IIEA Talks

In the first half of 2024, Ireland will assume the rotating chair of the D9+ (or ‘Digital Nine+) - a group of digitally advanced European states which are at the forefront of Europe’s digital economy. In this IIEA event, which is supported by Amazon, an expert panel of speakers assesses what Ireland’s presidency of the group could contribute to the D9+’s long-term development; how the D9+ can link in with the priorities of the Presidencies of the Council of the EU; and how this group of digital frontrunners can contribute positively to EU digital policymaking in the coming years. The event opens with a keynote address by Dara Calleary TD, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation. A panel discussion follows, featuring contributions from: Alberto Gago Fernandez, Advisor to the Secretary of State for Digital and AI of Spain; Lucinda Creighton, CEO of Vulcan Consulting and former Minister of State for Europe; Alexander Hoefmans, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State for Digitization, Belgium, whose country will take the Presidency of the Council of the EU for the first half of 2024. This event is chaired by Dan O’Brien, IIEA Chief Economist.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most hyped and most important technology of the century to date. Over the past decade there has been an endless series of breathless announcements about advances in AI – and attendant fears. In his address, Professor Michael Wooldridge assesses the nature of this technology, distinguish between hype and reality, and explore the implications of AI for society. He also discusses the risks posed by AI and how they should be addressed. About the Speaker: Michael Wooldridge is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford, and a programme director for AI at the Alan Turing Institute. He has been an AI researcher for more than 30 years and has published more than 400 scientific articles on the subject, including nine books. From 2014-16, he was President of the European Association for AI, and from 2015-17 he was President of the International Joint Conference on AI (IJCAI).

Ditte Juul Jørgensen has been the European Commission’s Director-General for Energy since 2019. In the intervening years, Europe has witnessed a pandemic, a war, and a panoply of economic and social crises, but the EU has nonetheless introduced its most far-reaching measures in the field of energy. This includes the introduction of the EU’s Fit for 55 package - its plan for a green transition, the RePowerEU plan for saving energy, and more. In the fifth event of the 2023 REthink Energy series, co-organised by the IIEA and ESB, Ditte Juul Jørgensen reflects on these major initiatives and what might lay ahead for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy. About the Speaker: Ms Ditte Juul Jørgensen became the Director-General for Energy at the European Commission on 1 August 2019. In this capacity, she leads the Directorate-General and its efforts to ensure access to affordable, secure, reliable, and clean energy for all Europeans; to promote efficient production and use of energy; and to drive the process of becoming the first climate-neutral continent whilst contributing to Europe’s sustainable growth and job creation. Before assuming this role, Ms Juul Jørgensen served in a wide variety of roles at the Commission, including Head of Cabinet for Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. She also held Head of Unit and Director positions in the Directorate-General for Trade.

In her address, SDLP MP Claire Hanna reflects on the prospects of achieving reconciliation through a New Ireland. About the Speaker: Claire Hanna is an SDLP Member of Parliament for South Belfast, elected in December 2019. Claire has been representing South Belfast since 2011 as a Belfast City Councillor, then as an MLA in the NI Assembly until her election to Parliament in 2019. She chaired Assembly All Party Groups on International Development and the Arts. In Westminster, Claire serves as a member on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. She is the SDLP's Spokesperson for Europe and International Affairs. In 2021 she was elected Chair of the Performer’s Alliance APPG (All-party Parliamentary Group). Her professional background is in international development, latterly in a policy and education role.

In his address to the IIEA, Professor Chris Llewellyn Smith discusses the need to complement wind and solar-generated electricity with the ability to store such electricity. He argues that as many countries replace fossil fuels with electricity generated from wind and solar, the volatility of these sources of energy will require storage solutions to be developed to meet a variable demand. Finally, his remarks explore the potential options available to various countries to meet these storage requirements. About the speaker: Chris Llewellyn Smith, who is a theoretical physicist, is currently interested in all aspects of energy supply and demand, especially electricity storage. He led the recently launched study by the Royal Society on Large-Scale Energy Storage. Chris has, inter alia, served as Director of Energy Research, University of Oxford (2011-17); President of the Council of Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (2008-17); and Director General of CERN (1994-1998), when the Large Hadron Collider was approved and construction started. He has written and spoken widely on science funding, international scientific collaboration and energy issues, and served on many advisory bodies nationally and internationally, including the UK Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on Science and Technology (1989-92). Professor Llewellyn Smith’s contributions to theoretical particle physics and leadership have been recognised by awards and honours worldwide, including election to the Royal Society (1984), which awarded him a Royal Medal in 2015.

