eolas Magazine - Issue 59

Transformational leadership

NSSO’s Bernie Kelly

Minister of State Malcolm Noonan

TD illustrates Ireland’s acute water challenges

OECD programme lead

Aimée Aguilar Jaber discusses redesigning Irish transport for net zero

French Ambassador to Ireland

Vincent Guérend reflects on bilateral relations

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Digital Events Print

On the precipice....

A general election must be held by March 2025. Politically, the most opportune time for the Government will be before winter 2024/2025. It is a fair assumption, therefore, that the remaining lifespan of the triparty coalition is just over 12 months. Once the politicos return from their summer séjours, campaign mode must begin in earnest – not to suggest that it ever really stops.

General election aside, the mother of all election seasons will soon enter full swing, north, south, east, and west. With local and European elections scheduled for June 2024, a Westminster election required no later than late-January 2025, and a US presidential election in November 2024, the dynamics of the subsequent administrations are far from certain.

In the North, Sinn Féin will vie to complete a hat-trick, securing a majority of northern seats at Westminster to match its dominance at local authority and Assembly level. In Britain, Labour is on track to finally oust the Tories after almost 15 years. In the US, a resurgent Donald Trump will seek to topple presidential incumbent, Joe Biden.

In this State, Sinn Féin is determined to supplant the traditional power brokers, realising a once unlikely objective of taking power north and south. How it will achieve this with a polling average of 32 per cent in a State that has been without a majority government since 1987 is open to speculation. If it does so, the campaign for Irish unity is likely to leave the realms of rhetoric. With electoral boundary changes in the mix, do not expect the political landscape to be in any way similar by spring 2025.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, government’s commitment to financial reporting reform in support Public Service Transformation 2030 framework is continuing apace with the implementation of the National Shared Services Office’s most recent offering; Finance Shared Services (FSS). In eolas Magazine cover story interview, the head of FSS, Bernie Kelly, outlines the transformational leadership required to phase in a single standardised system of accounting and financial reporting processes across central government, and reflects on progress to date.

Primarily, this issue comprehensively explores the opportunities facing the water sector, local government, and the future of gas in Ireland, with commentary from several government ministers, academics, and industry experts. Additional interviewees include Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien TD and the 24th French Ambassador to Ireland, Vincent Guérend.

Editorial

Ciarán Galway, Editor ciaran.galway@eolasmagazine.ie

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

David Whelan david.whelan@eolasmagazine.ie

Fiona McCarthy fiona.mccarthy@eolasmagazine.ie

Joshua Murray joshua.murray@eolasmagazine.ie

Advertising Sam Tobin sam.tobin@eolasmagazine.ie

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

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Ciarán Galway

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 and other controlled sources.

‘Sex-for-rent’ and record homelessness

There are precisely 12,600 homeless people in Ireland, according to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s latest homeless report, a record level and an increase of 341 from the previous quarter.

73 per cent of homeless adults live in Dublin, as do 75 per cent of homeless children. With the Government having lifted the winter eviction ban, Minister Darragh O’Brien TD has admitted that “some elements” of the lifting of the ban have contributed to the increase in

homelessness but is adamant that the ban was a one-off measure.

The increase in homelessness comes amid an investigation by RTÉ demonstrating a prevalence of sex-for-rent in Ireland, particularly in Dublin. Although there are currently no statistics available for sex-for rentpropositions, RTÉ has estimated that, given the number of such propositions in Britain, in the region of 4,000 woman may have been confronted with such propositions in Ireland.

Following the RTÉ investigation, Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD said he will seek to introduce a Bill aiming to tackle sexfor-rent when the Dáil resumes in September.

In 2022, a bill aimed at criminalising the behaviour stalled in the Oireachtas at committee stage. Speaking on the investigation, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD described sex for rent as “an appalling abuse of power” but has not stated whether she will support Ó Broin’s bill.

Shannon Estuary Taskforce Report launched

In August 2023, the Government launched the Shannon Estuary Taskforce Report, aiming to create 10,000 new green jobs by 2035 and 50,000 by 2050, having 2GW of green energy capacity in development by 2030, and up to 30GW installed by 2050.

The Government is hoping that the report’s proposals for renewable energy, industry, tourism, and logistics result in significant job growth and new business opportunities, with further proposals for new technologies like green hydrogen.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD has claimed that the report sets out an overarching vision for the Shannon Estuary to become Ireland’s Atlantic Green Digital Corridor, and to be the lead location for Atlantic offshore wind.

The Taskforce was established on 21 April 2022 and comprises leaders in industry and academia from across the Shannon Estuary area. It is chaired by Barry O’Sullivan, an IDA board member formerly of Johnson & Johnson.

Asserting that the Shannon Estuary region has the “potential to be a green, digital powerhouse”, Environment Minister Eamon Ryan TD said: “The Shannon Estuary Taskforce is well positioned to be an important driver in harnessing the enormous potential of our Atlantic wind, bringing it onshore to power businesses, tourism, and industry, around the Estuary itself, but also wider – across the country and across Europe through strengthened interconnection and partnerships on hydrogen.”

‘Lack of governance’ of CAMHS

A lack of governance in some areas is contributing to inefficient and unsafe child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), a report by the Mental Health Commission has found.

The report states that this lack of governance has manifested itself in failure to manage risk, failure to fund and recruit key staff, failure to look at alternative models of providing services when recruitment becomes difficult, and the failure to provide a

standardised service across and within community healthcare organisations (CHOs).

The report further highlights a lack of risk management, with staff telling the Commission that they do not “bother” to escalate risk anymore as there was “no point”, resulting in a “haphazard approach and under-documenting of risks and minimalist generalised actions recorded on the CHO risk register”.

The report recommends that there be oversight of CAMHS and all other mental health services for children and adolescents by the HSE Health and Safety Committees, further calling for the development of a comprehensive strategy for CAMHS and all other mental health services for children to be prepared and approved by the HSE Board, accompanied by quarterly reports.

Citizens’ assembly calls for nature protection referendum

A citizens’ assembly has recommended that the Government hold a referendum on biodiversity and nature protection.

Published in April this year, the report contains over 150 recommendations which the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity claims “have the potential to dramatically transform Ireland’s relationship with the natural environment”.

Further, the report expresses what the assembly’s clear disappointment at what it describes as “the State’s failure

to adequately fund, implement and enforce existing laws and policies”, adding that this “must change”, and that sufficient funding and increased expenditure should be provided for enforcement and implementation of national legislation and EU biodiversityrelated laws and directives related to biodiversity.

Although the report acknowledges the Government’s declaration of a biodiversity crisis, it states that there is “little evidence that this is being taken seriously”.

If passed, a referendum would lead to a new constitutional amendment which would confer a right to a clean, healthy, safe environment; a right to a stable and healthy climate; and the rights of future generations to these or other environmental rights.

Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin,

Chair of the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity, said that if the report’s recommendations are enacted, they will give Ireland the opportunity to be “authentically green”.

€56 million for Derry university expansion

The Government has allocated €56 million from the Shared Island Fund for an investment in Ulster University’s campus in Derry, which it states will “expand higher education on both sides of the border”.

Funding for several projects, including €44.5 million to build a new teaching and student services building at Ulster University’s Derry campus, was confirmed by the Government in June 2023.

A new youth forum will also be set up

as part of the Shared Island Initiative, which aims to bring together up to 80 young people from north and south across all communities from September 2023 to set out “their vision and values for a shared future on the island”.

In addition to the funding for the university in Derry, the Government also announced the allocation of Shared Island funds for a number of other initiatives including construction of two new all-island bioeconomy demonstrator facilities for the

agriculture and marine sectors (€7 million); a new respite and therapeutic centre for children diagnosed with cancer and their families from across the island of Ireland (€2.5 million); and completion this year of the tender process for the Narrow Water Bridge project (€2 million).

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD said that the funding “fulfils our commitment under the New Decade, New Approach agreement to invest in the Derry campus”.

Ireland aims to be ‘central to Europe’s energy future’

The National Policy Statement on Electricity Interconnection has outlined plans for the State to be “central to Europe’s energy future”.

