IIEA Talks

Maintaining competitiveness is vital for a highly open economy such as Ireland’s. In his first public address since stepping down as CEO of IDA Ireland, Martin Shanahan discusses Ireland’s current environment as a location in which to do business and its future outlook. He also discusses key trends in global foreign direct investment, and the opportunities and threats these trends present for the Irish economy and Ireland’s economic model. About the Speaker: Martin Shanahan joined Grant Thornton as Partner and Head of Industry and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in June 2023. Prior to that he was CEO of IDA Ireland for almost a decade, leading a large expansion in investment, employment, and economic impact from the FDI sector in Ireland during that period. From 2010 to 2014, Martin was CEO of Forfás, the Irish Government’s policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology, and innovation. He has been to the forefront of the development of enterprise, innovation, and labour market policy in Ireland, including leading at official level, the development of the Irish Government’s Action Plan for Jobs after the global financial crisis.

'World Trade Disorder?' Keith Rockwell, Former Director of Information and External Relations at the World Trade Organisation, in conversation with Dan O’Brien, IIEA Chief Economist.

According to David Henig, after the turmoil of Brexit culminating in the short period of Liz Truss as Prime Minister, UK politics appears to have stabilised to a degree under Rishi Sunak, with the Windsor Framework and likely accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) being clear successes. Underlying issues around the Brexit settlement are however far from settled, poor economic performance being the backdrop for continued arguments over EU-UK relations that easily come to the surface, such as recently with Boris Johnson's resignation statement as an MP. Viewing a General Election as being likely during 2024, David Henig assesses what the current Conservative Government is likely to be able to achieve, and the priorities of a potential future Labour Government. About the Speaker: David Henig is Director of the UK Trade Policy Project at the think-tank, European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE), writing extensively on the trade implications of Brexit and what comes next for UK trade policy. For ECIPE, he has also written a series of short papers on globalisation and modern trade, and writes about broader trade issues in a weekly column for specialist trade news service Borderlex. David serves as Expert Adviser to the UK Trade and Business Commission and House of Lords International Agreements Committee. Prior to joining ECIPE in March 2018, he worked for the UK Government including on Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks between the US and the EU, in establishing the Department for International Trade after the referendum, and on issues around inward investments from China.

On 27 June, the European Parliament’s ENVI Committee will vote on a hugely significant piece of legislation, which will have far-reaching implications for Irish farming, agriculture and land use. The Nature Restoration Regulation, which aims to restore Europe’s degraded ecosystems, could also have major political implications for Ireland. In this keynote address, Senator Pippa Hackett, Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity, discusses the overarching aims of the Nature Restoration Regulation, the challenges facing Europe with regard to the restoration of land and sea areas, and the significance of the legislation in an Irish context. About the Speaker: Senator Pippa Hackett has served as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine since June 2020, where she is responsible for the Land Use and Biodiversity portfolio. Minister Hackett is an organic farmer and holds an undergraduate degree in agricultural science, and a PhD in equine science. Minister Hackett was first elected as a Senator for the Agricultural Panel in a by-election in 2019, and was re-elected to Seanad Éireann in 2020. Upon the formation of the current coalition Government, she was appointed Minister of State with Responsibility for Land Use and Biodiversity. Minister Hackett is the first Senator to have been appointed as Minister of State and is one of three Ministers of State attending Cabinet.

As a close aide to Michel Barnier, Stefaan de Rynck had a ringside seat to the Brexit negotiations. His new book, Inside the Deal: How the EU Got Brexit Done (Agenda Publishing), tells the story of Brexit from a Brussels perspective and charts the changing negotiating positions and obstacles that shaped the final deal. Mr de Rynck argues that the EU controlled the Brexit process from the outset. In his keynote address to the IIEA, which is taking place almost 7 years to the day since the original Brexit vote, Stefaan de Rynck explains his view that it was the EU, not Boris Johnson's Britain, that got Brexit done. About the Speaker: Stefaan De Rynck is a former Senior Adviser to Michel Barnier, who was the European Union's Chief Negotiator for Brexit. Previously, he was also a Head of Unit in various departments of the European Commission, where he has worked on financial service regulation, economic integration in the single market, regulatory standard-setting, and regional and urban development. He is now head of the European Commission's Representation in Belgium, and a visiting professor in European Politics at KU Leuven. He will speak as author of the book in a personal capacity.

