delivering for You was the theme, Martin’s focus in this ard fheis traversed beyond Irish affairs, with foreign dignitaries from many EU member states and beyond in attendance.

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Privately, party members spoke of the lack of a clear successor for Martin, with some members saying they did not expect the current incumbent to lead the party far beyond the next election. Prior to the leader’s address, a video montage celebrating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement was played. With the faces of Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern – once again a fully-fledged member of Fianna Fáil – beaming down from screens on the 1,500 assembled delegates, it felt far removed from the days where “Legion of the Rearguard” was belted out to the jubilation of the party faithful. Whereas in 2022, Minister for Education Norma Foley TD “stole the show” with a rousing warmup speech for thenTaoiseach Micheál Martin TD, in 2023 there was a much more subdued introduction from Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien TD. Paying tribute to party leader Micheál Martin TD’s “grit and determination when it was most needed”, he then launched a scathing attack Sinn Féin’s housing policies – “the Loch Ness monster of Irish politics”, followed by a personal attack on his Dáil adversary, Eoin Ó Broin TD – “the Harry Potter of Irish politics”. “Their day will come, but not in the way they expect because we are a republic and we do not do entitlement,” O’Brien said of Fianna Fáil’s republican rival. He also lauded ministerial colleague Michael McGrath TD’s delivery of Budget 2024 in the month previous, the first budget, he reminded delegates, to be delivered by a Fianna Fáil Finance Minister since “the late great patriot”, Brian Lenihan Jr. Upon taking the stage of the packed Dublin Royal Convention Centre, Martin defended Fianna Fáil’s vision of republicanism and its record in government over the last three-and-a-half years. “The Ireland of today stands proudly as one of the oldest democracies in the

world; a republic with record levels of employment and the highest population for a century-and-a-half,” Martin said. As the Government continues to grapple with the housing crisis, Martin took a considered approach to acknowledging the Government’s ongoing challenges. “There is only one sustainable solution; build more houses to own and rent, and to deliver this we need action on every front.” While striking a conciliatory tone with his coalition partners, Fine Gael and the Green Party, the Tánaiste took the opportunity to promote measures which he hopes the public will attribute to Fianna Fáil’s return to government, stating that over 650 schools have completed a “major investment project” since his party’s return to government. The Fianna Fáil leader was clearly hoping to find a way to disentangle his party from its ideological proximity to Fine Gael before local election – and possibly the general election – polls open later in 2024. With regard to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Martin was emphatic in his condemnation of Hamas. “The brutal savagery of Hamas has no justification whatsoever,” he said. Martin also said that the State of Israel has “a fundamental obligation to respond within the boundaries of international humanitarian law”. The attendance of the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland, Dana Erlich, was the topic of much debate in the aftermath of the ard fheis. Lost on much of the Dublin media was that Martin’s call for Israel to comply with international law was the message received with the greatest enthusiasm from Fianna Fáil delegates. It is evident that with the Israeli Ambassador in attendance, Martin – who through his words had almost the entire crowd on its feet at this point – was sending a message to the Israeli representative that the Irish people’s support for Palestine is distinct reality at the heart of mainstream politics.

Continuing on the theme of diplomacy, Martin promoted the Shared Island Initiative, a series of infrastructure investments from the Irish Government in the North, which he said will “be seen as marking a decisive and lasting move forward for peace and reconciliation on our island”. The Tánaiste affirmed his party’s support for Ukrainian membership of the European Union and said that EU membership has been “absolutely central” to Ireland’s development. Martin also warned of “corrosive euroscepticism and antidemocratic regimes which seek to undermine the Union”. However, while playing to his strengths in foreign affairs, the Fianna Fáil leader’s focus on this remit may not bear electoral fruit as this does not tend to be an area which dominates the voting intentions of the Irish electorate. If Fianna Fáil is to defy the odds and lead a government after the next election, it needs a new message to connect to the electorate and gain back support it has lost to Sinn Féin and Fine Gael since its heady hights of the 20th and early 21st century. That being said, polling suggests that regardless of its performance in the next general election, the party is set to be a lynchpin of any possible coalition; be that a configuration broadly similar to the current coalition or one led by Sinn Féin. In the latter scenario, Martin’s continued leadership and visceral disdain for the lead opposition party could act as a stumbling block. Ultimately, the crescendo to his almost four decades of service to Fianna Fáil may be to keep Sinn Féin out of Government Buildings one last time. Who succeeds Martin is a hazy proposition. This ambiguity is a testament to his now assured grip on his party that at several previous points appeared to be on the precipice of a coup d’état. There is no doubt, however, that the ambitions of those around him, though camouflaged for now, have not been abandoned.

