eolas Magazine Issue 48 by bmf business services

Informing Ireland’s decision-makers...

Managing cybersecurity in an evolving digital world ESET Ireland’s Louise Bowe HSE CEO

Oireachtas CFO

Minister for Housing

Paul Reid talks

Saragh Fitzpatrick

Darragh O’Brien TD

strengthening the

discusses her

outlines Housing for

health service

multifaceted role

All priorities

post-Covid

issue 48 Nov/Dec 21

Housing •

Justice

•

Climate COP26

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Speakers include: Barry Lowry Government CIO Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Kit Collingwood Assistant Director Royal Borough of Greenwich

Key issues examined include: Ruth Buckley Chief Information Officer Cork City Council Alexander Holt Head of Emerging Opportunities and Partnerships Scottish Government

Fran Thompson Chief Information Officer Health Service Executive

Ashling Cunningham Chief Information Officer Ervia

Damian Griffin Research, Technology and Innovation Capability Lead, Defence Forces

Sandra Healy CEO and Founder inclusio

Accelerating the digitalisation of public services;

Responding to the pandemic: Digital strategy to drive recovery;

Creating a GovTech ecosystem for Ireland;

Building resilient organisations;

Citizen engagement – making government accessible;

Collaboration as part of the Covid-19 response;

Transforming public services through the cloud;

Building a hybrid workforce and transforming the Future of Work;

Helping public sector organisations identify cyber threats;

Technology to transform the delivery of health services;

Technology to ensure more diverse and inclusive organisations;

Emerging technologies, 5G and IoT;

Embracing Robotics and AI in the public sector: Ensuring ethical design and good governance;

Disruptive innovation for public services;

Digital inclusion: Technology to empower citizens;

Best practice case studies in digital delivery from outside Ireland.

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Contents

Matters arising

Issues

Budget 2022

Cover Story: ESET Ireland’s Louise Bowe discusses management of the changing threatscape

HSE CEO Paul Reid on the post-Covid health service

IEA’s Fatih Birol outlines Ireland’s role in international climate ambitions

Round table discussion: Cyber-resilience in an age of ransomware

Housing report

Hosted by

In association with

Minister Darragh O’Brien TD discusses Housing for All

102

110

Sustainable housing and zero carbon construction

Monitoring adequate housing in Ireland Sponsored by

Justice report 78

Justice Action Plan 2021 progress report

UCC’s Sharon Lambert on applying trauma research to services

An Garda Síochána’s Shawna Coxon outlines transformation in policing Sponsored by

101 Climate COP26 report

116

102

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan TD

110

Fit for 55: EU Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans

114

The four goals of COP26

116

Former President Mary Robinson on taking the climate crisis personally

123

EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson on Green Deal implementation

124 Europe 124

State of the Union 2021

126

Seán Kelly MEP discusses renovation proposals

128 Public affairs

123

128

Mól an óige: Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD

132

Interview: Oireachtas Chief Financial Officer Saragh Fitzpatrick

142

Meet the Media: Cormac Ó hEadhra

144

Back Page: Right to Know’s Ken Foxe on Freedom of Information

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10 Downing Street and Cabinet Office Communications UK

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Deirdre Ní Choistín Communications Manager, TG4

Mark Quinn, Marcomms Manager NI, Guide Dogs UK

Seán Earley Director, Social Strategy, Teneo

Cillian Walsh, Senior Marketing Manager, Just Eat Ireland

Stha Banks Head of Paid Social, Core

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eolas Issue 48 Nov/Dec 2021 Digital

Events

Editorial

A perfect inflationary storm…

Ciarán Galway, Editor ciaran.galway@eolasmagazine.ie

Following the success of the vaccination programme, Ireland’s

Odrán Waldron, Deputy Editor odran.waldron@eolasmagazine.ie

economic recovery in 2021 has been stronger than anticipated. At

the

same

time,

however,

the

labour

market

has

underperformed. Consequently, given the imbalance between pent-up economic demand and supply, inflationary pressures

David Whelan david.whelan@eolasmagazine.ie Fiona McCarthy fiona.mccarthy@eolasmagazine.ie

have emerged.

Advertising

Globally, the ongoing energy crisis and supply chain bottlenecks,

Sam Tobin sam.tobin@eolasmagazine.ie

have intensified increases in the Consumer Price Index. Assuming this to be a temporary aberration, the Department of Finance

Design

forecasts that the inflation rate will be limited to an average rate

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

of 2.2 per cent for 2022. Conversely, if these contributing factors persist, rising prices could exceed forecasts resulting in further

Paul Rooney paul.rooney@eolasmagazine.ie

erosion of disposable income and a squeeze on living standards for lower-income earner families.

Events

Amid this threat to the pace of the post-pandemic recovery,

Lynda Millar lynda.millar@eolasmagazine.ie

Ireland is increasingly vulnerable to a risk of another kind. In a rapidly evolving digital world, organisational susceptibility to cyberattack has grown exponentially. In this issue’s cover story, ESET Ireland CEO Louise Bowe discusses the changing threatscape, adaptation and defence against cybersecurity threats.

Become a subscriber! Annual subscriptions: €15.00 + €5.00 P&P Contact: Sharon Morrison Email: subscriptions@eolasmagazine.ie Online: www.eolasmagazine.ie

Furthermore, issue 48 of eolas contains wide-ranging reports in

eolas Magazine

three sectors experiencing seismic change. Our housing report

Owen McQuade, Publisher owen.mcquade@eolasmagazine.ie

considers the implications of the new Housing for All strategy, while the justice report includes comprehensive analysis of the reform agenda. Perhaps most significantly, ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, heralded as the “last, best opportunity to get real” on climate action, we consider the implications for Ireland and beyond.

bmf Business Services Clifton House Lower Fitzwilliam Street Dublin, D02 XT91 Tel: 01 661 3755 Web: www.eolasmagazine.ie Twitter: @eolasmagazine

Interviewees and contributors include: HSE CEO Paul Reid; Housing

Minister

Darragh

O’Brien

TD;

Garda

Deputy

Commissioner Shawna Coxon; former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; Houses of the Oireachtas Service CFO Saragh Fitzpatrick; Sinn Féin’s Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD; and others. Ciarán Galway

www.eolasmagazine.ie

FSC® is an acronym for the Forest Stewardship Council®, which is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization that was established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. The FSC® system provides an assurance that products such as wood and paper have been harvested in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. The FSC’s Chain of Custody certification provides a way in which the material can be tracked from the certified initial source through the manufacturing process to the end user.

matters arising

Stalking legislation progresses to Seanad third stage “characterised by repeated, unwanted behaviour that occurs as a result of fixation or obsession and causes alarm, distress or harm to the victim”. If successful in its implementation, the offence would carry with it a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Chambers brought the legislation to the Seanad floor having worked behind the scenes with Úna Ring and Eve McDonnell, two stalking victims from Cork and Galway respectively, and Catherine O’Sullivan of the UCC School of Law to shape the Bill while also liaising with UK experts.

The Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person (Amendment) (Stalking) Bill 2021, a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Fianna Fáil’s Lisa Chambers and sponsored by party colleagues Mary Fitzpatrcik and Erin McGreehan, has progressed to the third

stage within Seanad Éireann. The third stage, also known as the committee stage, involves the examination of the Bill section-by-section, with amendments proposed and debated. The Bill proposed would make a specific offence of stalking, which is

If the Bill is to be enacted, it will have to pass through the remaining three stages in the Seanad – the committee, report and final stages – and then be required to go through a mirror process in Dáil Éireann. The committee stage is currently in progress, with the first debate having been held on 15 July.

O’Brien set to brief cabinet on mica redress scheme Oireachtas working group has determined that such a scheme would cost over €3 billion. The Department’s report stated to change from the current position to 100 per cent redress for all affected would cause the price to rise from €1.4 billon to €3.2 billion to cover the 6,600 houses affected in Donegal and Mayo.

Paddy Diver, Mica Action Group, Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty TD and Michael Doherty, Mica Action Group.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD is set to brief the Cabinet on a revised mica redress scheme. The proposal for a new scheme will update the current scheme, which provides 90 per cent redress for those whose houses are crumbling in

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Ireland’s west and northwest due to the presence of mica in the blocks used to construct those houses. Campaigners recently took to the streets of Dublin to present their demand for 100 per cent redress, with 20,000 people presenting the case to Leinster House; an

Proposals published by the Department of Housing recommended offering 100 per cent redress in all cases except demolition. However, activists have estimated that at least one quarter of houses affected will need to be completely demolished. With fresh fears of houses in Clare, Limerick, Sligo and Tipperary also affected, the onus will only grow on the Government to act now. A spokesperson for O’Brien said: “The minister has engaged with the Attorney General on the issues involved. Work is ongoing in relation to drafting a memo for Government and the minister will now brief the three party leaders this week on the remediation options for homeowners.”

matters arising

Hospital waiting lists reach record numbers from July 2020 and a sevenfold increase over seven years. 20,513 patients were waiting more than a year for hospital care, an 88-fold increase from 2012. Further data published by the National Treatment Purchase Fund in September reflected a similar crisis of waiting lists in Ireland, with 907,617 people waiting to be treated or assessed by a The number of patients on some form of public hospital waiting list reached record numbers in the summer of 2021 with 908,519 patients left on waiting lists to be treated or assessed by a consultant according to data from the Irish Hospital Consultants Association. At the end of July, 77,537 patients were waiting for an appointment for inpatient or day case treatment and 652,498

patients were waiting for their first hospital outpatient consultation. The latter figure represented an increase of over 51,000 patients from the same period last year.

consultant, representing an increase of 66,167, or 8 per cent, on the same period last year. Data from the end of August showed 652,344 patients waiting for a first hospital outpatient consultation and a further 75,720

More than 268,500 patients were

patients waiting for an appointment for

waiting longer than a year for their

their inpatient or day case treatment.

public hospital outpatient appointments

32,636 patients waiting to receive an

for assessment, a 15 per cent increase

appointment for a GI endoscopy.

Donohoe: Corporation tax increase is the “right decision’”

Credit: Merrion Street

people. The Government has increasingly come under pressure to reform its low corporate tax rate and sign up to the global tax reform measures pushed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Donohoe said that the changes were arrived at to secure “certainty and stability” for Ireland.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe TD has confirmed that Ireland’s corporate tax rate is to rise from 12.5 per cent to 15 per cent. Having previously been resistant to any notion of change in the State’s corporation tax as pressure mounted internationally, the Government announced the change in

tack following a Cabinet meeting in early October. The new tax rate will apply to companies with turnover in excess of €750 million annually. This will affect 56 Irish multinational companies, employing roughly 100,000 people, and 1,500 foreign-owned multinational companies, employing roughly 400,000

He said: “The Government has given approval for Ireland to sign up to the political agreement at the OECD Inclusive Framework on a new tax framework to address the tax challenges of digitalisation. The agreement provides that the minimum effective rate for multinationals with an annual revenue in excess of €750 million is 15 per cent. “We have secured the removal of ‘at least’ in the text. This will provide the critical certainty for government and industry, and will provide the long-term stability and certainty to business in the context of investment decisions.”

eolas matters

Credit: Merrion Sreet

issues eolas

Budget 2022 Budget 2022 unveiled a €4.7 billion package as Ireland looks to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, and the economic damage it wrought, in order to chart what Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe TD called “a path to the future”. Macroeconomic context Budget 2022 has, of course, been formulated in the context of the ongoing recovery from the shock to international economies caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic “has had a devastating impact on economies across the world”, but Ireland has “defied this trend as it was the only EU country where GDP grew in 2020” according to the Parliamentary Budget Office’s (PBO) prebudget commentary. However, while the 3.4 per cent increase in GDP in 2020 has been highlighted by the Government as evidence of its sound economic handling of the pandemic, GDP is a stat that comes with wellversed caveats. The driver for the GDP

eolas issues

increase was the multinational enterprise sector, which the PBO indicates is “clear evidence of a dual economy in operation”. As the pre-budget commentary explains: “Large multinational companies are generating large profits while small domestic companies are less likely to and businesses in the hospitality and recreation sectors are suffering greatly due to pandemic-related restrictions.” This dual economy is evident in Ireland’s tax receipts for 2020, with corporation tax receipts (mainly from multinational companies based in Ireland) increasing by 8.7 per cent, almost €1 billion, reaching their highest ever level and accounting for 20 per cent of total tax

revenue in 2020. Following continued strong performances in terms of income and corporation tax receipts in 2021, the Department of Finance revised its projections for the year by €1.6 billion in July, with VAT receipts also likely to exceed their forecast in 2021 as well. The Economic and Social Research Institute’s (ESRI) Quarterly Economic Commentary for Autumn 2021, published before the Budget, GDP predicted to grow by 12.6 per cent in 2021, with double-digit growth “mainly due to multinational related activities, in particular strong export figures”. Modified domestic demand, which the ESRI states is a “more accurate measure of underlying economic activity”, is expected to grow by 7 per cent in 2022.

issues eolas

Aligned with current economic growth forecasts, this would mean a budget deficit of approximately €7.4 billion in 2025, equal to –1.5 per cent of GDP, and a gross debt of €281 billion; in comparison, April 2021’s Stability Programme Update predicted a deficit of €800 million and debt of €263 billion by 2025. “It is not clear if the deficit path outlined in the SES meets the EU fiscal rules, specifically the structural budget balance rule,” the PBO says. With the change in tack signalled by the Summer Economic Statement, government spending is now at all-time high levels; the Government’s Mid-Year Expenditure Report suggests that there will be approximately €1 billion per annum available for new spending measures from 2022 to 2025, once already announced capital spending increases and the cost of maintaining existing services are accounted for. As the pandemic-related economic supports begin to be tapered down, there are many issues facing the Government. Chief among these is the health sector, where the cost of reducing waiting lists, the implementation of Sláintecare, and the cost of guarding against any future cyberattacks similar to the one seen this year will be paired with ongoing cost of the pandemic. “It is important that these are addressed so that the impact of the pandemic does not lead to further pressures in healthcare,” the PBO says. Long-term issues facing Ireland such as

Forecasts for key fiscal variables Source: Parliamentary Budget Office

120 100 80 60 € billion

Underpinning the economy is unprecedented and record levels of government spending, with special attention given to unemployment and employment supports due to the job losses and furloughing incurred during the pandemic. The Government expects to spend €90.7 billion in voted spending in 2021, including over €10 billion on Covid-related employment and unemployment supports. The Government’s Summer Economic Statement 2021 set out its intentions to grow the level of core spending at an annual average rate of 5 per cent from 2022–2025, broadly in line with the trend growth rate of the economy, predicted to reach €93 billion in 2025 as compared to just over €70 billion in 2020.

40 20 0 -20 -40

General government revenue

Budget 2021

General government expenditure

Stability Programme Update

a just transition to a less CO2-heavy economy and the ageing of the population will also need to be addressed, with reform of the State pension system becoming an increasing area of concern for forecasters. Reduction of emissions and a shift towards a green economy will require significant spending; capital expenditure is expected to be almost €11 billion in 2022 and increase to €13.4 billion by 2025. The PBO states: “There are challenges around this increased level of spending including the capacity to spend the money; having a supply of projects that are ready to go and rising prices in the construction sector driven by labour and input shortages. Failure to meet these challenges could mean that the increased level in spend will not be matched by the desired increase in outputs.” In a break from the orthodoxy of Irish governments, but in line with global trends, the Housing for All plan signalled the tri-party coalition’s willingness to invest heavily in areas that require public investment. The plan contains 213 actions and a proposed average annual spend of €4 billion in funding over five years from 2021 to 2025. The Exchequer funding element is expected to be €12 billion (capital spending) over the fiveyear period, almost triple of the €4.75 billion spent over the period 2016–2020.

General government budget balance

Budget 2022

The PBO states that the fiscal strategy articulated by the Government “suggests few changes on the tax side especially in Budget 2022” but notes that the “permanent increase in spending over the medium-term suggests a need to also increase tax revenue by broadening the tax base, reducing tax reliefs and/or increasing rates, while at the same time reducing the reliance on multinational companies”. The Commission on Taxation and Welfare is due to report before Budget 2023 and will be expected to address these issues.

Budget 2022 Upon its formal unveiling on 12 October, Budget 2022 delivered a €4.7 billion total package made up of €4.2 billion in expenditure and €500 million in tax measures, with €1.5 billion of this being new commitments or tax changes and €1 billion in direct Covid-19 funding. Key points in the area of taxation include: a €520 million reduction of income tax receipts due to the increasing of the standard rate band by €1,500 and the increasing of the personal tax credit, employee tax credit and earned income credit, all by €50; the retention of the reduced VAT rate of 9 per cent for the hospitality sector until the end of August 2022; and the increasing of the ceiling of the second rate band of the Universal Social Charge from €20,687 to €21,295.

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“For businesses looking to the future, this Budget backs you. That future, for individuals, for families, and for businesses, is based on secure public finances. We make further progress to that goal in this Budget. Over the past year and a half, we made the right choices at the right times: let us now do that again.”

Credit: Merrion Sreet

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe TD

For workers, the minimum wage has risen 30 cent to €10.50 an hour and an income tax deduction of 30 per cent of the cost of vouched expenses for heat, electricity and broadband, an increase from 10 per cent, for those who work remotely will also be applied. The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme will remain in a graduated format until 30 April 2022 and close to new employers from 1 January 2022. In terms of housing and rent, the Government announced: the new 3 per cent Zoned Land Tax, to be calculated based on the market price of the land in question, to encourage the use of land for the building of homes; the Help-toBuy scheme will continue throughout 2022; €174 million will be spent on supporting the direct delivery of over 4,000 affordable hoes in 2022; and a commitment to an additional 14,000 Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) tenancies and 800 Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) tenancies. €194 million has also been pledged to homeless services.

eolas issues

Climate measures taken in the Budget include the increase of carbon tax by €7.50 per tonne to €41. Petrol and diesel costs were also increased, with 60 litres of petrol and diesel increasing in costs by €1.28 and €1.48 respectively; these increases were instant, while all other fuels will have this increase applied from 1 May 2022. €5,000 of relief will be offered for battery electric vehicles until 2023 and vehicles registration tax will see increases ranging from 1 per cent for vehicles in bands 9–12 and 4 per cent for those in bands 16–20. The Accelerated Capital Allowance scheme for gas and hydrogen powered vehicles and refuelling equipment has also been extended for three years. Lastly, a €202 million fund for people to improve the energy efficiency in their homes in 2022 was also announced. €360 million will also be allocated to boosting active travel and greenways. The funding of public services and infrastructure will include the spending of over €1.4 billion on the development of public transport networks, €100 million

for disability services, €2 million to assist community safety projects and €30 million for protection and renewal of roads. 800 additional Gardaí and 400 civilian Garda staff are to be recruited, with a 20 per cent increase in the Garda Mountain Bike unit. Funding will also be delivered for the establishment of a Gambling Regulation Authority. In health, free GP care is to be extended to children aged six and seven as part of phased plans to roll out free GP care to all children under 12, and free contraception for women aged 17–25 will be rolled out from August 2022. €250 million will be pledged to address waiting lists, €30 million of funding will be provided to the Department of Health for areas hit hard by the pandemic such as palliative care, mental health, and disability services, and €10.5 million will be provided for 19 additional critical care beds in 2022, which will bring the total ICU beds to 340, falling someway short of the planned 446 announced by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly TD in December 2020.

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Summary of Irish economy, 2020-2022 30% 20% Modified domestic demand

10% 0%

Public net current expenditure

Exports

GDP

GNP

Unemployment Inflation rate General government balance (% of GDP)

Imports

Private consumer expenditure

-10% -20%

Domestic demand (excl. stocks)

-30% -40% Investment

Source: ESRI Quarterly Economic Commentary, Autumn 2021

Education will see the hiring of an additional 350 teachers, a plan that is expected to reduce the teacher pupil ratio from 25 to 24 pupils. 980 additional special education teachers and 1,165 special needs assistants. Funding has been pledged for the delivery of 200 school building projects, along with €30 million for the school transport scheme and €18 million to expand the DEIS programme and another €4 million to extend hot school meals to more DEIS primary schools. €50 million will be made available in ICT grants for primary and post-primary schools. For third-level students, the maintenance grant has been increased by €200, with the qualifying income threshold expanded by €1,000 and the qualifying distance reduced from 45k to 30km. The creation of 20,000 new further education and training places has been pledged, along with the abolition of the €200 contribution fee for post-Leaving Certificate courses.

Analysis The reception of the Budget has, of course, been mixed. Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD noted that the additional allocation on housing of €400 million fell someway short of the

-50% 2020

2021

2022

ESRI’s call to double capital investment in the area and criticised an additional spend of €300 million in health, saying that the €1 billion figure mooted included €700 million of previously announced actions focused on maintaining current levels of delivery. On the tax measures included, Doherty said: “The measures they have introduced today, for example the indexation of the standard rate band, cost over €300 million. It leaves behind two million income earners that don’t benefit from this at all… We would argue that this isn’t a targeted approach.” However, the Budget has been largely welcomed by the business sector in Ireland, with the retention of the corporate tax rate for domestic SMEs and the exemptions to the rate for certain start-ups welcomed. While the hospitality sector has expressed its disappointment that the 9 per cent VAT rate was not made indefinite, the reorganisation of tax bands has also been welcomed in the business sector, with those approving arguing that the move will decrease tax burdens on income earners and ease the impact of the increasing cost of living on those earners. The PBO’s post-budget analysis notes: “Budget 2022 contains income raising measures of €340 million for 2022 and

revenue reducing measures of €795 million for 2022. This will result in a net revenue loss of €455 million for the Irish Exchequer. The largest reduction in revenue was due to changes to personal income tax while the largest revenue gain was due to an increase in carbon taxes.” Speaking during the ESRI’s post-budget analysis, research professor Kieran McQuinn noted that the State’s debt to GDP and debt to GNI* ratios are expected to return to 2019 levels in 2022, showing a quicker-than-anticipated recovery from the Covid downturn. McQuinn warned of risks such as inflationary pressures, specifically with regard to developments in energy markets meaning that inflation is expected to rise, and the coming issues with corporation tax. He also stressed that the capital investment to be committed in Ireland must prioritise projects which increase productive capacity such as housing and health. His ESRI colleague, research officer Barra Roantree welcomed measures such as the Zoned Land Tax and the living alone increase, calling them “well targeted”; he did, however, criticise the changes to tax credits and bands, as well as social welfare, as “inconsistent”.

eolas issues

cover story

Managing cybersecurity in an evolving digital world For more than 30 years, ESET has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services, delivering instant, comprehensive protection against evolving cybersecurity threats. Louise Bowe, CEO of ESET Ireland, speaks with eolas about the changing threatscape and the ability to adapt and defend against it. ESET has been securing computer infrastructure for 30 years, through all the major changes and developments in the digitalisation of the home and workplace, along with security challenges. Practically, since the first widespread computer viruses emerged – ESET’s founders discovered their first computer virus in 1987 – ESET has grown and matured on the frontlines, responding to threats and cybersecurity crises as they appeared.

10 10

cover story

From a small, dynamic company ESET has grown into a global brand with over 110 million users in 202 countries and territories. Many things have changed, but ESET’s core philosophy, to help build a more secure digital world for everyone, has remained the same. ESET uses multi-layered technologies that go far beyond the capabilities of basic antivirus, also offering anti-spam, anti-phishing, ransomware protection, banking and payment protection, cloud sandboxing,

endpoint detection and response, et cetera. ESET’s security researchers in 13 globally distributed R&D centres utilise their expertise to ensure the best round-the-clock threat intelligence. When asked about the key challenges of the security industry, Bowe responds: “There are always challenges, regardless of the industry. It is how we perceive them that counts. Challenges are opportunities to grow, evolve.”

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ESET Ireland believes it is particularly important to adapt the capacity to engage with new challenges, regardless of the field of expertise. “This should be standard across all industries, especially in the new world of remote working and safer connectivity.” ESET’s goal is to enable everyone to enjoy the full potential of their technology in a secure digital world. There is not much difference in prioritising the need for protection, whether it is for enterprise, the public sector, SMB, or home users. Cybercriminals are always looking for opportunities to take advantage of anyone’s weakness, to try and extract money or data from them. As such, ESET Ireland operates as widely as possible. Bowe adds: “Even though it is a completely different focus for each segment, and each need a different approach, we take support very seriously. We support all our end users from the enterprise down to the single user. Each has a dedicated team, highly skilled, trained, based in our main office in County Wexford. “We deal with everyone from the home user to the SMB administrator to the enterprise security team or security operations centre. ESET has an endpoint solution for any size of business, organisation or family, which requires us to be able to provide any of them with local, timely, practical and comprehensive support when they need it.” Asked whether Ireland is in any way unique when it comes to types of threats it faces, Bowe observes: “When it comes to this, as well as most other cybersecurity-related aspects, Ireland is not much different from the rest of the world, but there are differences in reactions to threats by types of users. “When dealing with end-users we might deal with anyone. From the family member responsible for their family’s computers and devices, to the small business owner just trying to ensure they are protected. “The main difference would be in how

“Ireland is often focused particularly inward, rather than seeing itself as a part of a wider European or even global cybersecurity network.” our teams approach each specific customer. While each has very valid and pertinent security concerns, there can sometimes be a knowledge gap when dealing with end-users when compared to B2B.” ESET Ireland protects thousands of large and small businesses, organisations, and institutions throughout Ireland, with cutting-edge expertise and advanced machine learning, as well as support for all ESET security they have in place. But things don’t always run as planned. “Unfortunately, this same knowledge gap can sometimes exist in B2B too, with many companies being hesitant to allocate sufficient budget to their IT needs. We find SMBs without a dedicated IT administrator instead opting to task IT as someone else’s secondary responsibility and this then comes with many problems of which our teams need to navigate,” Bowe explains. Being based in the European Union, ESET adheres to the strictest

regulations, but the root of ESET’s integrity lies in its culture. “We have always believed that security cannot exist without clients’ trust. We earn it with responsible industry practices and full transparency. We have positioned ourselves as a security ‘partner’ rather than vendor, so helping people use our solutions to their maximum potential, to alleviate those concerns is all part of that job. “On the other hand, we deal with large multinational enterprise level organisations, who are security aware and well educated. We find these organisations to be far more specific in their requirements.” In perpetual flux, the world has experienced many cyberattacks against government institutions and critical infrastructure. ESET’s experts share their research at universities, global conferences, and via its industry-leading security blogs and publications. “Although we partner with law enforcement to combat cybercrime, regardless of its origin, we are not

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beholden to anyone, neither governments, intelligence agencies, powerful organisations nor individuals,” Bowe emphasises. ESET is a fully European-owned company with a global presence and is neither dependent on, nor looking for investors. Therefore, it has no shareholder pressure to make a fast return on investment, which allows it to really direct its focus where it is needed to stay true to its vision. “But Ireland is often focused particularly inward, rather than seeing itself as a part of a wider European or even global cybersecurity network,” says ESET Ireland’s CEO. With many headlines in recent years about notable hacks or data loss incidents in Ireland, one of the main questions being asked is: is Ireland doing enough to effectively combat cyberattacks? Bowe is critical: “The answer is a resounding no. If we speak in general terms, the sentiments are mostly a laissez-faire attitude which doesn’t benefit anyone. In our experience, IT security in general is not treated with the gravity it warrants. “During the height of Covid-19 lockdown measures, we saw a marked rise in RDP brute force detections, subsequently followed by a rise in

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ransomware reports. In the rush to enable working from home administrators neglected some of the most basic security requirements which in turn opened them to the abuse from the internet and malicious actors.” Although ESET’s forte is its strong technical advantage, it is also focused on raising awareness about proper implementation and mindset, as the user is often the weakest link in cybersecurity. Bowe explains: “We see that organisations make a great initial effort to secure their digital assets but then fail on maintaining that protection. In most of the cases we deal with, where an organisation was compromised, we find poorly maintained security software, sometimes never installed on new devices, or outdated devices left without any product updates. The intention is often there and starts out great, but then falls by the wayside as a secondary concern in day-to-day operations.” ESET’s goal is to ensure that its technology is on the side of users, so they can focus on their business and enjoy the benefits it brings. “Security solutions are often treated as a ‘fire and forget’ type solution that requires no maintenance,” Bowe highlights, adding:

“We do not rely on a single fence to protect our valuable properties. We utilise fences, gates, locks, cameras, burglar alarms and sometimes more. IT security should be treated in the same way.”

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“This could not be further from the truth. No matter what security solution we are talking about, be it endpoint, gateway, cloud, mobile, they all require constant monitoring and vigilance. But technology can make that a lot easier and more streamlined. “We find that solutions are implemented and then left unmonitored and unmaintained. Take for example the recent HSE attack where attackers purportedly ‘lived’ in the network for up to a week prior to encrypting those vital assets. With adequate reporting protocols and security management, this could have easily been avoided.” What advice, therefore, can be provided to Irish organisations in relation to keeping their defences integrated with global threat trends? Bowe advises: “Learn to adopt security as a mindset, and not as an afterthought. Cybersecurity should be at the forefront of consideration for all organisations, not as a tick-box on the end of the IT budget but an integral part of the IT solution.” As our world becomes increasingly digitalised, and we become more dependent on digital systems for our daily operations, we become increasingly vulnerable to attack. As we adopt new technologies, we adopt new attack vectors for criminals to leverage against us. “If physical security is an absolute must for our stores, our homes, and our vehicles, digital security should be no different,” Bowe insists.

Unified defence According to ESET Ireland CEO, the public sector approach to security is no exception. “ESET is strongly represented in the public sector domestically and globally. But it seems every public sector entity approaches IT security differently. There appears to be a lack of a homogenised strategy toward IT security. “It would be difficult to compare the likes of Revenue to the Department of the Taoiseach, given the dramatically different information they handle, but the impression of an absence of a unified defence plan is still strong.” The National Cyber Security Strategy for

“Learn to adopt security as a mindset, and not as an afterthought. Cybersecurity should be at the forefront of consideration for all organisations, not as a tick-box on the end of the IT budget but an integral part of the IT solution.”

2019 to 2024 outlines: “The NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) will develop a baseline security standard to be applied by all government departments and key agencies” as a potential measure. However, “Given that a ‘five-year technology strategy’ is only now commencing, perhaps we will be in a better place in five years, but we are definitely not anywhere close currently,” Bowe states. A robust cyber-defence should therefore be a priority, she contends. “Organisations should try to adopt a ‘defence in depth’ approach toward their systems. It is better to evolve proactively than react intuitively. Overreliance on a single solution or technology can give a false sense of security. “We do not rely on a single fence to protect our valuable properties. We utilise fences, gates, locks, cameras, burglar alarms and sometimes more. IT security should be treated in the same way.” Organisations should try to implement as many layers of defence they can, as each additional layer is an additional barrier to being compromised. For an illustration of the multi-layered dynamic defences, Bowe lists some of the

advanced technologies she deals with on a daily basis. “ESET has developed its own in-house machine learning engine, named ESET Augur. It uses the combined power of neural networks and classification algorithms. The ESET Cloud Malware Protection System is one of several technologies based on ESET’s LiveGrid cloud system, in which possible threats are monitored and submitted via its unique feedback system. ESET's hostbased Intrusion Prevention System monitors system activity and uses a pre-defined set of rules to recognise suspicious system behaviour. I could go on, but the complexity of defences nowadays can easily go over most of our heads,” she details. Looking ahead to the future, while considering the experience gained in the previous years, Bowe concludes: “ESET Ireland believes in the coming years we will see Internet of Things continue to cause challenges. Ransomware is not going away anytime soon, and supply chain attacks will increase, as will infrastructure attacks, since they are, in many cases, relatively easy to conduct, due to inadequate security. But ESET will ensure to stay at the forefront of defences, so that everyone can truly enjoy safer technology.”

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Strengthening healthcare in Ireland post-Covid Paul Reid, Director-General of the Health Service Executive (HSE), speaks to eolas to reflect on healthcare’s experience of the Covid-19 pandemic, the implementation of Sláintecare and post-pandemic plans for reform in the health system. “‘Post-Covid future’ is the riskiest statement you can make, certainly from a health service perspective,” Reid states. “We have been talking about ‘post-Covid’ for four waves of Covid throughout the last 18 to 20 months.” Before focusing on the concept of a post-Covid future for the HSE and Ireland’s healthcare system, Reid is keen to emphasise the experiences of those who have worked to ensure the survival of that system throughout the pandemic. “From a public perspective, sometimes we forget when we just look at numbers of 5,100 people sadly passing away, that all these people have families,” he says. “What we are seeing from a health perspective is very significant impacts on mental health presentations across all age groups, significant impacts on frailty in older people, and delayed care. “What we think we will see going into the future is medium- to long-term impacts of what lockdowns, restrictions and Covid have meant for us all. I am struck by people that I talk to within the HSE, particularly on the frontline, telling me about what they are experiencing now and what they have experienced throughout Covid.”

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Reid reflects on the weekly press conferences the HSE has held throughout the pandemic and how the platforming of healthcare workers during those press conferences has allowed the public an insight into life on the frontline during the pandemic. Reid states that the “hardest thing” he has done in his career has been “talking to families who have lost healthcare workers through Covid, those who went out and sacrificed, ultimately their lives, going out on the frontline at a time when we were all scared”. Yet as Ireland approached the summer of 2021 and vaccination rates continued to rise on both sides of the border, there was cause for optimism that the worst of the pandemic was over. Then, in midMay, the HSE was plunged into another crisis. “I always remember on Thursday, May 12, we were doing one of those weekly press conferences and things were looking brighter,” Reid recalls, adding: “We were saying that we were at the end of Covid… hospitalisations were down; I went home that Thursday night and about three o’clock in the morning I got a call from our IT guys to say we have had a cyberattack and have had to shut down all the systems. “A cyberattack is catastrophic for any organisation but to provide healthcare without the basic core systems, it is actually phenomenal how our teams have gotten through that. I visited some hospitals and primary care centres just looking at the workarounds that were in place; we had people whose whole job was to run across the hospital with scan results, we had people taking blood tests and samples where if you get the decimal point wrong within three points, the result can be catastrophic. The resilience of our teams to work through the waves of Covid and that cyberattack has been quite phenomenal.” Reid highlights the whole-of-government response delivered by two successive governments. He recalls his first meeting with the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, government ministers, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Defence Forces Chief of Staff Mark Mellett, in which Harris volunteered Templemore as a temporary hospital and Mellett told Reid that all Defence Forces

“I have spent a long time between private sector, not-for-profit, central government, local government and now the health service, and I have never seen the pace of change and innovation implemented in such a short space of time by so many people with so many benefits as I have seen across the healthy system in the past 18-20 months.”

personnel were at the HSE’s disposal. “There were a few things for ourselves working through that period that we had to focus on and the first thing for myself and the leadership team was communications with key stakeholders,” he recalls, adding: “Key stakeholders being the public, the Government, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste and ministers, opposition party leaders, opposition spokespersons. “That was an important process for us and one of the key pieces of feedback we are getting is that the public engagement did boost confidence in what we were doing. The public heard a lot more coherent advice coming from the health system, from GPs, the Government, NPHET, ourselves, and I think that helped give the Government much more trust.” The HSE chief says that one of the key lessons for the HSE during that period was the way in which the centre of the HSE and the services worked together. The centre “took responsibility for some big national lead programmes and let the services get on with driving the change, making hospitals safer and bringing services to our communities”. This is a lesson that Reid states will be key to the future of the service, something he terms “a tight and a loose grip”, meaning tight at the centre with direction and mandate but loose to allow the services to apply them in a manner suitable to it. Another lesson was what Reid calls “the

70:30 approach”, where the HSE accepted that operating at pace, forcing people into quick decision-making would mean that the HSE would get “70 per cent of decisions right at best”. “That’s something from a public service perspective that we have to get stronger at and have a clearer mandate to do,” he reflects. “In healthcare, you always have to manage the risk in a clinical perspective, but from an organisational perspective, this was important for us.” Taking stock of all that has changed in less than two years since Covid arrived in Ireland, Reid reflects: “I have spent a long time between private sector, not-forprofit, central government, local government and now the health service, and I have never seen the pace of change and innovation implemented in such a short space of time by so many people with so many benefits as I have seen across the healthy system in the past 18 to 20 months. “We built a testing and tracing system that didn’t exist and now has a workforce of over 2,000 people. We put in place a vaccination programme, we did it at pace and with great success. At a hospital level, we made it very clear that we had a bed capacity of about 10,500, that we were probably going to have to double based on predictions. We made temporary hospitals and we took on board some of the offers from the State to build those temporary hospitals. "We also took onboard something the public may not always hear about, but

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Credit: Merrion Street

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Health Minister Stephen Donnelly TD, Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD and HSE CEO Paul Reid.

we built a temporary morgue and thankfully that is something that we have not had to use due to the response of the Irish public.” Reid identifies changes during Covid, such as taking the workload away from private hospitals, putting in place 29 community assessment hubs for people who could not get access to GPs, and the transformation of the national ambulance service from a 24-hour paramedic service to a service working in the community, treating people at home and in nursing homes, as having each brought the health service closer to implementation goals of Sláintecare. He mentions that the HSE is now finalising plans for its multi-annual waiting lists, plans with private hospitals to support the HSE with extra capacity and plans to further enhance capacity in the hospital system. Along with Department of Health Secretary General Robert Watt, Reid is “now looking at what is the most practical way we can design regions for healthcare delivery in the future”. “The challenge now is to sustain the changes we have made into the future. One of those is supporting the treatment of people in their homes or communities, which is one of the core aspects of Sláintecare,” he says. Concluding, Reid dismisses criticism of a perceived hesitance or reluctance to implement Sláintecare, but also reflects on how trust in the health service has grown throughout Covid: “The one piece we can all look back at with pride is that throughout Covid, we can demonstrate and track public trust and confidence in the health service continuously grew. We know it’s always volatile, but it is a very good base to understand that the public recognises our work and values it. “There has been a lot of commentary of late about the health system’s commitment to Sláintecare; to be quite frank, it is all a load of nonsense. It has been quite dismissive, quite untrue and quite unfair to our teams who worked relentlessly throughout Covid to put in place innovation and change at pace. “Certainly, I will take responsibility for the implementation of regions, which has been talked about. There was no way that we were going to do a massive organisational redesign and change in the middle of a pandemic, because we wanted our managers, teams and frontline staff saving people’s lives. That was the right decision and I’ll stand over that for a long time.”

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Secure, customised and scalable video communications for public sector organisations Doyle adds: “The healthcare, government, and financial services sectors have experienced great success following the implementation of integrated video solutions to enhance their existing services, tools and workflows as well as improving user experience. This has been done through telehealth consultations, virtual court hearings and remote banking consultations. Pexip has a wide range of APIs which enable these types of services and is the platform powering many of these applications.

Niall Doyle, Ireland Country Manager at Pexip

Trusted global video conferencing provider Pexip delivers secure video communications for governments and public sector organisations throughout the world. Following the recent growth of its operations in Ireland, the company has appointed Niall Doyle as Ireland Country Manager and is planning further expansion over the next three years.

Pexip is currently enabling many public sector organisations across Ireland to host and join video meetings from any device. The key focus for the company is understanding and embracing each customers individual requirements. Niall Doyle, Ireland Country Manager comments: “Many organisations in Ireland implemented video conferencing solutions in an ad-hoc way when the

pandemic hit last year, to meet their immediate need without thinking about the overall user experience, the position of video within workflow, and the security of the solutions which were implemented.” Focused on providing the best video user experience on any device at any time, Pexip builds innovative, scalable software solutions with a key focus on high security and data sovereignty. Pexip is currently used by healthcare providers across Ireland to provide telehealth solutions for remote communication between healthcare professionals and their patients, which truly encompasses Pexip’s security ethos. The Court Service of Ireland also utilised Pexip’s secure video solutions to ease the backlog of legal cases heightened by the pandemic. Following such success, it is thought that remote hearings will continue to have an important role to play within the court system, with ‘hybrid hearings’ presenting a model for the future.

With Pexip providing flexible and tailored solutions across the board, it is inevitable that demand is set to rise as staff return to work and organisations seek to unify hybrid workplaces with teams in multiple locations. There is no doubt that Pexip will play an important role in supporting the continued growth of video communication in Ireland.

E: niall.doyle@pexip.com W: www.pexip.com

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Over the last 18 months, video conferencing has been embraced like never before. This significant rise in demand coupled with a successful IPO in 2020, has resulted in Pexip experiencing a unique period of global hyper growth, with users spanning various sectors and industries in over 190 countries. At present, Pexip provides unified communications and collaboration solutions for large private and public sector organisations across the board through its channel partner network. However, special emphasis is placed upon applications from the healthcare, legal, financial service sectors.