Published in August 2023, the statement says that the proposed plans will see Ireland increase its electricity interconnection capacity and explore new interconnection opportunities with Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands as well as further connections to both Great Britain and France.

The policy statement also explains that a state-directed approach will ensure “integrated forward planning, enabling the necessary infrastructure to unlock significant green energy export opportunities”.

It continues: “The role of interconnection will increase in importance as the renewable energy sector becomes a larger proportion of supply in the Irish and European electricity system, both in relation to the import and export of electricity.

“Increased interconnection helps balance electricity supply and demand between countries and provides a valuable back-up power supply for when electricity systems have reduced capacity. New interconnections will also allow for increased energy imports in the case of an adverse shock, which may occur during extreme weather events.”

Credit: Conradder.

cúplafocal

“The most dangerous moment in the articulation and formulation of foreign policy and its practice, since the origin of diplomacy, has been when you are drifting and not knowing what you are doing.”

Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D Higgins

“The era of global warming has ended. The era of global boiling has arrived.” United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres

“Every country in Europe has re-examined security policy the wake of the war in Ukraine and Ireland is no different.” Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin TD

“I believe Ireland can become energy independent within a generation.”

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien TD: ‘No silver bullet on housing’

Midway through the second full year of implementation of the Government’s Housing for All plan, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD sits down in his Leinster House office to reflect on the ubiquitous challenge of housing delivery with Ciarán Galway.

“We had a good year [in 2022],” O’Brien asserts, reflecting on the number of homes delivered across several tenures, though he acknowledges: “Progress is being made but people are not feeling that yet.” As such, increasing supply, particularly in social and affordable housing, remains his greatest priority as minister, next only to eradicating homelessness.

Despite considerable headwinds in the external environment, including construction cost inflation, the overall supply of homes is increasing. In May 2022, the Office of Government Procurement published guidance for parties to public works contracts to establish an Inflation Cooperation Framework, announced by then-Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD. Application of the framework includes a 70:30 burden sharing whereby the State bears up to 70

per cent of the additional inflationary related costs.

“The work that Michael McGrath did with us [in 2022] in particular around the inflation framework, particularly in the public sector, was really important. That basically made sure that no scheme stopped. There was some stalling of schemes, but in fairness to the Minister, he acted very quickly.

“There is still a risk with the increase in funding rates; no question. That is the environment that we are living in in Europe and in the developed world too. We have to be nimble to respond to the outside environment which is there to make sure that our delivery is not decreasing because in other countries it is.

“All you have to do is look at other European countries; they have not had that type of response that we have been

able to bring forward. We are effectively plugging that gap by the State investing further in making sure that viability is maintained while we are seeing an increase in the cost of the price of funding.”

Affordable

In total, 1,757 affordable homes were delivered in 2022 via The Land Development Agency, the First Home Scheme, and the new cost rental tenure. While this fell significantly short of the target of 4,100 new build affordable to purchase and cost rental homes, the Minister emphasises that a further 3,400 affordable homes have been approved across a 43 specific projects across more than a dozen local authorities.

“We delivered affordable homes for the first time in a generation in 2022,” O’Brien recounts, adding: “No, we did

not hit the target and that is something which is perfectly within people’s right to criticise – as they do, and do regularly. At the end of the day, we have a serious footprint now of affordable homes, of social homes, and a really good pipeline to 2026.

“I am confident that we are going to exceed our target [in 2023]. I am not going to give you a figure, but I am confident that we are and that is across all segments of housing, public and private. They all interconnect with each other, and I do not even like making the distinction between them because there is no distinction in quality and there is no distinction in design. For me, that is what we are focusing on.”

Social housing

In 2022, government had a target of delivering 9,000 new build social homes. Ultimately, 7,433 were delivered, missing the target but still delivering the greatest number of new build social housing since 1975.

Dismissing any suggestion of disappointment, the Minister instead points to the headline target of the delivery of 10,500 social homes in 2022, of which 10,263 were delivered, and a pipeline of 19,000 social homes which are now either onsite or at design and tender stage.

“Delivery still fell short, and this is not an excuse but there was a genuine reality post-outbreak of the war in Ukraine that we lost between eight and 10 weeks with inflation. When inflation spiked, there was a lot of concern around viability,” he recalls.

“Supply chain was an issue, so it delayed schemes. Even in a really tough year –and this was the first year post-Covid that we had our overall target of 10,500 –we delivered 10,263 new social homes through all delivery schemes. If you take the 7,500 new build social homes, that was up from 5,000 [in 2021]. That is a big step up. I would love to be sitting here saying we did the 9,500 one but there is also a reality that was there which we had to deal with. By any fair assessment, that was a very good performance [in 2022].”

Cost rental

Writing for eolas Magazine earlier in 2023, the Minister alluded to work being

undertaken by the Government to examine how to significantly expand the direct delivery of cost rental homes by local authorities.

Acknowledging the “massive opportunities” of cost rental as a new tenure and elaborating on the extra measures to enhance delivery under Housing for All agreed by government in April 2023, O’Brien reveals: “We will also be making some very significant announcements shortly on some very large cost rental schemes through our local authorities and our approved housing bodies. I think we can scale that up in the hundreds very quickly.

“What this is focusing on is quite a lot of extant planning permissions there that have not been activated there. There are potential developments that might have been identified for rent and now what I am saying is to get them in to be built for cost rental. We will have some good news very shortly on that.

“With cost rental, I am approving schemes every week. I want more local authorities to get directly involved and they are responding to that. That is why we have made some changes to the workings of the cost rental scheme and the final changes will be out in July [2023] and that will help very much with viability. While local authorities can borrow at a

lower rate, the LDA is borrowing at commercial rates, but through Project Tosaigh now we will have a number of schemes – particularly on the cost rental side – that will encompass all important stakeholders and we will make some important announcements in the coming weeks on that.”

Challenges

Commenting on the specific and ongoing challenges to delivery, the Minister emphasises those associated with the planning system. “There are barriers on planning, still, to be frank,” he observes, adding: “That is why I have brought forward the consolidated Planning and Development Bill 2022 which will go to the Oireachtas shortly.”

Describing the forthcoming legislation as “the biggest overhaul of planning that we have seen in probably 50 years”, its rationale is, he outlines, to ensure that the planning system “is fit for purpose” whilst facilitating public participation in the process.

“There is a reality though that in certain areas where we have seen strategic objections. Objections do hold up housing delivery. I have no difficulty with people making their views known or not being happy with a development and doing that but the continued recourse to 4

“I have never had a difficulty and absolutely stand by my support for homeownership because it is an honest and just aspiration for people to have.”

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD

the courts is a matter which is of concern to me,” O’Brien remarks.

While the planning process can be streamlined, the resourcing of An Bord Pleanála is an additional challenge. “I have beefed up An Bord Pleanála. The board was a big problem [in 2022]. I think we all know that. It dropped to as low as five board members; we now have 15 in place, the highest amount ever,” he states.

Though with its interim chair set to depart on 2 September 2023, the Minister pays tribute to the role she played in bringing stability to the planning body. “Oonagh [Buckley] has done a great job there in stabilising the ship. We have great staff on the board. I have approved a total of about 300 posts there, so we have significantly more people in An Bord Pleanála than we have ever actually had.”

Homeownership

Much of Housing for All is defined by an ambition of increasing homeownership. Indeed, the first of its four pathways is the ‘Pathway to Supporting Home Ownership and Increasing Affordability’.

“The breadth of ambition in the plan will help to stop and reverse the decline in homeownership and break the rent trap that so many people are caught in,” Minister O’Brien wrote in his foreword, adding: “[Housing for All] puts forward a new vision that places homeownership back in the hands of ordinary working people.”

However, between Census 1991 and Census 2022, the rate of homeownership has declined from 79.3 per cent to 66 per cent. Most recently, despite having an outspoken advocate of homeownership in the ministerial portfolio since 2020,

homeownership continued to decrease by 1.6 percentage points between 2016 and 2022 and according to CSO data, the median age of a first-time home buyer is now 39 years old.