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Credit: Sinn Féin

Sinn Féin: Am don athrú/Time for change

Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald TD (right) and vice president Michelle O’Neill MLA (left), pictured with the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid.

Ireland’s oldest all-island party has never occupied the top office of government in the State, but what was clear from attending the Sinn Féin ardfheis in Athlone is that many of Sinn Féin’s members believe that it is the party’s ‘destiny’ to lead government in the coming year. Am don athrú/time for change was branded throughout the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone, with the party’s message that Sinn Féin is a chance for a government which does not include Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil. With the party’s course to electoral victory leaning heavily on voters believing in its vision for solving the housing crisis, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald TD opened her keynote address with a poetic vision of the importance of an allegorical house, referring to “love of home” as being “what defines us”. The Sinn Féin president continued: “From those who fled famine and persecution, to the generations who left in search of work, to our young people today who seek opportunity across the globe, our special affinity with home binds us together.” While strongly critical of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, McDonald stopped short of explicitly ruling out a future coalition with either party, stating that Sinn Féin is “ready to lead” a new government in the south, and that her preference was “a new 178

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government without Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil for the first time in 100 years”. On Irish reunification, the Sinn Féin president repeated the by now clichéd line emphasising the need to “plan”, further outlining her objective of establishing a citizens’ assembly on Irish unity. Whilst McDonald did not go into more detail on this, she was keen to reassure Sinn Féin delegates that “momentum is building” and urged: “The day is coming when everyone on this island will have their say in referendums.” In relation to a unity referendum, and in an apparent rebuff of comments by Northern Ireland Junior Minister Steve Baker MP, the Sinn Féin president also said that each vote must “count equally” with “no vetoes” and “no shifting of the goal posts”. Sinn Féin entered this ardfheis with what might have been interpreted as a disconnect between party leadership and party membership on the latest developments in the Middle East. Whilst there is no suggestion that McDonald has ever drifted in her support for Palestine, it can be understood that Sinn Féin is a party which has been riding high in opinion polls and is determined to avoid any political own goals. While initially refusing to do so, following several weeks of pressure from the left

and from her party grassroots, the Sinn Féin president used her keynote speech to unequivocally call for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, much to the approval of delegates. The republican party is sometimes maligned by members of the media and political opponents as being “undemocratic”, but the stream of young and grassroots members afforded their opportunity to publicly deliver their message to the leadership showed a party which is, at least, highly participatory. The party members will have been further reassured that McDonald will not stray far from its republican and internationalist principles by the presence of Sinn Féin’s traditional allies from the Palestinian Authority, Catalonia, the Basque Country, and the African National Congress. Currently, the fanfare which surrounds McDonald is unparalleled in any other party, with enthusiastic Sinn Féin members of all ages swarming the leader for photographs in a manner which was not analogous at other party gatherings. Sinn Féin members believe that they have their dream ticket to government on both sides of the border of this island, and ultimately the path to Irish unification.

DUP party conference 2023 13 October 2023 • Crowne Plaza Hotel, Belfast, County Antrim

Credit: Liam McBurney/PA Images

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“We have a clear mandate to resolve the issues that confront us because we have campaigned for arrangements which restore our place in the United Kingdom.

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“This party has a proven track-record of saying yes, and leading from the front, when it is right to do so. Equally, we will not be afraid to say no if we conclude that what is on offer does not adequately deal with our fundamental concerns and is not in the best long-term interests of our place in the union.

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“Those who believe that a united Ireland is around the corner, that it is inevitable, and that Northern Ireland within the union will cease to exist are entirely wrong. If we make the right choices now, we can secure the union for generations to come, but that means being prepared to face up to new realities and adapting to new circumstances.”

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson MP

Green Party annual convention 2023 •

“In a world at war, voting Green is a vote for a more peaceful world. In a world that is burning, voting Green protects our people. It is the antidote to fear. It brings a future we can all believe in.