“Having launched Pexip Health in January 2021, we have bolstered our reputation within the healthcare field. Pexip Health is allowing healthcare providers to extend the reach of their practice by providing secure, easy-tojoin telehealth visits for patients from any device or location. Through Pexip’s APIs, caregivers can use the technologies they already own to meet with patients, with no need to buy additional hardware or tools. Pexip’s native integration with Epic EHR and APIs, integrates with other electronic health records including Cerner, Allscripts, eClinicalWorks and Practice Fusion. Implementations include the Western Health Trust in Northern Ireland, where face-to-face diabetes appointments have been reduced by 32 per cent.”

Credit: Merrion Street

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€165 billion National Development Plan launched The Government has launched its €165 billion National Development Plan (NDP). The plan, which covers the years from 2021 to 2030, represents a “unique opportunity to shape the future of our country” according to Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD. The new NDP “will play an essential role in shaping our responses to the challenges of the present, and also prepare us for the challenges of the future” according to the foreword of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD. Formulated following a review conducted over two phases, which commenced in October 2020 and included public consultation and analysis led by the National Investment Office, the NDP sets out a vision where it is “estimated that an annual average of up to approximately 47,000 direct and 33,000 indirect construction jobs will be sustained by the investment” and “increased GDP, employment and wages out to 2030”.

Jobs and education The NDP states that its delivery will sustain an annual average of 81,000 direct and indirect construction jobs over its course. It also estimates an increase of 1.6 per cent in GDP by 2030 compared to a scenario of investment remaining constant at 2021 levels. Employment and wages are expected to increase by 3 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively when compared with the same scenario.

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Through the Large Scale Projects Programme, the NDP plans to deliver extra primary and secondary school places to satisfy an increasing population. 1,200 school building projects are said to be in the current pipeline, with the majority of them to be completed by 2025, with an average of 150-200 to be delivered per year until then.

Health The Taoiseach has said that the NDP will deliver the transformation of the health sector, in part by putting in place the investment framework necessary for the implementation of Sláintecare, which has had doubt cast over it by the resignations of recent times. The plan states that “capital investment has a key role to play in enhancing service provision, ensuring the delivery of high quality and safe health and social care, and

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as an enabler of the reforms set out in Sláintecare”. The continued rollout of primary care centres across the State is one of the projects pointed to within the NDP as enabling the delivery of Sláintecare. The National Children’s Hospital, repeatedly delayed and subject to controversy over rising costs, is listed in the plan with a commission completion of 2024 and as part of cost category F, meaning over €1 billion. The move of the National Maternity Hospital from Holles Street to the St Vincent’s Hospital campus is included within the plan as the “the first of the new maternity hospitals to be developed, with the other relocation projects to follow in time” under the National Maternity Strategy.

Transport That €35 billion will be invested in the transport sector, with the inclusion of all of the previous NDP’s major road building programmes, is one of the more commented upon aspects of the plan given Ireland’s emissions targets. Minister Eamon Ryan TD, whose multiple portfolios include transport, has offered no guarantee that all of the roads included in the NDP will go ahead, but for now five national road projects are under construction, including the introduction of variable speeds on the M50, the N56 from An Clochán Liath to Glenties and the N22 from Baile Bhúirne to Macroom. Three projects – the N5 Ballaghderreen to Scramoge project, the N59 Maigh Cuilinn bypass and the N69 Listowel bypass – are fully approved and due to start construction in the next six months. There are 31 road projects listed as “subject to further approvals” including the N6 Galway City Ring Road, the N/M20 Cork to Limerick road and the cross-border N14 from Manorcunningham to Strabane. In terms of public transport, few details are offered about the delivery of the MetroLink project, with the estimated completion date stated as “TBC” and the estimated cost placed at over €1 billion. The project, when completed, will “consist of a 19km north-south, carbon-neutral railway service that will run between Swords and Dublin City Centre, connecting key destinations including Dublin Airport and the city centre, serving 15 stations, with a journey time of approximately 25 minutes from Swords to the city centre”. The project, according to the plan, as recently submitted its preliminary business case, approval of which will allow the project to enter the statutory planning process in 2022. With expansion of the Luas lines under construction, the NDP also includes a commitment to funding light rail in Cork, with a phase one completion phase of 2026 given at an estimated cost of €185 million. BusConnects is also to be

“substantially complete” by 2030 and the goal of almost one million electric vehicles on Irish roads by 2030 is reaffirmed within the plan, with constant references to additional charging infrastructure, although no specifics are outlined other than a €6.4 million spend of EU PEACE funding on cross-border charging infrastructure.

Climate The Taoiseach has referred to this as the “most environmentally conscious” NDP in the State’s history and has backed up this assertion by including a commitment to raise carbon tax to €100 per tonne by 2030, generating an additional €9.5 billion in revenue out to 2030, €5 billion of which is expected to be invested in energy efficiency, including the National Retrofit Plan. €3 billion will go towards tackling fuel poverty and providing a just transition, while the remaining €1.5 billion is to be committed towards schemes that assist farmers with decarbonisation in the agricultural sector. The plan states that the €35 billion invested in transport will be weighted on a 2:1 ratio in favour of public and active transport against new roads.

Water Almost €6 billion of investment is pledged to Irish Water by 2025 under the NDP, with three themes determining how that money will be spent: quality; conservation; and future proofing. The major project included in the plan for the water sector is the delivery of the long-discussed Water Supply Project – Easter and Midlands Region (WSP-EMR). The WSP-EMR will “help meet the future water supply needs for housing, commercial, and industrial growth in an area comprising 40 per cent of Ireland’s population”; the project comprises an abstraction of water from the Parteen Basin in Tipperary, with water treatment in nearby Birdhill, and the transport of the treated water to the Greater Dublin Area via a 10km pipeline that terminates at a reservoir in Peamount. The project will also “facilitate options to reinforce supplies of treated water to communities such as Newport, Borrisokane, Cloughjordan, Mullingar, Carlow, Portlaosie, Navan and Drogheda in the future”.

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IEA chief Fatih Birol: A Herculean task

Credit: IAEA ImageBank

Speaking at Energy Ireland 2021, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol discusses the IEA’s perspective on the actions required to meet shared international climate goals and how Ireland can play its part. Referencing the proliferation of net zero pledges, Birol begins by suggesting that this is an indication of a growing momentum among many countries which are “taking the climate change challenge extremely seriously”. Simultaneously, clean technologies are increasingly assuming primacy. However, while welcoming these developments, there continues to be a gap between rhetoric and reality. “This year, global emissions will increase substantially; the second largest increase in history,” the IEA chief warns.

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“On one hand, you see a positive momentum, but on the other hand, when looking at the numbers, there is a completely opposite trend. Therefore, there is a growing gap between the rhetoric and the reality, which definitely worries us at the International Energy Agency.”

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Achieving net zero emissions, he asserts, will require a transformation of the entire energy system. While there has been a significant expansion of clean energy technologies, ranging from solar and wind to efficiency and electric vehicles, IEA analysis suggests that 50 per cent of reductions required to reach net zero will need to come from technologies which are not yet market ready. As such, Birol outlines three “Herculean tasks” that must be completed between now and 2050. Firstly, a rapid expansion and deployment of existing clean energy options is necessary. “We need a big push over the next 10 years. This is the number one job,” he remarks. Secondly, there must be a massive leap in innovation, particularly across batteries, hydrogen, synthetic fuels, carbon capture and many other technologies. Simultaneously, this offers an opportunity to develop industries of the future, generating millions of skilled jobs. Thirdly, the final objective required to reach net zero by 2050 is “reducing the consumption of fossil fuels steadily from current levels to much lower levels”. Addressing the rhetorical question of whether these tasks are indeed achievable, Birol acknowledges: “It is extremely challenging to say the least. The pathway is very narrow but still achievable if there is intelligent collaboration among the countries and if it comes very strongly… There are some good signals, but I would not be telling the truth if I said there is a perfect collaboration among the countries today.” Maintaining that the mammoth dual challenge of net zero by 2050 and limiting global warming to 1.5°C target “should not be an excuse not to move”, Birol argues that a temperature increase of 1.6°C or 1.7°C is “still much better than the 3.0°C pathway that the world is following today”.

Without securing broad public support for the clean energy transition, Birol believes that there is “no chance of reaching this target, at least in the democratically run countries”. “There are many challenges in going from here to there,” he says, adding: “If I had to highlight one, which is very important for me, it is the fact that this transition will create a lot of jobs, while a lot of jobs will also be lost. In seeking to deliver a fair and inclusive net zero pathway, therefore, Birol established the Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions in January 2021. Ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, the Commission – which includes over 20 energy and climate ministers from around the world and is chaired by the Danish Prime Minister – will publish a series of recommendations on ensuring that the clean energy transition is fair, inclusive and people centred.

“Ireland is a very innovative country and can play a critical role in the next chapter of our energy world.” Commending Ireland’s leadership and focus on climate ambition, Birol praises the enactment of the Climate Action Act in July 2021 for putting Ireland on a legally binding path to net zero. Observing that “Ireland has always been a country with a huge innovation strength”, he indicates that the national focus must now turn to action in retrofitting, infrastructure investment, and renewables deployment. The State should, he feels, leverage this innovative spirit alongside its natural resources and sizeable tech industry to act rapidly and accelerate progress. Identifying the Irish Government’s commitment to support the construction of 300,000 new homes by 2030 as an opportunity to lead by example, the IEA chief urges that all new dwellings be built to zero emission standards, combining energy efficiency with renewable installations. While conceding that the path ahead will be difficult, he believes that comprehensive international collaboration will be required to facilitate effective strategies to attract and deploy clean energy investment. “Ireland is a very innovative country and can play a critical role in the next chapter of our energy world. We will have a new energy economy, which is different than in the past and Ireland can with all its innovative and competitive advantages, play an important role there,” Birol concludes.

PROFILE

Fatih Birol Fatih Birol has served as Executive Director of the International Energy Agency since September 2015. He was re-elected in January 2018 for a second four-year term, which began in September 2019. Under his leadership, the IEA has undertaken its first comprehensive modernisation programme since its creation in 1974. This effort focuses on three pillars: opening the doors of the IEA to include major emerging countries, such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa who have joined the IEA Family, thus increasing its share of global energy demand from 38 per cent to almost 75 per cent; broadening the IEA’s security mandate to natural gas and electricity as well as oil; and making the IEA the global hub for clean energy technologies and energy efficiency.

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roundtable discussion

Cyber-resilience in an age of ransomware DELL Technologies hosted a virtual round table discussion with experts from across the public sector and semi-states to explore organisational cyber-resilience in an era of increasingly sophisticated and frequent ransomware attacks. To what extent has the necessity for increased remote working enhanced cyberpreparedness across organisations in Ireland? Tom Digan The last 18 months have been both an unpredictable and challenging time for organisations as they pivoted their workforce to almost 100 per cent remote working. Not only have the perimeters of IT changed for organisations but many have also sought to accelerate their digital transformation projects, which has increased the attack surface for bad actors, through the adoption of cloud and other emerging technologies. In addition, there is a recognisable skills shortage when it comes to cybersecurity, evident even before the pandemic,

hence highlighting the importance of automation through leveraging cutting edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. I believe organisations need to develop a mindset based on automation first for both prevention and recovery, where possible, to deal with the ever-increasing sophisticated threats. Donna Creaven The blended model of working has altered cyber preparedness. It is a similar scenario to the emergence of mobile phones, laptops and tablets; however, I believe working from home has increased the levels of risk attributable to humans. I think the destructive and disruptive nature of attacks is more impactful with people working from home and so there is a greater need for risk management and security around processes. It is impossible to keep up with the scale of the attacks and I think

organisations need to change work practices to cater for the expected levels of remote working but also to update incident plans to respond when an attack does happen. Bruce Hopkins The rapid nature of the shift to remote working en masse created a situation whereby those who did not have the basic technology to transition smoothly were forced to focus their attention in the early months on getting operational, rather than on the value-added controls from a security perspective. We were fortunate in that we had the capacity and a good starting point to focus on security controls but the migration of staff to remote locations was and remains a security challenge. Something we had to address was how the changed work environment created a different dynamic in how people use their computer, with some people transitioning from their

Roundtable participants Donna Creaven Donna is Director in the Irish Prison Service with the Department of Justice. Prior to joining the Irish Prison Service, Donna worked as Assistant Commissioner in the Data Protection Commission. Donna holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Laws LL.B from the National University of Ireland, Galway and a Master’s in management and corporate governance from the University of Ulster. Since 2018, Donna is a member of the Board of Directors for Pobal, appointed to the Board by the Minister of the Department for Rural and Community Development. She has served as a director for a number of voluntary organisations.

workday to their leisure time without realising that the use of additional services on your laptop can lead to additional risks. Paul Rochford The rapid movement of people to working remotely has extended the corporate boundary. As well as the increased threats that come with extending infrastructure and software to peoples’ homes, there are also enhanced risks associated with simple things like printing and knowing where that document will end up. Those same risks apply for third parties that may be doing offshoring, who are also likely working from home. Remote working not only increases the threat but also presents challenges around response. Where previously you could expect a ‘war room’ type response in office, you now have to consider that key people might not be available. Despite the increase in risk, most organisations have handled the mobilisation of the workforce quite well through policy updates and awareness.

Bruce Hopkins Bruce is Head of IT Security in daa plc. He has over 20 years’ experience in IT security and management of technology risk. Bruce started his career as a research physicist before moving into software development, project management, and then IT security. After a number of years as an IT Security Consultant with KPMG, Bruce spent over a decade in telecoms security with Vodafone. He joined daa plc four years ago, tasked with setting up a new team to tackle the challenges of cybersecurity as well as the new GDPR regulations.

Liam Stewart We found that the need for greater levels of remote working presented many opportunities from a cybersecurity perspective. Technologies we had previously struggled to introduce or that staff were not receptive to, such as multifactor authentication and VPN connections from remote locations, suddenly became the norm. The move to remote also helped us focus our attentions and policies on things like where data was being stored, the need for encryptions and who was actually logging on to the network. Additionally, we were able to take an existing cloud video conferencing solution and expand it to the point where we have now actually got rid of over 100 telephone systems across the organisation and removed most handsets across 140 sites.

roundtable discussion

Tom Digan Tom is Cyber Resilience Director, Dell Technologies Ireland and Northern Ireland, helping organisations in both the private and public sector develop comprehensive strategies around cyber recovery. Tom has over 25 years’ experience in working for many leading global brands and prior to joining Dell, Tom held senior positions as Regional Director for Ireland/UK and South Africa in data management and cybersecurity.

Paul Rochford Paul is the Head of Information Security for An Post. He has over 20 years’ experience in information security and has held various leadership and technical roles during that time. Paul has a MSc in information security from Royal Holloway, UK, as well as holding numerous professional security certifications. Liam Stewart Liam is the Head of ICT in the Office of Public Works responsible for the management of all ICT services including infrastructure, networks, software applications and cybersecurity. He has 30 years’ experience in various ICT roles and holds a BSc in computer science from Trinity College, Dublin and a Master’s in information technology from NUIG.

Currently, what are the major threats to an organisation’s cyberresilience and where are these threats originating from? Bruce Hopkins

roundtable discussion

To some extent, the threats are consistent in that email remains the main method and while there are multiple reasons, the most prominent is the expected generation of money (ransomware). In our experience, as a provider of critical infrastructure, we see custom-designed pieces of malware coming our direction, be they random or targeted. The random attacks tend to be predictable to some degree in that there is a consistent and constant level of traffic, but a targeted attack is much less predictable and can be much more difficult to counter. My number one concern is an attack which has been created specifically for your organisation and where the attacker may have an understanding of your defences. Tom Digan There is often a misconception that cybersecurity and cyber-resilience are the same thing. Cybersecurity describes a company’s ability to protect and avoid the threat from cybercrime i.e. prevention, while cyber-resilience focuses on the ability to prepare for, respond and recover from a cyberattack. To date many organisations have spent heavily on prevention and underinvested in recovery capability. With an increase in ransomware attacks, we are also seeing an increase in ransom demands being paid because organisations do not have confidence in their ability to recover and resume business operations quickly following successful cyber breach.

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“To date many organisations have spent heavily on prevention and underinvested in recovery capability.” Tom Digan

Donna Creaven The greatest threat to organisations is outdated business continuity plans, whereby businesses are ill-prepared for withstanding an attack and the levels of disruption caused by an attack. The inability to keep up with the sophistication of attacks is a real threat. Liam Stewart The first major threat is technological obsolescence. There is a lot of old technology out there, particularly in the public sector, and recovery of some of those systems would be very difficult. The second is technological complexity. Technology is currently more complex than it has ever been, networks are more complex than before and when you add the cloud on top of that, it begs the question do we really understand our own systems? That understanding is needed if you are going to recover from a cyberattack successfully. Paul Rochford Understanding how your systems integrate with each other is critical, otherwise you are faced with a major

knowledge gap when a major incident does occur. Also of critical importance is that organisations know their ‘minute zero’ actions. What you do right away could be the difference between triggering something or preventing something. The expectation by many that the cloud is a silver bullet, where everything is secure, backed up and recoverable is also a risk. It can be, but only if you pay for it, put controls in place and understand what it is you are putting up there. If you don’t, then you can expose yourself very quickly. I view ransomware as the greatest threat, however, an interesting development is the emergence of human-driven ransomware, where people at the end of a keyboard are in your network for days and weeks understanding your patterns before pulling the trigger. Realistically, recovery from this kind of attack can take weeks, time which not many organisations have, and so business continuity plans, and playbooks need refreshed. I would suggest from a resiliency perspective that organisations classify their critical applications to prioritise asset protection and recovery.

What are the most common cybersecurity misconceptions you would you like to see dispelled? Paul Rochford

Donna Creaven Common misconceptions that I have encountered are that only big companies will be targeted, that antivirus is fully protective, that cyberthreats are always external and that cybersecurity is an IT issue, all of which are untrue. Additionally, I often hear that cybersecurity is expensive to deploy and maintain. Cybersecurity is critical to your business, and it needs investment. Tom Digan Reliance on backups as a recovery plan is a common misconception. Studies show that when hackers breach an organisation’s network, their average dwell time in the network is approximately 200 days. What are they doing when they get inside the network? In many cases their first target is the backups with a view to taking out the backup infrastructure and compromising the integrity of the backup data, therefore

Liam Stewart I agree that compliance with standards is no substitute for understanding security issues on your network. I would also emphasise the point that antivirus does not protect from ransomware. OPW has not used antivirus software for four years after a ransomware email made its way through three different types of antivirus software and encrypted servers and we now use a different solution.

How can organisations better mitigate ransomware or other cyber-incident threats? Donna Creaven Cyber awareness is about preventing social engineering and how to respond. There are a range of measures, such as backing up and testing your restores, which need to be included in business continuity plans. However, I think there are measures that can be taken earlier in the form of security-by-design. There is a direct correlation between ICT infrastructure management and cyber hygiene and good governance, so organisations need to take a more holistic approach and understand the interdependencies between different systems and business operations.

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The longest standing misconception is that information security is IT’s problem. It is not, it is a business problem and slowly businesses are starting to realise that information security is a business enabler. Another misconception is that to be compliant means that you are secure. Compliance is not security; it feeds into security but it is important to make the distinction. Lastly, it is often said ‘we have backups, we can recover’. Unless you have really tested those backups in anger and know what is on them then they can’t be relied upon. Your processes must be robust if you are going to have to rely on your backups.

backups alone will not give you immunity from ransomware. Another misconception is that cyber threats come from external actors, but there is a noticeable increase from insider threat. An attack from a trusted insider, who typically have privileged network access to critical applications and data, can be the most destructive type of attacks, and are also hard to defend against. Finally, that disaster recovery is cyber recovery. If bad actors breach a network, it is likely that any infection will be replicated from production to the disaster recovery site. Cybersecurity recovery must be in place alongside disaster recovery plans.

Bruce Hopkins By joining the dots. Many organisations have various multi-layer controls throughout their overall IT environment in the form of infrastructure, applications, and awareness training. Some, like 4

“My number one concern is an attack which has been created specifically for your organisation and where the attacker may have an understanding of your defences.” Bruce Hopkins

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ourselves, will also have 24/7 security incident monitoring in place. The last 18 months has seen a rise in activity and a rise in incidents, so, while we had the tools in place, we have also seen the value of getting the human intelligence into the conversation. That means pulling together the information from our automated toolkit and assessing that alongside the email alerts or instant messages from staff to get a better understanding of the daily threat landscape. We aim to see what is happening from an end user experience but with the hindsight of what might be happening elsewhere in the organisation to ensure that we are directing our resources to the correct area.

“I would suggest from a resiliency perspective that organisations classify their critical applications to prioritise asset protection and recovery.” Paul Rochford

Tom Digan From a recovery perspective, there are no shortage of recommendations from the US and the EU following some recent high-profile attacks. Emerging recovery recommendations have centred around protecting the backup system, in particular making a secure offline copy of backups that are isolated away from the attack surface, having immutable copies, and then utilising anomaly detection

capability to look for things such as encrypted files in the backup data. At Dell Technologies we have been a market leader with six years history of protecting organisations most critical data, and our proven approach aligns with all of the industry emerging and best practice recommendations.

“Compliance with standards is no substitute for understanding security issues on your network.” Liam Stewart

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Liam Stewart A full asset register of devices, services and datasets on your network is critical. So too is knowledge of all entry and egress points, including an understanding of third-party access to your network. In OPW we have found it very useful to have good monitoring and alerting tools, to the point where we know in real time when someone changes a file name or has multiple log-in attempts, because these are known characteristics of malware attacks. Finally, I would say that it is important to keep on top of the privileged accounts in your network and understand the accesses they have because that will also determine your response. Paul Rochford The most fundamental mitigation, but also one of the most basic, is user awareness. Enabling users to recognise unusual behaviour indicators and have the confidence to report it. Mitigation is often not about having the latest and greatest toolkits; many organisations have capabilities in their environment

right now to severely reduce the impact of ransomware. One example is around privileged and services accounts because reducing unnecessary privileges across your organisation will go a long way to reducing exposure. There is very good guidance available to organisations and what I would suggest is not only to benchmark your organisation in relation to the guidance but also to regularly test and understand how your infrastructure will respond in the event that someone is in your environment and trying to deploy ransomware.

“The greatest threat to organisations is outdated business continuity plans, whereby businesses are illprepared for withstanding an attack and the levels of disruption caused by an attack.”

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Donna Creaven

What are the most successful methods of recovering from a cyberattack with confidence? Tom Digan The first step is to accept that you need to prepare for a successful cyberattack and that starts with having a recovery strategy. That typically involves protecting the backup systems, but it all starts with creating a business case for investment to create recovery capability. At Dell Technologies we built our first cyber vault solution six years ago following the high profile Sony attack, and have been evolving that solution since 2015. Our approach is to work with customers to identify critical business services, applications, and datasets, that make up what call the minimal viable corporation. That data is locked away into a cyber vault, we then isolate that critical backup data, and make it immutable, protecting from external bad actors and also insider threat. We then scan every file and database looking for indicators of compromise. We leverage AI, machine learning and forensic tools to detect, diagnose and accelerate data recovery with a clean copy of backups, allowing companies to effectively recover in a risk free manner.

Liam Stewart Identifying the subset of the critical services you need to run your business is crucial. Immutable backups are very important but that goes beyond data. Looking at the HSE attack, they lost their email and telephony system. If you are an organisation dependent on fixed line telephony for example, then you probably need to be thinking now about moving to a cloud-based system. Donna Creaven To recover with confidence, you need to prepare in advance. Having visibility of your systems, your asset register and understanding your critical services is crucial. Paul Rochford Having immutable backups is one of the only ways you can recover with confidence, especially in the era of ransomware. Having immutable backups offers the opportunity to have a clean point to build back from, focusing on

your critical assets and then aligning other services. However, having the clean data is irrelevant unless you know how to recover from that point. Business continuity plans need to be focused on prioritising what can be recovered, if it is to be done with confidence. It is important to say that this is a business decision, not just an ICT decision. Bruce Hopkins I think it is important that everyone in the organisation knows their role in terms of an overall response. Currently I have a paper copy, a soft desktop copy and a Sharepoint synchronised copy of our incident response checklist. If our internet was to go down, we would all have the latest version, ensuring that across the business we start the response as quickly as possible. IT security and cybersecurity is a key element of recovery, but they are only one part, everyone must play a part if an organisation is to have a successful response.

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The cost of ageing The cost of age-related expenditure in Ireland is set to be €17 billion higher per year in 2050, if the current projections for the demographic structure of Ireland’s population continue. The country’s growing and ageing population is the subject of an extensive Department of Finance study which suggests a number of policy options to counter the perceived detriment to the economy, including the possibility of linking the State pension age to life expectancy. Ireland’s current qualifying age for a State pension is 66 but average life expectancy is 79.6 years for males and 83.4 years for females. Life expectancy figures are expected to increase, as too is the State’s population (6.5 million by 2070), however, concerns are centred on projections that the country’s population aged 65 and over is set to grow significantly faster than the working age population. Such a demographic shift would not only necessitate increased public expenditure in areas such as pensions and healthcare but would simultaneously slow economic expansion and the tax base, leading to higher annual deficits if no policy changes are made. Highlighting the significance of the projected ageing of the population, deemed to be one of the most rapid of in the EU, the analysis shows that Ireland’s current ratio of four persons of working age compared to each person aged 65 and over could, by 2050, be reduced to just two persons. The Department of Finance estimates that real GNI*, on current no-policy intervention projections would fall from 5.5 per cent growth in 2019 to 1.5 per cent in 2070, representing a 4 per cent decrease. Over the same timeframe, productivity growth is estimated to fall by 1.8 per cent. Broken down to total age-related expenditure projects, the Department estimates that,

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as a percentage of GNI*, pension costs will increase by 4.9 per cent, healthcare will rise by 2.3 per cent, long-term care will increase by 3.1 per cent and education expenditure will decrease by 0.2 per cent. Factored together, the Department estimates that current projected demographic changes would see annual age-related expenditure increase by 10 percentage points of GNI* by 2070. The Department’s analysis states that without policy intervention to mitigate the inevitable implications of ageing demographics, independent of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the public finances will be on “an unsustainable trajectory”, adding that significant structural reforms are “absolutely necessary” to meet the fiscal costs associated with population ageing. The expected decline in GDP growth is multifaceted, with things like slower

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Social welfare pension expenditure projections, per cent of GNI* 12

% of GNI*

10 8 6 4 2 0 2019

2030

2040

SPA age 66

2050

2060

2070

SPA 67 (2021) and 68 (2028)

Source: Department of Finance

Projected annual pension expenditure, as per cent of GDP 2019

2030

2040

2050

2060

2070

Social Welfare Pension

5.8

7.2

8.5

9.9

10.7

11.3

Public Sector Pension

1.6

2.4

2.7

2.3

1.5

1.1

Total Pension

7.4

9.6

11.2

12.1

12.2

12.3

Source: Department of Finance

labour supply increases impacting on output growth and ultimately government revenues. The reduction in government revenues will, according to projections, coincide with necessary increased costs in age-related expenditure, particularly in the areas of pensions and healthcare.

component of this expenditure, followed by health care,” the Department’s report says.

“The anticipated greying of the Irish population is expected to put significant upward pressure on age-related expenditure over the coming decades. Indeed, in line with having one of the most rapidly ageing populations in Europe, Ireland is set to have one of the largest increases in annual age-related expenditure, behind only Luxembourg and Slovakia. Digging into the detail, pensions are projected to be the largest

The Department’s report states that keeping the SPA will put “significant strain” on the public finances, adding that the decision to retain the current SPA and not increase it to 67 in 2021 and 68 in 2028 as previously planned, is likely to cost €50 billion by 2070.

Of the various policy scenarios analyses by the Department, the standout scenario is a potential change in the State pension age (SPA). Ireland’s State pension age was set to rise to 67 in 2021 before the Government reversed the change following pressure. In November 2020, the Government established the Commission on Pensions to examine the sustainability and eligibility issues with the State Pension and the Social Insurance Fund.

“A policy linking the SPA to life expectancy is likely to reduce pension expenditure significantly,” it states. The report concludes that aligning the State pension age with increased life-expectancy appears the most “important reform” to meet the fiscal costs associated with population ageing, stating that Ireland’s current “favourable population profile” provides the opportunity to undertake the necessary policy changes to ensure the sustainability of the public pension system before the fiscal implications of population ageing begin to impact.

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Sláintecare: Institutional resistance suggestion “nonsense” The Health Minister Stephen Donnelly TD has said he is committed to introducing Sláintecare, despite a number of high-profile resignations appearing to raise doubts over the outlook for the universal health plan. The resignation of Tallaght Hospital-based gastroenterologist Anthony O’Connor in late September was the third successive high-profile resignation from the Sláintecare Implementation Advisory Council (SIAC), following in the footsteps of chairman Tom Keane and Executive Director Laura Magahy. In a resignation letter seen by the Irish Times, O’Connor hit out at what he described as the “bulldozing” of the culture of collaboration, respect, community, and engagement envisaged in the Sláintecare report. O’Connor went on to say that the values and behaviours of some people occupying “mission critical” roles are likely to be fatally destructive of the plan and said that while it was possible “some iteration” of Sláintecare may emerge, he expects it to “little or no relation” to what was originally proposed. O’Connor’s resignation came a day after the advisory council met with HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid and

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Department of Health Secretary General Robert Watt in late September 2021. All three members who have resigned have raised concerns about the progress of reforms to bring a single-tiered health system and end private care in public hospitals. Watt and Reid are to co-chair a new board to replace the Sláintecare Implementation Advisory Council, the term of office of which ends on 24 October. Some members had appealed for an extension for the SIAC to continue its work until the end of the year. It is thought that some members of the SIAC may be asked to join the new board.

“I cannot help coming to the conclusion that this is a hostile takeover of Sláintecare.” Róisín Shortall TD Róisín Shortall TD, Social Democrats.

Critics have said that plans by the Health Minister for the new group to focus on planned regional health structures is not in keeping with the original vision for Sláintecare. Concerns have also been raised that there appears to be no plans to have patient representatives on the new body. Donnelly and Watt updated the Joint Committee on Health on 6 October. At the meeting co-leader of the Social Democrats, Róisín Shortall TD said that “a hostile takeover of Sláintecare” had occurred, while Fine Gael TD Colm Burke suggested there was resistance to reform within the Department. However, while the Minister accepted a “perception among some that change is not happening”, he pointed to change right across the system, citing that 97 per cent Sláintecare's projects are reportedly on track. Watt described the suggestion of institutional resistance as a “nonsense” and rejected the suggestion that there was a “vast conspiracy” to block the introduction of universal healthcare. Donnelly told members of the joint committee that a number one priority of a new taskforce would be to tackle long waiting lists, highlighting that they were “terrible before Covid and have worsened since”. In September, statistics from the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) showed an 8 per cent rise in hospital waiting lists from the previous year and expectations are that the number of people on hospital waiting lists will soon surpass one million, despite significant reforms and plans to address timely access to care set out at the launch of Sláintecare four years ago. The Health Minister has said that efforts to address the issue will be modelled on the vaccine taskforce, which planned and delivered the programme.

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Date for your diary! Housing Conference 2022 2nd Feb

Wednesday 2nd February 2022 Radisson Blu, Dublin

Digital

Events

Published in September 2022, the Government’s Housing for All plan has been heralded as a radical departure from Rebuilding Ireland and the “largest State building programme in our history”. With a promise to deliver 300,000 homes by 2030, including 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable homes, 18,000 cost rental homes, and 156,000 homes from the private market, Housing for All contains four pathways: 1.

Supporting home ownership and increasing affordability;

Eradicating homelessness, increasing social housing delivery, and supporting social inclusion;

Increasing new housing supply; and

Addressing vacancy and efficient use of housing stock.

In this context, the 2022 conference will host a variety of expert domestic and international speakers who will comprehensively explore the latest ambitions, challenges, and opportunities for Ireland’s housing sector.

Sponsorship and exhibition opportunities There are a number of opportunities for interested organisations to become involved with this conference as sponsors or exhibitors. This is an excellent way for organisations to raise their profile with a key audience of senior decision-makers from across the housing sector in Ireland. For further information on how your organisation can benefit, contact Lynda Millar on 01 661 3755 or email lynda.millar@eolasmagazine.ie

Key issues to be examined: 3

Housing for All ambitions and implementation

Addressing the housing demand and supply imbalance

Eliminating the existing housing stock deficit

Supporting increased affordability

Creating a large-scale affordable cost-rental sector in Ireland

Eradicating homelessness

Maintenance and management of existing housing stock

Enabling a more sustainable housing system

The holistic role of AHBs

The role of the LDA in developing cost rental housing

Enhancing local authority capacity

Incentivising the refurbishment of vacant properties

Reducing the cost of construction

Changes to planning and development in Ireland

More information available soon Online www.housing.eolasmagazine.ie

By telephone 01 661 3755

By email registration@eolasmagazine.ie

Promoting sustainable communities

Housing report

In association with

Housing for All: A new Housing Plan for Ireland Right now, Ireland’s housing system is not meeting the needs of enough of our people. My colleagues in Government and I are keenly aware of this. Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien TD writes. As we finally – and thankfully – come out the other side of Covid-19, the Government has stated loudly and clearly that the housing crisis will be given the same attention and focus as the pandemic. We say this because we know that the impact of the housing crisis is felt in every family across our country. Be it the hardpressed tenants stuck in a rent trap or those at the sharpest edge of the crisis, who will spend tonight sleeping in emergency accommodation or worse, sleeping rough on one of our city streets. Criticism of the Plan has, predictably, ranged from it being too ambitious to it not being ambitious enough. It is ambitious. It needs to be. It sets out, over four pathways, a series of bold actions that rise to the challenges we are facing, backed up by an unprecedented financial commitment in excess of €4 billion per annum. Over 300,000 new homes will be built by the end of 2030, including a projected 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental

Credit: Fianna Fáil

housing report

Promoting sustainable communities

housing report

“At the heart of the Plan is massively expanding the role of the State into providing affordable homes for purchase and rent while building historic levels of new social housing.” homes. It's the largest State-led building programme in our history. This eclipses the heydays of the 1940s and 1950s. At the heart of the Plan is massively expanding the role of the State into providing affordable homes for purchase and rent while building historic levels of new social housing. A new First Home Shared Equity Scheme will see the State step in to bridge the gap between the finance a person has and the price of a new home. This scheme will help those currently paying high rents to pay down a mortgage on their own home instead. The local authority-led Affordable Purchase Scheme will see affordable homes delivered at an average price of €250,000 while the newly enhanced Local Authority Home Loan Scheme will see a greater number of people eligible for a State-backed mortgage. The income eligibility limit for a single applicant will increase from €50,000 to €65,000 in certain areas, while the interest rate will be decreased for new borrowers. Cost rental is a very exciting aspect of Housing for All which will, for the first time ever in the State, deliver long-term security of tenure at affordable and predictable prices. Over the course of the Plan, 18,000 cost rental homes will be delivered across the country at rates a minimum 25 per cent below open market value.

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Promoting sustainable communities

The eligible tenants, people who are above the social housing income limits, and who wish to rent or are unable to buy their own home, will be charged rents that cover the cost of developing, financing, managing and maintaining the homes only.

housing report

Already tenants are in situ in their cost rental homes in Balbriggan in north County Dublin where some tenants are availing of rents which are approximately 50 per cent below the market rate in the area. As well as the significant ramping up of cost rental homes, the Government will introduce measures which include indefinite tenures and minimum building energy ratings in private rental accommodation. We will introduce new short-term letting regulations through a Fáilte Ireland registration system meaning more rental properties in the long-term rental market. We have already restricted any upfront payment upon the commencement of a tenancy to a total value that does not exceed two months’ rent i.e., a deposit and one month rent in advance. Crucially, we have extended rent pressure zones (RPZs) and linked rents to general inflation putting an end to the annual 4 per cent rent increases which we were seeing. At the time of introducing this legislation, which we did so expeditiously, I acknowledged inflation was rising and said that I would keep the need for an overall cap under review. As part of rent reforms due to be brought before the Oireachtas this session, we will introduce a cap so that rents in RPZs will only go up, if necessary, in line with general inflation to a maximum cap which will be determined in conjunction with the Attorney General and the advice from my department. The commitment given by government for the eradication of homelessness by 2030 was made with careful and thoughtful consideration. Protecting the most vulnerable has to be our priority. The rapid and joined-up response by our homeless services – and their extraordinary commitment throughout the pandemic – resulted in an unprecedented upscaling of services to keep people safe. The strong collaboration that has developed must continue and I will do everything I can to ensure that vital health and mental health supports are provided in tandem with housing for our most vulnerable. In this respect, the commitment given under Housing for All for an additional 1,200 Housing First tenancies over the next five years is key. Housing First provides homeless people with high support needs with housing and the essential

“This Plan will ensure that we achieve a more sustainable housing system with a planning system that is fit for purpose and that will create long-term vibrant communities with the necessary supporting infrastructure.”

Promoting sustainable communities

wraparound supports required to maintain a tenancy. The tenancy sustainment rate is approximately 85 per cent under Housing First and this means we can help those rough sleeping or experiencing long-term homelessness to successfully exit into secure safe tenancies – something we must continually strive towards.

housing report

Having homes vacant in the middle of a housing crisis is unacceptable. Whether they are vacant local authority homes, known as voids, or derelict eyesores in our towns and villages it’s not something we want to see. Through Housing for All, the Government has set out a number of steps it will take to alleviate this problem and to bring life back into our cities, towns and villages. Last year, 3,607 vacant social homes were brought back into productive use with a further 3,000 targeted for refurbishment and reletting this year. Changes have already been made in respect of the Fair Deal scheme to ensure that there are no disincentives to a person selling the principal private residence and further changes will be made to exempt rental income from being calculated as part of an applicant’s income. This will unlock the potential for thousands of homes to be sold or rent without financial penalties, should a person wish to do that. The new Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund which will be established, will be a gamechanger in terms of servicing sites and refurbishing vacant properties in regional towns and villages for prospective homeowners. We all look around our towns and see vacant or run-down sites which we know would be perfect for housing and close to all essential services. This fund will unlock that potential while also providing financial assistance to those wishing to purchase a vacant property in a town or village to refurbish so that they can live in it. A nationwide, local authority-led, Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) Scheme to purchase vacant homes will be rolled out and this is something I want to see councils get involved in. At least 2,500 vacant properties are to be targeted nationwide. On the other side of this issue is the need for penalties for those who wilfully leave homes and sites vacant. A new vacant site tax will be introduced to replace the vacant site levy which we know has not worked the way it was intended. Information will be gathered through the Local Property Tax returns with a view to introducing a vacant property tax. We need this information because as we all know homes can be left vacant for any number of reasons and this way the tax will be targeted at those who wilfully leave a home idle. These measures combined will make a muchneeded impact in tackling vacancy. Housing for All is not just about delivering the necessary homes for private, social and affordable housing. It is also about setting out a pathway to economic, societal and environmental sustainability in the delivery of housing. Our measures relating to the construction sector, including costs, will help make the delivery of housing more economically sustainable in the long-term. This Plan will ensure that we achieve a more sustainable housing system with a planning system that is fit for purpose and that will create long-term vibrant communities with the necessary supporting infrastructure. The implementation of this Plan is now of the utmost importance. Oversight will be provided by the Cabinet Committee on Housing. Actions will be continually monitored and updated annually to account for the latest analysis, performance against our targets, and any new or corrective actions that may be necessary in order to stay on track towards our targets. By working together to implement this Plan, the Government will make every effort to accelerate the delivery of Housing for All and work towards a long-term sustainable housing system for this and future generations. I am determined this Plan will work, we have the solutions, ability, drive and determination to make a real impact, and importantly we have a plan that is fully financed.

housing report

Promoting sustainable communities

Building sustainable and inclusive communities New CEO of The Housing Agency, Bob Jordan talks to Owen McQuade about supporting the delivery of Housing for All and the importance of affordability and social inclusion in housing and communities.

Promoting sustainable communities

Bob Jordan takes the helm at The Housing Agency as the Government publishes its new housing strategy. Commenting on the new strategy, Jordan outlines his belief that Housing for All is “a once in a generation opportunity to deal with the issues around the delivery and supply of housing in Ireland”. The housing sector’s confidence in terms of delivery has been buoyed by a promise of multiannual funding totalling €4 billion each year.

