Online - Booking for the event is available through each Member's key contact person
As we move into 2022 and with a sense of optimism, the Forum will begin the year with a look ahead to some key challenges, opportunities and issues for the coming 12 months and beyond. The first is the backdrop to public service delivery, programmes and policy, and that is the Irish economic and budgetary outlook – particularly in the context of the ongoing pandemic and wider outlook for interest rates and government borrowing. The area of climate continues to garner growing attention and importance, and includes the recent publication of the Climate Action Plan 2021 – Securing Our Future. The plan includes a commitment to reduce emissions from public sector buildings by 50% by 2030 alongside a range of other sectoral targets relevant to public bodies. Finally, the public sector has played a substantial role in Ireland’s handling of the pandemic and the pandemic has had implications for the size, composition and perception of the public and state sector.
This Forum session will hear from three expert speakers on these three topics, with the agenda considering key questions, such as:
What is the outlook for the Irish economy and the global economy in 2022 and what might it mean for budgetary policy nationally and internationally?
What are the likely scenarios for key external risks in the areas of interest rates and government borrowing?
What implications will the Climate Action Plan 2021 have for state and public bodies in 2022 and beyond?
Is it time for climate to be a regular item at senior management and governing body tables?
What impact is the pandemic having on the size, shape and composition of public service organisations and on services into the future?
Has the pandemic influenced a change in perception and trust in the public service?
Our expert speakers for the session will be:
Megan Greene, Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School and Columnist with the FT, a world renowed expert in her field
Prof. John Fitzgerald, Member, Climate Change Advisory Council
Dr John O’Neill, Director of Research and Publications, Institute of Public Administration
PLEASE NOTE THAT BOOKING FOR THIS EVENT IS AVAILABLE THROUGH YOUR ORGANISATION'S KEY CONTACT, WHO HAS BEEN ISSUED WITH BOOKING DETAILS.
Speakers
Megan Greene
Megan is a Senior Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard Kennedy School. She is also the Global Chief Economist at Kroll Institute, where she advises senior executives and business divisions on the potential impact of global macroeconomic developments and policy. Ms Greene serves as the Dame DeAnne Julius Senior Fellow in International Economics at Chatham House, London UK and a Senior Advisor to the OECD. She writes a regular column in the Financial Times on global macroeconomics, is a frequent keynote speaker and appears regularly in broadcast and print media. She is also currently a member of the External Advisory Group for the Irish Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
Prof. John Fitzgerald
John is a member of the Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC), having previously been Chairman between 2016-2021. He is an adjunct professor in Economics at Trinity College Dublin and an adjunct professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at UCD. He is a former research professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
Dr John O'Neill
John is Director of Research and Publications at the Institute of Public Administration (IPA), having been appointed in early 2021. Through the lens of a governance perspective, John’s role is focused on advancing the understanding and practice of public administration and public policy and assisting government (central & local) and state agencies deal with a wide range of complex policy challenges.
Prior to joining the IPA, John spent 15 years as a senior civil servant working across several Government Departments and played a lead role in developing and implementing policies across key priority areas including environment, local government, housing, climate and transport. Before moving to work on public policy development, John spent several years working in the private sector for environmental and engineering consultancies, where he held numerous senior management and supervisory positions.