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“The bombing of civilians is never justified and is never going to work. The oppression of the people in Gaza and the West Bank has to stop now. The humanitarian imperative requires an immediate cease fire.

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“Algorithms are designed to hold our attention by promoting what we like, confirming our existing prejudices, and promoting greater polarisation. It is a threat to our democracy as we are bombarded with disinformation and conspiracy theories.”

Credit: Green Party

22 October 2023 • Clayton Hotel and Cork City Hall, Cork

Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan TD

Fine Gael special agricultural conference •

“As we move towards the end of a third term in government, we are up for fighting for a fourth. This party needs to use days like today to prepare for what is coming. Next year is a watershed moment in Irish politics.

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“The only way our arguments win is if all of us are saying the same things and backing each other up and contradicting the conspiracy theorists that are out there that want to try and undermine the rational, positive, responsible politics that Fine Gael leads every single day of the week.

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“This country is not perfect, it never will be. There will always be things to achieve, there will always be new challenges that will come out of left field like Covid did, like Brexit did, like the war in Ukraine.”

Credit: Fine Gael

18 November 2023 • Glenroyal Hotel in Maynooth, County Kildare

Fine Gael deputy leader, Simon Coveney TD

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Vive la République An Phoblacht abú In November 2023, as part of the semiquincentennial ‘Year of the French’ programme, the Embassy of France in Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs – with support from the Royal Irish Academy – organised the ‘1798-2023: 225 years of aspiration to the Republic’ conference.

Hosted in Iveagh House, Dublin, the conference coincided with the visit to Ireland by French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, along with the French Minister for Higher Education and Research, the Minister for Energy Transition, the Minister Delegate for Digital Affairs, and the Secretary of State to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, responsible for Europe. As well as reflecting on the anniversary of the landing of a French expeditionary force in County Mayo in support of the

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United Irish rebellion in August 1798, the conference was also billed as an opportunity to emphasise the Franco-Irish relations in the context of to the 175th anniversary of the national flag of Ireland. A panel discussion on the ‘founding principles of the Republic in France and Ireland’ was moderated by Dearbhail McDonald, with contributions from Ross Carroll, assistant professor in political science, DCU; Bertrand Mathieu, Professor, University of Paris-I-PanthéonSorbonne; Eoin Daly, lecturer above the

Bar, University of Galway; and Maxime Millon, doctoral student, University of Bordeaux and Sutherland. This was followed by speeches delivered by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD and the French Prime Minister. Replete with references to the Rugby World Cup 2023, each premier alluded to the history of Franco-Irish relations, the new post-Brexit context, and geopolitical challenges which abound, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli attack on and ground invasion of Gaza.

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD “The republican ideal is deeply rooted in Ireland and was fundamental to subsequent Irish aspirations for independence. “And it was in Paris that we gained for the first time the flag we fly today: a tricolour of green, white, and orange, presented to Thomas Francis Meagher by a group of revolutionary Frenchwomen – flown first in Waterford city. This year also marks the 175th anniversary of the gifting of that tricolour – and that it was again in France that we found the symbol for a republic that would reject sectarianism. We have here today two replica tricolours specially made in French silk for this occasion... “Our shared republican ideal, including the protections of the rights of citizens, and the promotion of the values of ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’, continues to provide a political and ethical compass for our societies in uncertain times.”

Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne “The Republic is at the heart of our identity, as French and Irish people. It is what unites us and brings us together. It is the cement of our democracy and our national cohesion. I see young people in our audience and online, and it is a powerful symbol. Our young people are attached to the Republic, and it is our duty to protect and pass on its values... “This history binds us together. We are bound by centuries of fighting for freedom and democracy. We know how fragile the rule of law and fundamental freedoms can be. Nothing can be taken for granted, at a time when fundamental rights are being eroded in several countries. A double threat is emerging today. It is external, with the return of war to Europe’s borders, but also the spread of fake news and attempts at manipulation. It is also internal, within Europe itself: populist rhetoric and demagoguery are increasing mistrust of institutions, and we must respond to this. France, Ireland, republics: we have a special responsibility, because throughout the world, freedom-loving men and women are taking up the torch of the Enlightenment, of French and Irish democrats... “As you will have understood, the Republic is not just a political system, it is a daily struggle. It goes beyond institutions. It is the cement of national cohesion, and of Franco-Irish friendship. It has united our two peoples in their quest for freedom for centuries, and even more so over the past 225 years. It is this common bond that we celebrate today, with the 225th anniversary of the Year of the French in Ireland, a country which, as General de Gaulle wrote, occupies a special place in the hearts of the French. Long live Franco-Irish friendship! Long live our two republics, French and Irish!”