“The reduction of homeownership has happened since 1991,” O’Brien responds, arguing: “The recent census shows that there has been no real decrease over the last five years. It is pretty much static. That is good and we have reversed that decline. [2022] was a good year because around half of new build homes were bought by first-time buyers.”

Commenting on the First Home Scheme, the Minister disparages Oireachtas opposition claims that the shared equity loan scheme will ultimately contribute to house price inflation and effectively become a second mortgage after year six.

“[The First Home Scheme] works and it works because it is basically the State moving forward with direct assistance to buy a home with us taking an equity, not a second mortgage. The expansion of the Help to Buy scheme has been helpful too,” O’Brien suggests.

Highlighting the findings of Generation Rent, Threshold’s annual tenant sentiment survey for 2023, the Minister explains that only 20 per cent of respondents were renting out of choice, while 60 per cent want to own their own home and renting out of necessity.

In 2023, to date, there have been more commencements and more completions, more Help to Buy applications and approvals, and more First Home Scheme approvals than ever before.

“I have never had a difficulty and absolutely stand by my support for

homeownership because it is an honest and just aspiration for people to have. Thankfully, the Help to Buy scheme and the First Home Scheme is helping people to do that. We have seen a good year for first time buyer activity and people buying homes. That is where you need the intervention now,” he says.

Discussing the myriad initiatives which have been launched under the auspices of Housing for All and his stewardship at the Custom House, the Minister acknowledges a prevailing critique around the complexity of the various schemes. However, he is certain that this blend is necessary to tackle such an entrenched crisis.

“There is no silver bullet on housing. Some may present it like that, but there is not. That is why you need a multitude of responses to tackle it. If you look at the financial interventions that are needed, you need different interventions and you need to be flexible to be able to respond. You can plan forward, but if you have a rigid plan, that will not deal with the external headwinds that you will encounter.”

Eviction ban

Having introduced the temporary winter eviction ban for winter 2022/2023 to much adulation on 30 October 2022, the Minister then faced ferocious criticism when lifting the ban from 31 March 2023.

“The ending of the eviction ban was not an easy decision, but I still believe it was the correct one,” he insists, adding: “We have to be aware – and I am acutely aware – that any measure that I take need not lead to further loss of property within the private rented sector because whether people like it or not, we need a private rented sector.”

While admitting that the current private rented sector is dysfunctional, he adds: “The last thing I want to see is a mass exodus of good landlords out of the market. People at various different stages of life do want to rent. It was the correct decision; it was a tough decision, but it was the right one in the long-term interests of our country and our people most particularly. If we continued with a cycle of full eviction bans in this way, I just think that more and more landlords would have sold up.”

“There is no silver bullet on housing. Some may present it like that, but there is not. That is why you need a multitude of responses to tackle it.”

Asked whether we will see another eviction ban in winter 2023/2024, O’Brien is adamant: “No.”

Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill 2023

As part of a suite of measures to protect renters following the lifting of the eviction ban, the Minister announced that he would provide private tenants in situ with first right of refusal to purchase a property if a landlord subsequently put it forward for sale.

Listed under “legislation for priority drafting this session” within the Government's Legislation Programme for summer 2023, the status of Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill 2023 was most recently recorded as “heads in preparation”, though the O’Brien previously insisted that the Bill must be enacted before the summer recess.

Asked if this timeframe would be met, the Minister responded: “I hope so. We are working towards that. The drafting is well advanced. I will be seeking cooperation from others about how we can expedite that legislation through the house.

“I want it to be as least a complicated mechanism as possible, so I think that it will be a good thing that it comes from a difficult situation.”

Homelessness

At the time of interview, Department of Housing figures indicated there was a total of 12,441 people accessing emergency accommodation in the State, including 3,699 children. This total represented an increase of 2,116 people when compared with May 2022, and an increase of 182 when compared with April 2023. Homelessness subsequently increased to 12,600 people in June 2023.

Asked whether this was a consequence of lifting the eviction ban, the Minister indicates that the figures will be assessed but concedes that “certainly some elements of that will be”.

“There is no question – I am not hiding behind it – that some people have come out of the private rented sector and cannot find somewhere to live. When I brought in the temporary moratorium on evictions, I said that we could use that as

a space to deliver more properties. We delivered 6,000 more properties in that time; new properties. We secured additional tenancies. We actually have about 27,000 new tenancies created in the first quarter of [2023].

“This is not to diminish the difficulties faced by those people [experiencing homelessness] in any way. I chair the National Homeless Action Committee and all the members work really well together. However, there were those who tried to catastrophise the situation by trying to equate the notices to quit to a similar amount in evictions. It does not equate.”

Acknowledging that homeless numbers are “still too high”, the Minister commits to the continued publication of quarterly reports. However, he also notes that homelessness is not only being exacerbated by the dysfunctionality of the private rented sector, but also by new arrivals from the EU who “we are duty and morally bound to look after”.

“I make no distinction there at all. That is something that you cannot plan for. You cannot plan for if families come in from elsewhere and seeking emergency accommodation straight away. What we can plan for, though, and what we are doing is increasing supply and exiting more people now into permanent social homes than we have done before. That is the only way we get to grips with it.”

Further interventions in the private rented sector, he reiterates, “would have had a detrimental effect in both the short and medium term”.

Pressure

Discussing the pressure of meeting Housing for All targets and ensuring that citizens and residents can feel the substantive delivery of housing across all tenures – social, affordable to purchase, cost rental, private rental, and private purchase – ahead of the next general election which must take place before March 2025, O’Brien exudes quiet confidence.

“I love the job; I really do. Every job has pressures regardless of what you are doing,” he insists, concluding: “It was an honour to be asked to do the job and it is a responsibility to take on. It is the one I wanted. I firmly believe – and it is not just a belief – we are making progress and we will be able to point to even more progress by the time the next election comes around.

“The election is happening regardless of what happens and that is a decision that the people will make. Supported by Micheál Martin, Leo Varadkar, Eamon Ryan, and my colleagues in government, my job is to deliver a step change in housing.

“I believe we have done that in a short space of time. We are doing that, and, actually, there is a bit of momentum building. There are some hurlers on the ditch who do not like to see that happening. Really importantly though, I am not thinking about elections. My job is to do my level best to drive the policy and implementation of our plan. That is what I am focused on doing.”

Transformational leadership

Bernie Kelly, the head of Finance Shared Services (FSS) within the National Shared Services Office (NSSO), discusses the implementation of the most significant transformation of financial management across central government to date.

Equipped with over 20 years of experience of finance operations within global multinationals, Kelly’s decision to enter the public sector was grounded in “an innate feeling that there was a chance to lead something across the public service which would have lasting value”.

While she enjoyed her global leadership roles in the multinational sector, particularly the dynamic nature of her roles, she explains: “This opportunity arose within the NSSO, and my skills and experiences were very complementary. My desire to get involved in public service made me stop and say: ‘I believe I could really add value there’.”

Across the broader public service, there are many significant transformational programmes underway in many departments and different sectors. The Financial Management Shared Services (FMSS) programme is one such

programme; the complexity of which is driven by the requirement for a whole of government shared services approach bringing one standard solution to all.

“For me, this is a once in a career opportunity, and I think it is something that my team myself and everyone involved in the programme can learn from and will ultimately take very significant pride in delivering.”

Experience

Reflecting on her time in the private sector, she describes transformation programmes as having very similar challenges albeit usually with a single command and control element. “In the private sector, a board of directors may decide to implement a particular programme and while it may be difficult to do so especially when it is being rolled out across different geographical

locations or entities nationally or internationally, there is the ability to more directly control it given the entities are part of the same company.

“The Finance Shared Service programme is change management on a very different scale and level of complexity incorporating diverse and autonomous central government departments, systems, and processes. Hence, we have learned that collaboration, stakeholder management and effective communications are essentially the critical success factors necessary.”

Finance Shared Services (FSS)

Alongside Payroll and HR Services, Finance Shared Services is the third and most recent shared service offering launched by the National Shared Services Office. FSS is currently tasked with

delivering the Integrated Financial Management and Reporting System; a single standardised system of accounting and financial reporting processes across central government.