“The role of The Housing Agency has always been to support local authorities and approved housing bodies [AHBs] in their delivery programmes; everything from procurement advice and advice on design to new construction methods. For example, over the last number of years our Projects and Procurement team has collaborated with around 50 AHBs. We are also regularly in touch with every local authority in the country. We provide support in sourcing properties for social homes and we share information and best practice on a whole variety of issues,” Jordan explains. Under the previous plan, there was an emphasis on The Housing Agency acquiring vacant properties through the Acquisition Fund. In Housing for All there is an additional focus on advising local authorities on compulsory purchase orders (CPOs). The Agency will establish a central advisory service to assist local authorities with a CPO programme to acquire vacant properties to provide homes. The Housing Agency will manage the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Fund which will “bridge the viability gap that exists for those build-to-sell apartment blocks of four storeys or more” on

“There are a lot of people attracted to urban living in apartments and we need to ensure there is compact growth in our cities through the use of higher density developments,” Jordan remarks, adding: “It’s about getting developments moving that already have planning permission. “When we were all restricted within our 5km perimeters during the Covid crisis, we had the opportunity to observe every detail of our local neighbourhood. I heard people, particularly young people, remarking on the significant number of vacant properties in their area. There must be a real focus on bringing these vacant properties back into use.

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Supporting delivery

between 70,000 and 80,000 planning permissions, 40,000 of which are in Dublin.

“There are some good examples where this has already happened. Recently, I was in Cork city when the Taoiseach opened the new Peter McVerry Trust regional office and we saw a former bank in the city centre converted into five onebedroom apartments. There are lots of opportunities like that in our cities and towns right across Ireland.”

Affordable housing The Housing Agency also has a role in advising on the new Part V requirements. Under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), developers are required to provide 10 per cent of zoned residential land to the State for social housing. Under revised legislation passed in the summer, this is being increased to 20 per cent and affordable housing will be provided as well as social housing.

COST R ENTAL S C H E M E S Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Dublin 18

Taylor Hill, Balbriggan, County Dublin

Lancaster Gate, Cork

In September 2021, the applications process began for 50 purpose-built cost rental homes at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Dublin. These cost rental homes will be managed by Respond and Tuath Housing and are being delivered on land provided by The Housing Agency under the land aggregation scheme. The 50 two-bedroom apartments will be let at the beginning of 2022 at a monthly rent of €1,200, a significant reduction when compared to market rents for two-bedroom apartments in this location. Having managed the transfer of lands to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council as part of this project, The Housing Agency has worked closely with the local authority as well as with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Tuath, Respond and the Housing Finance Agency in bringing this project to completion.

In August 2021, the first tenants moved into Clúid Housing’s cost rental homes in Balbriggan, County Dublin. The 25 new homes are a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom properties. Under the cost rental scheme, rents for the homes are set at a minimum of 25 per cent below open market values with prices for the Taylor Hill, Balbriggan homes starting at €935 per month – around 40 per cent below local market rates. The Balbriggan homes are conveniently located close to social, educational, commercial, transport and recreational amenities. The properties are semi-furnished with white goods and flooring supplied.

In August 2021, Clúid announced construction of Cork city’s first cost rental homes. A mixed tenure development of cost rental and social homes will be developed on the site. The 88 new apartments will consist of 73 cost rental homes. When complete, the scheme will be a mix tenure community of one-, two-, and three-bedroom properties. Monthly rent for Clúid’s Lancaster Gate homes will start at €990 per month, over 30 per cent below local market rates. Lancaster Gate is being delivered in partnership with O’Callaghan Properties, one of Ireland’s longest established property development and investment companies. When complete, the Building Energy Rating (BER) will be A2.

Promoting sustainable communities

housing report

“Regardless of which organisation we are supporting, there is a need to focus on the family or individual in need of a housing solution. Whether it is a family affected by pyrite, a person living in fear of losing their home because of mortgage arrears, or the person who is homeless and needs a home, we must always keep them at the top of our mind.” Housing for All aims to expand the affordable segment of the housing market and The Housing Agency will have a central role in those efforts, having established an internal affordable housing unit last year. The Housing Agency is advising the local authorities on how they can deliver both social and affordable housing. “The affordable segment bridges that gap between social housing on one hand and the private market on the other. People who do not qualify for social housing, but who cannot afford to buy or rent on the open market,” Jordan explains. The Housing Agency will support local authorities with the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme. Under the scheme, local authorities deliver, or facilitate the delivery of, new homes in areas where there are affordability challenges, targeting average prices of €250,000.

Cost rental model The Housing Agency has been central to developing a vision for cost rental homes in Ireland. “Cost rental is a new tenure model in Ireland,” Jordan notes, adding: “As far back as 2004, the National Economic and Social Council [NESC] was talking about the cost rental model. The rent is based on the cost of financing, constructing, managing, and maintaining the

property rather than on open market rents. It is a more sustainable model of providing rental housing.” Alongside Dublin City Council, The Housing Agency promoted the concept of cost rental to many policymakers in the Irish housing sector when it hosted an exhibition of the Vienna model of cost rental homes in 2019. “It has gone from concept – a policy proposal in the early 2000s – to something tangible for people,” Jordan recounts, adding: “It then went into the Affordable Housing Act 2021 and currently, there are projects being delivered in Stepaside and Balbriggan and a scheme is planned in Cork. It is now very real, with more schemes on the way in 2022.” Tenants in cost rental schemes are set to pay at least 25 per cent below the local market. As cost rental grows over time, it is anticipated to have a dampening effect on overall rents. “Our role is to help embed this new tenure with solid foundational documents, legal agreements, and the cost rental equity loan scheme,” The Housing Agency head outlines. When asked if he believes that Ireland is ready for the ‘pure’ Vienna type scheme, whereby tenants pay below 30 per cent of their income; Jordan replies that the model will likely evolve over time in Ireland but emphasises: “Cost rental is different to

Promoting sustainable communities

social housing and has some features of home ownership. Tenants on moderate incomes can feel a sense of security in their homes, they can put down roots in their communities, and they can invest in maintaining their homes knowing they will enjoy the benefits.”

Social inclusion and sustainability

The second component is having a varied mix of property types; one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom properties. Through his previous role leading the Housing First programme, Jordan remains cognisant of Ireland’s 4,500 single homeless adults and their needs. Most single adults experiencing homelessness require onebedroom properties. However, only a small proportion of new social housing properties are one-bedroom. He observes that while this type of property is very important for those exiting homelessness, as well as older people, sometimes it is stigmatised in communities. In this respect, Jordan highlights Ireland’s changing demographic landscape. “Households are getting smaller and many people on social housing lists need one-bedroom homes. It is time to shift the focus away from the traditional three-bedroom semi-detached house,” he says. Overall, mixed communities must be socially inclusive. That means the housing needs of older people and those with a disability should be integrated into developments. Simultaneously, as well as being socially inclusive, sustainable communities must also be climate resilient. As Ireland responds to the climate crisis, housing has a role to play in addressing how we use energy more efficiently. This can be achieved, Jordan explains, by facilitating compact urban growth and ensuring that building regulations are applied so that new homes do not add to greenhouse gas emissions, while the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock is improved.

Future Having worked across the sector, in the Department of Housing, as an adviser to the Minister, as the CEO of Threshold, and in Dublin City Council, Jordan’s passion for housing is widely regarded. Having equipped The Housing Agency CEO with the advantage of having “walked in their shoes”, this experience also gives him an insight into how each component of the housing sector delivers its programmes. As such, he is cognisant of the priorities of each of these stakeholders.

the family or individual in need of a housing solution. Whether it is a family affected by pyrite, a person living in fear of losing their home because of mortgage arrears, or the person who is homeless and needs a home, we must always keep them at the top of our mind. In doing so, we are equipped to design better programmes and deliver better responses for local authorities and AHBs. We must mirror the focus on people contained within Housing for All.”

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Having conducted research into mixed tenure housing, Jordan highlights two crucial components. The first is achieving the widest possible mix of tenures in a neighbourhood. “Tenure is really a proxy for income; therefore, it is about people with different incomes living within the same neighbourhood,” he says.

organisation we are supporting, there is a need to focus on

P RO F I L E

Bob Jordan

Bob Jordan is CEO of The Housing Agency. A native of Dublin, he has lived in Dublin city centre for the last 30 years. Bob has over 20 years’ experience working across the housing sector, starting with Dublin Simon Community. He was CEO of the housing charity Threshold for 10 years, helping people who are at immediate risk of losing their tenancies in the private rented sector, “an issue that is still as relevant today as when I started with Threshold”. As Special Adviser to the then Housing Minister, Simon Coveney TD, he was very much involved in the preparation and implementation of Rebuilding Ireland. Immediately before joining The Housing Agency, he was the National Director of the Government’s Housing First programme, working collaboratively with local authorities, HSE, AHBs and NGOs to provide permanent housing and wraparound supports to people with a history of rough sleeping and long-term homelessness. His interests outside work include “participating in the Dublin arts scene and getting the best out of urban living”.

Remarking on conversations with his colleagues in The Housing Agency, Jordan concludes: “Regardless of which

Credit: Merrion Street

housing report

Promoting sustainable communities

Housing for All: A plan for the ‘squeezed middle’ Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD, Minister Eamon Ryan TD, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar TD and Minister Darragh O'Brien TD at the launch of Housing for All.

“Right now, Ireland’s housing system is not meeting the needs of enough of our people,” reads Housing for All, the Government’s new housing plan. The recently published plan will act as the Government’s blueprint for solving the housing crisis, replacing the previous plan, Rebuilding Ireland, five years after it was introduced. The challenges facing the Irish housing sector are manifold, but they are neatly summed up in the seven bullet points that appear at the beginning of Housing for All: 1. there are not enough houses to buy or rent in the private sector; 2. there are not enough houses being built by the State for those who need social housing; 3. housing has become increasingly unaffordable for the ‘squeezed middle’ who would once have expected to be able to purchase their own home; 4. too many people are experiencing homelessness or are unable to access appropriate housing; 5. the cost of building housing is too high; 6. too much vacant housing stock remains unused; and 7. housing stock needs to be more environmentally friendly. A foreword jointly attributed to the three leaders of the Government parties, Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar TD and Minister for

Promoting sustainable communities

Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD states that the plan’s objective is “that everybody should have access to sustainable, good quality housing to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard, and located close to essential services, offering a high quality of life”. The way that Housing for All seeks to achieve this, and to solve the above issues, is by building 312,750 new homes between 2022 and the end of 2030, constituting what Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD heralded as the “largest State building programme in our history”.

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90,000 of these homes are set to be social housing, whose leases will be managed either by local authorities or housing bodies; 53,800 affordable and cost rental homes will also be built. In order to provide for this State building of homes, the Land Development Agency will have its budget increased by €1 billion to €3.5 billion. 170,550 homes will be privately-owned or rented. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has previously estimated that 33,000 new homes would need to be built every year until 2030 in order to address housing demand in Ireland;

30%

Housing in Ireland, Q2 2021

20% 10%

Dublin

Leinster (excl. Dublin)

Munster

Connacht/Ulster

0% -10% -20% -30% -40% -50% -60%

Quarterly price change

Source: Daft.ie

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Transactions

Housing for All pledges to deliver 33,450 homes in 2024 and 40,500 in 2030. Affordability is also a key kernel of the plan’s attempt to tackle the housing crisis, and there is within the plan two affordable housing schemes that are to make 4,000 affordable homes available each year, along with a new affordable purchase shared equity scheme for first-time buyers. Prices for homes that qualify as “affordable” vary based on their locale, with a cap of €225,000 in rural areas, or up to €450,000 in the most expensive parts of Dublin. As much as 20 per cent of the cost will be covered by the State, or up to 30 per cent if the Help to Buy scheme is not used in conjunction. A local authority-led affordable purchase scheme will “see new homes delivered, many built by local authorities in key areas facing the most acute affordability constraints” with average purchasing prices of “approximately €250,000”. The Help to Buy scheme’s extension into 2022 was confirmed in Budget 2022. An “owneroccupier” guarantee is to be introduced before the end of 2021, legislating for houses in new estates to be ringfenced for first-time buyers and other owneroccupiers. The Local Authority Home Loan scheme is also to be expanded in order to widen its scope and extend eligibility to single applicants with gross income of up to €65,000 in the Greater Dublin Area, Cork, and Galway.

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Promoting sustainable communities

housing report

The lynchpin of the Government’s attempts to tackle ever-increasing rents is the delivery of an average of 2,000 cost rental homes per year, 18,000 by the end of 2030. Under the cost rental model, rents are based on the cost of building, managing, and maintaining the homes, with rents generally coming in at around 25 per cent below the market average. Rent Pressure Zones limiting increases in highcosts districts will be extended to 2024, and, in an attempt to combat the fact that “short-term letting has increasingly taken the form of tourism letting”, the Government will “will bring forward revised regulatory controls in this area with a view to ensuring the availability of residential accommodation, balanced with the needs of the tourism sector, as appropriate”. The precarity of renting is to be addressed via the introduction of legislation for tenancies of indefinite duration, similar to types of rental agreements seen often in other European countries, “subject to legal advice”. An annual registration process will be introduced in order to strengthen oversight of tenancies, while the Government will also facilitate increased enforcement of registration of tenancy requirements through measures such as the expansion of data-sharing arrangements between the Revenue Commissioners and the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

Average house prices and price changes by area, Q2 2021 €700,000

80%

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60%

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40%

€400,000

20%

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€100,000

rth W Co es u So t C nty ut ou Du h nt b y l NoCou Du in b r n Du th D ty D lin bl ub ub in li li So Cit n C n ut y C ity h Du ent bl re in L C W ong ity es fo tm rd ea th O ffa l La y Ki ois lke nn Ca y W rlow ex f W ord ick l Ki ow ld a M re ea th Lo Lim ut h er ick Cla Co re un Co K ty rk er Co ry u W Co nty a W te rk C at rfo it er y fo rd C Limrd C ity er ou ick nt y Tip Cit pe y r Do ary ne g Sl al ig G Ma o G alw y alw a o ay y C Ro Co ity sc unt om y m o C n M av on an ag h Le an itri m

100%

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Housing for All versus Rebuilding Ireland The most immediately obvious comparison between Housing for All and the plan it has replaced, Rebuilding Ireland, which was introduced by the Fine Gael government in 2016, is that the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan scheme has been extended to include single applicants with gross income of up to €65,000 in the Greater Dublin Area, Cork, and Galway as stated above, with the scheme now known as the Local Authority Home Loan scheme.

Average price

Source: Daft.ie

Promoting sustainable communities

The new plan also sees an increase in scope and ambition when compared with its predecessor. For example, in terms of social housing, Rebuilding Ireland planned for the construction of 47,000 social units between 2016 and 2021, averaging 9,400 social units per annum for five years. Housing for All, on the other hand, plans 90,000 social units to be delivered from the beginning of 2022 until the end of 2030, equating to an average of 10,000 units per annum for nine years.

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Plans for the delivery of all homes are also similar, but again have been scaled up in response to the increasingly squeezed demands of the housing market. When Rebuilding Ireland was published in 2016, just 12,600 new homes had been delivered in 2015, and the plan contained the goal of reaching 25,000 homes per year by 2021, almost doubling the rate of construction in five years. For various reasons, this goal was not reached, but figures for 2019 and 2020 illustrate where the construction sector is now in terms of housing completions. 21,087 homes were completed during the Covid-19-hit year of 2020, a 1.9 per cent fall from 2019’s 21,241. Housing for All’s target of 40,500 homes built in 2030 would once again look to almost double Ireland’s construction rate, this time over the timespan of 10 years. Analysis of the overall housing planned to be constructed also makes for interesting comparison: Rebuilding Ireland’s plan of reaching 25,000 houses per year with an average of 9,400 social houses included would have resulted in social housing accounting for 37.6 per cent of all new housing built; whereas, Housing for All’s plan to deliver 90,000 social houses within a total output of 312,750 means that social housing accounts for 28.8 per cent of new housing built, a reduction of almost 10 per cent.

“[Housing for All] will give the squeezed middle a real chance to realise their dreams of homeownership.” Minister Darragh O’Brien TD

It is clear within the forewords and the comments of the Government ministers involved in the creation of Housing for All that the main difference between the two plans is the newest plan’s focus on what the Government is terming the “squeezed middle”, those who earn above the threshold to qualify for social housing, but who are still unable to access a sufficient mortgage to buy a home of their own. Indeed, Minister O’Brien explicitly states that Housing for All is “a plan for the squeezed middle”. As such, an average of 6,000 affordable homes for purchase or rent are set to make up a proportion of the planned average of 33,000 homes delivered per year, meaning that they will account for 17.3 per cent of that total. This will mean that taken together, social and affordable homes will represent just under half (46.1 per cent) of the houses to be delivered by 2030. In terms of the rental market, the most notable difference between the two plans is the presence of cost rental plans in Housing for All. The term “cost rental” appears 44 times in the full document of the new plan, it does not appear once in Rebuilding Ireland. Housing for All plans to bring at least 2,000 cost rental properties to the market per year, with rents intended to be at least 25 per cent below market value. The contribution under Part V legislation by developers has also been increased from 10 per cent to 20 per cent in order to provide more affordable and cost rental housing. Upfront deposits and rent payments, another area untouched by Rebuilding Ireland, will now be capped at two months’ value. Writing in the plan, Minister O’Brien says: “The State will move ambitiously in order to break the rent trap and prevent homeownership becoming a relic of the past and the preserve of the few. It will give the squeezed middle a real chance to realise their dreams of homeownership.” The thrust of Housing for All distinguishes itself from its predecessor by virtue of this focus on the “squeezed middle”, attempting to solve Ireland’s housing by a multipronged approach that addresses shortages of supply at every tier. However, what Minister O’Brien and his colleagues in government intend is that — unlike its predecessor — Housing for All will ensure the tangible delivery of the overarching ambition detailed within; the delivery of sufficient housing supply, including social and affordable homes.

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Respond: Delivering over 1,400 homes across Ireland

Santry, Dublin

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Respond, the Approved Housing Body and community services provider, has a building programme in excess of €1 billion and delivers homes in 15 to 18 months from commencement on site at an average cost of less than €300,000 including site and all other costs, based on the homes in its current building programme. These homes are newly constructed lifetime homes delivered on fixed price contracts, adding to the national housing stock. Respond currently have 1,484 homes in construction on site and say that they have the potential to significantly increase their delivery based on their additional construction pipeline for commencement between the remainder of 2021 and the first quarter of 2023, which marks the end of the organisation’s current strategic plan. 46

These are a selection of Respond’s newest developments. All of these homes were supported by the Capital Advance Leasing Facility from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, private finance from the Housing Finance Agency and in partnership with the local authorities.

69 new homes in Kilbarry, Waterford City, Waterford Kilbarry, Waterford

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The development of 69 homes is a mix of oneand two-bedroom apartments and two- and threebedroom houses. The site is close to the city centre and a wide range of amenities such as health care, schools, food and retail outlets. These homes are a partnership with Waterford City and County Council under Rebuilding Ireland.

55 new homes in Northwood Avenue, Ballymun Cross, Santry, Dublin The development of 55 homes is a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments built for general needs housing. The homes are located at Santry Demesne, near Ballymun town centre, and are a short distance from Dublin city centre. The homes come with parking and two private garden areas. These homes are a partnership with Fingal County Council under Rebuilding Ireland.

Santry, Dublin

50 new homes in Nuncio Road, Deansground, Kilkenny (phase 1) The development of 50 homes comprises of oneand two-bedroom apartments and three- and fourbedroom houses. The site is a short distance from Kilkenny city centre, within close proximity to a number of schools, sporting facilities, supermarkets and retail outlets. Phase 1, comprising of 28 homes, was delivered in 2020 and the remainder homes in Phase 2 are scheduled for delivery in Q4 2021. The homes were a partnership with Kilkenny County Council under Rebuilding Ireland.

46 new homes and a community building in Duntahane, Fermoy, County Cork

Nunico Road, Kilkenny

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This Respond led development was undertaken through Part VIII planning process, in collaboration with Cork County Council and the Housing Agency. The scheme consists of 46 homes and one community building and is a mix of two-bedroom apartments and two-, three- and four-bedroom houses. It is located South West of Fermoy town centre. The homes provide general needs housing, housing for persons with disabilities and older persons housing.

T: 01 808 7700 E: info@respond.ie Social: @RespondHousing

Duntahane, Fermoy, Cork

Promoting sustainable communities

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Sustainable housing and zero carbon construction

Enabling a sustainable housing system is one of the explicitly stated goals in the Government’s new Housing for All plan. eolas examines the targets within that goal in detail and how it is being achieved elsewhere.

Credit: William Murphy

“The future environmental sustainability of our housing stock, including low-carbon housing, is imperative. Sustainable communities are a key focus: people of all incomes living side-by-side, with the right community infrastructure in place to help our cities, towns and villages thrive,” Housing for All reads, setting out the Government’s stall for how sustainability will factor into its attempts to vastly ramp up the delivery of Irish housing stock over the next decade. While there are four key pathways outlined within the housing plan, the plan also contains a separate goal that is “supporting the four pathways”: enabling a sustainable housing system. Five initial steps are outlined within the plan for the achievement of this goal: 1 the investment of €4.5 billion in water infrastructure, which will facilitate new home building; 2 the reduction of the cost of construction through “a coordinated government approach to productivity in residential construction”; 3 the embedding of compliance with the Building Regulations and Building Control Regulations in the construction sector through the establishment of registers of competent builders by placing the Construction industry Register Ireland on a statutory footing;

“The project made headlines in renewable energy circles due to its status as the first construction site in the world where all machinery, such as excavators, diggers and loaders, was electric… In total, the project saved 35,000 litres of diesel and the 92,500kg CO2 eq.”

4 the strengthening of delivery teams for local authorities to drive housing delivery; and 5 the establishment of a Commission on Housing and the holding of a referendum on housing. The investment of €4.5 billion in water infrastructure is said to be vital to reaching the Government’s target of building over 300,000 homes by the end of 2030, with the funding set to be spent on vital infrastructure up to 2025 and “particular focus” placed on those projects that support future housing delivery. The extension of the local authorities’ capacity through the new Local Authority Housing Delivery Action Plan will enable local authorities to not only build new housing stock, but to improve the quality of existing stock. In order to make the existing stock more sustainable, local authorities will retrofit 36,500 homes to a “B2/cost optimal” Building Energy Rating (BER) by 2030. A minimum BER for private rental properties will be introduced, “where feasible”, from 2025. Under the 2019 introduction of the nearly zero energy building regulations in 2019,

Promoting sustainable communities

all new homes must reach a minimum BER of A2. However, while achieving this goal would mean that all new homes would be highly energy efficient, it does not take into account the carbon that is emitted during the construction of these homes, which typically accounts for more than half of the lifetime emissions of the new homes constructed.

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The Irish Green Building Council has introduced its own zero carbon standard for new homes within Ireland to adhere to as part of their Home Performance Index. Within the index, a zero carbon home is defined as one where “100 per cent of the operational energy use associated with the project must be offset by new on- or off-site renewable energy” and “100 per cent of the embodied carbon emissions impacts associated with the construction and materials of the project must be disclosed and offset”.

Construction using electric machinery at the Olav Vs gate zero emission construction pilot project. Credit: Climate Agency, City of Oslo.

Zero carbon construction Cities such as Oslo, Helsinki and Copenhagen are among those leading the way when It comes to carbon-free construction, with the Nordic cities looking to curb the emissions of one of the world’s highest polluting sectors. The construction industry accounts for more than 11 per cent of global greenhouse emissions, but it is when CO2 emissions from energy use are considered that the industry’s impact becomes even more clear: it accounts for 38 per cent in this case. One of the most high-profile cases of zero carbon construction came on a site situated on the Olav Vs gate street in Oslo. When work began in September 2019 to transform the street into a fully pedestrianised area, the project made headlines in renewable energy circles due to its status as the first construction site in the world where all machinery, such as excavators, diggers and loaders, was electric. The project served as a pilot project for the world’s first zero-emission urban construction site, and although it did not reach completion entirely emission free in the end, due to issues such as a propane burner that could not be rebuilt or replaced by a carbon-free alternative, it did save 99 per cent of emissions when compared to a scenario of using diesel-powered machines. In total, the project saved 35,000 litres of diesel and the 92,500kg CO2eq. Both Helsinki and Copenhagen have been quick to follow on the heels of Oslo, with both cities beginning their own zero carbon construction pilot projects in 2020. In November 2020, the mayors of four cities (Oslo, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Budapest) became the first mayors to sign up to the C40 Clean Construction Declaration, which aims for a 50 per cent in construction emissions by 2030. Of course, Oslo’s ability to lead from the front has not occurred in a vacuum; even before its attempts to achieve zero carbon construction, construction accounted for 7 per cent of the city’s emissions and the city is the capital of Norway, a country where 98 per cent of the electricity grid is powered by renewable energy. The lessons to be learned for Ireland, where construction sector emissions are not officially recorded but must account for their fair share of energy related CO2 emitted by both the transport and industry sectors (40 per cent and 21.3 per cent of total energy related CO2 respectively), are manifold and not just exclusive to the construction sector itself. On top of its commitment to the Clean Construction Declaration, Oslo has also committed to making all of its municipal construction sites zero-emission by 2025 and all construction work zero-emission by 2030, goals which six further cities have agreed to. The lesson for Ireland would seem to be that major investment in an electricity grid powered by renewables enables this kind of sectoral change, yet SEAI figures show renewable targets for 2020 have most likely not been met, with just 33.2 per cent of electricity coming from renewable sources in 2018. If Ireland is to rebuild its housing stock in a sustainable fashion, there is work to be done.

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Sustainable business performance of social housing providers In a very short period, sustainability has become part of the daily vocabulary of society. It is driven by the desire to make a visible contribution to a better world: benefitting the planet (mitigating climate change), and the people (reducing social inequality), writes Director of Business Development and Sustainability Lead at RITTERWALD, Ad Hereijgers. Dedicated professionals want to be held accountable for their ESG credentials. Sustainability has also entered the social housing sector by showing its positive impact on tenants (the S), by meeting serious retrofitting challenges (the E) and by being compliant in a regulatory environment (the G). Social credentials are distinctive, governance is without discussion. However, the route to net zero carbon will become a bumpy ride: ageing properties, ambitious EU goals and timelines, externalities, and different facts and metrics and various opinions. Although we acknowledge the complexity, this should not become an excuse to delay action by approved housing bodies and local councils in Ireland. We suggest this call for action and response is supported with five guiding principles.

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1. Look at two sides of the coin Yes, decarbonisation of homes is complex and urgent. No, there are no quick fixes (power grid is an externality), but there is low hanging fruit (educate tenants with energy savings to avoid energy poverty) and no excuse to wait for others (government support will only be part of the solution). Yes, decarbonisation is expensive. No, there is no lack of funding, but it may need re-allocation among new housing delivery, retrofitting and community 50

development to reorganise debt capacity. Moreover, partnerships with investors for cost-rental housing will help. Yes, private landlords as well as homeowners should also contribute their share. No, social housing providers do not have to be solely responsible.

2. Create opportunities The social housing sector has a track record of addressing challenges that effect society. It often starts with engagement with government to partner in tackling the issue. However, government will not provide all the answers let alone all funding, although it is likely to wield the stick. Although decarbonisation affects the entire sector, there will not be a one sector solution. It becomes more evident that appropriate responses require leadership from frontrunners. First movers will turn challenges into business opportunities. And yes, success and failure will alternate as part of ultimate successful innovations. One of the effective ways to show leadership is to make the individual corporate decarbonisation agenda part of the regular asset management strategy. Then decarbonisation integrates regular business operations of a residential real estate company with a social purpose.

3. Think with the head, act from the heart The urgency for mitigating climate change comes with many emotions in society, understandably, because society at large may have waited too long. There is increasing awareness of the implications of climate change and there is a growing desire to leave a better world for future generations. However, there is a danger that actions are driven by emotions and less by evidence-based facts. Also, in social and affordable housing we should stay aware, that homes are inert and capital intensive to build, maintain and operate. Sustainability combines capital investment and consumer operation of homes. To incorporate and prioritise sustainability responses in a social housing organisation, a materiality analysis can be a useful tool in designing a sustainable implementation strategy (see Figure 1).

4. Follow the money Because equity does not have access to approved housing bodies in Ireland, debt capital is the main source of funding. And debt capital markets across Europe are showing a fast-growing interest in sustainable related debt instruments such as green, social, and sustainable

retrofitted home also requires a different behaviour (windows, installations, ventilation). And even more important, prior to retrofitting, a tenant can pick the low hanging fruit by savings in energy consumption. The other is to create a learning environment among housing staff: what works best and how to accomplish that best.

Figure 1

bonds and sustainability-linked loans. Current ESG investors and new entrants (all working with growing ESG mandates) are increasingly identifying social and affordable housing on their radar. To support them in their allocations of capital, an ESG accreditation is helpful. We have developed the Certified Sustainable Housing Label that is instrumental in countries across Europe. In combination with a Sustainable/Social Finance Framework and ESG Reporting (for instance by following the UK Sustainability Reporting Standard), also approved housing bodies in Ireland can become more visible for international ESG investors.

5. Use economies of scale Due to their sizes, although still relatively modest, approved housing bodies can make a difference in successful retrofitting. House archetypes require different approaches. Pilot projects and other test bedding can lead the way to economies of scale. Scaling can often be aligned with cost reduction and therefore affordability for tenants. And don’t forget, there are no failed pilots: there are always lessons to be learned also how not to proceed.

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To conclude, we would like to invite the approved housing bodies to further develop pathways to decarbonisation and integrate these in regular business operations. Professional asset management is key. New technologies (particularly in installations) are going to help but are not fully test bedded and available yet. Installations (need alternative power) therefore we need to address both the fabric and the consumer, tenant. The fabric for future proofing the brick and mortar and to control energy poverty. The tenant to engage and ensure they get the maximum benefit from low hanging fruit in energy savings. The graph below (Figure 2) shows an indicative pathway.

E: ad.hereijgers@ritterwald.nl W: www.sustainable-housing.eu

Two success factors that come with scale: one is to engage tenants in an early stage, to make them aware that a

Figure 2

Collate & analyse data including pilots

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Anticipate regulatory requirements and reflect in strategy & business planning. Engaging with residents & stakeholders Review asset management & development strategy

Business model evolves to enable financing of CO2-reduction measure Financial resources freed through company efforts, e.g. cost savings in operations, external/debt/lease funding Personnel resources allocated accordingly

All levers are activated to reach a maximum reduction in CO2 levels — carbon neutrality Mobilise means beyond housing company (e.g. rising CO2 emissions prices) and government subsidies

Promoting sustainable communities

Adequate housing in Ireland housing report

The 219-page Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland report proposes a set of six indicators for monitoring the right to adequate housing in Ireland and provides baseline figures across a range of dimensions and across different social groups in Ireland. Jointly published by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in September 2021, Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland considers six metrics for housing adequacy. These are: access; affordability; security of tenure; cultural adequacy; housing quality; and location. Adequate housing as a right is referenced in Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” This is elaborated upon in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Article 11 determines: “The states parties to the present covenant recognise the right of everyone to an

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adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.” The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights explains this in General Comment No. 4 (1991) and in General Comment No. 7 (1997). The characteristics of the right to adequate housing are: Legal security of tenure; affordability; habitability; availability of services, materials, facilities, and infrastructure; accessibility; location; and cultural adequacy. Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland outlines the centrality of adequate housing to quality of life. “Housing provides safety and shelter and underpins people’s ability to hold employment, participate in education, and otherwise engage with civil society,” it notes. In her foreword to the report, Sinéad Gibney, Chief Commissioner at the IHREC argues that Irish housing policy “must urgently move away from primarily treating housing as a commodity”. Amid the removal of emergency legislation enacted during

the crisis to protect tenants, she advocates for the enshrinement of a right to adequate housing in Bunreacht na hÉireann. “A rights-based approach to housing not only acknowledges that housing is more than bricks and mortar,” Gibney writes, adding: “It combats inequality in housing which is pervasive across the Irish housing sector.” Referencing an IHREC 2020 survey, in which 82 per cent of respondents indicated that they consider housing to be a basic human right, she maintains that adequate housing enables all members of society to achieve their full potential, while contributing to a more just and inclusive society. Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland establishes a framework to monitor adequate housing through the identification of indicators to measure progress, while providing baseline figures on the housing circumstances of several social groups either prior to, or during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The rationale underpinning the report is the development of indicators to

Promoting sustainable communities Monitoring adequate housing in Ireland: The six dimensions and their indicators Dimension

Indicator

Access to housing

Homelessness Tenure type

Housing affordability

The 30/40 rule Poverty after housing costs Rent and mortgage arrears in the last 12 months Tenure in years

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Security

Subjective sense of housing security due to affordability Cultural adequacy

Selected indicators on cultural adequacy are not individual-level survey data but are instead drawn from national/aggregate level statistics

Housing quality

Over-crowding Housing quality index Ability to keep home adequately warm

Location, access to services and local environment

Access to services Safety walking home at night

understand progress towards achieving adequate housing and to demonstrate inequalities in housing outcomes. It is primarily descriptive and not intended to analyse the factors behind disparities in outcomes. A single metric, the report contends, would not accurately reflect the complexity and multidimensional nature of housing in Ireland. Undertaking consultation with 30 stakeholders representing a range of civil society groups, government departments and agencies, alongside researchers, the research also explored several national datasets. The report proposes a baseline

measurement framework of six key indicators, similar to those identified in the ICESCR: access; affordability; security of tenure; cultural adequacy; housing quality; and location. Across these selected dimensions, it is intended that the report will provide a baseline to measure the progression and/or regression on the right to adequate housing. Simultaneously, it can also determine experiences and outcomes for groups such as ethnic minorities, women, lone parents, younger and older people, and migrants. Acknowledging its limitation in providing a “snapshot of adequate

Source: IHREC/ESRI

housing” prior to or in the initial stages of the pandemic, the report suggests it can “inform debates about the appropriate policy responses to the pandemic and provides a baseline for monitoring progress in achieving adequate housing”. The report produced five primary findings and identified four key challenges. Findings: 1. Lone parents disproportionally affected: Less than one-quarter of lone parents reported home ownership when compared with 70 per cent of the total population. Lone 4 parents were more likely to report

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home affordability challenges (19 per cent) when compared with the general population (5 per cent) and are more vulnerable to housing quality problems such as damp and a lack of central heating (32 per cent) when compared with the population as whole (22 per cent). 2. Ethnic groups at higher risk of overcrowding: More than 40 per cent of Black/Black Irish people, 39 per cent of Irish Travellers and over 35 per cent of Asian/Irish Asian people live in overcrowded accommodation, compared with 6 per cent of the total population.

“Adequate housing is essential to quality of life. Inadequate housing is associated with poor physical and mental health and restricts people’s ability to participate in education, employment, and the community.” Helen Russell, research professor, ESRI adequacy as defined by the UDHR are not being met. Challenges:

3. Almost half of migrants live in the private rental sector: Only 9 per cent of people born in Ireland live in the private rental sector, compared with close to half of migrants (48 per cent). Migrants from Eastern Europe (28 per cent) and non-EU countries (27 per cent) in particular are more likely to live in overcrowded conditions. 4. Disabled people more likely experience housing quality problems: 29 per cent of people living with a disability are experiencing housing quality problems, compared with 21 per cent of those without a disability. Disabled people are also more likely to report fuel poverty and rent/mortgage arrears. 5. People experiencing homelessness continued to be denied basis housing adequacy: In March 2021, 5,894 adults were availing of homeless services, including 913 families who had 2,166 dependents. For these people, the most basic metrics of housing

1. Covid-19 and homelessness: The potential for homelessness to rise once pandemic protections are removed, allied with limited housing supply amid construction restrictions, is a “real risk”. The report emphasises that homeless figures do not account for ‘hidden homelessness’ or those not in contact with homeless services. 2. Rent inflation exceeding wages: Since 2007, rent costs have increased at a rate of almost 40 per cent in Dublin and around 20 per cent elsewhere. Each of these rates exceeds the average wage in Dublin and elsewhere. A 2020 estimate suggests that the average monthly rent cost in Ireland is 31 per cent of average monthly earnings. 3. Policy shift to private rental accommodation: Those with housing needs, including at risk groups, have been exposed to challenges relating to security of tenure and housing quality by the policy of addressing housing need

through the use of private rental accommodation through HAP. 4. Inadequate data: As a result of increased discrimination in their search for accommodation, ethnic minorities are more likely to experience overcrowding and homeless. Conversely, across most existing metrics of housing adequacy, there is no measure of ethnicity or asylum seeker status. Research professor at the ESRI and lead author of the Monitoring Adequate Housing in Ireland, Helen Russell asserts: “Adequate housing is essential to quality of life. Inadequate housing is associated with poor physical and mental health and restricts people’s ability to participate in education, employment, and the community. “This research provides a framework for monitoring adequate housing in Ireland and highlights key challenges to achieving adequate housing including the lack of housing supply and affordability issues. Security is increasingly important given the growing reliance on the rental sector, but we currently lack appropriate measures of security at the individual level.”

Acorn and Oaklee Housing thinking outside the funding box

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Over the three-year period between 2017 and 2020, the Acorn Housing fund enabled the acquisition of a variety of high quality, new build and second-hand one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, leveraging supply from both the Housing Agency and the Vacant Homes Purchasing Initiative as well as private developers. Once tenanted with a mix of families and individuals across a spectrum of ages, these groups of homes had the added benefit of enabling the development of communities which we are delighted to see have settled in extremely well. In the end, Acorn Housing facilitated the acquisition and delivery of 217 new homes.

Emerging from the financial crisis and restrictions in exchequer funding, in 2016, Oaklee Housing launched its three-year corporate strategy. With homelessness at an alltime high, the strategy outlined our ambitious plans to deliver increased numbers of social housing in an efficient, cost effective and timely manner, writes Siobháin Bunni, Head of Communications and PR at Oaklee Housing. Delivering on those plans meant a fresh approach to funding was needed to complement our traditional, primarily Housing Finance Agency-sourced facilities.

Detailed engagement with lenders, legal and financial advisors as well as key stakeholders in the Housing Agency and

Showcasing our ability to innovate and find fresh, alternative ways of financing our projects, Oaklee was the first AHB to establish a financing structure of this type and secured an attractive rate of borrowing over the term of the loan.

Approved housing bodies, with an already established remit and vested understanding of how to deliver social and affordable homes need to step up to the plate to assist in the funding of this national plan. “Initiatives like Acorn Housing is what will make the difference,” says Ceillier. “Commercial banks and funders are more than willing to collaborate with AHBs like Oaklee Housing to develop new funding propositions, we need to think outside the funding box and innovate.”

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With support from the Department of Housing’s Innovation Fund, Oaklee’s finance and development teams, engaged with Centrus Financial Advisors to manage a staged process through which we could secure private finance at competitive rates. Centus ran a competition for Oaklee, inviting over 25 banks and financial institutions, domestic and international, to participate. And so, in 2017, Project Acorn was born and Acorn Housing, a wholly owned subsidiary and charity, or special purpose vehicle (SPV), of Oaklee was established.

the Department of Housing followed. In December 2017, we completed the funding phase of Project Acorn and reached financial close on a €50 million debt facility with Nord/LB. The debt facility is based on a project financing structure secured through Acorn Housing.

The Government’s Housing for All strategy is an enormously ambitious plan that comes with some strenuous challenges. It is accepted the Irish Government cannot entirely fund the delivery of the 33,000 homes the strategy says we need to deliver each year to eradicate homelessness by 2030.

E: Siobhain.bunni@oakleehousing.ie W: www.oakleehousing.ie

“As the social housing arena becomes more and more competitive, it is hugely important for Oaklee, not just as a charity but as a commercial enterprise with a social conscience, that we can demonstrate our relentless drive to simultaneously deliver excellent quality homes and value for money,” says Oaklee’s Head of Finance Aaron Ceillier. 55

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Credit: Uwe Hiksch

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“It was an incredibly clear victory. A majority of Berliners in all but two [of 12] districts supported the initiative. Which means the whole city said: ‘We don’t want speculators to have a say in our housing’. And that’s a decision that political leaders simply can’t ignore.” Kalle Kunkel, Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen and Co campaign

Expropriation and the battle for Berlin rents Over one million Berliners have voted in favour of expropriating the housing stocks of large residential investors. On 26 September 2021, alongside the Berlin state and German federal elections, Berliners participated in a public referendum on housing. During this plebiscite, over one million Berliners voted in favour of the expropriation of rental apartments from real estate companies – or corporate landlords – with portfolios of 3,000 or more units.