Additional elements of the conference included: •

a discussion between Senator Mark Daly and Deputy Jean-Louis Bourlanges moderated by Ruadhán Mac Cormaic, Editor in chief, The Irish Times on convergences and divergences in the concepts of the ‘republic’ and ‘republican’ between France and Ireland;

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a second panel discussion on French and Irish institutions and how they meet the expectations of our fellow citizens, also moderated by Ruadhán Mac Cormaic;

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a debate between Martin Mansergh, former TD, Senator and Minister of State Deputy Jean-Louis Bourlanges, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly; Bertrand Mathieup; and Laurent Pech, professor of law and Head of the Sutherland School of Law, UCD; and

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closing remarks from Dáire Keogh, President, DCU.

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2024: A year of elections 2024 is set to be a year of elections, with profound change to the political landscape of Ireland and some of its most important diplomatic allies a real possibility. eolas Magazine looks ahead to some of the polls to take place in 2024. It is already confirmed that there will be elections held for local government and the European Parliament in the State in May and June 2024 respectively. It is also likely there will be a general election held in the autumn of 2024 or early spring 2025, with the Government’s term legally required to conclude by February 2025. Fine Gael (through its preceding organisation, Cumann na nGaedheal) and Fianna Fáil have shared terms leading government since the State was founded more than 100 years ago, whilst Sinn Féin, the second oldest party on the island (after the Ulster Unionist Party) seemingly stands on the edge of ending its century in the wilderness of politics in the State. If opinion polls are to be believed, the shift in Irish politics will be perhaps the most seismic since the historic 1918 election which culminated in the liberation of what 182

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became the State and the partition of the country. However, if the tide is turned and Fine Gael manages to find itself remaining in office, it will be the fourth consecutive term for the party in government, a feat which in spite of its prominence in Irish politics, was once unimaginable. In the North, there is less certainty. The Executive Formation Act sets a legal deadline of January 2024 for the calling of an Assembly election by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris HeatonHarris MP. However, previous ‘deadlines’ have been shifted to deal with the current stalemate at Stormont, and the formation of an Executive in the North will be a political development which will likely not end up requiring a new election. It is nigh on certain that there will be a Westminster general election in which Sinn Féin and the DUP will once again

battle it out to be the largest party in the North. The ‘remain swing’ which characterised the relative success of the Alliance Party and the SDLP in 2019 will face a significant challenge to avoid a complete return to the Sinn Féin-DUP dominant duopoly.

Around the world Across the water in Britain, if polls are to believed, the Tories are likely to be removed from office for the first time since 2010, and a Labour government under Keir Starmer will be setting the agenda for relations between these islands. US President Joe Biden was given a hero’s welcome when he ‘returned home’ to Ireland in April 2023, but he is currently struggling in his re-election bid against Republican Donald Trump, who is aiming to become the second US President to

Credit: Michael Stokes

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If he wins, Joe Biden will break his own record as the oldest person elected US President; he will be aged 81 on polling day in the United States.

win a non-consecutive term, and the first since Grover Cleveland in 1892. Trump, who is currently on trial on counts of civil fraud, theft of classified documents, and conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, is as much as 10 per cent above Biden in the polling. Although in the United States polling tends to narrow closer to election day, Biden will face an uphill challenge, especially as independent Robert Kennedy Jr is polling the highest for any third-party candidate since Ross Perot in 1992. In addition to the elections to the European Parliament, 2024 will also see elections being held throughout Europe, with the people of Croatia, Iceland, Finland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Georgia, Moldova, and Romania to elect their presidents, and new parliaments to be elected in Portugal, Belgium, Austria, Croatia, Georgia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, and Romania. With rightwing populism on the rise again through many EU member states, people in Ireland will observe these results with keen interest. In Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to face re-election as president in April 2024, but as Ukraine continues to live under martial law amid Russia’s advancing invasion, it is extremely unlikely this poll will take place when scheduled. In the East, as China looks on with interest on Russia’s progression in its invasion of Ukraine, it will be keenly following elections taking place in Taiwan, where the Democratic Progressive Party, which is opposed to the One China policy and supports the declaration of independence of a Taiwanese state, is likely to win a fourth consecutive term leading the presidency.