Operating today in two of the five NSSO national offices – Galway and Tullamore –Finance Shared Services is organised across four pillars:

1. Central Accounting including general ledger accounting and reporting;

2. Financial Operations including Accounts Payable, Receivables and bank management;

3. Service and Governance including customer support, risk, and audit management; and

4. Programme management including FMSS design and implementation and change management.

“The FMSS programme team works with each of the government departments through each phase of the programme, the key components of which include planning, process design, data migration, change management, engagement, and communications before cutover.” Kelly outlines.

Financial Management Shared Services programme

There was, Kelly indicates, “a compelling case which remains in place today” for the implementation of a shared services programme for finance. The FMSS programme implements one platform; one standard system for the finance recording and reporting with robust controls across all central government organisations.

“Why is that important?” Kelly asks. “Prior to FMSS there were 31 disparate systems with different processes and practices and a lack of overall integration. The FMSS programme establishes a system of fully integrated finance processes, with strong controls, and a standard way of recording and reporting. FMSS will provide greater transparency, greater data insights, and, ultimately, a stronger control environment. Once operating at scale it will bring greater efficiencies and automation across central government with benefits for all.”

Completion of the phased rollout of FMSS – incorporating several ‘waves’ – is projected to take a further three years.

Primary drivers of Finance Shared Services:

1. Integrating all central government financial accounting processes and reporting onto a single standardised financial management system with robust financial controls and compliance.

2. Enabling the financial reporting reform necessary to modernise Ireland’s financial management supporting a move to international accounting standards.

3. Cultivating agility, important in the context of responding to future potential international reporting requirements.

4. Complying with EU e-procurement directives and increased automation.

5. Enhancing the skills and capabilities across the finance users embedding best practice.

6. Leveraging central standard data for enhanced financial analysis.

“With the transition of up to 50 client departments and public sector bodies into one integrated financial management system, collaboration and effective stakeholder management are critical to the success of FSS. Transformation programmes by nature are disruptive therefore it is important to anticipate, prepare for and embrace all elements”.

Bernie Kelly, head of Finance Shared Services, NSSO

Wave one

Wave one of the FMSS programme went live in April 2022 with a total of eight clients: the Department of Finance; the Office of the Ombudsman; the President’s Establishment; the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform; the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer; the Office of Government Procurement; the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General; and the NSSO.

Significant milestones reached by the service in its first year of operations include processing all supplier payments, achieving Type I ISAE assurance (international standard assurance on controls), and completing financial yearend with all wave one clients meeting deadlines for submission of appropriation accounts.

Reflection and learnings

While taking wave one live was a significant achievement, Kelly emphasises that “it must be acknowledged it has been a challenging journey for our wave one clients who have led the way in this programme implementation”. The changes to the day-to-day work upon implementing the new system and processes and the level

of disruption for these clients during the transition was greater than had been anticipated. Implementing throughout the Covid-19 era meant in person engagement was not possible and this had an impact on the transitioning experience.

“We have learned that we need to connect with all users in a better way. We will implement an improved model of engagement and ensure that the change impact on day-to-day activities for users will be understood in order to provide an improved transition experience.

“It is also critical to regularly remind ourselves and our stakeholders of the vision for this programme, so that we never lose sight of ‘why’ we are doing this, especially when things are challenging. Having our team take time to review and reflect will enable us to implement key learnings at each phase.”

The fear of failure can be a significant factor in a transformational programme like FMSS. Therefore, it is important to ensure that it does not impede the achievement of the vision. Hence, the reiteration of extensive stakeholder management, collaboration and senior support from all organisations will continue to be key.

“I am very confident we will realise our

vision, despite the challenges along the way,” she asserts. “Working with wave one clients has been enormously beneficial, and I am hugely appreciative of their collaboration, patience, and ongoing partnership. I am also really appreciative of our engagement with wave two client who are asking pertinent questions particularly in the area of change management.

“Similarly, I recently met with the Civil Service Management Board which articulated unanimous support for the programme. The ongoing support at an executive level is critical for this transformation.”

Wave two

Following the implementation of wave one, the programme is now mobilised for the next phase and is engaging with these clients. “There are 15 departments in wave two, my leadership team and I have been engaging with their management teams in recent weeks. The next steps at the end of September [2023], will involve detailed workshops, understanding their processes at a user and organisational level as they exist today,” the head of FSS explains. The 15 wave two clients are: An Garda Síochána; The Courts Service of Ireland; the Department of Justice; the Department of Rural and Community Development; the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media; the Department of the Taoiseach; the Department of Transport; Data Protection Commission; the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission; the Irish Prison Service; National Museum of Ireland; Ordnance Survey Ireland (Tailte Éireann); the Policing Authority; the Property Registration Authority (Tailte Éireann); and the Valuation Office (Tailte Éireann).

It is expected that wave two will go live in late 2024 and, during this time, FSS is taking time to complete an infrastructure refresh. “In the current environment, with so much emphasis on cybersecurity, it is essential that we have the most current and robust platform fully supported. That will take time, which in turn gives us an opportunity to focus on the change management aspect of the programme upfront, rather than the other way around. This was an important lesson from wave one,” Kelly remarks.

Currently, the FMSS programme

envisions a total of four waves. The first phase was very much focused on the design, build, test, and delivery of the system. The design was the product of a significant engagement process which included representations from across the many departments.

Government mandate

With an objective of implementing a single common chart of accounts, and standardised accounting process across government departments, the Financial Management Shared Services programme has a government mandate for change. The introduction of a single financial and reporting system is aligned with government’s wider commitment to financial reporting reform, specifically as per the OECD’s 2019 Financial Reporting in Ireland document.

In parallel to ensuring the establishment of system-wide financial capabilities, standardisation is intended to centralise system management. The objective, therefore, is to deliver an exemplar control environment for government.

“FSS mandate was re-affirmed by government mandate in 2020,” Kelly explains, adding: “Implementing shared services will support the public service transformation 2030 framework. Beyond that, it is all about greater transparency, data insights, and enhanced financial controls.”

Value proposition

Outwardly, FMSS is a large-scale transformation programme which will introduce a blend of new technologies, processes, and ways of working. However, Kelly is especially keen to ensure that the rationale, or the ‘why’ underpinning the programme, is widely understood, and appreciated.

Acknowledging that during the initial phases of a major transformation programme, the critical aspects of renewal and reform may not always be discernible for the end user, she asserts that it is vital to regularly reinforce the shared vision; the overall value proposition.

“There will be many challenges along the way, but ultimately, we must keep our eyes on the prize; a single standard system, scalable and adaptable, bringing greater data insights in a strong financial

control environment enabling the modernisation of financial reporting. However, when a user is struggling with a big change in process on day one, week one, or month one, it is important that we are prepared and have the structures in place to support, listen and evolve while still maintaining the overall focus on the strategic vison,” Kelly emphasises.

“We must deliver that message in a meaningful way. I tend to think of it in terms such that we are employees but also shareholders as taxpayers, and the benefits make absolute sense for both,” the head of FSS says, adding: “There are other benefits too for the user because many departments and offices have very manual processes. At scale, the automation of many of those processes, and the ultimate streamlining will bring efficiencies for the users. It will also free up finance staff within the departments to work on core financial management and other value add activities rather than focusing on the transactional sphere.”

Transformational leadership

Successful implementation of a transformation programme necessitates transformational leadership. “With the transition of up to 50 client departments and public sector bodies into one integrated financial management system, collaboration and effective stakeholder management are critical to the success of FSS. Transformation programmes by nature are disruptive therefore it is important to anticipate, prepare for and embrace all elements.

“Simultaneously, what makes this programme complex is the diversity and autonomy of its stakeholders. It is essential, therefore, to design and build for the many, not the few, or the one. It means putting people at the centre as we roll out each wave. That requires collaboration and care, and it is important that we empower the departments in each wave to really invest in the cocreation of the change management plans. In this context, transformational leadership is critical to the success of the FMSS programme.”