'Ireland’s Public Finances: Issues and Challenges' Sebastian Barnes, Chair of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, in conversation with Dan O’Brien, IIEA Chief Economist

A decade ago, the eyes of the world watched as the ‘Euromaidan’ protests – which centred around the subject of Ukrainian integration into the European Union (EU) – were followed by Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Putin’s subsequent invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has led to the largest war on European soil since World War II. In this virtual keynote address, Olga Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, will assess the state of play on the ground in Ukraine, and share her valuable insights into the prospects for victory, integration with the EU, and ultimately, for a more peaceful Europe. The address was held live in the IIEA headquarters, with the Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland, Larysa Gerasko, joining in person to make opening remarks. About the Speaker Olga Stefanishyna has been a Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine since June 2020. In this role, she is tasked with overseeing Ukrainian integration into the EU and NATO, as well as coordination of gender equality policies and the Green Deal. A professional lawyer, Deputy Prime Minister Stefanishyna started her career in the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, where she worked on the reforms that led to granting Ukraine the visa-free regime within the EU, and took part in negotiations on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. From 2017 to 2019, she served as a Director-General in the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, and in 2022, she led Ukraine’s EU membership bid that resulted in granting EU candidate status to Ukraine. She is a member of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine and chairs Ukraine’s Commission for Equal Rights for Women and Men. Her Excellency Ms Larysa Gerasko served in a wide range of positions for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, before being appointed Ambassador to Ireland in 2021. Her work as Ambassador has focused on fostering political, economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries, and her persuasive advocacy on human rights issues has raised awareness of, and garnered support for, the Ukrainian cause since the Russian invasion in 2022.

In 2023, the UN Human Rights Office is running a year-long initiative to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While the Declaration is a milestone document in the history of human rights, today the world is facing a multitude of intersecting crises which threaten the universal enjoyment of human rights, even as human rights offer powerful tools to address and overcome these challenges. High Commissioner Türk discusses the need to rejuvenate a worldwide consensus on human rights in the context of major challenges such as increasing restrictions on civil society and civic space, the climate crisis, new and emerging technologies and artificial intelligence, and threats to peace and security. About the Speaker: Volker Türk was appointed as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2022. Prior to this, Mr. Türk was the Under-Secretary-General for Policy in the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General. Over the course of his career, he held a number of key positions including as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva (2015-2019), during which time he played a key role in the development of the landmark Global Compact on Refugees. Mr. Türk holds a doctorate in international law from the University of Vienna and a Master of Laws degree from the University of Linz, Austria.

In this event, an expert panel explores how media pluralism and independence can be maintained amidst the digital transformation and against the background of deteriorating media freedom across Europe. This panel examines how the European Commission’s European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) might help to protect media independence and pluralism amidst the digital transformation and assesses the EMFA’s implications for the digitalisation of media in both Ireland and Europe. The panel also considers how the EMFA may interact with other digital policies such as the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), the Digital Services Act (DSA), and the Code of Practice on Disinformation. The panel also considers the implications of these issues for Ireland. This event is organised in collaboration with the Economic Regulators Network (ERN), a cross-sectoral group of economic regulators in Ireland. The ERN is composed of the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg), Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), Coimisiún na Meán, the Central Bank of Ireland, the National Transport Authority (NTA), and the Commission for Aviation Regulation. For more information about the ERN, please visit the ERN website at https://www.econreg.ie/ This panel includes: Anna Herold, Head of the Audiovisual and Media Policy Unit in DG CONNECT, European Commission; Renate Schroeder, Director of the European Federation of Journalists; Dr Eileen Culloty, Assistant Professor in the School of Communications, Dublin City University (DCU), Deputy Director of the Institute for Media, Democracy and Society (FUJO); Celene Craig, Commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán (the Media Commission)

It is well documented that women’s participation in democratic transitions improves the likelihood of peace negotiations arriving at settlements and parties reaching sustainable agreements. While there have been landmark achievements since the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda was established through the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in 2000, there is a need for honest reflection on remaining challenges and the way ahead. Major General O’Brien discusses the essential next steps that the international community must take to advance the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, both on the ground and in international policy. About the Speaker: A native of Galway city, Major General Maureen O’Brien graduated from University College Galway (UCG) with B.Sc. and H.Dip.Ed before being awarded a cadetship in Óglaigh na hÉireann in 1981. In 2021, Major General O’Brien was appointed to her current role as Deputy Military Advisor to the UN Under Secretary General for Peace Operations. She is Ireland’s first female officer to reach the rank of Brigadier General. During her career, Maj-Gen O’Brien has amassed extensive overseas service, most recently as Deputy Force Commander in UNDOR in Syria, and prior to that, peacekeeping experience in Chad and Lebanon.