‘Elections’ In Russia, Vladimir Putin is up for ‘re-election’ on St Patrick’s Day 2024, having ‘won’ 77.5 per cent of the vote in the previous election in 2018. Since then, he

has used his United Russia party’s manufactured supermajority in the State Duma to change the constitution of Russia which had previously imposed a limit of two consecutive terms on the Russian presidency. In Belarus, there will be what is likely to be a similarly farcical election in April 2024 for the Belarussian House of Representatives, which is mostly made up of representatives of the pro-Alexander Lukashenko Belaya Rus party, along with the systemic opposition of the Communist Party of Belarus. These efforts are mirrored in Azerbaijan, a burgeoning potential oil power which spans both Europe and Asia, whose dictator Ilham Aliyev will be seeking ‘re-election’ following his military’s successful expulsion of ethnic Armenians in the former breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023.

A changing landscape Although polls tell a certain story of the likely changing political landscape to come, one can never be certain of polling translating to a result, or indeed the change to polling that can come in a general election campaign. If the polls translate into results, as things stand, there will be a party in Ireland leading government which has never won power in the history of the State, and there will be a government in Britain which does not include the British Conservative Party for the first time in almost 15 years. Significant political change may very well be coming to Ireland, Britain, and possibly the United States, meaning that 2024 could be, politically, a very significant year.

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Political Platform How did your political career begin? I was always interested in working to improve society and at the age of 23 I got a position as the manager of a newly formed Gaeltacht co-operative in Dúiche Sheoigheach of Conamara. At the beginning there was only a committee, me as manager, and a share capital of IR£3,500. As this was a sheep farming area, the first task was to build a unit to fatten 2,000 sheep in. We also started trading in farm supplies, although due to the oil crisis the sheep fattening did not work out, and the co-op branched into activities such as timber milling, an Irish college, machinery hire, and farming.

Éamon Ó Cuív TD Éamon Ó Cuív TD, an outspoken critic of the coalition government’s composition, the former deputy leader of Fianna Fáil, and grandson of the party’s founder, Éamon de Valera, tells eolas Magazine about his stance on the current government’s performance and his political journey. 184

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When I was a few years there I was invited to a meeting of the local Fianna Fáil Cumann. I then became the Cumann Chair and in time the Comhairle Ceantair Secretary. As a manager of a community co-op in a rural area I was constantly hampered in my work by the lack of infrastructure such as telecommunications, roads, three-phase power supply, and also with the cost of trying to do business in a remote location. This drew me into politics more and more at the local level. I stood at a number of selection conventions and eventually got a chance to run in the 1985 local elections in which I failed to get elected. I then, after a great effort, against the head by diligently canvassing 500 delegates, got a nomination to run in the general election of 1987. I was eventually eliminated with 4,800 votes and failed to get a seat. I ran again in 1989 and again failed to get elected losing by less than 150 votes. I ran for the Seanad in 1989 and managed to get elected. In 1991, I got elected to Galway County Council and in 1992, at the third attempt, I got elected to the Dáil and have successfully gotten re-elected at the last six general elections.

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“I have not changed my mind in relation to my stance at the formation of this government and feel that despite their best efforts, they are being stymied from being as radical as I would like.” Éamon Ó Cuív TD on Fianna Fáil ministers What are your proudest achievements in the Oireachtas to date?

What is unique about representing the Galway West constituency?

I had the great privilege of having been a minister for over 13 years and was active in many spheres during that time. In the 1990s, I started work with republican prisoners in England and also in the North of Ireland pre-Good Friday Agreement. I hope my work played a small part in the lead up to that agreement. I have also being quietly doing this work again since 2011 and will continue to do so as long as I need to. As a minister with the responsibility for the Irish language I piloted through the first Official Languages Act, and was minister when Irish became an official language of the EU. I also set up the office of Language Commissioner, as well as many other schemes, and was Minister when Foras na Gaeilge was founded.