Ambition

Following the implementation of wave one, FSS engaged with all stakeholders, gathering feedback, and seeking to enhance client experience in the forthcoming waves. Now, looking to the next phase of the FMSS journey, Kelly remains stakeholder experience orientated.

“My ambition is that we make the transition experience as smooth as possible for all stakeholders. We want to secure the buy in of all client departments, developing a collaborative way of working,” she says, concluding: “If we can do this, we will be prepared to address the many challenges which will inevitably emerge. Ultimately, we will transition our client departments into a fully integrated finance system, design best in class processes and controls, and provide the assurance required by all accounting officers. In the meantime, the support we have received from the leadership across the civil service will sustain us on that journey.”

Profile: Bernie Kelly

Bernie Kelly is head of Finance Shared Services at the National Shared Services Office. She has 20 years’ experience in senior leadership roles across several global multinationals including Cambridge Diagnostics, Nortel Networks, and Avaya.

As a CIMA Accountant, Kelly has previously served on the CIMA Council of Ireland and as Chair of the Western Area Branch. She is an experienced senior leader in operations, shared services, and finance, including shared services in EMEA finance services, global order to cash operations, global forecasting and outlook management, cross functional transformational projects, statutory control accounting, financial planning, and analysis, as well as treasury management, and management accounting.

Ireland will ‘miss carbon budget targets’

In its Annual Review 2023, the CCAC says that, “at the current rate of policy implementation”, Ireland will miss its targets for both the 2021-2025 and 20262030 carbon budget periods “unless urgent action is taken immediately and emissions begin to fall much more rapidly”. The report states that, following a “concerning series of unprecedented climate events” in spring and summer 2023, such as record daily temperatures and sea surface temperatures, the Government’s pace of implementing agreed climate policy is “not acceptable given the existential threat and impact of climate change on society”.

The first task of the Government, the report states, is to “reduce and ultimately prevent emissions of greenhouse gases”, and to achieve this “there must be effective and consistent engagement with communities, ensuring there is a fair and equitable transition”.

With the signing of the Paris Agreement, Ireland was one of 190 states worldwide to pledge to limit the increase in global temperature to 1.5oC, which led to the Government pledging to reduce emissions by 51 per cent by 2030 from 2018 levels and to be climate neutral no later than 2050. A key policy lever in the achievement of these goals is the formulation of carbon budgets, which represents the total amount of emissions that may be released during an agreed five-year period. The Government published its first carbon budgets, setting out three five-year periods from 2021 to 2035 and breaking the emissions ceilings down into six sectors, in 2022.

Controversial at the time of the publication of the carbon budgets, and now central to the CCAC’s recommendations for achieving the targets within, was the lack of a sectoral emissions ceiling for the land use, land

use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector. While emissions ceilings were agreed for the five other sectors, a decision for LULUCF was deferred for 18 months in order to facilitate the finalisation of the Land Use Strategy, with the CCAC recommending a decrease between 37 per cent and 58 per cent from 2018 levels in the sector.

The lack of sectoral emissions ceiling for LULUCF is now key to the CCAC’s overall recommendations to halt the slide towards the missing of Ireland’s shortterm climate targets. The first of the CCAC’s six overall recommendations states that the Government “must address areas of uncertainty in how Ireland will reduce its emissions” and specifically mentions that a LULUCF sectoral emissions ceiling “must be set, and it must be clear by how much each sector must reduce its emissions”.

In its five other overall recommendations, the CCAC states that the Government:

• “needs to identify and remove barriers to policy implementation by ensuring adequate funding and planning reform at scale and speed”;

• needs to implement key actions now “to prevent longer-term damage and increased costs to society and the economy”;

• must adopt “new approaches to reduce emissions”, particularly in the areas of retrofitting and renewable energy;

• should establish a just transition commission “to ensure that Ireland achieves its climate objectives in a way that is fair and equitable and protects vulnerable people and communities”; and

• should “support opportunities that reduce emissions and make Ireland better prepared for the impacts of climate change”.

Responding to the publication of the report, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD said that the global heatwaves seen in summer 2023 were “truly scary”, that the CCAC’s advice was “good”, and that the Government needs to be more ambitious in order to ensure funding for climate action initiatives is prioritised.

Sectoral recommendations

Transport

• Redesign motor tax to promote energyefficient vehicles.

• Increase investment in public transport, including the electrification of the bus fleet, and focus on improving reliability and accessibility.

• Introduce park and ride schemes along major roads and reduce public parking spaces in each of the main cities.

• Motivate commuters to opt for public transport and active travel through measures such as updating the Taxsaver commuter ticket and cycle to work schemes and the introduction of parking levies at workplaces in cities.

• Reflect the need for homes to be built closer to businesses and services to reduce private car dependency in the new National Planning Framework.

Built environment

• Develop district heating schemes with more urgency and ambition.

• Oblige large energy users, including data centres, to supply their excess heat to local communities via district heating.

• Set a target of all social housing being upgrade to BER ratings of B2 or connected to district heating by 2030.

• Increase the number of retrofits each year, prioritising homes using peat or coal as main heating source.

• Encourage providers to offer green mortgages to support retrofitting schemes.

Built environment

• Develop district heating schemes with more urgency and ambition.

• Oblige large energy users, including data centres, to supply their excess heat to local communities via district heating.

• Set a target of all social housing being upgrade to BER ratings of B2 or connected to district heating by 2030.

• Increase the number of retrofits each year, prioritising homes using peat or coal as main heating source.

• Encourage providers to offer green mortgages to support retrofitting schemes.

Electricity

• Conclude work on deciding where onshore wind infrastructure will be located.

• Assist local authorities to deliver onshore and offshore wind more efficiently.

• Stop using coal “as soon as possible”.

• Issue guidelines and incentives to operators to rollout “sufficient” levels of electricity storage.

• Progress laws to support access to smart metering data.

Enterprise and waste

• “Urgently” update building regulations to increase the use of timber in construction and encourage greater usage of lower carbon cement and concrete.

• Work to find ways to help industry become more energy efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels.

• Roll out public education campaigns and economic incentives to achieve food waste targets.

LULUCF

• Actively support income diversification for farmers.

• Ensure sufficient supplies of a greener form of fertiliser.

• Give urgent consideration to rolling out feed additives for dairy farms that reduce methane emissions.

• Streamline a process for applications for the new forestry scheme.

Adaptation

• Set out a budget for development of resilience to effects of climate change, namely a coastal management strategy to manage changing coastlines.

• Involve communities, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector in planning and implementation.

• Take an all-island approach to climate action, especially in electricity network and cross-border natural systems such as rivers.

Driving electric vehicle adoption in Ireland

One year on from the establishment of Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland in July 2022 and following the publication of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy 2022-2025 in January 2023, Accenture hosted a round table discussion with key stakeholders from across the private sector, the public service, and the civil service, to explore how electric vehicle (EV) adoption might be accelerated.

What are the most significant obstacles to EV adoption in Ireland?

Paul Hogan

I prefer to interpret the obstacles as opportunities. The opportunity now is that we are on the cusp of massive change which will shift an entire society away from one behavioural tendency to another. It is an imperative which requires greater incentive for people to drive EVs than not drive EVs. There must be clear, tangible benefits for mass market adoption of EVs to ramp up. We have observed that in most European countries, including Ireland, incentives are attracting people into EVs. However, mass market penetration will require more simplification, more education, and

more incentivisation. In terms of infrastructure, where there are enough EVs, there will be charge point operators (CPO) willing to invest and capitalise on the opportunity.

Kasey Lambert

One challenge to driving EV adoption is a perception that the solutions do not match what customers need. Each of us undertakes customer journey mapping and we understand what customers need. However, there is a lack of cohesion in that customers themselves feel that they cannot meet their daily needs with existing EV solutions. For instance, they do not think they can wait 25 minutes during charging or believe that they will even have access to charging. In turn, this prohibits them

Round table discussion hosted by

from adopting the vehicles in the first place. I think one of the biggest challenges is establishing a seamless customer journey, ensuring that they do not feel there is a disadvantage to having an EV rather than an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle.