Context In 2020, German Property Foundation (ZIA) calculations indicated that new tenancies in Berlin had increased by 27 per cent between 2013 and 2019. Similarly, a seven-month investigation, published by Der Tagesspiegel in April 2021, identified Berlin at the vanguard of real estate investment (primarily domestic) among European cities. A total of €42 billion was “spent on large apartment deals in Berlin and the surrounding area between 2007 and 2020”, eclipsing the combined totals of Paris and London.

Promoting sustainable communities

A campaign to arrest this upward march of rental costs for Berlin apartments has successfully contested a referendum on a radical proposal to expropriate large corporate landlords.

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Deutsche Wohnen and Co enteignen (Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen and Co), a campaign so named because Deutsche Wohnen (DW) is one of the largest corporate landlords in Berlin, possesses the stated objective of “socialising 240,000 homes [11 per cent of total apartments] in Berlin and transferring them into public ownership”. A significant portion of these apartments were once public housing units that had subsequently been sold to private investors.

Expropriation demands With a projected cost to the State of between €8 and €14 billion, the campaign is pressuring the Berlin Senate to initiate “all measures necessary”, to enact legislation which would include: •

the expropriation of private, profit-oriented real estate companies that own more than 3,000 apartments in Berlin through Article 15 of the Basic Law in order to transfer their holdings into public ownership (excluding cooperatives);

•

the compensation of affected companies “well below market value”;

•

the creation of a public-law institution, Anstalt öffentlichen Rechts (AöR), to manage the socialised housing stock; and

•

the management of socialised holdings via “majoritarian democratic participation of the community and renters” through AöR.

Constitutionality Articles 14 and 15 of Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, otherwise known as the German Constitution, establish a possible legal basis for the expropriation of property. Article 14 (1) outlines: “Property entails obligations. Its use shall also serve the public good.” While Article 14 (3) determines: “Expropriation shall only be permissible for the public good. It may only be ordered by or pursuant to a law that determines the nature and extent of compensation. Such compensation shall be determined by establishing an equitable balance between the public interest and the interests of those affected.” Meanwhile, Article 15 reads: “Land, natural resources and means of production may, for the purpose of nationalisation, be transferred to public ownership or other forms of public enterprise by a law that determines the nature and extent of compensation. With respect to such compensation the third and fourth sentences of paragraph (3) of Article 14 shall apply.”

Referendum Between April and June 2019, 77,001 signatures were collected, 58,000 of which were validated, meeting the 20,000-threshold necessary for a legal review by the Berlin Senate. This review was conducted between July 2019 and September 2020. Then, between February and June 2021, a second signature collection garnered 350,000 signatures, exceeding the 175,000-threshold required to initiate a public referendum. The success of the campaign hinged in achieving a simple majority of those voting, and at least 25 per cent of Berlin voters. Of a total of 1,749,923 votes, 56.4 per cent were ‘yes’ and 39 per cent were no, meaning that both the qualifying criteria had been met. However, the result is not legally binding, and the campaign was opposed both by the largest party in Berlin, and now Germany, the SPD, alongside the major opposition parties (the CDU, the AfD and the FDP). On the other hand, it is supported by the Left and ostensibly by the Greens.

Promoting sustainable communities

Credit: Uwe Hiksch

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Striking a conciliatory tone, following the referendum, Rolf Buch, CEO of Vonovia SE, asserted: “In the new legislative period, we’ll need far more mutual engagement than confrontation. Vonovia is ready to work closely with a new state government and the key social stakeholders in Berlin, so that, together, we can handle the challenges of the city’s housing market.

Earlier in 2021, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the rent cap imposed by Senat von Berlin – Berlin’s executive authority – was unconstitutional. This cap had come into effect in February 2020, fixing rental costs at their June 2019 level for five years for flats constructed before 2014 (90 per cent of Berlin apartments). However, this state law was in contravention of an existing federal rent break imposed in 2015, enabling landlords to increase rents by 10 per cent above the local market level. The rent freeze was lifted in April, with the result that landlords can increase costs of existing leases and seek backpay on erstwhile frozen rents. The experience subsequently fuelled the rage of Berlin renters, culminating in the success of the expropriation referendum. Yet, undoubtedly, the precedent casts a shadow on the victory of the expropriation campaign.

Commentary While the referendum result would be politically difficult for the Berlin Senate to ignore, it would also be legally challenging to pursue. Having vocally opposed expropriation during her campaign, leader of the Berlin SPD Franziska Giffey, now Berlin’s first female mayor, has conceded that legislation must now be drafted.

Whether it can be rendered legally impermeable seems unlikely. Speaking to ARD, Giffey reiterated: “I am still of the opinion that expropriations do not help to create even a single new apartment or solve the big question of affordable housing,” adding: “Such a draft then has to be checked and if it is not constitutional, then we cannot do it.” In a move which establishes one of the largest institutional investors in Europe, a majority (50.49 per cent) of DW’s share capital has since been acquired by its nearest rival Vonovia creating a combined housing portfolio of 550,000 units worth in excess of €80 billion. Interestingly, prior to the referendum, as part of DW’s Future and Social Housing Pact with Vonovia, it sold 10,700 homes back to the city of Berlin for €1.65 billion. Signposting their next move, the two companies have suggested voluntarily capping their rents in Berlin for the next five years, as well as building 13,000 new residential units. Such action is calculated to generate political capital. Such developments are an indication that while large investors are quietly assured of the improbability of expropriation, they are cognisant of a growing disquiet among Berliners, which resulted in majority support for the radical measure.

“Expropriation won’t solve the many challenges in Berlin’s housing market. In view of such major challenges, Berlin cannot afford years of deadlock which will now result as the newly elected Berlin Senate needs to set up a draft law on nationalisation in the face of some obvious constitutional concerns… By entering into a Future and Social Pact for Housing, we have sent a signal that we want to change something in the relationship between policymakers, society and housing companies in Berlin.” In comments made on Euronews on behalf of the Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen and Co campaign, Kalle Kunkel insisted: “It was an incredibly clear victory. A majority of Berliners in all but two [of 12] districts supported the initiative. Which means the whole city said: ‘We don’t want speculators to have a say in our housing’. And that’s a decision that political leaders simply can’t ignore.” Referencing Giffey’s opposition, Kunkel added: “You can tell she realised she can’t just be indifferent to a democratic decision. Sure, she’ll try to use all the legal and formal tricks at her disposal to delay or circumvent its implementation, but we have over 1,000 activists around the city and they’re not going to be robbed of this victory.” As such, it is anticipated that the Berlin Senate will utilise the referendum result to leverage further concessions from the monolithic investors. Therefore, while the large landlords are likely to win the constitutional battle on expropriation, with public pressure on legislators, it is entirely possibly that it will be a Pyrrhic victory. For now, the battle for Berlin rents rumbles on.

The how of Housing for All

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Executive Director of the Housing Alliance, Camille Loftus, discusses the role of local housing action plans in achieving the ambitions of Housing for All. The Housing Alliance is a collaboration between the six largest not-for-profit social and affordable housing providers (AHBs) in Ireland: Circle Voluntary Housing, Clúid Housing, Cooperative Housing Ireland, Oaklee Housing, Tuath Housing, and Respond. Housing developed by AHBs can maximise value for public funding, secure housing assets for the long-term, and provide high-quality, well-managed, secure and affordable homes for people locked out of the housing market. Recognising that this kind of housing is central to solving Ireland’s housing crisis, the Housing Alliance was formed to rise to that challenge. In that context, the Alliance is eager to work with government at both national and local level to achieve the targets for social and cost rental housing set out in Housing for All. Any policy strategy is only as good as its implementation. Housing for All puts local authorities centre stage in delivering the Strategy, every local authority must submit a detailed five year housing plan to the Minister before the end of 2021. It is in these local housing action plans that the State’s housing delivery capacity will be detailed: if Housing for All is the ‘what’, local housing action plans are the ‘how’.

This is a potential game-changer in realising a planned approach to meeting housing need. By January 2022, every local authority should have a detailed road map setting out how many homes, of what size and tenure, where and by whom, housing will be developed over the next five years. This kind of detail should be invaluable in ensuring that sufficient serviced land is available for housing over coming years. The requirement to align housing development with housing need is welcome. Housing need is changing in developed economies, and Ireland is no different. For example, single person households account for over half of all households on the social housing waiting list. We also need more adaptable housing, so older people and people with disabilities can live with dignity at home. Nearly half of all social housing currently in construction is being developed by not-for-profit providers; with Housing Alliance members accounting for 39 per cent of the total in Q1 2021. Our members also delivered Ireland’s first cost rental homes this year, a new tenure to Ireland, and one with the potential to improve the quality, security and affordability of rented tenancies in Ireland. The Irish Government Economic Evaluation Service finds that AHBs build

“a much larger proportion of apartments”, typically one-beds. This is the housing that Ireland needs. Housing Alliance members build housing that remains in the stock of social and affordable homes. We borrow money to build, including from the State, and repay it with interest. We make no profits, but provide high quality, lifetime secure, and affordable homes designed to meet the needs of households for whom the market does not provide. The Housing Alliance wants to, and can, play a greater role in delivering the housing that Ireland needs. Our hope is that the forthcoming plans will allow us to realise that ambition. We are eager to work with local authorities to develop the detail, and with national government on the policies and programmes to support implementation. The time is now.

E: info@housingalliance.ie W: www.housingalliance.ie

Housing for ‘Once and For All’ housing report

an 80 per cent windfall land tax; changes to the planning code on apartment sizes and the introduction at one point of a two-year planning rule. Some measures didn’t have the desired impact with many removed or changed significantly following implementation.

It will take time to absorb the myriad of measures contained in the Government’s recently published Housing for All report and the likely implications and consequences of same, writes Marie Hunt, Executive Director of CBRE Ireland. While the full detail is still forthcoming, the Government is to be commended for allocating significant funding towards housing and producing a comprehensive set of proposals, to once and for all attempt to tackle the

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housing crisis this country faces. Unlike many of the plans that have been produced previously, this needs to be a plan that is implementable. We now need to draw a line in the sand on government intervention and policy changes as we are in very real danger of losing the trust (and patience) of the very developers, funders, investors, and other intermediaries that we are relying on to deliver the end product if we can’t provide certainty on housing policy. 60

Over the years, as several governments and many different housing ministers took on the challenge of ‘fixing’ the housing problem, there have been countless different proposals and measures introduced, many of which were implemented without sufficient industry consultation, which meant that they had unintended consequences or failed to deliver and were subsequently removed. In the last decade, we have seen a plethora of changes including several changes to stamp duty, capital gains tax and mortgage interest relief. We have seen the introduction of residential property tax; Part V legislation to deliver social and affordable housing; the Living Over the Shop scheme; the Help to Buy scheme; vacant site tax; Rent Pressure Zones;

This summer it was unexpectedly announced that the 4 per cent rental cap that has been in place in the residential sector for the last number of years was to be replaced with a system whereby rents will be linked to inflation going forward. Within weeks, there were calls on the Minister to amend this measure on the basis that inflation is currently higher than it has been historically. Trying to attract and retain developers, investors, and funders (that we are reliant on to help deliver the end product) to commit to developing housing when policy keeps changing and current policy is regularly in the process of being replaced with something bigger and better, is extremely difficult. We need to ensure that policy is easily understood and implementable but more importantly we need the Government to have the courage of its convictions and give assurance that policy is consistent. All of the various stakeholders are tired of the rules being changed half-way through the game not to mention the fear of them being changed again before the full-time whistle. The Government has put months of work into producing this new multiannual plan. The intention is good albeit the plan is unlikely to result in a meaningful improvement in housing supply in the short-term. Arguably, the situation will get worse before it gets better. Hopefully, in time the plan will provide housing for once and for all.

Marie Hunt Executive Director, CBRE Ireland T +353 1 618 5543 M +353 87 272 7115 E: marie.hunt@cbre.com W: www.cbre.ie

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Promoting sustainable communities

Homelessness continues to fall July 2021’s homelessness figures show a slight decrease in the number of homeless adults in Ireland and a bigger decrease in the number of homeless families. These figures will have made welcome reading for the Government, who unveiled Housing for All one week after the publication of these figures including within it a pledge to eradicate homelessness by 2030. Homeless adults by age group, July 2021 (Source: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage)

27%

16% 18–24 25–44 45–64 65+ 55%

July 2021’s number of homeless adults as recorded by the Government stood at 6,003 a slight increase in terms of three-month (5,889 in April 2021) and six-month (5,987 in January 2021) intervals, but a slight yearly decrease from July 2020’s number of 6,077. As always, it should be noted that the official homelessness figures are dependent on the number of people accessing official homelessness services throughout the country, and therefore the true number of homeless people is always likely to be higher. An analysis of the demographics and locations of the 6,003 homeless adults

Promoting sustainable communities

The southwest region (defined in this report as Cork city and county as well as Kerry) is the next area with the highest proportion of homeless adults, recording 492 people and accounting for 8 per cent overall. 413 of these are said to be within Cork city and county boundaries. The Greater Dublin Area, defined in the homelessness report as the mid-east and made up of counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, is next in terms of numbers of homeless adults, with 306, over half of which are in Meath, accounting for 5 per cent of the overall figures. In terms of age, those in the 25–44 age bracket are by far the most likely to experience homelessness, with 55 per cent of adults recorded as homeless in July, a total of 3,326, being within those ages. The 45–64 age group accounts for 27 per cent of homeless adults, a total of 1,616, and the 18–24 age group accounts for 16 per cent, 943 homeless adults in total. The over-65 age group accounts for just 2 per cent of homeless adults, 118 in all. The July 2021 homeless report is notable for being the first of its kind to accurately identify the number of children within the homeless families that are recorded in the monthly reports. Previously, the monthly reports had “enumerated the number of individuals accessing homeless services broken down by adults and dependants”, which “resulted in a number of adults being listed among these dependants, most frequently in the case of children over 18 being associated with a homeless household, but also other adult family members”. 930 families were recorded as homeless in the month of July 2021, showing an increase on April 2021’s total of 925, but a decrease from the 966 recorded in January 2021 and a marked decrease from the 1,142

recorded in July 2021. Included in these 930 families were 1,502 adults and 2,129 child dependants, meaning that the total number of people within the families was 3,631, with the average homeless family unit having almost four people in it (3.9 people). Again, the vast majority of homeless families were recorded in the Dublin area, with 700 out of the 930 in the county, a proportion of 75.3 per cent. The western region, made up of Galway city and county, Mayo and Roscommon, was the next worst affected area in terms of familial

tenancies over the next five years to be provided for “people with a history of rough sleeping, or long-term use of emergency accommodation and who have complex needs” through the Housing First National Implementation Plan. The plan also lays out government plans to end long-term leasing of social housing by local authorities and approved housing bodies through the phasing out of new entrants in order to focus on new-builds to provide social homes, strengthen the Mortgage to Rent scheme to meet the needs of those in long-term arrears, make improvements in the quality and

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in July shows that males account for exactly two-thirds of the homeless population, totalling 3,942, or 66 per cent, with females accounting for the remaining 34 per cent, 2,061 people. Unsurprisingly, it is in Dublin where the vast majority of homeless adults are located, with 4,220 (70.3 per cent) of all those recorded as homeless in July being in the county.

July 2021 homelessness figures yearly, six-monthly and three-monthly changes (Source: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage)

7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 Homeless adults Jul-20

Jan-21

homelessness, with 66 homeless families recorded, accounting for 7.1 per cent of the total number.

Homeless families Apr-21

Jul-21

quantity of Traveller-specific accommodation and provide capital funding for vulnerable people through the Capital Assistance Scheme.

The plan to eradicate homelessness Housing for All, the Government’s flagship housing plan that seeks to address the related homelessness, housing price, rental rate and housing construction crises all contained within the Irish housing sector, contains within it a pledge to “work towards eradicating homelessness by 2030”. The first step within the plan towards achieving this goal is the delivery of 10,000 social homes per year from 2022 until the end of 2030, with 1,200

A new National Homeless Action Committee will also be convened in order to “examine the complex individual health and family circumstances that contribute to homelessness”, along with the development of a new Youth Homelessness Strategy. Both of these initiatives are to be done with the goal of providing “a coordinated response to ensure homelessness continues to decline with a focus on prevention and permanent housing solutions”.

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Tenant engagement and tenant first At Circle Voluntary Housing Association, we firmly believe that how we interact with our tenants, communities, colleagues, and key stakeholders is of fundamental importance, writes Liz Clarke, Director of Services. Tenant engagement is, and will continue to be, at the heart of everything we do. We strongly believe that our tenants should have a real opportunity to influence and shape the services they receive from Circle. This ethos underpins our approach to tenant engagement, and is set out in our new corporate strategy, in the structure of engagement activities on offer, and in our full commitment to improving and creating new opportunities for tenant involvement.

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Supporting Communities has been working with us to help develop the structures for a Tenant Advisory Group (TAG) and ensure that everyone involved has the tools and resources to enable a meaningful partnership between tenants, staff, and our board. Since December 2020, tenants and staff have been taking part in training and focus group work to develop a common understanding of tenant engagement and how they want to proceed. We are delighted to report that our board has approved a brandnew Tenant Engagement Strategy, written by the tenants themselves. This is a major milestone for us with many hours of work behind it. The Strategy is accompanied by a three-year action plan, written and designed by tenants and staff. The result? A tenant-led, inclusive, and sustainable tenant engagement structure which enables our tenants to hold us to account. Tenants do so by advising, monitoring and scrutinising our performance and behaviour, identifying areas for improvement and helping to improve the services they receive. 64

Our vision, objectives and approach Our vision is to make a real difference by providing quality homes and services We believe it is a necessity that tenants have a real opportunity to scrutinise our performance, influence our service delivery and affect service improvements. To do this, we are making sure tenants have the skills and capacity to ensure effective engagement and scrutiny and providing tenants with a real chance to shape the tailoring of services to reflect their priorities. Our Strategy sets out how we will communicate and develop meaningful engagement with our tenants. It has been designed to be inclusive and empowering, recognising tenants as the key stakeholders of our business. We have now openly committed to providing a comprehensive range of channels for our tenants to drive Circle to do better. Dedicating the necessary finance and other resources to fully implement, monitor, and evaluate this strategy was imperative and something our Board recognised and supported. We’ve made a commitment to our tenants that all our staff will understand this Strategy and have the necessary guidance and tools to implement it. Together we are developing ways in which we can measure the impact of implementation and delivery of this Strategy. To enable engagement, our staff and initial Tenant Steering Group spent hours, days and months in training, meetings and consulting with other supporting

organisations to ensure that we empower our tenants and break down barriers to their involvement in Circle. Tenant communication and engagement is about how our tenants can voice what we as an organisation do, but we understand that in asking tenants to do that we’re asking a lot of them. There’s been an awakening within Circle and in our staff and teams. We now have a clear and better understanding that our tenants have busy lives and that their time is equally important. As a result of this, we’ve really delved into how we encourage greater levels of participation that suit our tenants’ lifestyles. In taking their advice we’ve developed a choice in how tenants can take part; various types and levels of engagement are available through our Tenant Engagement Structure.

Our tenant engagement journey The draft statutory and voluntary regulations provide some direction as to what is required of approved housing bodies (AHBs), but we’ve learned that

tenant participation has been most effective where social landlords have gone beyond the requirements of the regulator. The results and recommendations from our 2019 Tenant Experience Survey provided significant grounding for the Strategy and that direct feedback from tenants was the driving force needed.

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In March 2020, we engaged the services of Supporting Communities to support the development and implementation or a revised 2021 Tenant Engagement Structure and Strategy. Unfortunately, the impact of Covid-19 resulted in delays to delivering the first phase of the project plan. It was always Circle’s and Supporting Communities intention and preference to deliver training and support to tenants and staff face to face. However, the ongoing restrictions led to Circle and Supporting Communities having to revise the scheduled action plan to incorporate delivery via Zoom. Despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, phase one of the action plan was delivered in full and included: • Tenant participation workshops and action planning sessions for staff; • Tenant participation workshops and action planning sessions for tenants, and the establishment of a Tenant Steering Group; • Workshops and action planning sessions to support development of the Steering Group for staff and/or Board members; and • Development of the Terms of Reference for the Tenant Steering Group approved by tenants. The original Steering Group designed the new tenant approved logo which is now used on all tenant related documents, policies, handbooks, and communications. It revitalised the tenant newsletter and edited and proofed the new tenant handbook.

Our TAG was established in April 2021, with Steering Group members continuing to be involved. The group received training on Circles structure and governance, as well as how Circle is

The impact In the words of our Customer Services and Repairs Manager, Colm Barnes: “By the end of the first TAG group meeting, I understood the idea of tenant engagement better. With each session, the idea grew on me. The introduction of April and Gerry (Circle tenants) was again a strange concept. We never said it, but there was that invisible boundary between ‘us and them’. “As the meetings went on, I was able to talk more openly with Gerry and April. Listening to their input gave me a sense

of relief and belief in the TAG. They both acknowledged what individual staff members working within Circle did in our daily roles. To hear the sentence, ‘how can we help?’ was an eye-opener for me. If this was the tenant engagement concept, that won me hands down! “You ask the question about how tenant engagement will benefit me as the Customer Service and Repairs Manager. I don’t fully know yet, but I hope the journey I have experienced so far will continue and that it will be a similar one for all our tenants and all of Circle’s staff. Based on my TAG experience, I know we can learn a lot from each other, pull on our strengths together when needed, and be open with each other when support and understanding are required. That can only be a good thing.”

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A call was made for tenants to become involved in the Tenant Advisory Group (TAG). Supporting Communities and members of the Steering Group, along with staff, management, leadership team and Board members, attended information sessions to drive support and membership. All departments, whether front facing or not, took part.

financed and regulated. Good governance, components of effective meetings and the role of the chairperson were covered, supporting the TAG to realise its purpose and function. A twoway process for communicating between our board and the TAG has been in place since then, and this has been championed by the TAG, our Chair and CEO.

T: 01 407 2110 E: lclarke@circlevha.ie W: www.circlevha.ie

housing report

Promoting sustainable communities

Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority releases Statement of Strategy The Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) released its Statement of Strategy 2021–2024 in late October, laying out its intentions to deliver on its mandate in the newly regulated field. The Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Act 2019 provides for the full statutory regulation of the AHB sector, which had previously been voluntarily regulated. It “seeks to support stronger governance, financial management and reporting, property and asset management, and tenancy management by AHBs, with a focus on safeguarding investment being made in the delivery of social housing by AHBs”. Key to this oversight and regulation is the establishment of the AHBRA. The Statement of Strategy is the first by the AHBRA and it sets out how it plans to establish a regulatory framework “that will deliver effective oversight of all AHBs”. The sector had previously been regulated by the Voluntary Regulatory Code (VRC) for seven years. In the last of its annual reports, the VRC reported that there were 285 AHBs in ownership of over 43,000 homes who had signed up to voluntary regulation. The sector is “comprised of many parish-based AHBs managing a small number of homes, AHBs whose primary focus is care and support, and a small number of large and growth AHBs”. The latter group, the large and growth AHBs, accounts for over 80 per cent of the housing in the AHB sector, with assets of over €4 billion and rental income of over €88 million annually.

“Statutory regulation will be positive for AHBs, tenants, potential investors and other stakeholders. It will enable the protection of housing assets, safeguard public investment, encourage private investment and promote long-term strategic thinking.” AHBRA Chair Eddie Lewis and CEO Susanna Lyons

Promoting sustainable communities

The key functions of the AHBRA as set out in the Act are to: Establish and maintain a register of AHBs;

•

Prepare draft standards for approval by the Minister for Housing, publishing the approved standards, and monitor and assess compliance with those standards by AHBs;

•

Carry out investigations in accordance with the Act;

•

Protect tenants and AHBs and cancel the registration of AHBs if necessary;

•

Encourage and facilitate the better governance, administration and management of AHBs;

•

Promote awareness and understanding, and make information about the legislation available to the public;

•

Collate information concerning the performance and functioning of AHBs; and

•

Publish such information as appropriate.

In the Statement of Strategy, the AHBRA pledges to establish and implement a regulator framework that includes “the registration of AHBs, the setting of standards, monitoring and assessing compliance with standards, and, as required, undertake investigations”. It says it will implement risk-based regulation, with a focus on “those AHBs which are identified as higher risk and/or cannot demonstrate or evidence compliance”. The authority pledges to introduce and embed a system for reporting, data collation and analysis over the course of the strategy. The AHBRA states that the provision of “quality information” will be key to its governance and strategic statement, with its reporting of its findings through an annual report, financial statement and annual business plans to lay out its “key findings, regulatory outcomes and our objectives in a transparent manner”.

housing report

•

The five key strategic objectives the AHBRA will aim to achieve: i.

Reliable and efficient AHB regulation framework

ii. Proportionate standards and compliance frameworks iii. Transparent and consistent risk-based regulation iv. Consistent and effective communication with stakeholders v. An agile, flexible, and accountable organisation

Speaking upon the publication of the strategy, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD said: “AHBRA will be an important element in support of our ambitious housing agenda, overseeing the effective governance, financial management and performance of all AHBs.” As well as having won its long battle to secure a Government commitment to “work on a package of reforms with approved housing bodies, to ensure that they can access finance and move off the balance sheet”, and a subsequent Housing for All commitment to deploy the Department of Finance’s statistical unit to assess the likelihood of attaining such a classification, the AHB sector is now entering a new era of statutory regulation which will see it play a key part in the delivery of the Government’s Housing for All strategy. The role it will play in the delivery of 6,000 affordable homes to be made available for purchase or rent every year through AHBs, local government and the Land Development Agency is the headline from that strategy in the sector, but its delivery of social housing and Traveller-specific accommodation as outlined in the plan, along with its role in pilot schemes to house the homeless, will see the newly-regulated sector increase its already-large presence on the Irish housing scene. 67

Could soaring materials costs scupper the viability of housing housing report

stockpiling all spelling trouble for an already pressurised market. The Irish Timber Frame Manufacturers’ Association first reported an unprecedented increase in timber prices in 2020, with the trend continuing in 2021. The Irish Home Builders Association is reporting that the cost of plywood has increased by up to 11 per cent since the start of 2021. They have reported that demand for sheet material in the US has caused a shortage worldwide. Members of the Construction Ireland Federation (CIF) are reporting price increases of between 10 per cent and 30 per cent for steel, though the major issue appears to be sourcing sufficient supplies.

The construction industry returned to a very different landscape following its re-opening in May this year after the Covid-19-related lockdowns. As well as changes to on-site work practices, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to worldwide supply shortages resulting in an increase of as much as 30 per cent in the cost of some raw materials, writes Angelyn Rowan, partner in the construction, projects and PPP team at leading commercial law firm Philip Lee.

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Add Brexit supply-chain issues to the equation and you have an industry facing significant challenges and inevitable cost increases affecting the viability of residential schemes as margins become even tighter. It is anticipated that the impact of some of these issues will begin to dissipate in 2022, but only time will tell. In the meantime, materials costs fluctuations and supply shortages continue to affect on-going projects, causing delays and driving cost increases, and will undoubtedly be a key consideration in future projects. 68

Current supply shortages The construction industry is currently facing a supply crisis causing the costs of widely used materials, such as plastic and resins, to soar since early 2020. Building restrictions and increased disposable income during the Covid-19 lockdowns have resulted in strong product demand. Other factors, such as Brexit, are affecting transport and logistics, exacerbating supply issues. Timber is also in great demand, with Covid-19, a licencing backlog slowing the felling of Irish trees and Brexit

Approximately 60 per cent of the world’s aluminium originates in China. However, in recent years China has shut down many aluminium production facilities in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions, thereby greatly reducing production output. As a result, China is importing more aluminium from Europe, intensifying supply shortages and price increases. This has resulted in many Irish and foreign manufacturers reportedly having to close or limit their order books, blaming the ongoing shortages of raw materials and the exceptional demand.

Contractual approach to risk allocation for material costs fluctuations Standard form construction contracts commonly contain clauses allowing for an adjustment to the ‘contract price’ to reflect any changes in the cost of materials (and labour) during the contract period. These clauses seek to compensate contractors for increases to their costs, which are caused by matters beyond their control. The traditional approach usually involves determining the increase in cost of materials using a base cost from published materials or a basic list of market prices included in the

The RIAI Building Contract makes provision for increased material and labour costs, with its Clause 36 allowing for an increase to the contract sum if these costs arise after the contract’s designated date. However, this provision is almost always amended, so that it is the contractor that bears the risk of any increases to material and labour costs throughout the duration of a project. Under the Public Works Contract, where typically the PV1 clause is adopted, a contractor accepts the risk of increases to materials/labour costs. However, in the event of hyperinflation increases or where the increases have occurred outside the time period specified by the contract (i.e., beyond the 30-month limit) or the increases have occurred due to changes in law, the contractor has the potential to claim some portion of the costs.

We set out below a comparison table of the risk allocation for materials costs increases under the forms of construction contracts that are commonly used in Ireland.

appropriate risk allocation in future projects. It may be the case that the parties to a contract will seek to negotiate bespoke provisions to rebalance what they may perceive as an

Are extensions of time available where materials supply is delayed?

unfair risk allocation.

In terms of extensions of time, the default provisions in the RIAI Building Contract (Clause 30) allow for a contractor to seek an extension of time where it has been unable, for reasons beyond its control, to secure labour or materials that are essential for the proper execution of the works. This clause is commonly deleted, however, as an employer’s position is often that the contractor is best placed to manage this risk.

insisting that their design team

Delays brought about by the materials supply issues do not constitute grounds for a delay event under the Public Works Contract.

and discussions involving the

The JCT Contract (2016 Edition) makes no provision for an extension of time on the grounds that a contractor cannot secure materials.

Employers may seek to future-proof new projects and mitigate these risks by members take account of materials availability risk when designing works

housing report

contractor’s tender. The duration of the project is a significant factor in the risk allocation between the employer and the contractor, with the employer being less likely to agree to a risk sharing approach on projects of a shorter duration or in the first few years of a project, where a contractor is arguably best placed to manage the risk. Contractors have called into question this approach in light of the recent price hikes, where the unprecedented events of the last 18 months have placed considerable risk and financial burden on contractors, potentially affecting the sustainability of a project.

and specifying products. Given the events of the past 12-18 months and the extent of the increased material costs being faced by those in the industry, one can expect that these matters will continue to feature in contract claims in the foreseeable future negotiation of construction contracts over the coming years. Prepared with the assistance of Michael Cahill, Senior Associate at Philip Lee For more information in relation to this article please contact Angelyn Rowan

Conclusion The reality of supply shortages and escalating costs highlights the importance of contractors and employers knowing their contractual entitlements and considering the

RIAI

PWC-CF1

Material and labour cost increases and shortages

Clause 36 allows for an increase in the Contract Sum if this increases after the Designated Date (as defined). This provision is almost always amended, so that the Contractor bears the risk of its costs increasing by a fluctuation in the cost of materials and/or labour. Clause 30 allows for the Contractor to claim for an extension of time where the Contractor has been unable for reasons beyond its control to secure labour or material that are essential for the proper execution of the Works.

The Contractor bears the risks of (i) increases in the cost of labour and materials (the inflation risk) other than exceptional material increases (hyperinflation) and those outside the fixed-price period; (ii) increases in cost due to change in law (very limited) other than in certain specified areas; and (iii) increases in cost due to exchange rate variations. There is a choice of Price Variation Clauses that can be chosen by the Employer: • PV1 – the fixed-price period is 30 months from the Contract Date • PV2 – the fixed-price period is 36 months (includes 6-month tender assessment period) from the Designated Date (10 days before the latest date for receipt of tenders) or the Recovery Date (the revised Designated Date to take account of any delay to the commencement or the works caused by the Contractor).

E: arowan@philiplee.ie W: www.philiplee.ie

FIDIC Gold & Red Gold Book: Clause 14.1 provides that the Contract Price is the amount submitted by the Contractor and due to be paid to the Contractor, together with any adjustments allowed for under Clause 13 (Variations and Adjustments). Clause 13.7 provides that the “Contract Price and programme for design, execution and operation of the Works shall be adjusted to take into account any increase or decrease in cost resulting from any changes in technology, new materials or products which the Contractor is obliged to adopt, either: (a) where a proposal from the Contractor under Sub-Clause 12.2 (Value Engineering) is accepted by the Employer’s Representative; (b) where the Employer’s Representative instructs the Contractor to use new technology or new materials or products; or (c) there is a statutory requirement for the Contractor to use new technology or new materials or products.” Red Book: Similar principles to those set out in the Gold Book.

JCT The JCT Standard Building Contract uses the concept of the ‘base date’, which is a date stated in the ‘contract particulars’ section of the standard form. The base date should be a date that enables sufficient time for prices, etc. current at that date to be included in the tender, so that any adjustments for fluctuations are calculated from that point in time. JCT does not anticipate a completely fixed price contract, so the JCT Standard Building Contract includes three options for calculating price adjustments. Option A is contained in Schedule 7 of the contract conditions. Options B and C are no longer included in JCT contract documents but continue to be available on the JCT website. The standard position is commonly amended to shift the allocation of risk.

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Promoting sustainable communities

‘Complete overhaul’ of planning laws needed housing report

difficult to navigate, contributing to significant delays and additional costs in the delivery of housing”. “The planning legislation review sanctioned by the Government today is of an unprecedented scale, using experts in planning law under the supervision of the Attorney General, to improve our planning laws,” the statement explained.

As part of its efforts to deliver the ambitious housing targets laid out in Housing for All, the Government has announced its intentions to review the planning process in Ireland, with Taoiseach Micheál Martin stating a “complete overhaul” was needed to deliver on the plan’s goals. Speaking upon the announcement of the review, to be headed by the Attorney General, Martin said: “When we published Housing for All earlier in the month, I reiterated my view that housing is the single most urgent and important social issue facing our country at this time and that I am determined that we as a Government get to grips with it. We also committed that the Housing for All plan would be underpinned by accountability and a strong delivery focus. “This large-scale planning reform programme, which will bring about fundamental improvements to our planning laws, reflects the approach we are taking overall, with challenging 70

deadlines and a truly cross-Government approach to delivery of Housing for All’s objectives and other major plans. Our planning laws need a complete overhaul to meet the ambition outlined in Housing for All. Streamlining and simplifying the planning laws will support the accelerated delivery of housing set out under the Housing for All plan.” The “comprehensive” review of Ireland’s planning legislation was announced in late September, weeks after the unveiling of the Government’s flagship housing plan. It is expected to be completed and published in September 2022. A Government statement on the review stated that the planning process has become “overly complicated and

Chief among the complaints of those who have found the planning process difficult to navigate have been the length of time an application takes and the ease with which people can bog down an application in the legal system through challenges. When the review was first mooted in June 2021, these were two of the main aspects of the current system that were mentioned with regard to a review taking place. Background work by officials was being conducted at the time and now a full review has been ordered and is underway. One proposed reform to the planning system that will not be going ahead is the proposed fast track for strategic housing development, whereby developers could apply directly to An Bord Pleanála and bypass the relevant local authority. Plans for this reform were abandoned after legal challenges halted the progress of the process. Plans for a previously discussed dedicated planning court will, however, likely play a role in the review of the current process. Another hint towards the direction the review may take comes in the form of a letter sent to the Oireachtas housing committee by Minister of State for Local Government and Planning Peter Burke TD that asked the committee to consider the outline of draft laws in order for the Department of Housing to advance its plans in the autumn. Burke wrote that the number of legal challenges against planning decisions had “knock-on implications for project delivery” and that “it is considered timely that the issue of judicial reform review in the area of planning be now reactivated, considered and further progressed”.

Promoting sustainable communities

Over half of unfinished developments resolved developments still to be dealt with.

housing report

From 2017-2020, Kerry was the council area to have removed the most unfinished developments from the database. Having entered the period with 18, the highest among all council areas, the council cleared all but two from the database, meaning that they cleared 90 per cent of developments in their area from the database. The council area with the most unfinished developments still in the database is Donegal, where just four developments (19.05 per cent) were removed from the database, leaving a total of 17 still on it. Of the 24 council areas with unfinished developments still on the database, all but Tipperary (10), Roscommon (14) and Donegal have recorded amounts in the single digits, with Longford, Wicklow, Monaghan and Dublin City all having just one development left to deal with.

Former ghost estate, Bridgetown, County Wexford.

The Government’s latest update on unfinished housing developments shows that over half of the developments unfinished in 2017 have now either been completed or had construction progress to a point where they are no longer considered unfinished. As of 2020, there are now 124 unfinished developments on the register. Although the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has yet to publish its annual report on the process of finishing the unfinished housing developments that have pocked the Irish housing landscape since the economic crash of 2008, it has published the figures from 20172020, showing that 51.95 per cent of housing developments unfinished in 2017 have now been substantially completed or have progressed through the construction phase to the point of removal from the unfinished housing developments database. In raw numbers, this means that 133 unfinished housing developments were removed from the database from 2017-

2020, with a total of 124 now remaining in the database. Seven council areas (Westmeath, South Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Meath, Galway City, Kildare and Cork City) are now left with no unfinished housing developments; two of these (Westmeath and South Dublin City) had entered the period with none. Four council areas (Dublin City, Waterford, Limerick and Wexford) made no progress in removing unfinished developments from the database from 2017-2020, with a combined number of 19 unfinished developments remaining in the database across the four areas. Wexford was the worst affected of these areas, with nine unfinished

The latest batch of figures is the first report to cover more than one year of time in the completion of these unfinished developments, with previous reports covering 2015-2016 and 20162017. As such, it is understandable that the 51.95 per cent of projects removed from the database over the course of the latest figures is larger than the 39.2 per cent removed from 2016-2017 and the 37.1 per cent from 2015-2016. However, a more detailed look reveals that the average yearly rate of removals for 2017-2020 was just 17.3 per cent, a steep fall from the yearly rates recorded in the previous reports. A total of 248 and 165 developments were removed from the database in 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 respectively, again dwarfing the 133 removed from 2017-2020, a yearly average of just 44.3. Great progress has been made towards the eradication of these unfinished developments over the course of these reports, with 1,687 removed since 2013, but it would appear that as the numbers dwindle, so too does the rate of success, thus delaying the day when these remnants of the economic crash become mere memories rather than still-existing reminders. 71

Implementing Housing for All housing report

to the available supply of social housing through build, acquisition and leasing, with a focus on new build (9,000 homes) as well as a funding package for affordable purchase and cost rental homes. All of this adds up to a good foundation for delivery over the coming year and ahead. Our recent Biennial National Social Housing Conference, held on 22–24 September 2021, and sponsored by AIB, captured the attention of more than 500 attendees. Speakers elaborated on those issues at the very core of a successful housing programme, those which will support — and those that may put at risk — the delivery of affordable and sustainable housing under Housing for All (for speaker presentations, go to www.icsh.ie).

25 new homes under the cost rental scheme at Taylor Hill, Balbriggan from Clúid Housing

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The Housing for All plan is set to deliver for many households and to tackle the complex problems that have been accumulating in the Irish housing sector. The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) welcomes it and, in particular, we are encouraged by the certainty of a long-term and multi-annual plan, writes Director of Policy Karen Murphy. A Government strategy of this size and scale will require the collaborative efforts of multiple agencies, and the approved housing body (AHB) sector will deploy its efforts towards achieving the commitments and targets in the plan.

delivery, having played a key role in increasing the level of new social housing in recent years, and it envisions a central role for the AHB sector, with a multi-annual focus set out in new Local Authority Delivery Action Plans.

The commitments made by the Government reflect the nature of the housing crisis. Housing for All addresses social housing, cost rental, affordable purchase and private housing, and it also commits to ending homelessness by 2030, an EU-wide joint declaration, and implementing specific policies to assist with special needs housing provision.

The recently published Capital Development Plan (2021–2030) and Budget 2022 have now placed the Government’s housing plan on a solid footing with a budgetary commitment of over €4 billion, including €2.6 billion capital exchequer funding, €1.5 billion Land Development Agency (LDA) and Housing Finance Agency (HFA) funding and current funding of €1.4 billion in 2022. 11,820 new homes will be added

The new plan identifies AHBs as significant partners in social housing 72

Successful implementation For a large-scale project with complex objectives, the key to successful implementation will be collaboration and clarity of purpose for all those tasked with the delivery of the plan. Here, the new local authority delivery action plans will build on the strong local authority and AHB partnership. But, as one of our conference speakers said, collaboration calls for all actors on stage, if we're going to deliver on targets. That means significant funding, labour force enhancements, Land Development Agency engagement and other state agencies with land. Across all parts of the housing system from the public and non-profit to the private sector, there is a need to provide a stable policy platform so that long term plans can be undertaken with confidence. The risk element in any construction programme can be managed so long as the supporting funding and planning regimes behind them are not subject to frequent change. At our conference, we heard private sector concerns about ‘chopping and changing' housing policy, and, in relation to Housing for All, fears of the ‘devil in the detail’. Housing professionals want

stability, robust legislation and faster decision-making.