Galway West is a very interesting constituency that covers a large geographic area including four populated offshore islands. It also has the largest Gaeltacht in the country. It is very diverse, including within its borders a fertile agricultural area to the east of the city, Galway City, Conamara and, for the last two Dáil terms, a part of south County Mayo.

In rural and community development, I set up the Rural Social Scheme, the Clár programme, the Community Services Programme, and Comhairle na Tuaithe. I also instituted the largest programme of development of island services and infrastructure ever. At present I am working on a Private Member’s Bill that would allow for the opening of historic safe deposits in banks and their display by the National Institutions as appropriate. The Bill has gone through second stage and pre-legislative scrutiny and I am hopeful it will become law in this term of the Oireachtas.

It is unique in that in my time in the Dáil there were always at least three TDs that were fluent in the Irish language, which is the dominant language in the Gaeltacht areas. Living 60km from the city with only 2,000 electors living within 30km of my home, stamina and a willingness to do a lot of travel within the constituency have been a constant of my career in politics. However, the most rewarding thing about representing Galway West has been the fantastic friends I have made over many years without whose support my work would not be possible.

How can Fianna Fáil maximise its impact during the lifetime of the current government? As is publicly known, I campaigned within Fianna Fáil against the formation of the present government. I did of course accept the verdict of the members of the party in favour of joining Fine Gael and

the Green Party in government. After three-and-a-half years of this government, I would like to compliment the Fianna Fáil ministers on the work they have done but I have not changed my mind in relation to my stance at the formation of this government and feel that despite their best efforts, they are being stymied from being as radical as I would like in pursuit of policies to deal with the urgent issues facing our society. In the meantime, all we can do is to continue to try pursue Fianna Fáil policies within the confines of this coalition until the end of its term.

What are your interests outside of the political sphere? My main non-political interests are my family, sport (particularly Gaelic sports), history, walking, and the Irish language and culture. No matter what my schedule was over the years, I always tried to make it my business to attend any matches our children were involved in. As president of Cumann Naomh Pádraig, An Fháirche, one of the great highlights was when the local football team won the Junior Club All-Ireland in Croke Park in February 2012 with our son Éamon playing at midfield. It is now great to see our grandchildren grow up and to support them in their endeavours and interests.

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TRADE UNION DESK Truth is the first casualty of war

A colleague carries a blood-stained flak jacket belonging to Palestinian journalist Mohammed Soboh, who was killed along with two other journalists when an Israeli missile hit a building while they were outside reporting, at a hospital in Gaza City, October 10 2023 Credit: Reuters/Arafat Barbakh.

The truism that truth is the first casualty of war was never more apposite than in the context of the current bloody conflict between Israel and Palestine. Séamus Dooley, Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), writes. In an era of disinformation, distilling facts from propaganda is a herculean task fraught with difficulties and increasing dangers. On 13 December 2023, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists published a preliminary investigation showing that at least 63 journalists had

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been killed since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October. The horrendous attack launched by Hamas – and its allies – targeted civilians and, in some cases, subjected them to acts of grotesque violence. In condemning the actions of Hamas, the NUJ has condemned the actions of Israel

in targeting a densely populated area, the destruction of residential buildings, the killing of civilians and the displacement of thousands of families. In highlighting the need to protect journalists I am in no way minimising the suffering of those trapped in Gaza or those who suffered at the hands of

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Hamas: all human beings share the same colour of blood regardless of race, religion, ethnic origin, or profession. For many years we have spoken out against Israeli forces bombing media offices, the arrest and the abuse and violence against Palestinian and international journalists amid escalating violence in Gaza. With the International Union of Journalists, the NUJ has taken a complaint to the International Criminal Court over the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh and injured journalist Ali Samoudi and called many times on the UN Security Council, to take urgent action to stop the deliberate and systematic targeting of journalists in Gaza. Those calls have gone unheeded and recent developments are part of a consistent pattern. Article 79 of the Geneva Convention states: “Journalists in war zones must be treated as civilians and protected as such, provided they play no part in the hostilities.” Under international law, media facilities are civilian objects and as such enjoy general protection. The prohibition on attacking civilian objects has been firmly established in international humanitarian law since the beginning of the 20th century and was reaffirmed