Cathal Masterson

As an infrastructure delivery agency with responsibility for the national road network, TII is focused on facilitating the provision of safe and secure EV charging across the road network. Charging infrastructure is clearly an obstacle to EV adoption. Growing confidence among people to make the switch is reliant on availability, reliability, and ease of use of that infrastructure. In terms of obstacles, we know from assessing many of the existing motorway service areas that there is a need to significantly upgrade grid capacity at those sites. That is something that government policy should support as the private sector will struggle to overcome this challenge alone.

John McConnell

From a public perspective, there are still challenges around both range and charging anxiety. This has been compounded by slow charging speeds and charger accessibility. Having said that, EV adoption is increasing and today there are over 98,000 plug-in EVs registered with the National Vehicle and Driver File (NVDF) in Shannon. That is a considerable number of people who have already made the transition. However, having reached many of the early adopters, we must now focus on the mainstream and mass market penetration which will require further incentivisation, additional education and increased coordination across relevant stakeholders.

Alan Murphy

Looking at this purely from a consumer perspective, the price of a new EV is still a barrier to adoption. The early adopters who have embraced the transition have typically been more socioeconomically affluent. Interestingly, according to Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) figures, the growth of EV sales has recently stalled slightly. Compounding this, the maturity of the second-hand market is a challenge. So, while people understand that they must consider the EV option – it will be the only option available in the next five to 10 years because the manufacturers will move 100 per cent towards EVs – the second-hand car market, which traditionally has the highest volume of sales activity, has not yet reached that maturity level with EVs. This is inhibiting the next wave of EV adoption.

Philip Rainey

From a Weev perspective, as a CPO, our major challenge is attempting to get connectivity, which in turn means enhanced availability of chargers. As a private enterprise, we are attempting to determine appropriate sites for development, but the challenge is gaining traction from the Distribution Systems Operator (DSO). That process must be streamlined. While everyone wants to approach ESB Networks or NIE Networks and ask where they can connect, we understand that it is not that simple. While the availability of information is getting better, the processes – whether applying to connect or connect and notify – are key. In the North, there is a significant amount of bureaucracy that must be navigated when it comes the siting of on street charging, and as yet, there is no blueprint that everyone is comfortable with. We must simplify the process.

To what extent will smart EV charging or intelligent charging infrastructure accelerate EV adoption?

Alan Murphy

I think we have yet to see truly innovative experiences being offered to consumers. In other jurisdictions, there are several interesting solutions in existence. One example is community charging; an interesting concept whereby individuals can

Round table participants

Paul Hogan

Paul Hogan is the Business Development Lead for ecars, ESB. ESB ecars is the owner and operator of the largest and most extensive EV charging network on the island of Ireland. Paul is responsible for sourcing and securing new locations for ESB ecars’ growing EV charging network in both Ireland and the UK.

Kasey Lambert

Kasey Lambert is the Accenture UK’s Fleet Decarbonisation and Electric Vehicle Infrastructure lead. Combining a background in supply chain and logistics and her current work in the transmission and distribution space, she has supported many Accenture clients from a wide range of industries including postal, automotive and energy, looking to transform their business as part of the on-going energy transition.

Cathal Masterson

Cathal Masterson is the Commercial Operations Director for Transport Infrastructure Ireland and has a strong track record in delivery and management of transport operations. As part of his current role, he is investigating options to power TII’s transport operations and infrastructure with renewable energy. He is chartered civil engineer with an MSc in project management. Prior to joining TII he worked as a consultant on a variety of transport projects for public and private sector clients.

John McConnell

John McConnell is the Vehicle Lead for Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland, a new Government Office within the Department of Transport, which supports the uptake of electric vehicles through grants and incentives and also funds EV charging infrastructure. John has worked for Transport Infrastructure Ireland and other varying emerging mobility service providers in the field of transport for almost 16 years, with a focus on delivery and management of transport operations. He holds a BSc in Logistics and Supply Chain Management and a BSc in Business Management.

Alan Murphy

Alan Murphy is the Smart Dublin Regional Manager working across all four Dublin local authorities to explore how emerging technology can provide better public services. He was the Design Authority on the Irish Smart Metering programme which sparked his interest in Smart Cities. Most recently, he has contributed to the development of the Dublin Local Authority Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy. He has previously worked in IT consulting roles for PwC and IBM amongst others. Alan’s qualifications include a business studies degree and postgraduate diploma in computing from the University of Limerick.

Philip Rainey

Philip Rainey is the Chief Executive Officer of Weev. Prior to joining Weev Philip was CEO of Simple Power which invested and built out wind turbine projects throughout Northern Ireland. The Company, owned by Heron Bros, was subsequently sold to Foresight in 2018. He is a Chartered Engineer with over 30 years’ experience in renewables and engineering companies. A former Irish international rugby player, Philip played for Ulster for many years.

share access to their private home charging with neighbours. We are looking to see if the local authorities can play a role to enable that service in the Dublin region. A second example is the concept of an ‘energy wallet’, whereby prosumers can accumulate energy credits for consumption elsewhere. So, an individual could produce energy at home in Dublin, drive down to Cork, and when charging en route consume their ‘own energy’ from their energy wallet. Thirdly, with the scale of renewables set to come onto the grid, there is an opportunity for dynamic tariffs and nudges by charge point operators to users, akin to domestic smart metering and time-of-use tariffs. So, it is early days – there is a whole variety of innovation surrounding charging points yet to come to market.

Paul Hogan

From a charge point operator perspective, it is less of a charging infrastructure challenge and more of an energy system opportunity. In most European countries, there is ongoing debate about standing charges for grid connections for charging infrastructure. In Ireland, the distribution groups (DGs),

for example, are inherently part of an old energy system that pre-dates EVs. We must redesign these arrangements for the energy system of the future. A topdown approach is required to determine the incentives and disincentives for particular types of energy demand, irrespective of whether it is charging infrastructure or industry, in the context of its impact on our net zero objectives –positive or negative. That is a bigger picture problem, but the CPOs and other

EV market players can certainly communicate their views to key policy makers such as the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU).

Kasey Lambert

One of the most significant benefits of intelligent and smart charging infrastructure versus the traditional ICE refuelling infrastructure is the availability of data. Data is king. It means that customers can customise their experience with a charger, programming it, for instance, to limit charging to certain hours depending on a battery’s remaining charge, ensuring access to the most beneficial tariffs, thereby reducing cost. People also want to know how they can contribute back into the grid and there are several very interesting domestic flexibility studies in the UK, including one called CrowdFlex, undertaken by the National Grid ESO, Ohme which is a CPO, and Octopus Energy. Essentially, it is demonstrating to domestic customers how they can be active players in reducing their energy bills via new tariffs and incentives. I understand that vehicleto-grid (V2G) is a future proposition, but it is a huge opportunity which illustrates that the more data available, the more benefits are understood, and the more that myths are dispelled.

Cathal Masterson

While this is a huge change that we are planning for, it is also very exciting, and there are many smart solutions emerging. Transport itself is shifting from a transport sector to a mobility sector and there are many trends within that – in addition to electrification – that we need to align with. The ultimate goal is to create a

“From a Weev perspective, as a CPO, our major challenge is attempting to get connectivity, which in turn means enhanced availability of chargers.”

Philip Rainey

“One challenge to driving EV adoption is a perception that the solutions do not match what customers need.” Kasey Lambert

more sustainable transport sector and we must ensure that any public money invested contributes to the wider national climate objectives. Moving towards shared mobility, mobility-as-a-service, and consumer-friendly mobility products, will support the overall change.

John McConnell

With most EV charging undertaken at home, I think we will see the greatest advancements in home smart metering systems. From a public charging infrastructure perspective, I think there is real opportunity in community charging schemes, wireless charging, and in onstreet charging. Similarly, with the enhanced availability of smart charging and apps, for instance, EV drivers can check availability and reserve a slot at a charging point if necessary.

How can better engagement between all stakeholders –including policymakers, industry, and consumers –ensure greater success in EV adoption in Ireland?