Combatting homelessness One of the headline commitments in Housing for All is the Lisbon Commitment, which is the goal to work towards ending homelessness by 2030. This is certainly welcome and the adoption of a housing-led approach, including a continued expansion of the Housing First model, will be vital elements to the response. The importance of community inclusion and integration was a discussion point at our conference under a number of themes, with EU supports, such as the European Social Fund, flagged as an important funding source for ancillary social services that help support sustainable communities.

In response to calls by many to introduce a subsidised cost rental tenure, Housing for All commits to an average of 2,000 new cost rental homes every year with rents targeted at least 25 per cent below market level. AHBs have already begun providing cost rental housing, with tenants moving into their homes in 2021. The non-profit AHB model of provision works particularly well for cost rental, and can work as an important stabilising element to our housing system.

“Our recent Biennial National Social Housing Conference, held on 22–24 September 2021, and sponsored by AIB, captured the attention of more than 500 attendees. Speakers elaborated on those issues at the very core of a successful housing programme, those which will support — and those that may put at risk — the delivery of affordable and sustainable housing under Housing for All.” Housing system lifecycle Demographic projections pose challenges for policy and how we organise our institutional responses socially and economically. The ICSH has long campaigned on the need for supported housing options for older people and disabled people, but gaps still remain in terms of an adequate supply of appropriately designed homes and supported housing complexes. Housing for All is informed by the 2019 Housing Options for our Ageing Population Policy Statement, which recommends that 30 per cent of all new dwellings are built to incorporate universal design principles; this is to be welcomed. Housing associations have demonstrated how better value for money can be achieved in preventing early admittance to hospital or residential care through supported housing. A framework for the delivery of appropriate housing for older persons and disabled people should be included as part of the housing delivery plans of each local authority.

Climate, sustainable development and retrofitting The implementation of the Climate Action Plan is dependent on all sectors of society playing their part. In the housing sector, there are targets for a large-scale deep retrofitting of stock to improve energy efficiency. Under Housing for All, there is a commitment to introduce a

targeted retrofit scheme for AHBs as part of the national response to climate change. The sector is keen to begin this work with the right funding package in place to support it.

Socially and economically inclusive housing system The ongoing crisis across all parts of our housing system is untenable. Our conference opened with speakers identifying deeply embedded structural obstacle as well as emerging risks. Housing professionals who spoke from both the public and private sector perspective agreed that supply without affordability is unsustainable. The longterm implications for our nation’s health, security and well-being must be prioritised in any plans to deal with this crisis. Housing for All will require both sustained resources and, critically, cooperation if it is to be effective.

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Cost rental tenure

50 purpose built cost rental homes at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Dublin. These cost rental homes will be managed by Respond and Tuath Housing

housing report

To achieve 33,000 new homes annually to 2030, additional capacity in the construction sector will need to be fostered and harnessed. Conference speakers spoke in detail on this, and the construction skills and materials shortage featured in a number of sessions: the annual rate of inflation for construction tender prices is now double pre-Covid levels. We heard from the USA and Singapore on prefabricated models of delivery with room-sized precast components, and modules leaving the factory 90 per cent complete. So, the timeline is faster, more cost-effective, with less building waste and a lower energy footprint. Commitments on training and expanding the construction workforce in Housing for All are welcome, but growth in the modular construction sector is also important. A recent report by Property Industry Ireland states that requiring a percentage of future social and affordable housing to be completed using offsite construction methods would encourage more businesses to invest in offsite manufacturing.

Under Housing for All and beyond, we believe we can at least double the number of homes under AHB management by 2030 to provide greater affordability across the housing system. Providing housing as a social good is fundamental to the work of our approved housing body members.

E: karen@icsh.ie W: www.icsh.ie 73

conference report

Public Services 2021 John McKeon, Department of Social Protection; Aoife Connaughton, Deloitte; Philip McGrath, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and Shane Mohan, Deloitte.

Public Services 2021, sponsored by Deloitte, took place on Thursday 14th October as a hybrid event both at Dunboyne Castle Hotel, Co Meath and virtually. Delegates in attendance heard from a range of local and visiting speakers including Philip McGrath, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; Aoife Connaughton, Deloitte; Paul Reid, HSE; Dr Shawna Coxon, An Garda Síochána and Dr Piret Tõnurist, OECD. Topics discussed included a final progress report of Our Public Service 2020; the delivery of healthcare in Ireland; integrating innovation into operational and strategic planning; exploiting the power of research to mitigate the social impacts of Covid-19 and large scale reform of policing in Ireland. If you would like to attend the 2022 conference, please contact info@eolasmagazine.ie

Paul Reid, Health Service Executive virtually addressing delegates.

Philip McGrath, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Public Services 2021 delegates.

Q&A panel discussion.

Louise McEntee, Deloitte and Audrey Leonard, Courts Service.

Shawna Coxon, Deputy Commissioner, An Garda Síochána delivering her presentation.

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

Justice report

Sponsored by

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation justice report

needs of users who need to access the justice system and vulnerable populations whether victims, witnesses, offenders, or impacted communities;

The Deloitte Government Trends is an annual report which identifies the key trends likely to impact on governments globally in the coming 12 months. After a tumultuous 2020, dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the

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2021 Report identifies nine trends that have three things in common. Firstly, they go to the heart of government operations rather than policy. Secondly, they are not just ideas but are happening in practice, often a faster rate than ever seen before. Finally, they are global in scale. As justice agencies progress their modernisation agendas, the Deloitte Government Trends provides a useful framework for organisations and justice systems as a whole to consider their approaches. 76

Justice systems globally are increasingly transforming to build a more integrated, whole systems approach. There are several key drivers for this: •

Increasing influence of digital technology to support more efficient citizen/user-centric service delivery and evidence-based decision making;

•

Tailored multi-agency service delivery across the civil and criminal justice spectrums to meet the

•

Increased pressure on justice system modernisation in an integrated manner due to increasing costs, rising expectations from the public, greater public scrutiny and accountability, performance pressures and multiple crisis events;

•

Increased focus on identifying the root causes of all forms of discrimination, harassment, and exclusion across society, and on how to effectively resolve these issues;

•

Changing demographics, increasing demand, and an emphasis on equitable access to justice and outcomes; and

•

Covid-19 has redefined border security and how the smart, trusted traveler is designed, managed and protected.

1. Accelerated digital government Covid-19 has brought the next generation of digitisation to governments and moved it from a “nice to have” to a “must have”. To meet the surge in demands while operating virtually, governments have accelerated digital programmes to enable continuity of service delivery. This has demonstrated what can be achieved when there is a “burning platform”, and set the tone for the future.

2. Seamless service delivery Many private sector organisations have, for years, been building towards services to consumers, often delivered digitally, which are personalised, seamless and anticipate customer needs. Governments too have started to improve services by moving away from a department-based approach towards a life event approach, or one which

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

reflects a citizen’s journey though a process that requires the involvement of one or more government agencies. The civil and criminal justice systems have multiple examples of this.

3. Location liberation

4. Fluid data dynamics Data is assuming an elevated level of importance both within and outside government. Public agencies are developing novel approaches to maximising the value of the data they hold, including appropriately sharing that data. Globally, the trend towards fluid, dynamic data is changing how data is being used and shared by governments and their partners in academia, nonprofits, and the private sector. The Criminal Justice Operational Hub is an example of such an initiative in Ireland.

5. Government as a cognitive system

6. Agile government The pandemic has highlighted the need for fast, flexible, and mission-centric government, and many governments around the world have embraced the opportunity to show that they are up for the challenge. This agile imperative can

be seen in many areas including policy making, regulation and service delivery. The “Still Here” initiative launched during the height of Covid-19 restrictions to protect and support victims of domestic abuse is an excellent example of such agility across the justice and other sectors.

7. Government’s broader role in cyber The ransomware attack on the HSE earlier this year brought cyber security to the top of the political agenda in Ireland, but this has been an evolving threat for many years as cyber criminals become more ambitious. Governments’ role in cybersecurity is shifting and evolving, as they realise that they cannot function in isolation. In order to mount a proper national cyber defence, governments need to not only protect public networks, but also help to protect private networks and critical national infrastructure. To do so effectively they need to work and partner with other governments, academia and the private sector.

8. Inclusive, equitycentered government As inclusion and equality issues come increasingly to the forefront in society, governments are focusing more on the underlying causes of systematic imbalances and seeking to address these issues. The solutions are incredibly broad ranging from education and awareness on diversity issues, enhanced broadband access, equal access to health and social, and diversity in public representation and governance.

9. Sustaining public trust in government In the early part of 2020, trust in government in many parts of the world grew as people relied on governments to address a complex, global pandemic, but research suggests that such large gains in confidence are often quickly lost which was the case by January 2021 when trust in government had fallen globally, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer. Trust in government is a broad-based topic ranging from ethical behaviour of elected representatives and public officials, through to effective oversight, governance, and accountability for delivery of public services, and the protection of citizens including our private data. Trust in our justice system is a “non-negotiable”.

Shane Mohan is a Partner in Deloitte Consulting, and is the National Government and Public Services Leader in Ireland.

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The Irish Government’s Civil Service Renewal 2030 Strategy recognises the importance of “insights-driven decisionmaking”. This reflects the trend globally where we are seeing governments combining evidence from past events and outcomes, real time information on current happenings, and using predictive analytics and simulation to anticipate events and likely outcomes before they occur, all to better inform policy and decision making.

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Covid-19 caused public sector organisations to rapidly and fundamentally change how they accomplished their missions. From remote working to online court sittings the pandemic brought the future of government work into the present. Many of these organisations have begun to embrace the concept of adaptive workplaces, based on the notion that people and teams should work where they are most productive, inspired and engaged.

T: (01) 417 2543. E: smohan@deloitte.ie W: www.deloitte.ie

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

71 per cent of justice actions delivered in first half of 2021 justice report

The Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys TD published the mid-year progress report for the Justice Action Plan 2021 in August, showing that 71 per cent of the actions scheduled for the first six months of 2021 had been completed, with 39 actions yet to be completed. “We are moving at pace on our ambition to build a justice system that works for everyone and deliver on our strategic goals and ambitions. I look forward to seeing and feeling the impact of this transformative work on the justice sector and the people who interact with it. I am pleased to report that of the 132 actions examined, 71 per cent or 93 are achieved,” Humphreys said upon publication of the report. “2021 has not been without its challenges, and it has been necessary to readjust the timelines for some actions, but I am confident these will be delivered soon.” The Justice Plan 2021 is the first in a series of annual plans that will set out actions in order for Ireland to “build a justice system that works for everyone”. The plan contains 230 actions for the entirety of 2021, of which 132 were scheduled to be completed in the first six months, but as Humphreys stated, 71 per cent of these were achieved, leaving 39 unfinished, adding to the 98 already scheduled for the final six months of 2021. 4 per cent, or six, of the actions are classified as ongoing, meaning that “while these actions are on track and no issues are arising, the nature of the action is that work will continue throughout the year to ensure its successful delivery”. 33 actions, 25 per cent, are defined as not yet achieved, meaning that despite the fact that “significant progress has been made on many of the outstanding actions, work is required to bring these to completion”. The “significant achievements” that have been achieved in the first half of 2021 are outlined within the report, with 22 actions outlined. The actions mentioned include: the commencement of Coco’s Law, which criminalises the distribution of intimate images without consent; continued implementation of Supporting a Victim’s Journey: A plan to help victims and vulnerable witnesses in sexual violence cases; publishing the General Scheme of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill, which provides for wide-ranging and coherent reform of policing “by improving the performance and accountability of policing and security services, and supporting the human rights of all people throughout Ireland to be and to feel safe in their communities” and will support implementation of A Policing Service for the Future to reform policing in Ireland; and the establishment of pilot community safety partnerships in Dublin, Longford and Waterford. The Department of Justice has also: agreed to set up a Community Safety Innovation Fund that will assist An Garda Síochána and the Criminal Assets Bureau in seizing the proceeds of crime and “will fund projects communities themselves know will help in improving their safety”; published the Drogheda Implementation Plan, outlining 70 actions to improve community safety and wellbeing in Drogheda; enacted and commenced the Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Act

Minister for Justice Heather Humphreys TD

For the remainder of the year we will strive to implement the ambitious reforms begun this year and to build a justice system which contributes to the improvement of society for everyone,”

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

2021 to establish a statutory criminal offence for perjury and related offences; and commenced the development of a scheme to regularise the immigration status of thousands of long-term undocumented people and their dependents, with the scheme expected open by the end of 2021.

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Work has also continued on the Family Law Bill to overhaul and modernise family law and the courts; the Parole Board was established on an independent statutory footing; the Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Act 2021 was enacted, making “urgent changes” to the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 to help those struggling to pay debts to have more access to insolvency processes; hate crime draft laws were published; an independent audit conducted on how responsibility for domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is segmented across different government departments and agencies was published; and a temporary system that enables applicants to complete their naturalisation process by signing a statutory declaration of loyalty to the State was commenced. The targets of the 2021 plan are broken up into five goals: tackle crime, enhance national security and transform policing; improve access to justice and modernise the courts system; strengthen community safety, reduce reoffending, support victims, and combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence; deliver a fair immigration system for a digital age; and accelerate innovation, digital transformation and climate action across the justice sector.

Status of Justice Action Plan 2021 Q1/Q2 actions at end of Q2

Not achieved 25% Ongoing 4%

Achieved 71%

Department of Justice

When broken down by their goals, just two of the 39 actions not achieved on schedule belong to the first goal of tackling crime, five belong to the second goal of improving access to the courts system, 12 to the third goal of strengthening community safety, 11 to the fourth goal of delivering a fair immigration system, and one to the final goal of digital transformation. The failures are perhaps most concentrated in the fourth goal of addressing the immigration system, where the 11 actions yet to be achieved account for nearly half of the 25 actions scheduled to have been completed in the first half of 2021. While there were 12 failures under the goal of strengthen community safety, there were 34 actions under this heading overall, meaning that 22 are on track. “For the remainder of the year we will strive to implement the ambitious reforms begun this year and to build a justice system which contributes to the improvement of society for everyone,” Minister Humphreys writes in her foreword to the report, the first to come in a series as part of the Department’s A safe, fair and inclusive Ireland strategy, which runs from 2021–2023. The progress detailed within is of course to be welcomed, but it will be some cause for concern that the Department is, within the course of one biannual report, already playing catch up.

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How policing progressed during Covid

Major facets of society experienced rapid change at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic and policing was no different,

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writes Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. In common with all other public agencies, An Garda Síochána and our personnel quickly reacted to the emergence of this deadly virus. Our primary task was to provide reassurance to the public and ensure compliance with the public health guidelines.

reaffirmed our connection with communities across the country. This impact of this work such as local Gardaí stopping by for a socially distanced chat and checking in with people cannot be underestimated and has strengthened our already close connection with communities.

In doing so, we built on our tradition of policing by consent by adopting a graduated response. The four Es approach which saw Gardaí engage, educate, encourage and, as a last resort, enforce has been at the core of our ability to urge compliance with emergency regulations. Among our most meaningful work, particularly during intense periods of lockdown, has been supporting those who are vulnerable, high risk and isolated.

We also knew that restrictions on movement would, unfortunately, lead to an increase in domestic abuse. To combat this, in April 2020, we introduced Operation Faoiseamh, which focused on providing enhanced proactive support and protection to victims of domestic abuse. Operation Faoiseamh and the ongoing work of the Garda Protective Services Bureau saw over 7,000 criminal charges preferred for crimes involving an element of domestic abuse in 2020.

Fulfilling everyday, but essential, tasks for people who were medically vulnerable or cocooning like getting groceries and collecting prescriptions 80

The organisation and its personnel rapidly mobilised in a wide range of additional ways to deal with the

pandemic. Gardaí were re-deployed to frontline duties and the attestation of trainee Gardaí was fast tracked to help bolster our community engagement. Over 200 additional community support vehicles were also acquired to maximise this effort. A large scale, high visibility operation, Operation Fanacht, was introduced to ensure compliance with restrictions on movement. Other operations such as the checking of licensed and retail premises were brought in as public health regulations evolved. Additional measures included the establishment of a National Covid Co-Ordination Centre, the introduction of an emergency roster that increased our policing hours by 25 per cent, millions of pieces of PPE were acquired to protect the front-line, thousands of devices deployed to enable home working, and daily internal communications were distributed via an e-zine to keep all personnel informed of the latest health and operational guidance. The extensive duties and responsibilities, and the broad range of criminal activity during a global public health crisis have been a challenge, but Garda personnel once again acted with absolute determination to protect the State and its people. This is best reflected in the fact that

members of An Garda Síochána embraced a series of very challenging emergency policing measures that undoubtedly took a physical and mental toll. All too regularly during these 18 months, Gardaí have faced immediate danger and a risk to their safety during incidents of public order and violent protest. They have suffered injury at the hands of a minority, and yet still they have returned to their duties without a moment’s hesitation.

Despite widespread international restrictions, the illegal drug trade did not dwindle during the pandemic. An Garda Síochána continued to carry out extensive search and arrest operations targeting the assets and activities of organised criminal groups resulting in considerable seizures of drugs, firearms, and cash. There are now 321 Gardaí assigned full time to Divisional Drug Units across every Garda Division nationwide, and each one of these units complement our enhanced national anti-drugs strategy, Operation Tara, which commenced in July 2021 with a particular focus on street-level dealing that can blight communities. In addition, as of this year, there is now a Divisional Protective Services Unit (DPSU) in operation within every Garda division to prevent and detect domestic abuse, sexual crime, human trafficking, and child abuse. Over 300 Garda personnel are assigned to DPSUs having undergone specialised training.

The rollout of the new Garda Operating

range of criminal activity during a global public health crisis have been a challenge, but Garda personnel once again acted with absolute determination to protect the State and its people.” Model has continued throughout the past 18 months and is already helping to modernise An Garda Síochána at divisional level. This is the biggest structural change to the organisation since its founding in 1922. The Operating Model will see an increase in front-line Gardaí, a more localised service to communities based on their needs, and the provision of greater specialised police services at local level. Motorists will have noticed Gardaí’s use of the Active Mobility App introduced during the 2020/2021 period. This new technology has transformed roads policing by allowing Gardaí to scan car number plates for relevant data by using a mobile device. Over 170,000 fixed charge notices have been issued using these devices to date. With 5,000 of these devices already in use, we expect 10,000 Garda personnel to be equipped with this technology by the end of this year.

Garda personnel to ensure the equitable and fair treatment of every single person that engages with An Garda Síochána. It is in this spirit of evolution that we look ahead to honouring the centenary year of An Garda Síochána next year. Our organisation is steadily strengthening its capabilities to be more far-reaching and all-encompassing than ever before. The number of Gardaí working in communities nationwide is now at its highest ever, and their work is well supported by almost 3,000 equally dedicated staff. And so, as we move closer towards a post-pandemic era, our whole organisation remains as focused on the very mission that those in the century before had: keeping people safe.

T: +353 1 666 0000 W: www.garda.ie

In early June, the Garda National AntiCorruption Unit was launched and its activities to promote the highest standards of honesty, integrity and professionalism within the organisation are underway.

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In the midst of the public health crisis also, the ransomware attack on the Health Service Executive sadly wreaked havoc on vital services. The collateral impact and the disruption caused to our society is an insight into the callousness of organised crime. The Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau continue to work with national and international counterparts as part of our investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice. In tandem with all of this, some very important developments have also been progressing within our organisation as part of the Government’s reform plan, A Policing Service for Our Future.

responsibilities, and the broad

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That is why it has proven vital that our organisation do all it can to promote the physical and mental wellbeing of all personnel. A range of accessible, independent, and confidential resources have been developed to encourage us all to reach out during times we may feel under pressure or stressed.

“The extensive duties and

Human rights are paramount in policing and must be central to everything we do. That is why we have further embedded our Code of Ethics during the past 18 months, introduced a Human Rights Unit, increased human rights training, and re-instituted our human rights advisory council. I expect all 81

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Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

Justice: Legislative priorities With the Department of Justice having already enacted a number of significant pieces of legislation in late 2020 and throughout 2021, eolas looks ahead to the key pieces of legislation currently progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas. At the end of 2020, two significant pieces of legislation concluded their passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas and were enacted. The Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Decisions on Supervision Measures) Act 2020 gave effect to a European Union Council decision on the application, between member states, of the principle of mutual recognition to decisions on supervision measures as an alternative to provisional detention. Perhaps most tellingly of the times, the second piece of enacted legislation was the Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020, which put in to law the allowance of special provision and additional enforcement measures on premises which sold alcohol.

This year (2021) has seen the enactment of four bills, namely: •

the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) (Amendment) Act 2021;

•

the Criminal Justice (Perjury and Related Offences) Act 2021;

•

the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021; and

•

the Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Act 2021.

However, a number of significant pieces of legislation have either not been introduced or are currently progressing. Of the bills which have already been introduced, the longest standing is the

Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill 2020, initiated in the Seanad on the 6 November 2020. The Bill, which will, when enacted, make it a specific offence to commit a hate crime based on race, sexual orientation, gender, or identity for the first time in the history of the State, sets out a range of protected characteristics, which will now dealt with as specific criminal offences. The general principles of the bill were debated in the Seanad on 6 November 2020, and it received a second reading on 17 November. The Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021 is the most recently introduced bill. Presented to the Seanad on the 27 August 2021, the Bill entered review stage on the 7 October 2021 and is designed to strengthen

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

Ireland’s regime against the smuggling of persons, and to implement several important international instruments.

recent, such as the Criminal Justice (Garda Síochána Operating Model) Bill, a short technical bill to facilitate the introduction of the new Garda Operating Model, which gained government approval of the General Scheme in March 2021. Below are lists of those Bills the Department has identified as yet to be published:

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Introduced in the same month, the Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Custodial Sentences) Bill 2021 is progressing through Dáil Éireann and is also at committee stage. The Bill seeks to implement an EU framework decision on the mutual recognition of judgements in criminal matters imposing custodial sentences and other measures involving deprivation of liberty. If enacted, the Bill would facilitate the transfer of prisoners between EU member states, where the transfer would enhance the person’s social rehabilitation.

the proposed legislation is longstanding, for example, the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill gained government approval for the publication of the Heads of the General Scheme of the Bill in February 2014 and the Criminal Procedure Bill had revised Heads approved by government in June 2015. Others are a lot more

Also introduced in 2021 were: •

•

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2021 (28 Apr 2021): To provide for the repeal of the second or subsequent mandatory sentences in the areas of firearms and misuse of drugs. It also addresses similar mandatory type offences in older legislation dealing with the concealment of stolen goods, illicit distillation, and licensing laws.

Criminal Law •

General Scheme of Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2020

•

General Scheme of European Arrest Warrant (Amendment) Bill 2021

•

General Scheme of the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (Amendment) Bill

•

General Scheme of the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill

Dáil Éireann. Final stage. Set down for second stage at the Seanad.

•

Criminal Justice (Counterfeiting) Bill

•

Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill

Criminal Justice (Public Order) (Quadbikes and Scramblers) (Amendment) Bill 2021 (27 Jan 2021): To extend the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2020 to give Gardaí the power to seize and detain quad bikes and scrambler motorcycles when being used unlawfully including in public parks and green spaces and to provide for related matters.

•

European Convention on Human Rights (Compensation for delays in Court Proceedings) Bill

•

Criminal Procedure Bill

•

General Scheme Criminal Justice (Garda Síochána Operating Model) Bill

•

General Scheme of Garda Síochána (Digital Recording) Bill

•

Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill

•

General Scheme Criminal Justice Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2020

Dáil Éireann. Second stage completed.

Civil Law

Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) (Amendment) (Pets) Bill 2021 (27 Jan 2021): to make specific provision for sentencing for certain offences in relation to pets; and to provide for related matters. Dáil Éireann. Second stage.

The Department has set out a number of proposed pieces of legislation, which have yet to be published, in the areas of civil law and criminal law. Some of

•

Summons Printing and Fixed Charge Notice Bill

•

General Scheme of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

•

Landlord and Tenant Law Reform Bill

•

Sale of Alcohol Bill

•

Family Courts Bill

•

Courts (Establishment and Constitution) (Amendment) Bill

•

General Scheme of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2020

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Dealing with Covid-19 in the Irish Prison Service prevent the spread of Covid-19 in our prisons, detect early any possible case and contain any possible outbreak should it occur. The response to this crisis has been a whole-of-service response from management, staff, service providers and prisoners who have all worked together in collaboration. The success of the Irish Prison Service in managing the Covid-19 pandemic and keeping the prisons mostly free from infection, throughout 2020 and 2021, has been due to the combined efforts of staff and prisoners across the estate. As an essential service, the Irish Prison Service has maintained both its core custodial and security operations and other services, to varying degrees, in line with the various restriction levels in place as set out by the Government and the public health authorities.

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2020 and 2021 are years that will live long in our memories for many reasons. The past 19 months have been the most extraordinary and challenging for all the citizens of our country and for communities across the globe. We have been living in unprecedented times and faced challenges like never before, writes Irish Prison Service Director General Caron McCaffrey. Coronavirus, or Covid-19 as we now know it, had a significant impact on the criminal justice system and presented huge challenges for the Irish Prison Service as the spread of the virus within the close confines of a prison could have devastating consequences for those who live and work in that environment. Unfortunately, we saw the shocking impact the virus had on some 84

other prison systems and closer to home, in our nursing homes. Thankfully, due to our experience of managing infectious diseases, and resourced with many skilled and competent experts, we were well equipped to meet these challenges head on. Our experts began planning for Covid19 at a very early stage. Working together as a team, our aim was to

From the outset, our response was guided by the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), and consistent with the prison specific guidance for the management of Covid-19 issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in March 2020, and guidance of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT). At an early stage we established the Emergency Response Planning Team (ERPT) consisting of senior staff with skills and experience in key areas including operations, healthcare, human resource management and infection control. The ERPT was tasked with identifying and issuing instruction on the necessary actions with the aim of: •

Blocking the spread of Covid-19 into a prison setting

•

Early detection of any possible case of Covid-19 in a prisoner or staff member; and

•

Prevention of the spread of Covid19, should a case be confirmed.

The Minister for Justice approved actions to reduce the number of prisoners in March 2020 to support a more effective infection control regime, including greater physical distancing and cocooning. These included the granting of temporary release (TR) to low-risk prisoners, who were assessed on a case-by-case basis.

A wide range of innovations were introduced to mitigate against the impact of the pandemic. Many of these innovations have the potential to improve service delivery into the future especially in our healthcare, service provision, financial and operational areas and will result in significant benefits for both prisoners and their families. Some innovations introduced during the pandemic include: •

•

The provision of tele-services including tele-psychology and telechaplaincy across the service; The introduction of virtual family visits, increased use of video-link for court appearances and virtual in-reach service provision; The introduction of electronic funds transfer (EFT) systems for private prisoner funds The development of an in-cell prisoner TV channel to support the provision of information and learning; and

As a service we were at all times very conscious of the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on prisoners and I must acknowledge their understanding of the actions we have taken on their behalf. We were always conscious of the impact the restrictions had on them and on their mental health. We continued to maintain the provision of psychology, chaplaincy, and addiction services throughout the pandemic through the provision of a dedicated call facility and the use of video-link. When possible, we

across 12 locations across the country.

We needed the support of prisoners to keep our prison community Covid-19 free. We communicated regularly with those in our care to ensure that they were informed of the actions that were being taken, particularly around the restriction of services and of visit to prisons. The Red Cross Volunteers played a pivotal role in communicating with prisoners and generating buy in from them with regard to infection control measures. They produced a weekly prisoner newsletter in conjunction with the Education Service and were involved in making awareness videos on important issues. They played a hugely important role on the provision of information including information on the Covid-19 vaccination which many prisoners were concerned about.

been critical in allowing the Service to

I cannot give enough credit to our staff for their efforts during this pandemic. Our staff have always shown a willingness to meet challenges when needed and they did again during this national crisis. Staff flexibility was critical to our Covid-19 response with many operational staff taking on new roles across the Service. In 2020, over 100 staff were redeployed to new Covid-19 tasks in areas such as contact tracing, infection control and courts video link. Our Healthcare Teams, like their colleagues in the healthcare settings and hospitals across the country, worked night and day to keep people safe. The pressure on them was immense, especially during outbreak situations. They also oversaw the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccination program in prisons which was a monumental task. This involved delivery of the vaccine to over 3,500 prisoners spread

The administration of the vaccine has unwind Covid-19 restrictions and see a return to some normal regime activities including the return of physical visits. The efforts of our staff have been widely acknowledged and the Irish Prison Service was recognised by the Civil Excellence Awards in December 2020 for our combined efforts to keep Covid19 out of our prisons. We have just been informed that we have again been shortlisted in the 2021 Awards for our efforts to continue to support prisoners and their families during the pandemic. As we move towards the end of 2021, our main focus is on unwinding the remaining Covid-19 measures in a way that continues to keep all those who live and work in our prisons safe. We look forward to the post-Covid-19 era with all our key stakeholders and I truly believe that our experiences over the past 20 months will make us a stronger, more efficient, and more unified Prison Service. This will lead to

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The introduction of in-cell telephony to permit contact from family and prison services.

reinstated face-to-face services across the estate as restrictions were reduced.

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Also critical to our success was the development of a world class contact tracing system to allow for the early identification of possible cases and permit their immediate isolation. This system has been recognised by the WHO in a published paper as a model of international best practice and concluded that a partnership approach with development of prison-led contact tracing teams can provide an effective mechanism for contract tracing of Covid-19 cases within the prison setting.

“Critical to our success was the development of a world class contact tracing system to allow for the early identification of possible cases and permit their immediate isolation. This system has been recognised by the WHO in a published paper as a model of international best practice and concluded that a partnership approach with development of prison-led contact tracing teams can provide an effective mechanism for contract tracing of Covid-19 cases within the prison setting.”

better service delivery for people in our care and their families which will deliver lower levels of reoffending, making our communities safer.

T: 043 333 5100 E: dgoffice@irishprisons.ie W: www.irishprisons.ie Twitter: @irishprisons

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

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Crime statistics Recorded crime statistics published by the CSO are reliant on PULSE data provided by An Garda Síochána. Initially, given “a number of data quality issues” associated with PULSE data, the CSO deferred the publication of these statistics. As a result of the subsequent information gap, the CSO resumed the publication of recorded crime statistics within a new “under reservation” category, indicating that the quality of these statistics is not of the same standard applied to the official statistics it publishes. The CSO asserts: “The CSO produces its statistics on the basis of the most objective, transparent and independent data available. Reflecting our concerns as to the completeness and accuracy of the underlying PULSE data, the CSO has taken the decision to resume publication of crime statistics using a new category entitled statistics Under Reservation.”

RECORDED CRIME VICTIMS 2020 Source: CSO, 2021

MURDER OR MANSLAUGHTER

32 men 6 women

PHYSICAL ASSAULT AND RELATED OFFENCES

9,872 men 7,928 women

SEXUAL VIOLENCE

528 men 2,006 women

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

SUSPECTED OFFENDERS 2019 Source: CSO, 2021

of sexual violence crimes had both a suspected offender and a victim aged under 18

99.4%

of suspected offenders of sexual violence were male

20.8%

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20%

were aged under 18

PRISON REOFFENDING STATISTICS, 2011–2018 Source: CSO, 2021

68%

of prisoners released in 2011 reoffended within three years of release

62%

of prisoners released in 2015 reoffended within three years of release

Of prisoners released in 2015 who reoffended within years of release:

84%

of under 21-year-olds

27%

of over 50-year-olds

61%

of males

66%

of females

76%

of those originally charged with Damage to Property and the Environment

79%

of those originally charged with Burglary and Related Offences

47%

of prisoners released in 2018 reoffended within one year of release

43%

of fine offenders in 2018 reoffended within one year

4 87

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

PROBATION REOFFENDING STATISTICS 2016 Source: CSO, 2020

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28%

one year reoffending rate for 2013

31.1%

64.1%

one year reoffending rate for 2016

reoffended within six months

35.9%

Of individuals placed in the Probation Service in 2016 who reoffended within one year:

reoffended between six and 12 months

37.7% of males under 21 years old 19.2% of males over 45 years old 28.9% of females under 21 years old 27.9% of females over 45 years old 39.1% of those with a probation referral offence of Theft and Related Offences 37.5% of those with a probation referral offence of Public Order Offence

CRIME AND VICTIMISATION 2019 Source: CSO, 2020

Of persons aged 18 years and over: 5%

of bicycle users were the victim of theft

29%

felt that antisocial behaviour in their local area impacted their quality of life

87%

of males and 64% of females felt safe walking in their local area at night

46%

had confidence in the criminal justice system

were the victims of fraud

HOUSEHOLD CRIME Source: CSO, 2020

of households experience burglary or vandalism

18%

of farm households experienced trespassing

Strengthening policing oversight during Covid-19 by listening to communities of engagement with organisations and groups.

The Policing Authority is an independent statutory oversight body with a core function of monitoring and assessing policing performance, writes Helen Hall, Chief Executive of the Policing Authority. An enduring challenge for the Authority is to assure itself that how it measures policing performance is aligned and in tune with the views of the community in all its diversity. This means seeking to understand what constitutes for the public an effective, valued, responsive policing service that they have confidence can and will keep them safe.

A dedicated programme of stakeholder engagement was commenced to support oversight during this time that saw the Authority engage on a sustained basis with a variety of organisations and communities at national and grassroots level. The emphasis was on listening to a diversity of experience, in particular to what might have been more usually characterised as the voices of the ‘hard to reach’ but which the Authority chose to interpret as those that are seldom heard. In many ways, the exigencies of the pandemic, including the possibilities offered by teleconferencing technology to meet with people the length and breadth of the country, had a catalytic impact on the Authority’s existing levels

That experience was articulated in the Policing Authority’s reports to Cabinet, 15 of which have been published to date. It made no claims as to its generalisability, rather it sought to present the particular. It gave visibility to the very different experiences of policing during the pandemic, both positive and not. It also revealed aspects of policing that were of value to communities during this time: for example, policing presence rather than just police visibility, and the tone of policing. The Authority remains indebted to all those who have engaged with it to date for the candour and thoughtfulness with which they have approached these conversations. The relationships built during this period will continue to assist the Authority in its oversight as listening will remain a key component within the Authority’s next three-year strategy (2022–2024).

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While it may be too early to adopt a retrospective view of the pandemic, from the perspective of policing oversight, this period presented enormous challenges for policing. The introduction of emergency powers and regulations encroached significantly on the rhythms of daily life and indeed on individuals’ human rights. Charged with a requirement to report to government on the use of these powers, the Authority recognised early on that in addition to Garda data, the lived experience of policing during this period would offer important insights into how these powers were being used and experienced

across society. The Authority was particularly alert to the need to check the legality and proportionality of the use of emergency powers and the consistency of their use in communities that had traditionally not enjoyed a positive relationship with An Garda Síochána.

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There was no rigour to the methodology employed and no claims made as to its objectivity. The simplicity of the engagement — just listening — did not in any way undermine the richness and impact of the work; or the influence it came to have on the Authority’s oversight generally. Attempts to capture the views of an ‘aggregate person’ through research vehicles such as attitudinal surveys, while valuable, frequently do not ask questions of certain communities in sufficient numbers to allow that ‘seldom heard voice’ to come through. There was a recognition early on of the value of seeking out those voices and affording a validity to that lived experience.

T: (01) 858 9041 E: info@policingauthority.ie W: www.policingauthority.ie

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Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

Applying trauma research to service design and delivery Trauma is pervasive across different populations that engage with the criminal justice system. Sharon Lambert from the School of Applied Psychology at University College Cork and Aoife Dermody from Quality Matters1 outline how trauma-informed practice can enhance service design and delivery. implications of this learning for their practice.

Sharon Lambert

Aoife Dermody

In 2018, eolas published an article titled ‘Psychological trauma as a contagion’, where research regarding the high levels of childhood trauma within homeless populations was presented and we discussed the impact this has on workers and the potential for organisational trauma, including the criminal justice system. Since that time, more data has been gathered from a range of sources that further highlights the pervasiveness of trauma within different populations that engage with the criminal justice system, and agencies within the criminal justice system are now exploring the

Research with women in the probation services indicated that these women had experienced significant issues during childhood that had a direct impact on later life wellbeing and functioning. The findings profiled a group of women with considerable resilience and capacity for survival, despite very challenging life experiences; 21 per cent had spent time in either foster care or a group home during childhood. An Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) analysis showed that the women in this research cohort were more frequently affected by almost all forms of childhood adversity than people in the general population. In addition, 91 per cent of the women had experienced intimate partner violence in adulthood and 67 per cent were homeless at the time of the research, an indication that traumatic

experiences were still part of their lives. The women proffered some practical advice that could help services to be designed and delivered in a traumaand gender-informed manner. The women who participated were generally positive in their overall perception of drug and alcohol service providers, in relation to feeling cared for, valued, and respected. Housingrelated services scored in the average range and the least well-regarded services were offending-related/criminal justice services. It is worth noting that many of the addiction services and homelessness services in the region had already started to consider trauma awareness as a feature of their service delivery. Thematic analysis of the research findings indicated that there is variance between the women’s experience of the service they received and some service providers’ perceptions of themselves in relation to key factors underpinning trauma-informed care, including feeling

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

valued, respected, safe, cared for, understood and trusted. This points to the potential value of services turning the lens of scrutiny away from the women and towards themselves, so that they might better understand their capacity to provide effective, traumainformed services to this cohort.

The most frequent ACEs reported were the loss of a parent, emotional abuse and household substance use. The items where youth workers were least likely to know whether the young person experienced it, or knew they had not, were sexual abuse and domestic violence against the mother. This is not uncommon as childhood sexual abuse is more frequently disclosed during adulthood. The ACE profile of young people in this study mirrors more closely that of populations accessing adult homeless, probation and addiction services. These findings underline high rates of trauma in this population, and the importance of effective intervention, engagement, and diversion strategies. Young people engaged with Garda Youth Diversion Programmes. Higher levels of trauma increase the likelihood of engagement with the criminal justice system. Traumatic experiences impact on behaviours in a range of ways that can negatively affect a young person’s engagement with a programme such as the GYDP. This can include difficulties with emotional regulation, self-soothing, learning, and social engagement, all of which can negatively impact on how the young person works with figures in authority, with community programmes, with workers and with their peers. When practices and policies are not aligned with the needs of traumatised populations, trauma symptoms displayed by young people can go unrecognised or be misunderstood.

3.6 x more likely to have grown up with domestic violence

3 x more likely to have grown up in a household where there was somebody with a mental illness

2.6 x more likely to have a grown up with substance dependence

2.5 times more likely to have experienced physical abuse in childhood

Twice as likely to have experienced verbal abuse in childhood

2.5-6 times more likely to have experienced childhood sexual abuse

It has been well established that exposure to trauma has implications for brain structure, decision making, ability to engage effectively with services, and emotional regulation. Experiences of trauma frequently result in behaviours that can be considered aggressive, challenging, evasive and non-engaging.

Services that incorporate knowledge

Where services such as social, criminal justice and health fail to recognise the symptoms of traumatic experience in a young person’s behaviour, this can be mislabelled as ‘challenging’ behaviour. This mistaken labelling of such behaviours can impact on how workers treat young people and can compromise the continued engagement of a young person in a service, possibly resulting in the young person’s needs going unmet and objectives of the programme not being achieved.

entirely understandable adaptive

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In 2020, a collaboration with An Garda Síochana, Youth Rise and Quality Matters looked at young people in the Garda Youth Diversion (GYDP) schemes. An alarming level of adverse childhood experiences within this cohort of young people was revealed. The ACE scores of the young people revealed that 63 per cent had four or more ACEs (only 12 per cent of people in the general population have four or more) and more than one-third of the total had six or more ACEs.

Trauma profiles of women in probation services

about the impact of trauma on the brain and behaviour facilitate a better understanding of presenting behaviour; the client is no longer regarded as unwilling and difficult, but instead is perceived as unable and trying. Reinterpreting these behaviours as responses to unresolved trauma depersonalises the behaviour and improves staff responses, and ultimately increases the service’s capacity to support traumatised clients. The increase in research output in this area has highlighted the breadth and depth of trauma in the lives of those involved in the criminal justice system. Trauma-informed and trauma-aware approaches are being engaged with,

Understanding trauma, its effects on behaviour and its impact on the service provider-user interaction could help criminal justice professionals to avoid triggering traumatic reactions or retraumatisation, potentially aid in the recovery and healing process and, at the same time, promote a greater sense of safety among staff.

both by the Courts Service, which has committed to a training and implementation programme for all staff over the coming three years, and An Garda Síochána, which is exploring trauma-informed practice pilots within the GYDP as a recommendation arising from the GYDP research project.