Europe is facing numerous challenges, from the changing global geo-economic conditions to the enormity of tackling the climate crisis. Trade unions have, since their inception during the industrial revolution, sought to shape policy in times of tumult to ensure that the interests of workers are secured. In her address to the IIEA, Esther Lynch, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, discusses her views on how European green industrial policy can shape Europe’s success, the state of play of EU social dialogue, and how reaching the EU target of 80 per cent of workers covered by a collective agreement can lead to successful outcomes for all. About the Speaker: Esther Lynch is the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. Previously, Ms Lynch was Deputy General Secretary at the ETUC from 2019 to 2022, following four years as Confederal Secretary. She led on social dialogue, collective bargaining and wage policy, trade union rights, gender equality. Ms Lynch has extensive trade union experience at Irish, European and international levels, starting with her election as a shop steward in the 1980s. Before coming to the ETUC, she was the Legislation and Social Affairs Officer with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), where she took part in negotiations on Ireland’s National Social Partner Agreements.

This event is the third and final instalment in the Ireland and the EU Health Union discussion series, which is supported by Janssen Sciences Ireland. This event focuses on the role of the EU in promoting better cancer care and outcomes across the Union, through various initiatives contained within the EU’s Beating Cancer Plan. As part of the new Health Union, the EU has identified cancer as a health priority. The EU is pursuing a number of major initiatives to improve care and reduce inequalities across the Union in areas such as medicines access, pharmaceutical legislation, genetic testing and diagnosis, and data sharing and research. In this session, experts, clinicians and patient representatives discuss the EU’s efforts to achieve these objectives and assess the EU’s Beating Cancer Plan. This panel also considers how Ireland compares to our European peers both in terms of levels of care and outcomes, and what lessons we can learn to improve care for Irish cancer patients. The panel for this event consists of: Senator Annie Hoey Averil Power, CEO of the Irish Cancer Society Barry Andrews, Member of the European Parliament Professor Ray McDermott, Consultant Medical Oncologist Dr Thorsten Giesecke, General Manager, Commercial Business, Janssen Sciences Ireland

In her address to the IIEA, renowned economist, Dr Linda Yueh, discusses her new book, The Great Crashes: Lessons from Global Meltdowns and How to Prevent Them. Dr Yueh extracts a three-step framework to help recognise the early signs of an economic crash and mitigate the effects – all with the hope of preventing the worst mistakes of the past from being repeated in the next inevitable financial crisis. She warns about where the next one might come from and shows how her framework could contain it. About the Speaker: Linda Yueh CBE is Fellow in Economics at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford and Adjunct Professor of Economics at London Business School. She was Visiting Professor at LSE IDEAS and Visiting Professor of Economics at Peking University. The former Economics Editor at Bloomberg TV, she also hosted Talking Business with Linda Yueh as Chief Business Correspondent for BBC News. She writes for The Times, The New York Times, and the Financial Times and has advised the World Economic Forum in Davos, the World Bank, the European Commission and the Asian Development Bank.

Europe’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA) heralds a new era of regulation to counter online disinformation and illegal and harmful online content. Jacob Mchangama, Director of the think tank Justitia, has praised several features of the DSA but he has also warned that the DSA could give rise to wide-ranging censorship. In this event, Mr Mchangama explores the implications of the DSA for online freedom of expression and compares Europe’s policies with those of its international peers. About the Speaker: Jacob Mchangama is the CEO of the think tank Justitia and directs Justitia´s Future of Free Speech Project. Jacob has written and commented extensively in international media outlets providing expert commentary on issues related to free speech, technology and human rights. Jacob is the producer and narrator of the podcast “Clear and Present Danger: A History of Free Speech” and author of the critically acclaimed book “Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Media” published by Basic Books in 2022.

Seven years after the original Brexit vote, the IIEA welcomes two leading Irish voices on the EU to a panel discussion on Prof Brigid Laffan's recent book 'The EU's Response to Brexit'. About the Speakers: Brigid Laffan is Emeritus Professor at the European University Institute in Florence and was Director at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies until her retirement in August 2021. Previously, Prof Laffan was Professor of European Politics at UCD’s School of Politics and International Relations and was Vice-President of UCD and Principal of the College of Human Sciences from 2004 to 2011. Prof Laffan was the founding director of the Dublin European Institute at UCD from 1999 and in March 2004 she was elected as a member of the Royal Irish Academy. Paul Gillespie directs the “Constitutional Futures after Brexit” Project in UCD's Centre for Peace and Conflict Research (formerly the Institute for British-Irish Studies). Dr Gillespie is also a columnist, and a former foreign-policy editor, with The Irish Times. He has published widely on British-Irish relations, European integration issues, Irish foreign policy, and Europe-Asia relations, and he is co-editor of “Britain and Europe: The Endgame: An Irish Perspective”. Dr Gillespie is also a longstanding member of the IIEA’s UK Group.