John McConnell

Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland is working with stakeholders to put solutions in place. We like talking with people and that is one of the reasons we are here today. We also feel that EV adoption is a collective effort, and it is important to build trust and assurance. This can be achieved by highlighting the progress being made by manufactures, charge point operators, local authorities and at government level. It is important that we engage with the industry and harness the potential advantages this might have for the Irish used EV market in years to come.

Kasey Lambert

Stakeholder engagement is particularly important because a little creative thinking can often help overcome the challenge of conflicting public and private sector objectives. A notable example is in the US, where a large energy company and charge point operator offered New York City Council free charge points in exchange for the use of the land in SoHo, Manhattan. What the CPO did was harvest publicly available information like time of day, customer flow, user type, etcetera and market that to advertisers. Using screens on the charge points, advertisers were able to tailor their content to consumers in one of the busiest areas of New York, the CPO benefited commercially, and the local authority had free charging infrastructure, and EV driving constituents were happy. It is a model that can easily be replicated for multibeneficial outcomes.

Engagement is critical to all of this. We have legacy systems of decision-making in place that are rigid. There must be a shift to ensure that we can harness the abundant creativity that exists as per Kasey’s example. Currently, there is too much bureaucracy to move at the speed required. While we can have discussions with decision-makers to bring about change, what we really need are decision makers who want to change.

Cathal Masterson

There is no doubt that we need to accelerate engagement. In recent weeks, legislation has been enacted to provide for TII to play a more proactive role in facilitating EV infrastructure on the national road network, which is a credit to the engagement which has happened to date. TII has also been collaborating with ZEVI and ESB Networks on modelling future demand and assessing grid capacity across the road network and we would also support some streamlining in the application process for upgrading grid capacity for the sector. We know that engagement with the haulage sector and fleets is crucial in designing infrastructure which will meet their needs. While the EU’s Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulations mandate the provision of charging infrastructure, if we do not design and engineer solutions that are focused on the needs of users, then the network will not work.

Paul Hogan

The creation of ChargeUK, a newly formed trade association is a prime example of how beneficial stakeholder engagement can be. Following

communication disruption caused by Covid in the UK, EV CPOs were quick to realise that they had shared challenges for which they were duplicating conversations with policymakers. ESB ecars is a founding member of ChargeUK, a trade association that represents CPOs across the UK in engaging with key policy makers and central government. We believe there is a space for a similar alliance in Ireland and are working towards its creation presently. The most important factor in all of this is the placement of the customer at the top of the pyramid, as customers are the lifeblood of the market and ultimately incentivise charging infrastructure roll out for CPOs.

Alan Murphy

I believe engagement would be improved through greater transparency of planned grid connections. For local authorities, our key challenge is to enable the transition for those without home charging capabilities. This may involve deploying slow on-street charging or via local rapid charging hubs, à la the current forecourt experience. However, in considering these local deployments, we do not have full visibility of what other actors are planning in that neighbourhood. For example, whether an existing local forecourt plans to provide EV charging facilities. An overarching visibility of connection plans would really help drive the creation of a coordinated 4

Philip Rainey

“In terms of infrastructure, where there are enough EVs, there will be charge point operators (CPO) willing to invest and capitalise on the opportunity.”

Paul Hogan

charging network. Luckily, we have a single national DSO, ESB Networks, which is perfectly positioned to have a centralised view of both existing and planned grid connections.

Cathal Masterson

Interestingly, we have asked for similar information and understandably, were told there were commercial sensitivities. However, the reality is that we are facing situations where multiple players are unknowingly applying for grid connections on the same site or neighbouring sites, and we think we should collectively seek to develop better controls and transparency if we do not want the market to evolve in a chaotic fashion.

How can successful EV adoption in other jurisdictions be best replicated in Ireland?

Paul Hogan

Norway is the obvious example. There are many reasons as to why 80 per cent of vehicles sold in Norway in 2022 were EVs but ultimately the main driver is their zero VAT rate on EVs. It simplifies the decision for the consumer; they get a cheaper vehicle at purchase and cheaper long-term running costs. In Ireland, EVs currently represent 15 per cent of new car sales, which is progress, but is far from the mass market penetration seen elsewhere. Removing or reducing VAT would significantly improve EV uptake in Ireland. One other example of successful market stimulation is the UK’s salary

sacrifice scheme, which is akin to a cycle to work scheme. A similar scheme in Ireland would likely be welcomed by prospective EV drivers and their employers alike.

Philip Rainey

Tax is the game changer. The speed at which Scandinavian countries are moving with EV adoption is because of the carrot and stick approach, with early focus on the carrot. If the incentives are right, then people will opt for the most cost-effective option. In terms of workplace schemes like salary sacrifice, education for businesses is key. When organisations became aware of the benefits of increasing EVs in their organisation and the benefits that will have in terms of their CSR commitments, then they will stop seeing it as a HR burden.

Kasey Lambert

The carrot and the stick need to be deployed in tandem. I recently worked with the UK’s biggest fleet operator which successfully transitioned 10 per cent of its fleet to EVs in under two years. The stick for them was the ban on ICE vehicle sales after 2030, alongside Ultra Low Emission Zone or ULEZ charges in major cities. The carrot was the plug-in car grant scheme for up to 1,000 vehicles. When they weighed all the costs, then the transition made financial sense.

Cathal Masterson

In incentivising EV adoption we also need to be mindful of the overarching need to reduce car dependency and transform our system away from private vehicles. There is a risk if we put all our climate action ‘eggs’ into the one basket represented by EVs and do not focus enough on active travel, public transport, and new smart ways of travel. I am sceptical about the assumption that the infrastructure will be available because the scale we are talking about could take 15 years to deliver. We must plan ahead to ensure that existing sites can access the grid connection required. This feeds into the innovation and collaboration approach. We must work with the energy sector to balance the load and demand.

Alan Murphy

The broader mobility agenda can be defined by the ‘avoid, shift, improve’ framework, where EVs are just one part of the ‘improve’ pillar. In its October 2022 publication, Redesigning Ireland’s Transport for Net Zero, the OECD was critical about Ireland’s policy which perpetuates a car dependent transport system by an overemphasis on private EV

“The decision point to buy an EV presents an opportunity to inform people of more sustainable and shared modes of transport.” Alan Murphy

“In incentivising EV adoption we also need to be mindful of the overarching need to reduce car dependency and transform our system away from private vehicles.” Cathal Masterson

ownership. The decision point to buy an EV presents an opportunity to inform people of more sustainable and shared modes of transport. One of the lessons from other jurisdictions is the creation of mobility hubs, where shared mobility modes are provided – such as ebikes, car clubs, etcetera – at optimal locations, including adjacent to public transport stations). This shared mobility approach can also drive EV adoption, but in a way that is distinct from the private ownership model. The local authorities are actively exploring this mobility hub approach for the Dublin region.

John O’Connell

As a government department, we are regularly speaking to European counterparts, understanding behaviours, and gaining insights from our shared experiences. However, while there are advantages to be gained, we also believe that we need to find solutions which best meet the Irish context. It cannot be a cookie-cutter, or one size fits all approach. Solutions must be insights-led but use the natural advantages available to Ireland to gain a competitive advantage. We must emphasise the message that driving an electric vehicle is a realistic option in a country where the average daily commute is only 28 minutes. With many new EVs featuring a range of over 400km, this should be suitable for many of the journeys across the island of Ireland.

What is the single greatest opportunity to drive EV infrastructure rollout?

Paul

Hogan

Creating the right market conditions for the key market players – car manufacturers and dealers, CPOs ready to sell ‘electric fuel’, and others selling ancillary services – to thrive, while, at the same time, creating policies that penalise hesitation or resistance to transitioning away from ICE vehicles to EVs. Ireland cannot look to other countries and simply copy and paste solutions. We need Irish solutions to uniquely Irish challenges. For example, rural Ireland has the greater car dependence, higher mileage, and potentially higher emitting mileage with older ICE vehicles, but these are also less likely to be able to afford to transition to an EV and hence should be incentivised appropriately to switch. However, it is a multifactorial challenge with no silver bullet solution. We must move progress solutions to the various challenges, concurrently, and cohesively.

John McConnell

Building on the momentum will be critical to a successful EV infrastructure rollout.