1. Quality Matters is a registered charity and not-for-profit social enterprise involved in a range of community initiatives including the development of Trauma Informed Practice training and supports to non-profit bodies and organisations.

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Putting people at the centre of a modern and digital Courts Service

Kilkenny Courthouse

Audrey Leonard, Assistant Secretary, Strategy and Reform Directorate, outlines the Courts Service’s plans for the future, the Strategic Vision for the Courts Service to 2030 and the 10-year modernisation programme of activity to deliver on that vision. As Head of the Modernisation Programme she also highlights the objectives of this programme to develop new digital technology and modern ways of working for the administration of justice by placing the user at the centre of how service delivery is designed and delivered. With the ultimate goal

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of making access to justice easier and quicker to navigate based on user needs. The Courts Service are currently in the Transition Phase of their Modernisation Programme, which is focused on establishing the foundations for modernisation - building capability and capacity, establishing modern technology platforms, developing organisational strategies and ICT frameworks, and piloting new usercentric models. The Courts Service is responsible for the management and administration of the 92

Courts in Ireland. The Service has a unique role supporting the third branch of Government and there is a need for the courts to continually embrace change to adapt for the future because of what Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D Higgins called “the vital role the courts play in the functioning of the State…they are entrusted with the task of upholding the Constitution…the decisions of the Courts affect the personal lives of individuals and the world of business...

as society continues to evolve, it places many demands on our institutions including our legal structures; therefore, they must continue to adapt so that they can meet the needs of society and citizens”. In reflecting back on the experience of the Courts over the past 18 months Leonard is reminded of the recently retired Chief Justice Frank Clarke’s words when he described the pandemic as “the catalyst none of us wanted but

Covid-19 had the modernising effect on our courts system that was needed”.

Leonard notes: “Much of what has been achieved in the past 18 months was in planning under modernisation for the next five to 10 years; the constraints imposed by the pandemic and the creativity, dedication and determination of our people accelerated those plans. We are now challenged to ensure we take the best of what we have experienced during the pandemic forward to fulfil our vision for 2030 of a more human centred, digital first courts system in collaboration with the judiciary and our justice partners across the sector.”

Scale of change

Some of those changes since the pandemic, include rolling out nationwide a system to lodge licensing applications online; eLicensing, reducing the requirement for solicitors, members of

Technology enabled courtroom in Phoenix House, Dublin

“When you’re introducing change of this scale, momentum is really important as is dedication from staff to innovate and improve the way we work. One of the best lessons we have learnt from the pandemic is the ability within the organisation to innovate.” the public and Gardaí to attend Court. A pilot Online Appointments system has been trialled in three locations; the Central Office of the High Court, District Court Family Law in Dolphin House, and Limerick Court Office allowing for scheduling of appointments and reducing time waiting on court premises A civil reform programme has been established and is already developing an agile approach to exploring and adopting the recommendations in the Administration of Civil Justice: Review Group Report (Kelly Report). A family law reform programme has also been established to take a more humancentred approach to ensure better outcomes for court users and their families. The criminal law and organisational reform programmes complete the four programmes established under modernisation which aim to work in an agile way, with stakeholders to develop more user centric practices, communications, systems, and spaces for now and into the future.

Innovation and usercentred services Talking about modernising into the future, Leonard explains: “When you’re

introducing change of this scale, momentum is really important as is dedication from staff to innovate and improve the way we work. One of the best lessons we have learnt from the pandemic is the ability within the organisation to innovate. Even when staff were working to capacity, they were still thinking of ways to improve our service. The Courts Service last month became the first civil service organisation in the Republic to become JAM Card friendly with 75 per cent of colleagues having undertaken the training, an initiative which was initially proposed by colleagues through our innovation programme.” A JAM Card allows people with a learning difficulty, autism, or a communication barrier to tell others that they need ‘just a minute’ discreetly and easily in a simple, effective non-verbal manner. The Courts Service has introduced this to improve customer service for people that may need just a minute at public counters. “We are very aware that often people attend at Court or court offices at some of the most difficult times in their life. We want to be able to communicate in an appropriate and supportive way, while also giving our colleagues the tools and skills to be able 4

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Reflecting on the scale of the change experienced Leonard says: “Very few areas of our business have gone unchanged since the pandemic, we were one of the few frontline services that stayed open throughout, a service that was based on facilitating volumes of numbers of people through our Courts and court offices at any one time. The lengths our colleagues on the frontline have gone to can’t be underplayed. Some of the changes which have placed an extra burden on colleagues won’t remain however those that have improved our service will.”

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Since the beginning of the pandemic the Courts Service has facilitated approximately 6,068 remote court sessions. In 2020 the Courts Service facilitated 13,326 video links to Irish prisons, a significant increase from 3,798 in 2019, which supported the sector wide effort to minimise the incidence of Covid-19 in prisons. At a recent meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, VSAC (Victim Support at Court) confirmed that measures taken in Courts during the pandemic such as the staggering of lists, meant less time waiting around to give evidence and less crowded court spaces, plus the option to provide evidence remotely had positively impacted on the experience of their clients. They particularly noted how these measures had reduced the anxiety of their clients.

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NOW Group with the Courts Service JAM Card Team at the recent Launch; Maria Hughes, Pauline Redmond, NOW Group CEO Maeve Monaghan, David Cullagh, Courts Service CEO Angela Denning and Keith Keeley

to deal with working in an oftentraumatic environment. Again, initiated by colleagues, a trauma informed practice training programme is now being introduced to the organisation,” explains Leonard.

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Confirming that people are the key to successful modernisation Leonard explains: “We can’t look to our people to make this scale of change possible without having the right supports for them. The Senior Management Team are dedicated to supporting good ideas coming through from teams on the ground. The SMT supported the Covid19 team’s proposal to digitise the daily compliance checks required as part of our C19 Safety Management Programme, being completed by our amazing worker representatives to support safe delivery of services across 103 venues. This initiative approach introduced and implemented during a very disruptive time has resulted in the Courts Service being short-listed in the ‘Leading Reform in Covid-19’ category of the Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards 2021.”

Our people, our strength With approximately 1,100 staff working across a wide range of venues including court rooms, court offices and public and support offices over 26 counties, the Courts Service give many staff the opportunity to have a career in a location that suits them. “In addition to the benefits available in the civil service such as flexible working arrangements including shorter working year, parental 94

leave, career break, study and exam leave and work sharing, the Courts Service offers a broad range of roles which can provide diverse and interesting career options. For example, roles such as Court Registrar, General Solicitor, Court Office Manager, as well as support office roles in accounting, finance, ICT, human resources, policy, strategy and communications. Our Judicial Assistant programme attracts many legal graduates looking to gain further knowledge of the legal system. Our internal mobility policy gives staff the opportunity to steer their career into an area that interests them, and where they feel they can add value.” Learning and development is particularly strong in the Courts Service, staff have benefitted from 624 staff training days delivered so far in 2021 with all training moving to online/blended learning platforms this year. The L&D team supported the Covid-19 safety management team by developing videos and modules which helped staff and court users understand the Covid-19 measures in place which kept courts open and safe during the pandemic. “Our ambitious vision for the future and modernisation plans make this a dynamic time to work in the Courts Service. Our people are key to achieving those goals and we in turn need to help our people reach their goals. For that reason, we take a coaching approach to management, we are embedding a culture of innovation in the organisation with our innovation strategy, network and advocates and we have introduced a

‘developing your career pathway’ programme starting with Clerical Officer and Executive Officer grades.” Continuing to look to the future Leonard concludes by summarising: “The future is bright, the pandemic has taught us that our highly traditional legacy sector can change, and for the better. Much has been done to put in place the foundations for real change but the longer-term strategic reform and change programmes require a more ongoing considered approach and that will take time. Equally we want to continue to deliver visible change in the shorter term so, there will be projects that will be progressed more quickly. Our challenge now is to empower our colleagues to adopt the positive changes for the long term, to improve the way they work with better technology and resources. This is our opportunity to positively build on what has been achieved to date, to provide easier, quicker and more efficient access to justice for all involved.”

T: 01 888 6000 E: communications@courts.ie W: www.courts.ie

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

Government’s broader role in cyber Data protection

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Data retention and data preservation and associated risks of not tackling data protection, that could lead to a cybersecurity incident, are increasingly gaining the attention of public sector bodies as areas to address within cybersecurity. This is especially evident as more organisations move their data to the cloud whilst still trying to keep in alignment with regulatory requirements.

Government and public services organisations face unprecedented risks, but also incredible opportunities. With change driven by political uncertainty, budgetary constraints, constituency demands, technological innovation, and regulatory pressures, governments around the world are rapidly transforming, writes Colm McDonnell, partner in risk advisory at Deloitte.

Whether it be in a university, running a government department, at the border, transport and infrastructure, policing, and the military or securing health care, government and public services organisations are a highly sought-after target for cyber criminals, due to the wide array of interconnected sensitive information being stored within the sector.

Therefore, it's more important than ever to have the agility to adapt and the courage to innovate, and clearly new approaches are required to minimise the risks and maximise the opportunities facing government and public services organisations. Cyber isn't merely a technology issue. Cyber is at the centre of change, innovation, data, and technology. It's a strategic business risk that will continue to impact every facet of every organisation. Government and public services are also not alone in navigating these issues, whether at the crossroads of artificial intelligence (AI) and workforce transformation, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and cloud deployment, cyber and IT modernisation, or digital and citizen experience.

Evolving threat landscape As the threat landscape continues to evolve, traditional penetration testing is no longer seen as sufficient enough, in helping the public sector protect and defend itself against those potential threats. More organisations are now moving towards adversarial attack simulation together with adversarial detection and countermeasures, to simulate “real-world” attacks and how best to defend and respond to a cybersecurity incident.

Conclusion With the continued increase in cyberattacks within the government and public services sector and the rapid transformation to cloud, all public sector organisations need to shift their operations to keep pace.

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The government and public services sector is not only one of the fastest growing sectors for cyber risk, but it also influences all other sectors; governments have a mission to protect themselves, national interests and businesses.

When it comes to the organisation and cloud provider, the challenge lies in the understanding of the contractual agreements and the shared responsibility model of “who” looks after various aspects of data protection, and “how” an organisation would respond to a data breach when a third party is involved.

T: +353 1 417 2348 E: cmcdonnell@deloitte.ie W: www.deloitte.ie

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Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

Transforming policing services in Ireland New Deputy Commissioner for Strategy, Governance and Performance in An Garda Síochána, Shawna Coxon, discusses planned transformation of the service amidst the challenges and opportunities of the Covid-19 pandemic. Following the Commission on the Future of Policing’s recommendations to modernise An Garda Síochána, A Policing Service for the Future, the policing reform programme published in 2019, set out ambitions to respond to a changing society in the form of changing crime, changing communities, and a changing workforce. The reform programme could not have predicted that societal change was about to be dramatically catalysed by the onset of a global pandemic, creating new challenges and opportunities for transformation within An Garda Síochána. Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon is one of those hoping to capitalise on the many opportunities. The former Deputy Chief of Toronto Police joined An Garda Síochána in April 2021 and is now immersed in the delivery of a strategic vision for the force over the next three years. Discussing An Garda Síochána’s strategy, Coxon outlines its five key pillars, of all of which have been informed by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland review.

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

These are: •

community;

•

tackling crime and preventative policing;

•

victims and the vulnerable;

•

protecting the security of the Irish State; and

•

sustainable change and innovation.

The Deputy Commissioner explains that the pillars, described as ‘achievement aspirations’ by An Garda Síochána are supported by a range of ‘enablers’, ranging from information-led policing through to partnerships and engagement. These are areas of focus for the service’s internal business model. “When discussing transformation, what I try to explain is that the need for transformation of policing is something that is happening around the world, not just here in Ireland. Global police services are still based on an old structural model. The physical jurisdiction model is a legal model which will not change but that does not mean that the operational model must stay the same. In some countries the operating model created in the 1950s is still in place,” she says. “Compare that to the likes of healthcare where there are now tiered systems, where many services have a digital element, accelerated by Covid-19, and where services have adjusted to meet changing demand. This is the space we are moving in to. We want to leverage technology but also alter our broader operating model to give a better and more consistent service to more people right across the board.” However, Coxon is cognisant that services cannot experience downtime while change

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“When discussing transformation, what I try to explain is that the need for transformation of policing is something that is happening around the world, not just here in Ireland. Global police services are still based on an old structural model.” is occurring: “While modernising we need to simultaneously protect our unique and successful relationship with the community,” she states.

A Policing Service for the Future Having been launched in 2019, Coxon says that planned changes to An Garda Síochána’s operating model and core functions detailed in A Policing Service for the Future have continued to be progressed throughout the pandemic. In October 2019, the operating model of An Garda Síochána shifted to cover four regions, with the total number of divisions reduced from 28 to 19. Coxon explains that while this shift might not necessarily be noticed by someone using the service, the centralisation of business functions has allowed for more a more consistent and effective service. With this centralisation, the service has worked throughout the pandemic to strategically align and streamline the four functional areas of community engagement, crime, performance assurance and business services. Explaining some of the enablers for transformation, Coxon says that a new overarching ICT vision is about responding to public expectation and acknowledges that some existing technology systems within the police service do not have the capability to deliver on modern expectations. However, the Deputy Commissioner is keen to stress that progress has already been made in relation to some key areas including the roll out of handheld devices to officers, the launch of cybercrime satellite 4

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

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“While modernising we need to simultaneously protect our unique and successful relationship with the community.” hubs of the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) across various regions and in relation to cloud computing. Identified by Coxon as the most important strategic leaver for transformation, she asserts that the people and culture enabler is key to ensuring that the organisation continuously strives to adapt to changing public expectations. The Deputy Commissioner explains that work is ongoing to create a new operating model around workforce planning, whereby decisions about resources and where best to locate them are assessed. At the same time, the service is moving towards a holistic one organisation vision, whereby each staff member, from sworn officers to civilian colleagues, is afforded opportunities for development. Furthermore, work is progressing on a new health and wellbeing strategy, with a particular focus on the mental health impact of Covid-19; a new equality, diversity, and inclusion strategy; and a new human rights and people development operating model.

Governance and accountability Within the governance and accountability space, Coxon identifies the development of an Anti-Corruption Unit, new and soon-to-be-activated corporate governance structures, and a reviewed risk management framework 98

as “gamechangers”. However, she acknowledges the challenge that comes with initiating change so quickly. Addressing the existing challenges, including those which emerged during the pandemic, Coxon says: “As the Covid-19 crisis unfolded, An Garda Síochána adapted quickly and moved to deploy all available resources to provide reassurance to the public and ensure compliance with government public health guidance and regulations. Innovation took place under the areas of operational policing, organisational innovation and agility and the provision of training and learning.” As an example, Coxon says that while recruitment to The Garda College was frozen for a considerable time during the pandemic, presenting a challenge to the future workforce, a pivot to online learning has heralded a significant

training resource which will likely be retained and consolidated. “Transformation requirements identified during the global pandemic really showcased what can be achieved and that positive and progressive initiatives can emerge from moments of adversity,” Coxon maintains. “Looking to the future, we will seek to leverage that progress and embed a culture of innovation and change. Continuous innovation means that we establish principles but that we strive for continuous improvement and that everyone is encouraged to understand and embrace that. “This is a time of exciting change. It is a time like no other but there is tremendous opportunity within it,” she concludes.

Profile: Shawna Coxon Shawna Coxon is Deputy Commissioner Strategy, Governance and Performance at An Garda Síochána, a position she was appointed to in April 2021. Coxon joined Toronto Police Service in 1996 and proudly served the communities of the City of Toronto as a police officer for 25 years. Her most recent roles were Deputy Chief, Priority Response Command (from 2017 to 2020); Deputy Chief, Communities and Neighbourhoods Command (2020), and Deputy Chief, Human Resources Command (from December 2020 to April 2021). Prior to that she was Inspector, Transformation Task Force (from 2016 to 2017) where she was chosen by the Chief of Police for a committee of internal and community experts to modernise policing. This led to the strategy outlined in The Way Forward. Deputy Commissioner Coxon has a PhD in Law (Criminal) from the University of Leicester.

Laying the foundation for sustainable transformation

Illicit finance: The right time for new thinking

Illicit finance is a major threat to the security and prosperity of all nations, including Ireland. It not only enables criminals to profit from the most heinous crimes, but also finances terrorist atrocities, writes Deirdre Carwood, partner in charge of Forensic Ireland and Global Head of Investigations and Crisis Support at Deloitte. How to combat the growing issue in Ireland Criminal activities around the world generate huge profits through activities such as people trafficking, modern slavery, the illicit sale of drugs and firearms, environmental crime and bribery and corruption. It causes an immense financial and human cost to society, business, and government; a cost that we cannot, and should not, bear.

Historically, public, and private sectors have largely tackled the threat independently. Although there have been some good examples of partnership working, strategic system-wide collaboration has been absent. The sheer size and complexity of the regime seems to act as an inhibitor to change. However, the time has now come for this to change. Only by working collectively can we effectively fight economic crime. The challenge is not a simple one.

Technology advancement: solution or challenge? To disrupt and disable the criminals, law enforcement and the private sector must find equally sophisticated ways to make these hidden money trails more transparent and they must be able to bring investigators with the right skills to the table. Public sector officials have access to unique tools, data, and powers, but there can be challenges around sourcing the latest technical skill sets to investigate these sophisticated criminals and the techniques they employ. Greater collaboration with the private sector, which often has skills and capacity to help investigate financial crime more effectively, could hold the key.

Cross-sector ecosystem Economic crime and illicit finance do not stop at financial services. A huge range of other sectors need to play a strong, active role within the ecosystem. This can be both socially responsible and be good for business: social media needs to tackle the explosion in phishing and romance frauds, telcos are faced with soaring incidents of payments fraud, pharmas are struggling with transactions laundering and other sectors such as real estate and NGOs must be alert to the risks of source of funds and money laundering. Additionally, there are many arms of government, such as the Revenue, Companies Registration Office, and Land Registry, where more coordination and collaboration could help best defend the system. The challenge is significant requiring cultural and regulatory reform, but from our experience of working with organisations across the ecosystem, we know that everyone involved wants the same outcome: to prevent crime, protect citizens and customers, and disrupt the criminals. The task, for leaders in both government and industry, is to harness this shared ambition and go on the transformation journey together.

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Public-private collaboration

Organised crime groups have highly sophisticated methods to conceal their profits, which enable the movement of illicit funds so that they are beyond the view of law enforcement officials and can defeat controls put in place by the regulated sector. Money also moves quickly; it passes between institutions and across borders in seconds, while for investigators, following those trails can take months.

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As an example, we can look to the approach taken by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). The DoJ has worked with the private sector for the best part of a decade, bringing in forensic accountants, open-source intelligence analysts and more, which has enabled them to make a dramatic step-change in the seizure of criminal assets.

T: +353 214 907 051 E: dcarwood@deloitte.ie W: www.deloitte.ie

18-19 January 2022 • Croke Park Environment Ireland® is Ireland’s major environmental policy and management conference. Now in its 17th year, this two-day event features a range of focused sessions highlighting the pressing issues facing the environment in Ireland and further afield. Don’t miss Ireland’s major annual environment conference…

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 Hear local industry leaders and visiting experts  Connect with policy-makers and practitioners

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Let’s Power Change Together

Climate COP26 report

Sponsored by

Let’s Power Change Together

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A challenging environment

Credit: Merrion Street

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD discusses the integration of Ireland’s climate and energy policies, alongside a raising of ambitions in the new Climate Action Plan. Ryan believes that the Government’s move to set a world-leading ambition of a 51 per cent reduction of emissions in the Programme for Government has been vindicated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) AR6 report, described as a “code red for humanity”. Pointing to the EU’s Fit for 55 package as an example of how others are now joining Ireland by enhancing their climate goals to 2030, the Minister says that Ireland will seek to raise its ambitions further through the upcoming Climate Action Plan. Describing an ambition that will be “difficult beyond compare”, the Minister stresses that “the highest possible ambition” in emissions reduction will be required from every sector of the economy.

“We must ensure every sector of our economy has the highest possible ambition in emissions reductions.”

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“I plan to use the Climate Action Plan to integrate climate and energy policies and plans in Ireland. I want to see the annual update to the climate plan to include the actions from all energy sectors. It will integrate our national retrofit plan. It will include policies and measures to support the development of green hydrogen and district heating. I want to focus my time, the Department’s capacity and our officials on implementation of policies.”

Electricity The Minister was speaking just days after the latest of a series of amber warnings on the electricity grid, caused by a shortfall in generation. Although electricity supply was not interrupted, the system operator said that the gap between supply and demand was less than optimal, and the alert raised questions about the levels of conventional generation which will be needed.

Let’s Power Change Together

Ryan insists that ensuring continued security of energy supply is “a national priority”, adding that “any deviation from this is not acceptable”. “There has been a lot of attention recently with regard to Ireland’s electricity supply, both short-term and long-term, with a considerable focus on the future implications of data centre development,” he states.

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“I am acutely aware of the need to urgently replace the older more polluting fossil generation in Ireland and cater for additional demand. Simple maths will point this to being in excess of 2GW of conventional plant, and much of this will be needed as soon as can be delivered.” Ryan believes that conventional generation will spend much of its time in reserve, meaning a reduction in the proportion of electricity generated by natural gas is expected to fall from current levels of around 50 per cent to “much less” than 30 per cent by 2030.

“I plan to use the Climate Action Plan to integrate climate and energy policies and plans in Ireland.” However, he acknowledges that this alone will not be enough. The Minister points to a need for additional capacity in both demand response and storage, as well as the acceleration of the deployment of renewables, to decrease the frequency and severity of supply shortages. To this end he says that his department are working closely with EirGrid and the CRU to deliver a range of actions to secure the capacity of reliable, flexible gas plant that will transition to renewable gas in the next decade. Ryan will soon publish a new Climate Action Plan, including new targets to increase renewable electricity supply, to deliver a highly flexible demand and protect the security of electricity supply. Progress towards a zero-carbon power system is more important than the headline renewable’s percentage, he states. “While achieving up to 80 per cent renewable electricity may be possible by 2030 or shortly after, the climate law will make the reduction in CO2 emissions a central goal in the electricity sector, more important than the headline renewable’s percentage. We are finalising those targets currently. “We will need to be close to the lower end of the range of two to four million tonnes in the electricity sector by 2030 and continue to decrease emissions thereafter, while growing electricity demand through the electrification of heat and transport.”

RESS Ryan intends to announce the qualification for RESS 2 before the end of 2021 and says that department officials are working to improve on the current auction timetable. “I am committed to delivering frequent RESS auctions that balance the needs and expectations of citizens, developers and investors in the development of our energy future and that also ensure competitive outcomes and cost reductions for consumers. “I am also very keen that citizens and communities are given the opportunity to invest in and benefit from renewable energy projects. All research, whether the great work by the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) in 2014 or the recent consultation on shaping our future, show that citizens want and should have a right to participate in the energy transition. “Participation and collaboration from all stakeholders are key to the success of RESS.”

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Let’s Power Change Together The Minister acknowledges that the Government have been late to implement the clean energy package for microgeneration but says that he remains committed to delivery “as soon as possible”, pointing to the recent appointment of the CRU to implement a new clean export guarantee. “This framework will provide citizens, farms, businesses and communities with the opportunity to take part in the energy transition.” A draft framework is set to be published soon by the regulator, and payments are expected to be commenced before the end of the year.

climate COP26 report

Retrofit The Minister outlines a commitment to adopt the previous government’s commitment to retrofit 500,000 homes by 2030, despite describing it as “one of the hardest tasks in the energy transition”. Alongside the continuation of the rollout of heat pumps to replace fossil heating systems, Ryan says the forthcoming Climate Action Plan will add an expanded role for district heating. SEAI is currently carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the decarbonisation of the heating sector in Ireland, set to be published in the coming months and the Minister explains that part of this study will indicate “when we need to move from each of our fossil fuels for heat, and this will inform future phasing out of fossil fuel and related appliances”. “District heating provides the opportunity to use waste heat from industry, data centres, heat pumps and sustainable biomass to reduce the need for retrofit and decarbonise our heating in urban areas,” he says. “My department is currently developing a new National Retrofit Plan, which we will integrate as part of the new Climate Action Plan.”

“While achieving up to 80 per cent renewable electricity may be possible by 2030 or shortly after, the climate law will make the reduction in CO2 emissions a central goal in the electricity sector, more important than the headline renewable’s percentage.”

Offshore wind Highlighting the reality of the challenge facing offshore wind development in Ireland, namely the absence of a regulatory framework or legal basis, the Minister says that delivery of planning, grid, auctions, development to get to 5GW of offshore wind in nine years is a “huge task” but one which will be delivered. “We absolutely must ensure that this development is done in the most ecologically friendly way that protects habitats of both above and below water habitats. We must bring our citizens along with us, including those who work the seas currently. “My department will be supporting a comprehensive range of actions from funding studies to chairing consultative groups to ensure this happens.” Ryan identifies the Marine Area Planning Bill, set to be introduced to the Oireachtas, as the legislative priority of government this term. “The Bill provides flexibility in terms of the extent of the State’s involvement in deploying offshore renewable energy in Irish waters, allowing for a gradual transition towards a more centralised/plan-led regime, with State involvement in spatial planning and grid development increasing over the decade.” Ryan’s department is developing a new consenting regime for offshore renewable energy, aiming to provide clarity and consistency for applicants whilst attracting new investment. Discussing the timeline for delivery, Ryan says: “The Government will launch the first offshore RESS (ORESS 1) once the required legislation, consenting regime and offshore grid regulatory framework are in place, and when a sufficient number of projects for a competitive auction have received these consents. This will be the first in a series of dedicated offshore auctions.” Speaking in the days prior to the publication of a consultation on the draft terms and conditions of ORESS 1, Ryan states: “Close future cooperation between the northern European countries within the North Sea region will be necessary to facilitate faster development of offshore renewables and more effective decarbonisation of EU power generation. “I look forward to working with all of these countries to deliver for the citizens of Ireland but also Europe in harnessing our vast ocean wealth.”

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Let’s Power Change Together COP26 IN FIGURES As we prepare for the holding of the COP26 conference in Glasgow, eolas examines the figures underpinning the conference and the discussions that will take place.

Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5ºC within reach

Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats

Mobilise at least

$100 billion

in climate finance per annum to help developing nations adapt to and mitigate climate change

Mobilise finance

$78.9 billion of climate finance mobilised in 2018

Private climate finance directly mobilised by developed countries in 2018 was

An increase from $71.2 billion in 2017

billion

$14.6

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FOUR GOALS Work together to deliver

Banks, insurers, pension funds and investors with balance sheets totalling

$139 trillion

demanding Task Force on ClimateRelated Financial Disclosures (TCFD)aligned climate disclosure from companies

TCFD

1500 55

Market capitalisation of more than

$12.6

supporters from

trillion

countries

75 central banks covering

60%

of global emissions are now members of the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)

197

190

125

countries have endorsed the Paris Agreement

countries have formally approved the Paris Agreement in domestic law

countries have committed to net zero by 2050

of the G20 have committed to net zero by 2050

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Showing leadership on climate change

From left: Martin Pibworth, SSE's Group Energy and Commercial Director, joins First Minister Paul Givan MLA, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD, and deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA at a pre-COP26 event, Let’s Power Change Together.

Martin Pibworth, SSE plc’s Group Energy and Commercial Director, outlines how we need to seize the opportunity of COP26 to power change together across the island of Ireland. In early October at Belfast’s W5 and SSE Arena, the three most senior political representatives on the island of Ireland came together under one roof to examine and discuss the most pressing issue of our time: climate change.

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The event, Let’s Power Change Together, was organised by the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Chambers Ireland ahead of the upcoming COP26, the UN’s Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow. It afforded an important opportunity for An Taoiseach Micheál

Martin TD, First Minister Paul Givan MLA and deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA to come together for the first time to discuss how we can adopt an allisland approach to net zero. On behalf of SSE, I was proud to be able to join our chamber partners in welcoming our most senior political representatives to this unique and vital gathering. As I arrived it was fantastic to see The SSE Arena which has served a crucial recent role as a vaccination centre. Our

“There is no more significant common concern on this island than meeting the climate challenge.” An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin TD 106

collective response to Covid and our resilience is yet another proof point of how adaptive society can be when the need arises. And we do have another need. It’s not new. We are all equally affected. We talk about it often, but now, it is more urgent than ever. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on climate change published in August was sobering but it also offered hope; we can still limit the worst impacts of climate change, but only if there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge is clear. This need for urgency is why SSE, as a Scottish-headquartered company, became a principal partner to Glasgow’s COP26 last November. A successful COP26 will bring together the policy, capital, and technology to ensure the accelerated delivery of climate action measures. At SSE we’re excited to be playing our part in helping take action to combat climate change, by providing expertise, commitment, and action through the delivery of greener energy. As an energy utility we have a crucial role to play on behalf of our customers and

Let’s Power Change Together

communities and we’re getting on with it. So, what does getting on with it mean?

But we’re also continuing to develop new sites so we can accelerate net zero ambitions to help tackle the climate crisis. We have ambitious plans for a 4.1GW super-project development in the North Sea which could become one of the largest offshore wind opportunities in the world. Beyond Britain and Ireland, we’re exploring how we can develop new offshore wind farms in countries such as Denmark, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United States so we can help the globe go net zero. We’re 100 per cent ready to deliver Ireland’s emerging offshore wind ambitions. The island of Ireland has an enviable offshore wind resource that could make a significant contribution to decarbonisation here. The direction of public discourse across Ireland, north and south, and emerging energy policy in both jurisdictions all signal a new era for energy policy. The Irish Government recently increased its renewable electricity target to 80 per cent by 2030, underpinned by a 5GW target for offshore wind by 2030.

Investment from companies such as SSE can accelerate the green recovery, but they will require government support. At SSE we’re ready to play our part by providing our technical expertise and multi-billion-pound investment in renewable projects. In addition to a massive expansion of renewables we are finding clean solutions for those periods when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine by pioneering new carbon capture and hydrogen technologies. Critically, we are also ensuring our customers have the access they need to low carbon energy solutions from clean energy supply to building retrofits to tech solutions such as solar. We are doing all these things because there is no single answer. The solution will ultimately be the collective contribution of all of these different innovations. Over recent weeks the energy sector has attracted much media commentary due to the sudden spike in gas prices. Times like these are concerning both for us and for our customers. However, it does further emphasise the need to insulate society and the markets from the volatility of fossil fuel commodity prices.

Development of renewables is an economically cost-efficient way to achieve this for the long-term. The prize will be a sustainable energy system that increases the attractiveness of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to international investment. Inaction, on the other hand, risks us getting left behind. As we ready ourselves for COP26 we need to remember there are many hard questions to answer and we know the road ahead will throw up difficult challenges, but there are two certainties to consider: firstly, science tells us we can still mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Secondly, there are solutions ready today, like our Arklow Bank offshore wind project which is primed and ready to deliver by 2025; and technological solutions ahead such as hydrogen. We need decisive action now with the private sector and government policy fully aligned, and we need to seize the opportunity of COP26 to show strong leadership on climate change so we ensure we are all powering change together, across the island of Ireland, and across the globe.

W: www.sse.com

“Climate doesn't recognise any borders. We're going to be more effective if we work together. We must play our part in the global response... by taking action.” Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA

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SSE stands ready to deliver via our 520MW Arklow Bank Phase 2 Project and we are energised by the prospect of doing so. However, the project does require decisive Government action to enable its early delivery including consenting, grid, and route to market solutions; with these interventions we could have the project delivered by 2025. That can help secure Ireland’s energy future, reduce carbon emissions, and create local jobs, and in the here and now.

Energy Strategy targeting at least 70 per cent renewable electricity supply by 2030 which will set us on a similarly ambitious course for decarbonisation.

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At this moment SSE is building more offshore wind than any other company in the world. This includes constructing the largest offshore wind farm on the planet at Dogger Bank off the coast of England and constructing what will be the world’s deepest fixed bottom offshore wind farm at Seagreen off the coast of Scotland. We’re also building new onshore wind in Shetland where our in-construction Viking Energy Wind Farm is on track to become one of the most productive onshore wind farms in Europe when operational.

“Commitment to collaboration is the cornerstone of the NI Executive strategic response to climate change.” First Minister Paul Givan MLA

In Northern Ireland, we’re looking forward to seeing the Executive’s new 107

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Let’s Power Change Together

The four goals of COP26 The four goals of the COP26 conference are: securing global net-zero emissions by 2050; adapting to protecting communities and natural habitats; mobilising finance; and working together to deliver. eolas surveys how Ireland and the rest of the world are set to deliver on these goals. 1. Secure global net zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach Key to this goal is that participating counties are being asked to bring forward “ambitious 2030 emissions reductions targets that align with reaching net zero by the middle of the century”. Four deliverables are outlined as essential by COP26: • the acceleration of the phase-out of coal; • the curtailment of deforestation; • the speeding up of the switch to electric vehicles; and • the encouragement of investment in renewables.

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Ireland’s intention to phase out coalfired power generation by 2025 was announced by then-Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Denis Naughten in 2018. In 2021, new standards for the burning of coal were announced by Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD. From 2022, coal, coal-based products and any manufactured or peat briquettes sold in the State will be required to have smoke emission rates of less than 10 grams/hour, reducing to 5g/hr by 2025. In Europe, Austria, Belgium, and Sweden are already coalfree; 12 countries have announced phase out dates; nine countries have no coal plants; four countries are discussing their phase outs; and nine

countries, mainly in the coal-dependent east, are not discussing the matter. From 2000-2020, Ireland suffered a 16 per cent loss in tree cover; to address this, the 2019 Climate Action Plan pledged the planting of 22 million trees per year until 2040, totalling 440 million trees with a rate of 70 per cent conifers and 30 per cent broad leaves. Globally, 2021 research from the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature found that consumption in the G7 states accounts for an average loss of four trees per year per person, meaning that simple reforestation will not be enough to meet the goal of curtailing global deforestation. The goal in Ireland is to have 936,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030;

Let’s Power Change Together

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SEAI figures indicate that there were 35,000 in 2021, meaning that the target of ending the sale of fossil-fuelled powered cars will have to have an effect before it comes into effect in order for the goal to be met. In terms of investment in renewables, the European Investment Bank has backed a €1.2 billion pan-European renewable investment, with €84 million for Ireland’s NTR Renewable Energy Income Fund II, a €500 million equity fund and €700 million debt to be deployed.

Just 7 per cent of land-based ecosystems in Ireland are in favourable ecological condition

2. Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats Two key enablers for this goal, as outlined by COP26, are: • protect and restore ecosystems; • and build defences, warning systems and resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives. 2021–2030 has been dubbed the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, with the UN releasing its 10 principles for ecosystem restoration. Ireland is considered a European laggard in European terms when it comes to ecosystem restoration; a 2016 EPA report stated that only 7 per cent of Irish land-based ecosystems were considered to be in a favourable ecological condition. The 2019 Climate Action Plan was scant in attention towards such problems and attention will turn to the details within the forthcoming Climate Action Act in order to gauge how Ireland will tackle this issue.

3. Mobilise finance

“Globally, 2021 research from the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature found that consumption in the G7 states accounts for an average loss of four trees per year per person, meaning that simple reforestation will not be enough to meet the goal of curtailing global deforestation.” While the data for 2019 and 2020 was unavailable at the time, the group’s assessment of the possible scenarios and their consultations meant that they concluded that the only realistic scenarios are those in which the $100 billion target would not be reached in 2020.

In a report published by the UN, an independent expert group on climate finance examined the COP16 Accord, which stated that the countries involved were committed to a goal of mobilising $100 billion per year by 2020. The report states that the basis for “counting [the $100 million] remains the subject of some contention” but that the COP16 Accord “makes it clear that the $100 billion may include finance from public and private sources”.

Stating that the five years from 20212025 are crucial, the group stated that the $100 billion target now needs to act as a ceiling rather than a floor; in particular, it called for the current figure of $12 billion in climate action grants, which “falls far short of what is needed”, to “at least double, and ideally treble”.

The report found that up to 2018, climate finance counting towards the target had been on an upward trajectory, but fell short nonetheless.

The return of the US to the Paris Agreement has of course been a great victory in terms of international cooperation on climate action and

4. Work together to deliver

COP26 will seek to actualise this momentum into finalising the Paris Rulebook, the rules that make the Agreement operational. Countries agreed the majority of the Rulebook at COP24, but the onus is now on the finalisation of the targets within, obligating countries to set adequate emissions targets, report on their progress transparently, provide finance to developing countries to meet their commitments and operationalise carbon markets. With its old climate targets falling short of Paris Agreement targets, the new targets set by Minister Ryan have aligned Ireland with the Agreement’s goals, meaning that attention will now turn to achieving those goals through measures such as the operationalisation of the carbon market (carbon tax currently stands at €33.50 per tonne), and to accurately reporting the progress towards those targets.

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Let’s Power Change Together

Frans Timmermans: Fit for 55 Following the European Union’s move to enshrine a 55 per cent emissions reduction in the new European Climate Law, Executive Vice President of the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans discusses the measures which will be required to achieve this. Timmermans, the former Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs and first Vice-President of the European Commission has led the Commission’s work on the European Green Deal and its first European Climate Law to enshrine the 2050 climate-neutrality target into EU law. He expresses not only a sense of urgency on the collective need to act to address climate change but also the role of every citizen in making the necessary emission reductions. “The good news is that if we commit to transformation then we can do so convincingly. The bad news is that if we are divided, if we are not convinced and if we feel others should be doing more while we are doing less then we will not limit the rise in temperature to below 2ºC.” Pointing to the evident effects of global warming across the planet on the form of droughts, floods and erratic weather patterns, Timmermans’ says that of equal importance is addressing the biodiversity crisis which is putting one million species at risk of being lost. He also believes “beyond any doubt” that the Covid-19 pandemic is linked to the biodiversity crisis, stating a lack of distance to our natural environment means that viruses usually “absorbed by our natural environment” now reach humanity “almost immediately”.

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Let’s Power Change Together The Vice-President says that fundamental to correcting these challenges is the lesson that “humanity must live within the boundaries that our planet sets us”. “That means changing almost everything,” he states. Highlighting the European Green Deal as a basis for change, Timmermans’ says that work with member states on recovery plans has combined efforts to move out of the crisis, embrace the opportunities of the industrial revolution and confront the climate crisis and the risk of ecocide.

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“The European Green Deal offers a clear path to climate neutrality by 2050 and gives a clear indication of what needs to be done between now and then, in way that is feasible.” Timmermans’ warns against delaying climate action to the later decades, believing that such change will be too radical for society to accommodate. “If we start now, and I mean that literally, we can reduce our emissions step by step to reach climate neutrality by 2050”, he adds. The Executive Vice-President says that a scientifically informed need to “up the ante” was the driving force behind the lifting of ambitions from a 40 per cent reduction by 2030 to a 55 per cent reduction, now enshrined in law. Added to this, Timmermans explains that a coupling of Europe’s 60 per cent economic increase in the past two decades alongside a 20 per cent decrease in emissions is demonstratable proof that emission reduction can be done in tandem with economic growth. However, he is aware that achieving a 55 per cent reduction by 2050 will require further measures, included in the EU’s Fit for 55 package. Outlining some of these, he points to a need to reform and strengthen the emissions trading system (ETS). The ETS has been a successful method of putting a price on carbon to the point where others, including China, are now considering a similar system introduction.

“We need to reduce the free allowances under ETS and evaluate its scope, enlarging it in different sectors.” “The ETS is working well, and the markets expect it to continue functioning well, but we need to strengthen it. We need to reduce the free allowances under ETS and evaluate its scope, enlarging it in different sectors,” he says. Added to this is a planned revision of the effort sharing regulation on member states’ reduction targets in sectors outside the ETS. On a planned revision of the regulation on the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), Timmermans’ estimates that 75 per cent of Europe’s forests are “in a bad state”. An increase in the area of forestry across Europe has not been matched with an increase in carbon sink, which he describes as a “serious problem”. The Climate Law forces an increase in the carbon sink and this obligation was core to the creation of the EU’s recent Forest Strategy for 2030.