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That litany of the slain is why we need a new UN Convention on the Safety and Protection of Journalists. Séamus Dooley, Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists

following establishment of the International Criminal Court. It was deeply disturbing to read Israel’s announcement on 27 October 2023 that it could not guarantee the safety of journalists in the Gaza Strip. It is vital that independent journalists are facilitated in covering the war and that the UN seeks to enforce that right. The targeting of journalists or media facilities is a war crime and should be treated as such. Journalists are targeted because it is easier to break international laws away from the cameras and the prying eyes of journalists. Attempts to censor or silence journalists are also contrary to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Across the globe, journalism has become a dangerous profession: 86 journalists were killed in 2022, amounting to one every four days, up from 55 killings in 2021. At the close of the recent biennial delegate conference of the NUJ’s Irish members, delegates gathered at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin to mourn not just the journalists killed in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, but also those killed over two years in Haiti, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Mexico, Brazil, Chad, Turkey, Central African Republic, Guatemala, Philippines, Bangladesh, Chile, Honduras, Yemen, Ecuador, USA, Paraguay, Somalian, Columbia, Keyna, Syria, Cameroon, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Albania, Lesotho, Lebanon, and Ukraine. That litany of the slain is why we need a new UN Convention on the Safety and Protection of Journalists. The UN must ensure that those who seek to speak truth to power do not pay with their lives.

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Ana Liffey Drug Project: ‘Citizens’ Assembly recommendation supports humane shift in drug policy’

Tony Duffin

A ‘comprehensive’ health-led response to possession of drugs for personal use is one of the 36 recommendations the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use made at the Assembly’s final meeting over a weekend late October 2023. The recommendations are due to be formally submitted to the Oireachtas by the end of 2023.

By introducing a ‘comprehensive’ healthled response to possession of drugs for personal use, my understanding is that people would be offered a health referral every time they are found in the possession of drugs for personal use, rather than the one-time currently planned for under the National Drugs Strategy.

However, back in the summer of 2017, the then-government launched the current national drug strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery: A health led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland 2017-2025. Civil servants, public servants, and civil society partners have been working together on its implementation for over six years. Unfortunately, there have been challenges in implementing some elements of Ireland’s national drug strategy. Several key actions have been delayed, including the introduction of a Health Diversion Programme.

Offering every opportunity reflects a global trend seen in countries, such as Portugal which has had considerable success with decriminalisation and a focus on health interventions for people found in the possession of drugs for personal use.

So, what is the difference between what is recommended by the Citizens’ Assembly and what is already planned within the National Drug Strategy. Well, the Citizens’ Assembly recommends that the State go further, than what is currently planned for under the National Drugs Strategy. 188

As per the Citizens’ Assembly on Drug Use, the State should introduce a ‘comprehensive’ health-led response to possession of drugs for personal use, writes Ana Liffey Drug Project CEO, Tony Duffin.

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The Citizens’ Assembly leaves critical questions for the Oireachtas to answer, emphasising the need for legal expertise, pre-legislative scrutiny, and careful consideration. Overall, the recommendation supports a shift towards a more humane and effective approach to drug policy, contingent on thoughtful legislative design and implementation. On 4 July 2023, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, responded in the Dáil to a question seeking commitment towards legislating in relation to the future recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly saying: “When it makes its recommendations, they will

be considered by government in good faith… There should not be any assumption or obligation on any democratically elected parliament or government to accept every recommendation that a body makes.” Whilst the Government is not obliged to accept the recommendations made, the considerable soft influence of the Citizens’ Assembly means there will be pressure on the Government to show that it has listened and is acting upon the recommendations in a meaningful way. When the final report from the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use is sent to the Dáil and the Seanad there will be more detail on each recommendation within the report. With regard to the possession of drugs for personal use, as I understand it, this would mean ensuring that people are offered a referral for a health assessment each and every time.

Tony Duffin is the CEO of Ana Liffey Drug Project. First established in 1982, Ana Liffey offers services to people who use drugs in Dublin and the midwest region of Ireland.

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