EVs The Fit for 55 package also includes plans for an amendment of the regulation setting CO2 emission standards for cars and vans. Timmermans believes the move towards EVs across Europe is going faster than expected but says that greater strictness on emission standards would stimulate the production of EVs, which he says is necessary to decreasing the price per unit.

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“There are two things currently preventing people switching to EVs: The price today, which I think will be very different in five years’ time, and the lack of charging infrastructure. We need to stimulate both very quickly at EU level and at national level,” he states. One of the most debated measures of the package is the planned introduction of a carbon border adjustment mechanism, equalising the price of carbon between domestic products and imports and preventing the risk of carbon leakage. Timmermans says that discussion with international partners around the mechanism has been positive, as it has highlighted the need for others to move towards climate neutrality to avoid protective measures at the borders. Even prior to implementation, the prospect of a mechanism has stimulated development in the right direction. Discussing plans to revise the energy tax directive, Timmermans says: “We will need to renew energy taxation, including to reduce the scope of fossil fuel subsidies. The price decrease and profitability of renewable energy was always underestimated, and I believe if you look at what is happening in relation to renewable technology then I believe we will no longer need investments in fossil fuels. “We need direct EU financial support for decarbonisation, and we need to improve the enabling conditions, including the action plan on financing sustainable growth and the EU taxonomy regulation for green investments. We also need to look very carefully at state aid rules to ensure that they are in line with the needs and objectives of the Green Deal and the climate neutrality objective. “I believe that this is a strategy not only to get us in line with our climate commitments but also to get us on a growth path in the new economy and to living within our planetary boundaries.”

Ireland Focusing specifically on Ireland, Timmermans says that domestic policy has gone some way to addressing a recognisable need for Ireland to “catch up” in relation to emissions reduction. The Executive Vice President believes it will be essential for the Government to work with farmers in relation to mitigation policies, given the scale of the beef and dairy sectors in the country. “Let me be very clear, farmers are the solution,” he states “And we should help them along, but they cannot continue along the lines of the traditional Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), when you consider the impact on our biodiversity. “We need to make sure we give farmers a better, stronger future and that we also reward them for being carbon farmers and for being custodians of our natural environment.” Saluting Ireland’s move to end the extraction of peat for energy and horticulture, while restoring peatlands, he says: “I think that’s an excellent example of the just transition that the Green Deal can offer.” Finally, Timmermans says that the progress of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 is a major step forward by placing a strong framework for climate action. 112

“We need to make sure we give farmers a better, stronger future and that we also reward them for being carbon farmers and for being custodians of our natural environment.”

Let’s Power Change Together

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Code red for humanity As the leaders of the world convene in Glasgow to address the challenge of battling climate change, the words of UN Secretary-General António Guterres will be ringing in their ears. “Code red for humanity,” was how the Secretary-General greeted the publication of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. “The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse‑gas emissions from fossil-fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk,” Guterres said in a statement that accompanied the release of the report. “Global heating is affecting every region on Earth, with many of the changes becoming irreversible.” It is against the backdrop of this alarming IPCC report that the world’s leaders will meet and attempt to enshrine into law targets that will mitigate and minimise the future damage that would be wrought on the earth if nothing were to be done. The report has found that the agreed upon limit to temperature rise, 1.5ºC, is “perilously close” as things stand, with the earth “already at 1.2ºC and counting” and at “imminent risk of hitting 1.5ºC in the near term”. Key among the findings in the report are: •

Sea levels have risen at their fastest rate in 3,000 years over the

last century, with the world’s oceans rising at a level of roughly four millimetres per year in the last decade (1.5 inches per decade). The two main reasons for this escalation are that water expands as it grows warmer, and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets is adding to the level; •

Global heating means that the type of heat waves that would to occur once every 10 years are now happening more than twice as often, with extreme heat waves likely to happen once every 50 years now almost five times more likely, occurring roughly once a decade. If the world reaches 2ºC of warming, these severe heat waves could be 14 times as likely to occur as they were in pre-industrial times;

•

Extreme droughts that would occur once a decade are now occurring 70 per cent more frequently; and

•

Heavy rains have become about 30 per cent more frequent, and they contain about 7 per cent more water

on average. The number of severe hurricanes and typhoons has also likely increased since the 1970s due to the climate crisis. With the limiting of global heating to 1.5ºC, heavy rain is still projected to increase in Europe, North America, and most of Africa and Asia. Under the Paris Agreement, almost all of the world’s nations agreed to limit temperature rises to 2ºC and aim for a limit of 1.5ºC; a UNFCCC report on national climate action plans published on the heels of the IPCC report found that current measures would only bring global heating down to a level of 2.7ºC. “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land,” the report says. “Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.” At COP26, the governments of the earth will know that it is also unequivocal that only human influence can halt this process; the first steps will be agreed among them in Glasgow. 113

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SSE Renewables: Power to progress

Maria Ryan, Director of Development at SSE Renewables, addresses the key issues affecting the delivery of Ireland’s renewable energy ambitions. What is the potential for offshore wind energy in Ireland?

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Our territorial waters are 10 times the size of our land mass so the potential for offshore wind in Ireland is huge. It is an entirely new industry that will not only contribute to fighting the climate crisis but will create thousands of jobs, billions of Euro of economic investment and support communities with multi-million Euro annual Community Benefit Funds. In comparison to other renewable technologies it has the ability to deliver at scale. The question is whether action can be taken in time for us to reach the climate action targets set out in the Programme for Government seeking 5,000MW of offshore wind by 2030. SSE Renewables is ready to deliver Ireland’s first offshore wind farm of scale, Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2, by 2025 which would kick-start the industry and power the country’s green 114

recovery. This project alone will require an investment of between €1 billion and €2 billion, deliver circa. €860 million gross value-added to the island of Ireland and create circa. 10,500 FTE years nationally, circa. 4,800 of which will be local. Offshore wind presents a massive opportunity for Ireland but to ensure delivery on targets a robust marine planning system, a much stronger electricity grid and a firm date for the first offshore renewable electricity auction is required.

How can we overcome the key challenges facing the Irish offshore wind industry? There are many challenges facing the offshore wind industry in Ireland and while the political will is there, the pace at which progress is being made is simply not quick enough. The thorough development of an offshore wind farm

can take many years, with construction taking multiple years due to their scale, we are only nine years from the end of the decade and the frameworks to facilitate the development of new offshore wind projects are not yet in place, the next 12 months will be key. We are hopeful that the MAP (Maritime Area Planning) Bill will be enacted by year end. However, it looks increasingly likely that planning guidelines won’t be published before the end of 2022 and therefore it will be mid-2023 before projects will be in a position to submit fully formed planning applications to An Bord Pleanála. Even then, after a potential two-year consenting process, developers could be put back to the starting line if their application is refused. It is critical that this ‘one-shot at planning’ approach is amended so that developers have an opportunity to redesign the project and re-apply if appropriate, rather than being

Let’s Power Change Together

left with nothing to show for a multimillion Euro spend and years of work.

What’s your understanding of delays in the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) for offshore wind? While we welcome the publication of the Terms and Conditions for the Offshore RESS auction in October 2021, the overall delivery timeline has already slipped from 2021 to the end of 2022 and is very likely to slip further. This is largely as a result of delays incurred by other dependent pieces of legislation and policy.

What impact will further delays to the Offshore RESS have on future ambitions?

SSE Renewables’ proposed Braymore Point and Celtic Sea Array projects off the coasts of Louth and Waterford respectively will be amongst the first offshore wind projects to seek seabed and consent via the new MAP regime and new regulatory authority MARA (Marine Area Regulatory Authority). We would like to see MARA set up as soon as possible to facilitate the progression of the offshore pipeline in Ireland.

Maria Ryan (right) being interviewed at Arklow Bank for EcoEye to give an insight into how offshore wind can help fight climate change, create jobs and support local communities.

How will Ireland’s national grid accommodate the additional generation produced offshore?

wind, both of which will significantly

In simple terms, we need a stronger grid, capable of taking the electricity generated by offshore wind farms and delivering it to customers. As it stands the Irish electricity grid is not strong enough to accommodate the 5,000MW offshore wind target set out in the Programme for Government. EirGrid’s grid development strategy is expected to be published by the end of this year, it is crucial that all relevant stakeholders engage with this process and once finalised, the strategy must be endorsed widely, by both political stakeholders and the public in order to ensure that the national grid can be developed so that it can cater for the growing offshore wind industry to support decarbonisation.

portfolio and by 2030, we plan to deliver

contribute to the decarbonisation of the electricity system. We have an extensive onshore and offshore development an additional 700MW of onshore wind, doubling our current onshore operational portfolio, in addition to 2GW of offshore wind. Much of the existing onshore fleet across the island is coming of age and will soon be in need of repowering or extension of life. It is essential that repowering and life extension projects are facilitated, so that the gains made through the development of onshore wind is retained. Flexibility is needed for repowering projects must be reflected in national policies including the longawaited updated Wind Energy

What role will onshore wind energy play in Ireland’s route to net zero?

Guidelines.

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It is of significant concern to SSE Renewables that RESS looks set to progress without planning approval as a pre-requisite. If RESS contracts are awarded to prospective projects that are not consented the reality is they may never deliver, those contracts are then redundant and Ireland is left further away from meeting climate targets by the end of the decade.

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We estimate that MAP projects will not start to deliver until 2028 at the earliest and we are concerned that the 5GW by 2030 will not be achievable. The interim target of 1GW of offshore wind by 2025 in the 2019 Climate Action Plan appears to have been quietly abandoned and focus shifted to the 2030 targets, we cannot back-end delivery to the end of the decade, action is required now. SSE Renewables can deliver the 520MW Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2 under its existing Foreshore Lease by 2025 and contribute to this interim target.

www.sserenewables.com SSE Renewables will continue to develop both onshore and offshore

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Credit Michael Wuertenberg

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Let’s Power Change Together

Taking the climate crisis personally Former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, speaks with Ciarán Galway about how recognition of climate injustice can help make the climate crisis personal.

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Robinson believes that the climate crisis must be made personal for governments and major corporations. The Chair of the Elders emphasises that scientists’ repeated warnings the crisis have not been taken seriously enough until now.

that climate change has a

“I think the way to make both governments and corporations take it personally, is to look through the lens of justice and see the injustice of the impacts of climate change,” says Robinson, who has identified five layers of injustice.

The second is that women are more

Setting these out, the former President says that the first injustice is evidence

floods to make their communities more

disproportionate impact in the poorest countries, poorest communities and among the indigenous people of the most vulnerable parts of the world, despite little responsibility for the scale of emissions.

greatly impacted because of gender stratification. “Women often do not have the same power, the same access to credit and in many countries, they might not have the same rights, and yet they have to go further in drought and resilient,” she states.

The third layer of injustice applies to young people, who are cognisant the errors of their predecessors and in studying the science are conscious of the precarity of the future, Robinson asserts, before paying tribute to the youth movement for its persistent demand for change. The fourth, Robinson explains, is a subtle point but one that is important for a country like Ireland, which has built its economy using fossil fuels, and is now in need for a just transition. As a former Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Climate Change, Robinson says that she recognised a

Let’s Power Change Together

promise from the developing countries to go as green as possible, providing they were supported with investment, training, and skills. “We have not shown that solidarity and in the interim developing countries have continued to find oil and gas,” she says, adding: “The reality is that they are given little option but to go down the dirty route, meaning they will use up the carbon budget and will be affected first as the most vulnerable. However, we will all be affected and therefore, it makes common sense for us to share the technology for the whole world to go green very rapidly.” The fifth and final layer identified by Robinson is the injustice to nature itself. “The loss of biodiversity and the extinction of species means that we need not only to cut emissions but to restore biodiversity. We need to make that feel personal and not some big scientific idea. That is the importance of climate justice,” she explains.

Individual responsibility On individual responsibility, Robinson says that the Covid-19 pandemic has presented a lesson that collective human behaviour matters. Setting out the importance of individual behavioural change to contribute to collective efforts, Robinson says that the first stage of collective change is personal responsibility. The second stage is anger at those who have the greatest responsibility but are not taking sufficient action. As such, Robinson says that personal choice to use votes, voices and join organisations involved in climate conservation and advocacy, as individuals, will in turn become collective behaviour. However, most

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“The next decade is probably the most important decade in the history of humanity because it will determine whether we have a future.” importantly for Robinson is the ability to imagine “the healthier world we are hurrying towards”. “If we can imagine this future together, we will want to get there and we will urge governments to get there. We need that impulse of real energy to get a world of staying below 1.5ºC,” she says.

COP26 Concluding, Robinson says that realising a world of climate justice and sustainability before it is too late is a very real challenge. The former President says that she is alarmed by a recent report by the International Energy Agency which highlights a rise in emissions as countries shore up their economies post-Covid crisis. “What we need is all governments, corporations and cities to commit to be net zero emissions by 2050 and then work backwards to 2030 for the commitments they will make this year. The UN Conference on Biodiversity in China and the COP26 conference in Glasgow represent an opportunity to commit to protecting 30 per cent of our land and 30 per cent of our oceans as part of restoring biodiversity. “We need to commit to nationally determined contributions that cut emissions by more than 50 per cent for industrialised countries by 2030. “The next decade is probably the most important decade in the history of humanity because it will determine whether we have a future. Unless we can make it personal, in a sense of understanding the layers of injustice, understanding the importance of doing it collectively and of meeting the challenge, we will not have a future.”

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EirGrid: shaping collaborative engagement system. The Shaping Our Electricity Future consultation took 14 weeks, and the results will be published this month. It will detail the findings from the consultation and present innovative approaches to developing the electricity grid in order to meet the Government’s 2030 renewable energy target. The target will be a talking point at COP26. To assess how best to achieve the 2030 target EirGrid asked the public: ‘How should we achieve this?’ and presented four draft approaches for consideration: • Generation-led: Put clean generation close to where most power is used;

CEO Mark Foley described the consultation process as “the largest body of work that EirGrid has undertaken”.

EirGrid has a unique and challenging role to play in leading the radical transformation of the electricity sector to low-carbon, renewable energy. The transmission system operator needs to add more energy from renewable sources, such as wind and sun, to the power system over the next nine years. Advertorial

Doing so is necessary to meet the Government target of at least 70 per cent of electricity consumption to be met from renewable sources by 2030. To put that in context, renewable energy accounted for 42 per cent of electricity consumption in Ireland last year. Boosting that figure to 70 per cent requires significant investments, not only in renewable energy developments, but also in the national electricity grid that transports the energy from where it is produced to where it is used. 118

By 2030, the grid needs to be stronger and more flexible so that it can carry lots more power from energy sources that vary depending on the weather, over longer distances. To help decide how best to do this, earlier this year EirGrid created four draft approaches to transforming Ireland's grid. Described by CEO, Mark Foley, as “the largest body of work that EirGrid has undertaken”, in March the company embarked on a nationwide consultation on the future of Ireland’s electricity

• Developer-led: Let developers decide where to locate clean generation; • Technology-led: Try new ways to move clean power across the country; and • Demand-led: Put large electricity users close to sources of clean power. For the national electricity grid operator, a new and innovative process for public engagement was adopted to facilitate a people-led approach on the options available. “At EirGrid we strive for meaningful, inclusive and transparent engagement and we wanted this process to be people-led from the very start,” explained Head of Public Engagement, Sinéad Dooley. Firstly, a clear plan for engagement and how to include all facets of society in this collaborative process was needed.

New public engagement strategy for a cleaner energy future In the normal course of business, engagement with stakeholders is a hugely important part of EirGrid’s operations. From open exhibition days to visiting landowners and engaging with

the public using a mobile information unit, EirGrid is no stranger to reaching out to foster direct contact with communities, landowners, and elected representatives on a regular basis.

“Whilst grappling with the impact of the pandemic on our engagement, pivoting to meaningful virtual engagement has allowed us to continue innovating and developing our engagement and communication processes which has culminated in one of the largest public consultations undertaken by a semi state company to date,” Dooley states. The virtual initiative went beyond standard video conferencing and webinars, focusing on the user experience and ensuring the stakeholder voice is both heard, and, importantly, acted upon.

Inclusive approach In the Shaping Our Electricity Future consultation and engagement process, segmenting engagement experiences was key for EirGrid in ensuring an inclusive approach, facilitating voices from across society, industry, and statutory bodies during the 14-week consultation period. Cognisant of reaching all audiences, including youth, and rural communities, the engagement programme included youth assemblies thanks to a collaboration with the National Youth Council of Ireland, and rural workshops in conjunction with Irish Rural Link.

For the national electricity grid operator, a new and innovative process for public engagement was adopted to facilitate a people-led approach on the options available.

The feedback and inputs from public and civil society stakeholders was analysed and used to inform the final Shaping Our Electricity Future Roadmap. Specifically, the feedback was used to: • Influence the network and generation modelling that EirGrid has based studies on; • The development of the Network Infrastructure Roadmap; • The development of the Stakeholder Engagement Roadmap; and • More broadly, influence and reinforce EirGrid’s overall approach to Public Engagement. What did EirGrid learn from undertaking this approach to public engagement on such a large scale, using a diverse range of communication channels and collaborations? The activity undertaken by EirGrid throughout this consultation and engagement showed significant support from stakeholders for the necessity and objectives of Shaping Our Electricity Future.

Alongside partnerships, EirGrid directly facilitated engagement events across Ireland, including stakeholder workshops, civil society, forums, and a deliberative dialogue modelled on Ireland’s citizen’s assembly.

Communication is key Adopting an innovative public engagement process such as this also called for an innovative communications campaign to amplify what EirGrid was trying to achieve: public input into the decision-making process. A 360-communication campaign was mobilised to support and amplify the

public engagement programme, using national and regional media, along with digital and social media, paired with organic and paid for content. To support this campaign, thought leadership and political engagement was also used. “The delivery of a robust communications plan to ensure maximum amplification of the Shaping Our Electricity Future campaign was key. On analysis, the impact of the plan returned successful results, including very welcome positive media sentiment for the campaign,” explained Head of Public Relations at EirGrid, Suzanne Collins. With public and industry responses to the Shaping Our Electricity Future public engagement campaign surpassing EirGrid’s expectations, one thing is clear: the public care about the future of the electricity system and they want an active role in the transition to a low carbon system. To discuss this transition, and EirGrid’s public engagement approach to Shaping Our Electricity Future, EirGrid representatives, along with the Department of the Environment, Climate Action and Communications will attend an event at COP26 next month.

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“We also utilised relationships with Chambers Ireland, the Public Participation Networks and Local Government to ensure the opportunity for people to shape our electricity future was not missed,” explained Dooley.

How were these events, forums and workshops then used to inform EirGrid and its roadmap to a cleaner energy future?

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With Covid-19 halting in-person information events, EirGrid accelerated its innovation in digital engagement, researching and training internally and trialling solutions, including the increased roll out of webinars, digital workshops, virtual exhibitions, and micro-sites.

T: 085 603 0969 E: David.Martin@Eirgrid.com W: www.eirgrid.com

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Let’s Power Change Together

COP26: Implications for Ireland A panel of experts discuss the implications for Ireland of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), aimed at accelerating action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. How will COP26 catalyse the energy future?

John FitzGerald As well as giving the world an opportunity to recommit to the objectives set out in the Paris Agreement, COP26 will also give international attention to the issue. My concern would be that we have frequently seen governments making commitments, but I would like to see more by the way of action. Governments actually implementing policies is what will make the difference, so it is what comes after Glasgow that is critical.

early 2030s. What that says is that the window of opportunity to address more dangerous climate change is closing. In energy, electricity is the most important sector but there is a need for action. We are hoping COP26 will bring about that total focus on action.

Oisín Coghlan COP26 will offer momentum. It is not quite like Paris, as there is no major new treaty or agreement in the offing, but it marks the return of the US, if not to climate leadership, at least to positive engagement and ambitious action. I would hope that from Glasgow comes a realisation by civil society and industry, particularly in the context of energy, that this is real. Government intent will enable industry to respond and so for me, COP26 is about that sense of cohesion and momentum. Rachel McEwen We need to go beyond momentum and accelerate. The IPCC report basically said that global temperatures will cross the 1.5ºC threshold in the

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What role can Ireland play in the global energy transition?

Oisín Coghlan Ireland can commit to doing its fair share. Our new climate law target is for net zero carbon by 2050, which is not our fair share under an equitable distribution of effort to reach 1.5oC but is at least finally in line with EU targets. We have been better in energy but there is a need for a

Let’s Power Change Together

Rachel Ireland has a leadership role and there is no time like the present to get things moving. There is no doubt that in Ireland’s system one of our biggest gaps is insufficient zero carbon or low carbon flexible generation. It is the next big thing that needs to happen because what we cannot do is allow a disorderly transition to net zero, because that would leave people behind.

“We know we can, through various technologies, produce lots of renewable electricity but the problem is balancing the system in a way that is carbon neutral.”

Panellists

Rachel McEwen CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER

SSE

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continued commitment by government. Firstly, in relation to renewables, we have been a world leader on the integration of renewables on to our grid, but we need to press on with facilitating offshore wind and solar. Secondly, we have begun to show symbolic leadership on the future of fossil fuels through divesting our sovereign wealth fund from fossil fuels and ending the issuing of new licenses for oil and gas exploration, but we are now in a crunch period of addressing what we do about our own supplies of fossil fuels over the coming years. I believe if the Government want to show leadership, as they say they do, then they should outline that they don’t see it as appropriate to develop gas infrastructure of any kind, because it risks locking ourselves in. We need to be moving to the electrification of everything and the decarbonisation of electricity.

Rachel joined SSE in 2007 and, as Chief Sustainability Officer, is responsible for its sustainability strategy, climate change policy, community funds and corporate heritage. She is also a non-Executive Director of Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks Board. External to SSE, Rachel was a member of the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Commission and is a member of the Fair Tax Mark Board. Prior to working for SSE, she was Senior Special Adviser to Scotland’s First Minister from 2001 to 2007.

John FitzGerald MEMBER

John FitzGerald Primarily, Ireland can support the EU Commission proposals because it is vital for Europe that these are implemented, including the inclusion of heat and transport into the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Secondly, Ireland needs to redirect about two per cent of national income from current investment and consumption to investment in tackling climate change. Barriers will have to be removed so we can roll out major investment in infrastructure to decarbonise electricity, but I think where costs are going to be significant is in the areas of heat and transport. That is going to place a significant burden on government and is going to require a significant increase in taxation in order to fund the necessary transformation. I believe that government must be honest with people in saying yes, there are major benefits, but there are also going to be costs.

Climate Change Advisory Council John is one of Ireland’s leading economists and a Research Affiliate with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and an Adjunct Professor in TCD and UCD. He was a member of the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation from 2003 to 2006 and he is a member of the Government's Climate Change Advisory Council.

Oisín Coghlan

To what extent are the technologies and energy solutions for dealing with emissions across power, transport, deforestation, and methane readily available and cost-effective?

DIRECTOR

Friends of the Earth

Rachel McEwen Within electricity, there is so much to go for right now and the big gamechanger is the cost of offshore wind. We can take inspiration from the success of onshore wind because if you create the right structures and competitive situations, then the private sector should do what it is good at, which is to innovate and bring down costs. It is clear what we need to do with electricity, we need to get as much offshore wind out there as possible.

Oisín has been Director of Friends of the Earth since 2005. He co-founded the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition in 2007 and the Environmental Pillar in 2009 and led the 14-year campaign for a climate law which culminated in the passing of the Climate Action Act 2021. He is the current chair of Coalition 2030, the Irish civil society coalition for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

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John FitzGerald

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Offshore wind is now reaching the production stage but in other areas we don’t know what the answer is going to be. We know we can, through various technologies, produce lots of renewable electricity but the problem is balancing the system in a way that is carbon neutral. There is not one solution to do this and in deploying solutions, there is a need to reduce costs to make them feasible. Oisín Coghlan To a large extent the technologies exist but there is great capacity for innovation among the business community and society at large, particularly when government makes the market and there are targets and hard

our electricity might go to data centres in 10 years’ time. Rachel McEwen Last year, I was a little concerned about a frenzy of target setting by companies and corporates, not just in the energy sector. There appeared to be an emphasis on the scale of targets and not necessarily the effectiveness of action. In SSE, we have pinned our flag to the science-based target initiative, and it is important that the carbon targets we have set for our own

“I would hope that from Glasgow comes a realisation by civil society and industry, particularly in the context of energy, that this is real.” objectives put in place. The challenge is that there is no silver bullet. There are hundreds of solutions across society and the challenge is not identifying them or even developing them but deploying them at scale. That is why it is really important that there are opportunities for people to be involved, through the likes of microgeneration, and that we enable these solutions, even if they are not the most cost-effective, so that people can feel involved.

How can the Irish Government and energy industry demonstrate leadership in transforming ambitions into action?

Oisín Coghlan On the part of the Government, it will require a sustained focus. Following the science in the same way we have with Covid-19 and then communicating that with a consistency and clarity, not just for 18 months

operations have integrity. We have put a lot of store into having those firm targets, and they are important but not nearly as important as the actions we have to take quickly. John FitzGerald I agree that the effectiveness of action is more important than targets and I believe government must take the lead if we are to achieve buy-in from people. Some innovations already exist, for example, the Tallaght District Heating Scheme, which uses the excess heat from the Amazon data centre, or the Kilkenny County Council retrofit programme for local authority homes, which has also served as a catalyst for nearby private homes to make investment. These are initiatives which show the benefits of the State taking control, delivering at scale, getting buy-in, and assuring quality control. The State has a role

“We can take inspiration from the success of onshore wind — if you create the right structures and competitive situations, then the private sector should do what it is good at, which is to innovate and bring down costs.” but for the next decade and beyond. Every decision must prioritise climate action when there are trade-offs to be made. We then need to put in place whatever supports are required to mean that the consequences of those decisions are not too severe.

if we, the people of Ireland, are going to spend a lot of money addressing climate change. A further example is the Land Development Agency (LDA), which is going to play a big role in

Additionally, it is not all about technology and innovation. We are going to have to manage, or at least reduce, the energy demand. Some models show energy demand doubling in the next 10 years, with a lot of that additional demand going towards data centres. I would worry that what needs to be done around the grid and renewables to solve the climate crisis will get conflated in the public eye, with the growth in data centre electricity demand. I don’t believe that the Government is taking seriously the need for data centre policy that aligns with our Paris goals and questions whether or not it is worth building a system where a quarter of

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building large numbers of houses in Ireland. If the LDA pushed for timber frame dwellings, using much less cement, they have the scale to require factories to be built to produce the houses in modular form. This would save money, deliver houses more rapidly and save carbon. It is these types of initiatives where the State can play a role and further, advertise it.

Let’s Power Change Together

Implementing the European Green Deal

European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson discusses the role of the Fit for 55 package in the

In order to achieve the goals set out by Fit for 55 and the European Green Deal, Europe needs to save 9 per cent more energy than it would do on its current trajectory. All member states will have flexibility in how they go about achieving this goal, but the question that has been much discussed is how exactly these member states can get to this goal. The European Commission has proposed a greater annual energy savings obligation, increasing it from 0.8 per cent to 1.5 per cent. “Each member state can focus on sectors with the biggest potential: buildings, transport and industry,” Simson says. “We foresee a stronger role of the public sector. For example, through energy efficient renovations and public procurement. We want to alleviate energy poverty; that means developing policies with the most vulnerable in mind. We are also proposing that the Energy Efficiency First Principle be enshrined in law, which will help to use its full potential.” In terms of renewable energy, the Fit for 55 package and the revised Renewable Energy Directive provide what Simson calls “a complete framework for

Ireland

renewable deployment covering every relevant sector of the economy”. That includes revised targets, such as the 40 per cent of renewables targeted for inclusion in Europe’s energy mix by 2030, an increase of 8 per cent on top of the current target. Much of the necessary work was already completed in 2020, within European strategies for energy system integration, hydrogen, the renovation wave, and offshore renewable energy. New rules were also proposed for the trans-European energy networks, putting the focus firmly on green energy and grids.

While Ireland is “at the geographical periphery of Europe”, as Simson puts it, it also has “the capability to be at the centre of the energy transition”. Simson uses the 70 per cent target for renewable electricity by 2030 as evidence for this claim. Successfully reaching this target demands an Irish grid ready to carry this increased capacity and a security of supply; Simson points to the Celtic Interconnector project as the answer to both of these issues. In 2019, the Celtic Interconnector received what was then the largest ever grant from the Connecting Europe Facility, €530 million, as well as additional coordination and acceleration of permit granting processes under the TEN-E regulation. It is expected to go live by 2026.

“Still, we need to go further,” she states. “We need to go beyond electricity and decarbonise heating and cooling, which counts for half of our energy consumption. We must ensure that investments for buildings renovation guide us away from fossil fuel boilers and towards sustainable alternatives, and that shift needs to be a costeffective one. The revised Renewable Energy Directive also aims for a bigger role for electrification in transport and innovative fuels, especially for the harder to decarbonise sectors like aviation and maritime.

Concluding, the Commissioner turns her attention to how the coming transformation will impact the European citizen: “I don’t talk about the impact on fossil fuel industries lightly. They will be impacted across the EU, and in Ireland, where the greatest impact will be on the peat industry and the midlands region. We cannot overestimate the importance of a just transition, one where no one is left behind. The key priority is to guide a low-carbon transition while supporting communities and opening up new business perspectives in the energy sector and beyond.”

implementation of the European Green Deal.

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“Each of these two instruments, the revised energy efficiency and renewable energy directives, are united in a common goal: partnership with our consumers and citizens at the centre of the transition, but this package is a play with two acts. The work is not done, and there are several important initiatives still to come this year. By the end of 2021, we will review the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. In the same timeframe, the Commission will present proposals to decarbonise the EU gas market, including measures to boost clean hydrogen. Finally, we will tackle the emissions of the most potent and second-most important greenhouse gas: methane.”

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State of the Union 2021 In September 2021, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her second State of the Union address to MEPs in Strasbourg with a major focus on recovery, climate, and defence. Delivered in a much more confident tone than her first State of the Union address, when Covid-19 gripped countries across the globe and a successful vaccine approval was a distant hope, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen understandably chose to highlight the EU’s major achievements of the past 12 months, namely the vaccination campaign and the €750 billion NextGenerationEU recovery fund, in her second address. 124

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However, speaking in Strasbourg to MEPs, the President stopped short of being triumphant and instead warned “corona times are not over”, stressing that “next year will be yet another test of character”.

And it was in relation to global vaccination

While Europe’s success of fully vaccinating over 70 per cent of adults was celebrated, the problematic start to vaccination rollout was not mentioned, instead the President chose to flag Europe’s delivery of more than 700 million doses to more than 130 countries in the rest of the world.

urgent priority”, von der Leyen announced

where the President made the Commission’s first major pledge of the address. Outlining the speeding up of global vaccination as “our first and most a new donation of a further 200 million doses by the middle of 2022 to the 250 million doses already committed to sharing following investment to ramp up mRNA production capacity in Africa.

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Pandemic of the unvaccinated The President did address growing concerns around divergence in vaccination rates across member states, pleading with MEPs to “do everything possible to ensure that this does not turn into a pandemic of the unvaccinated”. “We need to keep up the momentum, and Europe is ready. We have 1.8 billion additional doses secured. This is enough for us and our neighbourhood when booster shots are needed,” she said. On strengthening future preparedness, the President proposed the establishment of the European Health Emergency preparedness and Response (HERA) authority, with an investment of €50 billion

“We have to double down to shape our digital transformation according to our own rules and values,” stated von der Leyen, before going on to highlight that Europe’s share of semi-conductors, across the entire value chain, from design to manufacturing capacity, has shrunk. The President called for a focus on a shortage of semiconductors and the current dependence on manufacturing in Asia. “This is not just a matter of our competitiveness. This is also a matter of tech sovereignty. So, let's put all of our focus on it,” she says, outlining the upcoming presentation of a new European Chips Act to create a state-of-the-art European chip ecosystem, ensuring security of supply and develop new

to be backed up by concrete plans in time for Glasgow. Because current commitments for 2030 will not keep global warming to 1.5°C within reach,” she said. Emphasising a responsibility of the major economies to the least developed and most vulnerable countries, the President pledged an additional €4 billion to 2027 on top of Europe’s $25 billion current annual investment. However, in doing do, she stressed expectations that partners, particularly the US, step up their investments. “Closing the climate finance gap together, the US and the EU, would be a strong signal for global climate leadership. It is time to deliver.”

Defence

“This is not just a matter of our competitiveness.

The former German defence minister used the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban and

This is also a matter of tech sovereignty.”

global security challenges as the backdrop to an announcement of ambitions to develop a European defence union.

by 2027, which has been touted as the foundation of a European Health Union.

markets for “ground-breaking European tech”.

Economy

Climate

Von der Leyen suggests that the EU has learned from past economic shocks, highlighting that Eurozone GDP took eight years to return to pre-crisis levels after the financial crisis, she expects the economic response from this crisis to be much faster.

Progress on the climate crisis will undoubtedly determine von der Leyen’s legacy as EU Commission President. As the President who has already overseen the unveiling of the European Green Deal, the European Climate Law and the Fit for 55 package, the climate crisis was always going to be a major focus of her address.

straits, stormy seas and vast land borders.

Perhaps more low key than her first State of the Union address in 2020, when von der Leyen set out the 55 per cent emission reduction by 2030 target, the Commission President did pledge to double its external funding for biodiversity, in particular for the most vulnerable countries.

European defence ecosystem. But what

The President’s focus appeared to be more on the global rather than internal challenges and she stressed the need for international cooperation in relation to the climate crisis, pointing to November’s COP26 in Glasgow as a “moment of truth for the global community”.

Europe, the President not only proposed

“Major economies – from the US to Japan – have set ambitions for climate neutrality in 2050 or shortly after. These need now

vocational training or employment in their

“This time we expect 19 countries to be at pre-pandemic levels this year with the rest following next,” she says, boasting that growth in the euro area outpaced both the US and China in the quarter prior to her September 2021 address. However, urging caution, she adds: “This is only the beginning. And the lessons from the financial crisis should serve as a cautionary tale. At that time, Europe declared victory too soon and we paid the price for that. And we will not repeat the same mistake.” The President says that the single market, which will soon celebrate its 30th year, is the driver of good jobs and competitiveness and pinpoints digital as the “make-or-break” issue.

Stating that a new EU-NATO joint declaration on defence would be delivered before the end of 2021. “We are connected to the world by narrow Because of that geography, Europe knows better than anyone that if you don't deal in time with the crisis abroad, the crisis comes to you,” she said. “The good news is that over the past years, we have started to develop a we need is the European Defence Union.”

ALMA One internal area where von der Leyen did focus was on youth. Discussing the impact on the pandemic on the youth of 2022 as the Year of European Youth but announced the launch of the ALMA programme. The ERASMUS-like project aims to support young people not in any kind of employment, education, or training to enter the job market through education, home country but also with a work placement in another EU country.

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Seán Kelly MEP: Renovation wave must be embraced Renovation of the EU's building stock is a key Green Deal priority, writes Seán Kelly MEP, leader of the Fine Gael Delegation in the European Parliament. Renovation of building stock within the EU is not only a priority due to the potential to reduce CO2 emissions in Ireland and the EU, but also to drive sustainable growth and job creation. For example, the construction sector is the largest generator of jobs-per-millioneuro-invested. With goals to renovate 35 million buildings by 2030, supported with funding of €672.5 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, this provides massive economic opportunities. The European Green Deal sets out in detail how Europe will become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. However, it is not just about reducing emissions; it also seeks to safeguard precious biodiversity, eliminate pollution and create a circular economy that will focus on transforming our economies into a model of production and consumption that stays within our planetary boundaries. All this is to be achieved while boosting the competitiveness of European industry and ensuring a just

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transition for the regions and workers affected. If you think this is an ambitious endeavour, you most certainly would be right. The enormity of this undertaking must not be underestimated, but nor should the reasons why it is necessary. The latest scientific assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes this clear. In line with the IPCC’s stark warnings, the European Commission has tabled a package of energy and climate laws to reach the EU’s 2030 goal of cutting emissions by 55 per cent in comparison to 1990 and put us on a path to be net zero by 2050. The Commission, under the Fit for 55 packages, has proposed the revisions and initiatives to reach the 55 per cent net reduction target. This package stands as the largest single batch of legislation to tackle climate change proposed by any government, anywhere.

Credit: Erik McLean

How Europe handles the energy transition will not just determine our economic future, but it will also determine the very social cohesion of the entire union. Ensuring a smooth transition will be incredibly important in this regard, and this will need dedicated funds to protect those most exposed from rising costs of fossil fuel prices. Buildings are indispensable for reaching the EU’s carbon neutrality, energy efficiency and renewable energy objectives. Reaching our climate targets without decarbonising our living and working spaces quite frankly will be impossible. Buildings are responsible for 36 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and 40 per cent of the energy consumption in the EU. Yet, in Europe today, 75 per cent of buildings are not energy efficient, mostly because many of the buildings in use were constructed before the current requirements were in place.

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Without significant increases in renovations rates, we will miss an opportunity to create millions of jobs, but also, more importantly, we will fail the next generation who will have to deal with the consequences of our inaction. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is the main EU-level legal instrument for decarbonising member states' building stock. Since its adoption, the EPBD has been closely connected with the EU climate targets and has been aligned to reflect their progressive evolution. It is very clear that buildings will play a key role in whether we reach climate neutrality or not, and it is not just the EPBD that will determine the success of this at EU level. The Energy Efficiency Directive, Renewable Energy Directive, Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive, and the Energy Taxation Directive all have aspects effecting buildings, and they must be coherent with one another. The energy performance of buildings is also related to other legislation such as the directives on energy taxation, ecodesign, and eco-labelling. In addition to this, the EPBD will need to be consistent with numerous Green Deal initiatives such as the circular economy action plan and the EU strategy on energy system integration, amongst others. This is not to bamboozle readers with a long list of legislation and action plans, but simply to demonstrate the multifaceted approach necessary to tackle emissions from buildings. The fact is that the majority of our built environment, approximately between 85 and 95 per cent of today’s buildings, will still be in use by 2050. This puts renovations front and centre in getting our buildings climate ready.

“Staged and deep renovation of the existing building stock will be crucial to realise the energy efficiency potential of buildings. Member states need to recognise this…” Seán Kelly MEP clear that not all have embraced the potential of the renovation wave. In Ireland, 1.5 million homeowners spent more than €11 billion in the past year on home improvements; while more than 861,000 homeowners have plans to do more such work. However, we must ensure that when money is spent, it improves the quality of the home, not just aesthetic purposes or we risk missed opportunities, and we cannot afford missed opportunities. For action to become reality, member states must invest in capacity building, technical assistance and in upskilling and reskilling policies to realise the twin green and digital transition.

Currently, the renovation rate is around 1 per cent per year. If we continue along this path our goals will not reach our goals. It is that simple. Instead, this really needs to start increasing more progressively to around 3 per cent or higher.

It is necessary to have an EU skills initiative that enables intermediaries, such as installers, architects, or contractors, to advise, prescribe or install relevant solutions for energy efficiency programmes and a decarbonised building stock.

Staged and deep renovation of the existing building stock will be crucial to realise the energy efficiency potential of buildings. Member states need to recognise this, but unfortunately, it is very

Member states need to provide a clear link between their national long-term renovation strategies and adequate initiatives to promote skills and education in the construction and energy efficiency

sectors. The enormity of the task should not be understated, and we cannot accomplish it without skilled workers. Even since 2018, our ability to utilise data has dramatically improved. The revision of the EPBD should also serve to further promote smart buildings technologies and foster a data-centric approach. In this regard, it will be pivotal to create a framework to leverage the use of data, which is GDPR compliant, to improve transparency, develop benchmarks and guide policy decisions as well as improve actual energy consumption. There is also an opportunity in the revision of the EPBD to improve Energy Performance Certificates (EPC). EPCs should utilise better access to data and smart metering to provide practical information on real energy performance, instead of just estimations. There are numerous potential environmental, social, and economic benefits associated with energy efficiency renovation, leading to energy savings, lower emissions and reduced energy bills for households. The renovation wave must be embraced if the EU and Ireland are to reach our climate targets.

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Credit: Sinn Féin

Mol an óige Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD In the first instalment of eolas’ new Mol an óige series, profiling the youngest Teachtaí Dála, Ciarán Galway engages the Sinn Féin deputy for Cork South-Central and the party’s current education spokesperson, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, to discuss political origins, parliamentary experience, party ideology, and personal ambitions for the future.

In the absence of familial ties to party politics, Deputy Ó Laoghaire identifies two major factors which stirred his own involvement. The first is the awakening of his political consciousness as a teenager. While the Celtic Tiger was still roaring at the time, the future TD was acutely cognisant of disadvantage in his local community of Togher on the southside of Cork city. However, only one party captured his attention, and he remarks: “I am not sure it is the case that if

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there was not a Sinn Féin on the market that I would have got involved in politics.” The second factor he emphasises is the gathering pace of the peace process during the same period. “I admired the work that Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness were doing and their ability to deliver. The achievement that they had been part of in the peace process and getting the

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‘‘

It is not that there is an inherent virtue in young people or young women or any particular category. It is that we need the Dáil to look like the country as a whole. Credit: Sinn Féin

institutions re-established and everything that was connected to that, parity of esteem and equality,” Ó Laoghaire recalls. Ógra Shinn Féin Subsequently, he joined the Martin Hurson Cumann of Ógra Shinn Féin at University College Cork and ultimately became the national organiser of his party’s youth wing. Recalling his first Ógra meeting, it was, he says, attended by “very similar, likeminded young people”. Commenting on the value of party youth wings, Ó Laoghaire maintains: “That is a far easier space to step into rather than an established local party branch which might have a mix of ages, people who are very well known in the community and might be a bit more of a difficult space to assert yourself in and to have opinions and that kind of thing. “My experience of Ógra was very sociable. At the time, it was good for attending weekend events, discussions, and debates… Travelling around the place and making friends with people from all over the country. All that kind of stuff helps people to develop their politics.” Young people and women Reflecting on the role of young people and women more generally, the Sinn Féin education spokesperson believes that democracy works best when it is representative. Presently, he argues, the Dáil is too male and too middle class.

“It is not that there is an inherent virtue in young people or young women or any particular category. It is that we need the Dáil to look like the country as a whole. We need a fair balance of old and young, male and female, straight and gay, new Irish and people who have been here for however many generations. “In Sinn Féin, we are lucky to have a number of very talented young TDs. Why is it important? Because the issues that young people generally, and young women specifically, are facing will not get adequate attention if their voices are not there… If there were more young women around the cabinet table then that might not be the case,” he posits. Ideology Defining Sinn Féin’s current ideology, the Corkman embraces parliamentary party colleague Eoin Ó Broin’s categorisation of left republicanism. While acknowledging that there are republicans who do not identify with the political left, particularly internationally, he stresses Irish republicanism’s emphasis on equality, Irish unity, national democracy, and pluralism. “It is in that left republican frame that I would see Sinn Féin,” he asserts, adding: “The thing that defines Sinn Féin from other parties is that we are not only interested in changing policies, but in changing the course of Irish politics. “That includes the ending of partition and the creation of a new republic, a new Ireland. The changing of the constitutional status cannot only be about the lines on the maps, it has to be about delivering something new and transformative for the country.”

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Mol an óige

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD

Asked to consider whether his party has, in reality, begun to drift towards the political centre, he argues: “I do not look at our manifestos and see much difference, for example, the 2011 manifesto, albeit the economic climate was much different. I do not see that our perspective or our main policies have changed very much at all.” Overton window

“It is hard to imagine Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs talking about [social housing] in the same way 10 or 15 years ago. I think it is because we have forced it to the centre. Are they doing it right? Far from it. Nor have they the required ambition. But the fact that that language has entered their lexicon is a reflection of how we have impacted where the politics of the centre are. In fact, I believe Irish society is moving to the left. Maybe not at a runaway pace, but gradually I think that it is.” Armed struggle In August 2021, following the 40th anniversary of the 1981 hunger strike, Ó Laoghaire stated: “It is not my view that you need to agree with the armed conflict, or you need to agree with every element in order to be a member of Sinn Féin or in order to support Sinn Féin.”

Asked how someone who rejects or retrospectively rejects the armed struggle can reconcile that position with Sinn Féin membership, the Cork TD stands over his remarks, though elaborates on them. “I think it would be difficult to identify with Sinn Féin if you did not at least understand the root causes of the conflict,” he begins, adding: “If a person wants to join Sinn Féin, it is more than adequate that they have an understanding that the situation in the run up to 1968 and 1969 was unsustainable; it was single party, majoritarian, authoritarian government based on discrimination. It was unsustainable. “The attempts to reform it were foundering on the

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Interestingly, he suggests that there are “plenty of members within Sinn Féin who do not agree with every element of the armed struggle” and submits: “Probably the majority of Sinn Féin members could identify things that were done by the IRA, but obviously across the board as well, that they would say should not have happened.

‘‘

Reflecting on definitions of centrism, Ó Laoghaire believes that Sinn Féin has already shifted the Overton window leftwards. “The objective is to bring your position into the centre so that the political centre becomes your ideas. I think that we have achieved that to some extent.

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rocks and effectively going nowhere at that point in time. With Burntollet Bridge and everything that followed after it, conflict escalated. There are numerous parties that had a role in that. It would be hard to imagine somebody identifying with Sinn Féin if they did not at least have a sense that the conflict did not emerge from a vacuum, it emerged from oppression and from anti-democratic government.”

“I would say there are Sinn Féin members who would not necessarily agree with the

The thing that deﬁnes Sinn Féin from other parties is that we are not only interested in changing policies, but in changing the course of Irish politics. armed conflict, generally speaking, and I think that is as it should be in the sense that everyone should be welcome. The focus of the party should be and is on today and the Ireland that we want to create.” Dáil experience By 2009, the then 20-year-old experienced his first foray into electoral politics when he unsuccessfully contested the 2009 local election. While failing to get elected, he subsequently took up a role working for Sinn Féin in Dublin. Working as a political advisor for then Cork East TD Sandra McLellan, and subsequently seanadóirí David Cullinane and Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, Ó Laoghaire gained experience of policy, legislation and Dáil procedures. “It was a great help when I was elected as TD because there were some elements of the system that I understood straight away because I had been doing them myself. That was a huge benefit,” he says.

“I was lucky that there was a job in Leinster House. It was not really a planned thing, but I applied, and I got it. I worked away at that for the guts of three years and then came home and ran for the county council again.” Ó Laoghaire has since travelled on a substantial learning curve since his first entry into the Dáil in 2016, after having served as a councillor on Cork County Council for two years since 2014. From the outset, he was catapulted into the Sinn Féin frontbench as spokesperson on children before being posted to “very challenging brief” as justice spokesperson from May 2017 and as such, he had to “learn fast”. While acknowledging that he does enjoy the policy and legislative aspects of his role, the Cork TD expresses frustration that the pandemic had, to a large extent, inhibited face-toface engagement within his Cork South-Central constituency. “You see the community at its best and that has been absent. That thing that brings a lot of us into politics is contact with and being embedded in the community. That has been absent for the last year-anda-half,” he comments.

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2020 General Election In February 2020, Ó Laoghaire topped the poll in Cork South-Central, ahead of now Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD and senior ministers Simon Coveney TD and Michael McGrath TD. Almost doubling his first preference vote percentage from 12.5 per cent to 24.6 per cent, he secured his spot as the first TD elected to the 33rd Dáil. The victory was the first indication of Sinn Féin’s national resurgence, reversing a marked decline in its electoral performance, having suffered setbacks in the 2019 local and European elections. Evoking the “relief and surprise”, the Cork TD confirms that his party’s performance exceeded even its own

First and foremost, the party must seek to retain its unprecedented relevance if it is to continue to capitalise on the fragmentation of the old two-party system. Alongside housing and health, the education spokesperson identifies childcare, the future and work and pensions as key battlegrounds for the next election. If and when it enters government, Sinn Féin will be under enormous pressure to deliver on its manifesto. Turning to ambitions and whether any particular cabinet portfolio appeals to him most, the Sinn Féin frontbencher insists that his primary ambition is to get into government and deliver once there, while he would “not be claiming any particular portfolio”.

’’

The lesson in that is that the wheel always turns, and you cannot take it for granted that it is always going to be this way, so we have to work hard and hold onto people’s votes. expectations. “It is not that long ago, I think 2007, when we got around 5 per cent of the vote. We were a fairly marginal force. The lesson in that is that the wheel always turns, and you cannot take it for granted that it is always going to be this way, so we have to work hard and hold onto people’s votes. “The other thing to say is that I was proud and delighted… I was the beneficiary of a national mood, as were many others.” Government ambitions and delivery Having polled an average of 29.6 per cent across all opinion polls from 8 February 2020 to 16 October 2021, Sinn Féin, currently the largest party in the Dáil, is faced with several challenges as the lead opposition party.

Credit: Sinn Féin

“To ensure that we are a continuous and sustainable force in government, we have to make sure that we are delivering during the first time out. We must ensure that we do not lose people or see the electorate walk away from us. My ambition, therefore, is to ensure that Sinn Féin is a long-term force in Irish politics, not just here today and gone tomorrow.” Reflecting on its long march to becoming a force in Irish parliamentary politics, Ó Laoghaire concludes: “Obviously, Sinn Féin was a small party not that terribly long ago, but unlike other small parties, Sinn Féin had people the length and breadth of the country who were doing a lot of the groundwork. It was slow, painstaking work. “I can think of people in my own area, in the southside of Cork city, which would not have been one of the first areas that we would have made a breakthrough in. They were working at that for years and years. I think of Henry Cremin who just stepped off from Cork City Council last summer who has been involved with Sinn Féin for the guts of 30 years. It is people like him who deserve huge credit for building an organisation, as well as the party and how we navigated the politics and provided a vision for Irish society.”

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Saragh Fitzpatrick: Developing the Oireachtas’ financial functions Within the Houses of the Oireachtas Service, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is tasked with leading and developing all financial functions, across the finance, salaries, and procurement units. Ciarán Galway sits down with Oireachtas CFO Saragh Fitzpatrick to discuss structure, functions, and innovation. Outlining the main responsibilities of her role as the Oireachtas CFO, Fitzpatrick explains that while the CFO’s units have minimal input into the procedural work of the Houses of the Oireachtas, they are important contributors to the common goal of supporting its legislative function. Employing the analogy of the Oireachtas as an engine, she observes: “The environment is dynamic, fast moving, and each part is vital to the overall functioning of the organisation. Without the operation of each component, it does not run.” Delineating the structure of the Finance Unit, the Salaries Unit, and the Procurement Unit, the CFO notes that while there is some synergy between the Finance and Salaries units, they are ultimately three distinct units.

Finance function units Procurement: The Procurement Unit is responsible for making sure that everything the Houses of the Oireachtas Service purchases and all the contracts that it enters, fulfil appropriate tendering processes. “Public procurement is subject to much stricter rules than are applied to private companies. The Procurement team also fulfils a consultative role for the other parts of the organisation, providing them with the benefit of their expertise and qualifications,” Fitzpatrick remarks. Finance: As well as day to day operational finance functions, the unit prepares the accounts which get published, feeds into the annual report, works with the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General for the annual audit, and fulfils all statutory deadlines. “Again, this area is quite heavily regulated,” the CFO says, adding: “The unit provides reports to the heads of function

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across the organisation: expenditure against budget to date in the year, deadlines, and forward planning into future years.” Salaries: The Salaries Unit ensures that everyone (Members, civil servants, political staff) gets paid in a timely manner. The unit also liaises with Revenue to make sure all relevant taxes are paid. “We have seven different payrolls. Some staff are paid monthly, some fortnightly and some weekly, and then there are pension payments. The unit maintains all those different payrolls and makes sure that everyone gets paid the right amount, on the right day.”

Remote working Pivoting to remote working in March 2020, Fitzpatrick emphasises the opportunity the pandemic created for a reevaluation of the processes feeding into the finance function. “My teams pivoted very quickly from a paper-based way of working to a completely remote and paperless scenario. This meant that we completely re-evaluated our priorities and used the opportunity to look at our processes and re-engineer where appropriate,” she notes. Paying tribute to her colleagues, Fitzpatrick recalls: “They adjusted, dug in and got on with the work, without dropping the ball once in 19 months. That applies beyond my teams. Having spoken with other principal officers, there is consensus on what has been a real shoulder-to-the wheel experience. It makes us all feel like we are part of something much bigger.” However, while Covid accelerated a new approach to the work associated with the Oireachtas’ finances, the core functions

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remain intact. These functions are: •

overseeing the expenditure of the Houses;

•

paying all salaries and expenses for members and staff; and

•

keeping and publishing annual accounts, management reports, and making statutory returns.

“We needed to continue to provide the Accounting Officer with assurance that we are functioning within a robust system of controls, that our reports are accurate and timely, and that we are giving him the kind of information that he needs to report on the Appropriation Account in forums such as the Audit Committee, the Finance Committee, the Commission, and the PAC,” Fitzpatrick insists.

CFO role Discussing her own role as CFO, Fitzpatrick explains that she is also a Principal Officer in the Houses of the Oireachtas Service. As such, she works alongside other principal officers across the Service as part of the senior management team. “There is an additional management responsibility that is different from a CFO role in the private sector but that is what makes it interesting. Traditionally, the role of CFO would have been akin to the chief actuary, focusing on finance and accountancy and not focusing on anything else. “That has broadened more fundamentally across the world, not just in Ireland. I think there is a recognition that holding your CFO only to accountancy and finance is probably not what is best for the organisation because they can be involved in more strategic work, including providing a financial mind within other strategic committees and strategic planning work.”

“There is an additional management responsibility that is different from a traditional CFO role in the private sector but that is what makes it interesting. Traditionally, the role of CFO would have been akin to the chief actuary… That has broadened more fundamentally.” the future of work is the way forward. Though, she concedes: “There must be equity. It is not advantageous to have one section on site all the time and another on site one day a week. It is necessary to determine what works best to provide optimal benefits to the organisation and to its staff.”

Aspirations Just over two years into the role as CFO, Fitzpatrick has been shortlisted for two awards (Accountant of the Year and CFO of the Year) by the Women in Finance Awards Ireland.

Strategy The Houses of the Oireachtas operate three-year strategic plans in line with agreed three-year budgets. Currently, the Service’s management team is collaborating on the strategy for the period from 2022 to 2024. “We will examine the 2019-2021 strategy, including what worked, what needs to substantially change, and where we see ourselves in three years’ time,” Fitzpatrick says. “There is a huge input into this process from the HR sphere, including consideration of what the future of work looks like, and then, of course, the ICT strategy required to get us there. The Houses of the Oireachtas has its legislative function at its core. As such, we cannot have everyone working from home.” From the CFO’s perspective, a blended or hybrid approach to

Reflecting on her achievements so far, she maintains: “I have so much more that I want to do that it is hard to even think what that medium- and long-term looks like. Really, my focus must be on what the next three years look like, how our funding will be implemented, the form our strategy will take, and what that future of work will be. “Walking into an historic building like Leinster House reminds you of the importance of working in the public service. More fundamentally, I enjoy seeing our work coming to fruition, including from a strategic perspective, and watching our staff develop and grow. The staff aspect, in particular, is the bit I most enjoy.”

Chief Financial Officer of the Houses of the Oireachtas Service, Saragh Fitzpatrick is a qualified Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) accountant. Having previously worked as Director of Finance and Corporate Governance with Caranua (Residential Institutions Statutory Fund), she also fulfilled the role of Data Protection Officer in that organisation. Prior to this, Fitzpatrick worked as an auditor with the Health Service Executive, tasked with auditing a wide range of organisations funded by the HSE and TUSLA, having previously worked with the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, auditing Government departments and educational institutes. Outside of work, Fitzpatrick is a tap dancer on the Irish team. In November 2021, she will represent Ireland at the Tap Dance Championships in Riesa, Germany.

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Partition commemoration: History not conducive to reconciliation Credit: Office of the President

In societies where the past is contested, such as in Ireland, acts of social remembrance, otherwise known as commemoration — no matter how ostensibly benign and well-intentioned — have the potential to generate controversy. Ciarán Galway writes. While commemorations are framed by memory and remembrance, the complexity of each concept is often underestimated. This can be the result of either conscious obfuscation or subconscious naïveté.

Memory and remembrance Memory can be official or colloquial, public or private, elite or popular. Social remembrance, more commonly referred to as commemoration, is a choice about how the past is represented. It is therefore, a social, cultural, and political construction.

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History, on the other hand, is not synonymous with memory. Intrinsically, while the discipline of history pursues an objective and factual narrative of the past, memory is selective and exploits history to diffuse a particular narrative. This is complicated by the fact that there is a contradiction in that memory often inspires two or more competing constructions of the same past. As such, memory involves simultaneous remembrance and forgetting, according to contemporary needs of a community. Consequently, there is a perpetual battle over the ownership of the past. A wide variety of competing interests inform public acts of remembrance. Applying a

‘collective’ label merely serves to camouflage the complexity of a society’s relationship with the past. As historian Rebecca Graff-McRae has asserted, memory is the “construction and contestation of our past”. It determines who is included and who is excluded. Commemoration, therefore, is about delineating identity. Meanwhile, British historian Eric Hobsbawm emphasised that memory is vulnerable to manipulation by elites which seek to indoctrinate and instil a set of conforming values. Often, the hegemonic national narrative formulates an official memory to monopolise the transmission of memory across generations.

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As such, when memory is invoked, it is important to question by whom; in what context; and to what end. Using the past in a way that omits complex episodes and transmits an opportune narrative has the function of producing an idealised representation of the past to establish a national identity, regardless of historical accuracy. Therefore, memory is inevitably revisionist and commemoration inherently political. Often what is forgotten provides greater insight into contemporary political motives rather than what is ostensibly being remembered.

Machnamh 100 Cognisant of the challenges associated with memory and remembrance, in 2020, Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D Higgins launched Machnamh 100 as the next phase of the national programme of commemoration. Promoting the concept of ‘ethical remembering’, President Higgins emphasised that a central dimension of this is “a refusal of conscious or unconscious amnesia, not only of persons but events”. “An ‘ethical act of memory’ has to be a critical act of memory, I suggest. There should be an engagement with the issues of context before the act of public memory is transformed to commemoration in any narrow sense. Commemoration is not only a public invitation, it is an act predicated on selection,” he noted. Acknowledging that this selection cannot be neutral, the President asserted that “transparency of purpose” was realistically achievable. He subsequently criticised the State’s traditional approach to remembrance in the pursuit of “hegemony of narrative”. Reflecting on the concept of ‘recovering imagined futures’ for the Machnamh series in May 2021, Margaret O’Callaghan emphasised: “Commemorations are traditionally used by states to glorify their origins.” By controlling public commemoration, states seek to control the narrative of the past. However, this is not the preserve of the State and non-state actors may also seek

“Memory and remembrance are not history. Similarly, history does not easily lend itself to the extrinsic value of reconciliation. Naïvely, in formulating the ‘Service of Reflection and Hope to mark the partition of Ireland and the formation of Northern Ireland’, the Irish churches have inadvertently perpetuated division rather than promote reconciliation.”

political capital or expediency from such a pursuit.

Commemorating partition When politicians or other groups of vested interest, such as churches, seek to tame memory and selectively exploit the past for expediency in the present, there is ample opportunity to sow discord. Naïvely, in formulating the ‘Service of Reflection and Hope to mark the partition of Ireland and the formation of Northern Ireland’, the Irish churches have inadvertently perpetuated division rather than promote reconciliation.

undertones, could ever be marketed to the contrary. Leaving aside the bizarrely disproportionate sense of self from the churches, participation in proceedings by Uachtarán na hÉireann would merely indulge unionism’s six-county origin story. Unavoidably, such a move would have been interpreted as attributing legitimacy to the undemocratic mutilation of Ireland – under threat of “terrible and immediate war” – and to the subsequent decades of misrule, repression, and violence. President Higgins’ decision to decline to attend the church service in Armagh to

Oddly, the churches identified partition of Ireland as the moment in time most conducive to reconciliation. Highly subjective, this decision was fatally flawed in that it required others to instil it with legitimacy, perhaps exposing the questionable – to say the least – status of the Irish churches as custodians of the past or, indeed, communal spokespeople in the present.

mark the centenary of Northern Ireland

As such, it is difficult to understand how a religious service to mark the centenary of partition, with the inevitable political

episode has served to expose the

seceding from the Irish Free State provoked a predictable and entirely disingenuous cacophony from unionist leaders. This is symptomatic of a longstanding sense of unionist entitlement, cultivated by successive Irish governments, at the expense of Irish citizens resident in the North. Overall, the limitations of using our contested past to promote reconciliation in the present.

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Ireland assumes UN Security Council presidency for fifth time Taoiseach Micheál Martin addresses the UN Security Council.

In September, Ireland assumed the presidency of the UN Security Council for the fifth time since its entrance into the organisation in 1955. The monthlong presidency unfolded as the world’s eyes were once again tuned to developing situations of concern in the Middle East. Speaking upon the assumption of the presidency, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “As President of the Security Council, we will be dealing with some of the key immediate challenges facing the international community, including the evolving situation in Afghanistan, and an ongoing concerning situation in the Middle East. “We sought a seat on the UN Security Council to make a difference; to bring a principled, constructive and open approach to its vital work of promoting international peace and security, including at critical and challenging times such as this.” The Taoiseach chaired a meeting of the Security Council under Ireland’s presidency on 23 September, focusing on the topics of climate and security. The Taoiseach proposed that the Secretary-General (currently António Guterres of Portugal) compile periodic reports to be submitted to the Security Council on climate change as a driver of conflict and that a special representative for climate-related security risks is appointed. He also stated that Ireland would lead discussions on a thematic resolution on climate security in the days following. Describing climate change as the “defining challenge of our generation”, Martin said that “now was the time for the Council to act” and urged UN countries to increase ambitions with regard to the meeting of carbon emission reduction targets.

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Of particular concern for the month in question was the situation in Afghanistan, the UN-led peace process in Libya, the Council’s monthly meeting on the Middle East Peace Process, and the situations in Syria, in Yemen, in Sudan and in South Sudan. In the early stages of the monthlong presidency, Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney TD chaired the Quarterly Debate on the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in New York. This meeting was focused on recent developments in Afghanistan and the renewal of the UNAMA mandate, which had been due to expire on 17 September. The extension of the mission for another six months was unanimously approved. The mission mandate will deal with humanitarian and development efforts and does not involve peacekeeping. The resolution passed placed emphasis on “the important role that the United Nations will continue to play in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan” and “the importance of the establishment of an inclusive and

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Presidency of the UN Security Council representative government” and pledged “to support the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in all levels of decision-making”. Coveney stated: “We continue to call for an inclusive, negotiated, political settlement in Afghanistan, and for the protection of the rights of women and girls… It is more crucial than ever that the UN is able to continue its political and humanitarian work on the ground.” Later in the month, Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne TD was also in New York to chair a meeting of the Security Council to mark the 25th anniversary of the Comprehensive NuclearTest-Ban Treaty. Speaking on the day of the meeting, Byrne reemphasised Ireland’s longstanding support for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation: “Decades of nuclear test explosions have affected the lives and health of generations of people around the globe and left a lasting mark on the environment. “By prohibiting all nuclear testing, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty inhibits states from developing new nuclear weapons. It is therefore an important step along the path to a world without nuclear weapons, with their devastating consequences for all of humanity. I call for signature and ratification of the Treaty by all states, and for re-doubling our efforts to secure the entry-into-force of this landmark Treaty.” Ireland returned to the UN Security Council for the 2021/22 period having secured the necessary 128 votes needed in the 191-nation UN General Assembly in June 2020. It commenced its twoyear term on the Security Council in January 2021; September 2021 will be the only month during this tenure that Ireland holds the presidency. The Security Council is made up of 15 countries, the five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the UK and the US) and 10 non-permanent members, currently Estonia, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Niger, Norway, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam. Presidency is determined by alphabetical order in the English language, hence Ireland assuming the presidency for just one month of the 24 in its membership of the Council.

Month

Presidency

End of term

2021 January

Tunisia

31 December 2021

February

United Kingdom

Permanent member

March

United States

Permanent member

April

Viet Nam

31 December 2021

May

China

Permanent member

June

Estonia

31 December 2021

July

France

Permanent member

August

India

31 December 2022

September

Ireland

31 December 2022

October

Kenya

31 December 2022

November

Mexico

31 December 2022

December

Niger

31 December 2021

January

Norway

31 December 2022

February

Russian Federation

Permanent member

March

United Arab Emirates

31 December 2023

April

United Kingdom

Permanent member

May

United States

Permanent member

June

Albania

31 December 2023

July

Brazil

31 December 2023

August

China

Permanent member

September

France

Permanent member

October

Gabon

31 December 2023

November

Ghana

31 December 2023

December

India

31 December 2022

2022

Ireland has previously won non-permanent seats on the Council in 1962, 1981 and 2001, and served as President four times across these terms.

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Negotiating the relationships of the future

The Future Relationship Conversations project, conducted by the Derry-based Holywell Trust, has courted controversy due to allegations of Irish Government funding for research into the media of Northern Ireland. eolas examines the goals of the projects, the claims, and the counterclaims about its research. It is the fourth of the Future Relationship Conversations project’s four goals that caused such furore in the Northern media and among unionist politicians. The project has stated its goal to “review and assess the impact of the use of language by Northern Ireland based media and the positive/negative contribution that this makes to addressing division and deepening understanding of the constitutional issue”; coupled with its status as a project that has received funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as part of its attempts to fund broad engagement with Protestant and loyalist communities through its Reconciliation Fund, some have used this opportunity to allege that the Government is funding 138

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projects aimed at undermining the Northern media. The Reconciliation Fund has been in operation in one form or another since 1982 and currently has an annual budget of €3.7 million. It awards grants to organisations “working to build better relations within and between traditions in Northern Ireland, between north and south, and between Ireland and Britain”. DUP leader Jeffery Donaldson MP stated that the Government’s funding of the project was “politically toxic” and that it appeared to him to be “an attempt to influence language and drive forward reporting which is sympathetic to nationalism”. It would later emerge that the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building, of which Donaldson is chairman

and an unremunerated director, received €66,700 from the Reconciliation Fund between 2015 and 2020. Paul Gosling, the writer and broadcaster who also serves as policy officer for the SDLP’s Sinéad McLaughlin MLA, serves as one of the leaders of the project. He told the BBC that there had been a “significant misunderstanding” regarding the Irish Government’s involvement, which he stressed was limited to funding and not to the selection of topics. “We have never said anything about it being about [media] bias,” Gosling further explained. “It is actually an idea that came from Protestant, unionist engagement. It has to be stressed the idea came from engagement with unionists.” He further stated that the

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project is about “how we have a sensible, rational, fact-based conversation about the future of the island”. The project put its four ideas out to tender in order to appoint four organisations to carry out the research. The submission window for this process closed on 10 September. The first of its topics, proposing research into the Protestant community of the Laggan Valley in east Donegal stands to be an interesting topic, interacting as it does

played Gaelic games, and saw no contradiction in thinking of himself as Irish and unionist. However, 100 years after partition, such behaviours are seen by the majority of unionism as incompatible with their political ideology, and the inverse is also believed, that unionist culture such as Orange marches are incompatible with Irish identity.

sample of 14,000 Donegal Protestants

Standing as a case study in how a culture can be preserved while its people are made to feel a part of their State are the

of Irish identity in a 1996 survey. “We can

“We have never said anything about it being about [media] bias. It is actually an idea that came from Protestant, unionist engagement. It has to be stressed the idea came from engagement with unionists.” Paul Gosling

identified with Irishness and the Irish State, with just 9 per cent identifying with Northern Ireland and 96 per cent of those surveyed stated that they mixed socially with Catholics. In a contemporaneous comparison, 2 per cent of Northern Protestants stated that they felt a sense

be Irish and we can be Orange,” Newtowncunningham lodge secretary Keith Roulston told The Irish Times in 2019.

The project’s third area of interest, healthcare, is also one that has been a constant in discussions about the future of Ireland. Waiting list information will cast neither jurisdiction in a positive light, neither will the progress towards the Sláintecare and Bengoa reforms. How the proposals for changes to the health systems on either side of the border are

with the constant discussion of identity and how citizenship of a certain state can mould a community’s understanding of its identity. Edward Carson, born and raised in a 32county Ireland under British rule, famously spoke the Irish language,

Protestants of the Laggan Valley, who descend from the Plantation of Ulster like their brethren over the border. Orange marches for the “Donegal Twelfth” are held each year, free of controversy, typically in places such as Rossnowlagh. In a 2001 survey by Derry and Raphoe Action, 86 per cent of a representative

formulated will be of significant interest to those invested in conversations about the future of Ireland, who, with long-standing issues in both delivery and reform on both sides of the border, could formulate a universally popular foundation on which to base these conversations.

Topics being researched by the Future Relationship Conversations project • Attitudes of the Protestant community in the Laggan area of east Donegal (and their family members in Northern Ireland) on their acceptance within the Republic since partition and related issues, including the constitutional question. • Review, summary, and assessment of the main findings of existing literature on the constitutional issue compiled to date through a range of sources (to be agreed with Future Relationship Conversations Advisory Group) and to identify gaps for potential future research and study. • Comparative assessment of current key health service information on both sides of the border: cost of access, overall budgets and waiting list information. Research to include proposed changes to systems in both jurisdictions, Sláintecare and Bengoa reforms, their cost and progress on delivery. • To review and assess the impact of the use of language by Northern Ireland based media and the positive/negative contribution that this makes to addressing division and deepening understanding of the constitutional issue.

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Autumn Legislative Programme Published by Government Chief Whip Jack Chambers TD in late-September 2021, the Autumn Legislative Programme contains 46 bills for prioritisation by government ministers. The Legislative Programme comprises the following:

measures needed to ensure the country can continue to recover while also tackling the many challenges faced now and into the future so our society can prosper once more.”

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priority legislation (46 pieces of legislation in total);

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all other legislation (89);

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legislation currently on the Dáil and Seanad order papers (19);

Priority pieces of legislation for the forthcoming term as outlined by Chambers are:

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legislation published since the Government entered office (62); and

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the Housing and Residential Tenancies Bill;

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legislation enacted since the Government entered office (62).

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the Planning and Development Bill;

Chambers said: “I am very pleased Cabinet has approved and signed off on the autumn legislative agenda. This programme further builds on the work already delivered by Government with 62 separate bills published since coming to office in June last year and 62 bills enacted in the same period.

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the Health Insurance Amendment Bill;

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the Garda Síochána (Digital Recording) Bill and the Policing;

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Security and Community Safety Bill; and

“As we emerge out of the Covid-19 pandemic, we will prioritise the

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the Road Traffic Bill.

Agriculture, Food and the Marine Animal Health and Welfare (Prohibition on Fur Farming) Bill

Heads approved on 18 June; pre-legislative scrutiny (PLS) has taken place

Office of Food Ombudsman/Adjudicator Bill

Preparatory work underway

Children, equality, disability, integration and youth Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill

Heads in preparation

Birth Information and Tracing Bill

Heads approved on 11 May; PLS ongoing

Certain Institutional Burials (Authorised Interventions) Bill

Heads approved on 19 December 2019 and 21 January 2021; PLS has taken place

Child Care (Amendment – Guardian Ad Litem) Bill

Heads in preparation

Enterprise, trade and employment Competition (Amendment) Bill

Heads approved on 22 December 2020: PLS has taken place

Consumer Rights Bill

Heads approved on 20 April; PLS to be determined

Investment Screening Bill

Heads approved on 27 July 2020; PLS waived

Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill

Work underway

Redundancy Payments (Amendment) Bill

Work underway

Sick Leave Bill

Heads approved on 9 June;wjhat time do the gates PLS to be determined

Environment, climate, and communications Circular Economy Bill

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Heads approved 15 June; PLS to be determined

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Finance Bretton Woods Agreements (Amendment) Bill

Heads approved on 8 September; PLS to be determined

Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill

Heads approved on 27 July

Finance Bill

Work underway

Further and Higher Education, research, innovation, and science Higher Education Authority Bill

Heads approved 4 May; PLS has taken place

Health Assisted Human Reproduction Bill

Heads approved on 3 October 2017; PLS has taken place

Health (Amendment) (Transfer of Functions) Bill

Work underway

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill

Heads in preparation

Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill

Heads approved on 1 May 2019; PLS waived

Safe Access to Termination of Pregnancy Services Bill

Preparatory work is underway

Housing, local government and heritage Construction Industry Regulation Bill

Heads approved on 30 May 2017; PLS has taken place

Electoral (Reform) Bill

Heads approved on 15 December; PLS has taken place

Housing and Residential Tenancies Bill

Heads in preparation

Local Government (Directly Elected Mayor with Executive Functions in Limerick City and County)

Heads approved on 13 July; PLS ongoing

Planning and Development (Amendment) (LSRD) Bill

Heads approved on 13 July; PLS ongoing

Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill

Heads approved on 9 June; PLS to be determined

Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill

Heads approved on 29 September 2020; PLS has taken place

Justice Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

Heads approved on 9 January 2020 and 1 June 2021; PLS to be determined

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

Heads approved on 15 September 2020; PLS to be determined

European Arrest Warrant (Amendment) Bill

Heads approved on 20 July; PLS to be determined

European Convention on Human Rights (Delays in Court proceedings) Bill

Heads approved on 20 July; PLS ongoing

Garda Síochána (Digital Recording) Bill

Heads approved on 27 April; PLS ongoing

Judicial Appointments Commission Bill

Heads approved on 15 December 2020; PLS ongoing

Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill

Heads approved on 27 April; PLS to be determined

Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill

Heads approved on 6 June 2018; PLS has taken place

Public expenditure and reform Appropriation Bill

Work underway

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill

Heads in preparation

Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill

Heads approved on 11 May; PLS ongoing

Regulation of Lobbying (Amendment) Bill

Work underway

River Shannon Management Body Bill

Head in preparation

Social protection Social Welfare Bill (Budget Bill)

Work underway

Tourism, culture, arts, Gaeltacht, sport and media Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill

Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill Heads approved on 8 January 2020, 8 December 2020, and 18 May 2021; PLS ongoing

Transport Merchant Shipping (investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill

Heads approved on 8 December 2020; PLS has taken place

Road Traffic Bill

Heads approved on 18 December 2018 and 21 November 2019; PLS has taken place

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”

Meet the

Cormac Ó hEadhra Cormac Ó hEadhra is an award-winning broadcast journalist with RTÉ. A native of the Conamara Gaeltacht, Ó hEadhra is a graduate of DCU and King’s Inns. A qualified barrister, he first joined RTÉ in 2003 and currently copresents Radio 1's Drivetime.

How did you get into journalism? I actually studied Finance, Computing and Enterprise in Dublin City University, not the renowned journalism degree there! But I always had an eye on a career in journalism and went on to get a

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job through open competition in the newsroom in RTÉ. I worked with Nuacht and studied at night-time to qualify as a barrister in the King’s Inns. I worked in various roles within the newsroom before leaving to study full-time for about a year. I returned to RTÉ afterwards, joining RTÉ Radio in 2007 and have always enjoyed

the comparative breadth and depth of discussion that radio news programmes allow. Broadcasting is a great job to give you an insight into many different worlds and I think your understanding of people and stories is enriched as you progress in your career.

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The speed at which stories can change, from a multiplicity of angles makes it a challenge to report and discuss news truthfully, concisely, and engagingly.

How do you think the profession is evolving? You could discuss this for days! RTÉ now competes in a space where every individual has a platform on social media if they wish – which is positive and liberating in many ways. It comes with obvious dangers though. It has speeded up the newsgathering process and the opining process as well! But with a plethora of individual platforms and multiple commercial platforms, RTÉ positions itself as a trusted gateway to factual news. It has served RTÉ well through the pandemic and during various stories or crises that have engaged the public and during which the public seeks out trusted info on RTÉ. So, the evolution of the profession has resulted in ‘always-on’ journalism. It can literally be 24 hours, seven days a week obsession. Technology – the accessibility of programmes, interviews, and info – helps manage it.

What are the challenges of working in broadcast journalism? The speed at which stories can change, from a multiplicity of angles makes it a challenge to report and discuss news

truthfully, concisely, and engagingly. Obvious risks pertain to talking to people in a live broadcast setting where people’s reputations are at stake. We’re lucky to work with colleagues who have great experience and whatever the challenge may be, they’ve seen something like it before!

Who do you admire most within the industry and why? One of the most electrifying, naturally gifted broadcasters I’ve seen is Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí, a colleague on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. I’ve seen him energise and captivate huge, live audiences at Oireachtas events, for hours on end. He has a special connection with his audience – duine galánta, craoltóir speisialta.

What has been your most significant story or project to date? For the last year, I’ve been co-presenting Drivetime on RTÉ Radio 1 with Sarah McInerney. It’s the longest current affairs programme on the schedule. We’ve got a superb team working with us – really experienced, agile, sharp with a great news sense. Mary Wilson presented the

programme for many years and listeners loved her on the show, so it was no easy task to follow her. But thankfully listeners have been good to us and have responded well to our efforts to develop the daily news agenda and do some stories with a smile on our faces too!

How do you spend your time outside of work? With family and friends and in as much fresh air as possible. Is as Gaeltacht Chonamara dom féin agus déanaim iarracht a dhul siar chomh minic agus is féidir liom Táim ag tógáil clainne le Gaeilge agus is breá liom ama a chaitheamh thiar le mo chlann agus i mo cheantar dúchais freisin. Déanann sé maitheas dom agus do na páistí freisin, sílim. And occasionally, when I have time, I like looking back at old discussions or debates – old RTÉ programmes, or from the House of Commons (Dáil not as readily available) or even old US TV chat shows that featured the likes of William Buckley, James Baldwin, Gore Vidal. It’s amazing how society changes and that is often seen by looking back. Also, a good discussion is a good discussion, no matter when it took place!

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Flaws in Ireland’s FOI framework While technology has evolved since 1998, the challenges faced by Freedom of Information (FOI) requesters remain stubbornly in situ writes Ken Foxe, Co-Director of Right to Know. When Ireland’s Freedom of Information (FOI) Act first came into effect more than 20 years ago, the screech of fax machines was still heard in every office. FOI requests were invariably sent via post and records would be sent to requesters in bulging envelopes filled with photocopied pages.

There is currently a project underway to estimate the ‘cost of FOI’, which raises uncomfortable issues about what officialdom is really thinking. Minister McGrath has also announced a review of the FOI Act, one that has been given added impetus amid the fallout from ‘Zapponegate’.

Nowadays, a request can be sent within seconds and the things we use to communicate have evolved in ways almost unimaginable to those who fought for Ireland’s FOI Act under the mantra of ‘letting in the light’.

Through my work as co-director of Right to Know, I make hundreds of requests for information annually, seeing first-hand the commonplace problems. On a near daily basis, we are contacted too by members of the public about difficulties they face in accessing information, sometimes even their own personal records. The symptoms of a broken system are legion, but the underlying disease is one of mindset.

What has not changed are the problems faced by requesters. Many records are still as likely to be withheld as they are released; some requests don’t even get a response; faulty decisions that were incorrect back in 1998 are still being made in 2021. We know too that FOI records are being deleted, even by ministers, as the recent ‘Zapponegate’ controversy has shown. The Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath TD has said the FOI system is “robust and functioning well” but what is less clear is who exactly he asked. Certainly, journalists and those who campaign on transparency are not happy with how it functions; a survey of frequent requesters by Sinn Féin found that 76 per cent believed the current system was “performing poorly”. Similarly, there are at least some in the civil service who find it burdensome, and still see FOI as an extra burden rather than a core part of everyday work.

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For some public bodies, FOI is still treated as a nuisance, as something to be tolerated or carefully managed, rather than as a core component of effectively running a public body. The assumption that records are secret first needs to be turned on its head. The many exemptions in the Act need to be treated as they were intended, as yield signs rather than stop signs. As Eithne FitzGerald, the minister behind the pioneering legislation, told the Seanad in 1997: “They permit information to be withheld, but do not oblige or require it.” There are other more practical issues that merit debate: • increased powers for the Information Commissioner to deal with or sanction public bodies that fail to meet their obligations;

• a discussion over the partial exemption of agencies like An Garda Síochána and the DPC and the total exclusion of others; • empowerment of the Information Commissioner, or another officer, to be a public advocate for transparency and the rights of requesters; • the possibility of allowing citizens to ask questions instead of always having to identify ‘records’; • clarity around the intersection of GDPR and FOI, and the continued redaction of non-personal information; • inconsistency in decision-making, and a lack of training/guidance for decisionmakers; and • an emphasis on providing detailed reasons for why records are exempt, not simply an assertion that they are. Most of all, the forthcoming review of FOI needs to take a collaborative, rather than a confrontational approach. Freedom of Information has brought immeasurable benefits to Ireland and has, at this stage, uncovered hundreds of stories and issues that would otherwise have remained hidden. We should never lose sight of the fact that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Ken Foxe is an investigative journalist who provides training on information access in Ireland and is Co-Director of Right to Know, an Irish transparency organisation that campaigns for greater information access.

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