Over the past 12 months, we have launched the Electric Vehicles Charging Infrastructure Strategy and schemes such as the Shared Island Sports Club EV Charging Scheme, and EU JTF Community Facilities EV Charging Scheme. With public consultations currently live in relation to the universal design guidelines and the National EV Charging Plan (en route) launching in September 2023, further announcements are pending in relation to local authority infrastructure, a Shared Charging Scheme along with national demand/supply plans for residential, destination, and remote charging.

Philip Rainey

It is about education and myth busting. Previously, the AA suggested that EVs were not financially viable when compared with ICE vehicles. That narrative is now changing. When it comes to major users, such as businesses and their fleets, we need support mechanisms that can simplify their transition. There are technologies emerging which can do this.

Alan Murphy

Currently, the total cost of ownership of an EV is being challenged because the price per kWh has skyrocketed in the last year. Looking behind the charging infrastructure, Ireland has a vision for significant indigenous renewable energy. An island with self-sufficient energy security is key to increased adoption of EVs and usage of public charging infrastructure. In future, if we realise our renewable energy ambitions, the cost per kWh will be much lower making it far more attractive for people to transition to EV usage.

Cathal Masterson

As Paul said, there is no silver bullet. TII examined the Norwegian example, which is held up an exemplar – and it is – but at the end of 2022, only around 18 per cent of the country’s overall fleet was electric. It is a long game, and we have 15 years ahead of us in this transition and we must make that as simple as possible for consumers. We will not get it totally right, but the alternative is a messy transition. We need to collaborate with each other as we are encountering challenges we have never faced before. It is an exciting time in transport and mobility, we should embrace this challenge. Talking to my own children, they are delighted that I am here today talking about this; the electrification of transport is part of their future.

Kasey Lambert

The theme of this entire conversation has been collaboration and working together. We need innovative solutions which knit each aspect of the transition together. Beyond the mobility space, we must consider the entire end-to-end value stream, including, for example, urban planners and vehicle manufacturers. Does it make sense to introduce kerbside charging with chargers inbuilt into the existing infrastructure? Do we produce smaller vehicles with smaller batteries for cities? We must also engage more with consumers. Why are they opting to not transition to EVs? We must seek to understand the barriers they perceive and then implement innovative solutions to help people access the charging infrastructure they need.

“We must now focus on the mainstream and mass market penetration which will require further incentivisation.” John McConnell

Avoid, Shift, Improve: Priorities in Irish transport reform

eolas Magazine speaks with Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, and newly appointed Assistant Secretary at the Department of Transport, Caoimhín Ó Ciaruáin, about priorities in Irish transport and the Avoid, Shift, Improve framework that will guide new transport policies.

Speaking about a crucial decade ahead for the decarbonisation of Irish transport, Minister Ryan says that he is confident of reaching the Government’s target of a 51 per cent decrease in emissions by 2030. He explains how the State aims to do this by outlining the Avoid, Shift, Improve process: “Firstly, we have to reduce the overall volume and avoid unnecessary journeys and save emissions in that way; secondly, we have to shift or switch away from a system that was car-dependent

and drove emissions higher to a system where we have much higher public transport, much more active travel, we switch from road freight to rail freight, and we have a whole range of modal shifts that can steer us towards a much more efficient system; thirdly, we need to improve our transport system, using new technologies, new engines, new capabilities that give us a more efficient and cost-effective system.”

Ryan sees the changes in working – and

thus commuting – patterns that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic as permanent and says that innovations that have cut back the need for work-related travel such as Zoom meetings give the State the “opportunity to change the entire system and reimagine how our whole network works”. By avoiding personalised travel for reasons such as commuting, Ryan contends that “making the shift would then be easier” in the case of modal shift.

“A lot of our road network and transport system was designed on the notion that everyone, five days a week, would be driving in and out of work and that we would have to manage the system in that way,” he says.

“We can use this time of change to reallocate some of that road space that we do not need now for that daily commuting pattern to provide better space for the alternative, to make it easier and safer to walk and cycle, to make sure we have a fast and efficient bus service, and to start spending the money – two to one in the case of this government – in favour of new public transport services, making this a time of change where we do shift, going from our current model, where about 70 per cent of all trips are by car, and bring that down to about 50 per cent, the remainder being done by active travel and public transport.”

While Ryan admits that such change is “slow to pick up and will take time to deliver”, he states that “real change is happening” and points to lowering of transport fares – by 20 per cent for all and over 50 per cent for those under the age of 24 – as a positive example, with 300,000 young people said to have availed of travel cards in order to receive their fare reductions.

“The most encouraging statistic in the recent Census figures was the doubling over the last six years of the number of

schoolchildren walking and cycling to school,” the Minister says. “We need to double that again and then go even further. If we can achieve that switch, going back to what was in existence when I was going to school, and the majority of children are not having to be driven to school, that means a better transport system for everyone.”

The reintroduction of rail freight, as envisioned in the All-Island Rail Review, will also be key to modal shift. Ryan says that the delivery of the Claremorris to Athenry and Rosslare Port to Waterford rail lines would be “the missing links” in a Western Rail Corridor stretching from Wexford to northern Mayo, which would enable the State to bring back “rail freight, which we are starting to see being delivered in France, the UK, and elsewhere” using Limerick Foynes, Rosslare, and Cork Marina ports to export internationally.

The priority for the remainder of the Government’s mandate, Ryan says, is the deliverance of the 35 pathfinder projects that the Sustainable Mobility Leadership Group has been tasked with. Examples of these projects already delivered include the electrified bus fleet in Athlone and the construction of a sustainability bridge over the River Suir.

“It is not just the pathfinder projects,” Ryan says, explaining:

“We are also introducing a series of much bigger public transport projects that are

scaled up for the scale of change we need to make into the future. I believe the first priority is set out in the National Planning Framework: that we need better balanced regional development. That is why, when it came to the spending of the European Recovery and Resilience Fund, we prioritised core metropolitan rail. We have followed that up by investing the new sustainable mobility bridge in Waterford, moving the train station at the same time, investing in the new Shannon Foynes line, and spending in Galway and improving connectivity in the city. It is important to balance regional development.”

He adds that investment in the cities will also be progressing: “We will build the metro, subject to it getting through An Bord Pleanála, which has to happen fast because we need it as central spine in our capital city. It is not just metro, we also need DART+, the BusConnects project, as well as the active travel network which we are starting to roll out in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and towns right across the country. We can make this change, but we do have to act fast because the scale of reductions in emissions that we have to make is beyond compare and we have a growing population and economy that deserves and needs a first-class public transport system.”

“The most encouraging statistic in the recent Census figures was the doubling over the last six years of the number of schoolchildren walking and cycling to school. We need to double that again and then go even further.”

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD

New Assistant Secretary

Meanwhile, key to these climate-related transport ambitions is the newly appointed Assistant Secretary with responsibility for climate action and EU/international affairs at the Department of Transport, Caoimhín Ó Ciaruáin. Not only is Ó Ciaruáin newly appointed, his role is also newly created. “I am mainly tasked with delivering on the transport ambitions of the Climate Action Plan which deals with domestic emissions inventory but also edges across aviation and the maritime area,” he explains.

“The big priority at the moment is delivery,” he continues. “We have strong policies set out in terms of sustainability and electrification. It is about getting the supports right and looking at delivering the infrastructure for public transport and active travel, along with EV infrastructure over the next five to 10 years. Right now, we are doing quite well and are ahead of expectations in terms of EV sales. We will need to see continued exponential growth to bring us to our targets here.”

Further elaborating on Minister Ryan’s point on the synergy between transport infrastructure, the National Planning Framework, and balanced regional development, Ó Ciaruáin says: “That natural link between planning and transport has not always been where it needed to be. I chair a leadership group for the Sustainable Mobility Policy which is part of developing

this policy by bringing together the transport, planning, and local authorities together to start looking at how we can address the longer-term issues and encouraging transport-oriented development, but in the meantime looking at what can be done in terms of things like developing the pathfinder programme which shines a light of exemplar sustainable mobility projects across the country.”

On the prospect of reaching the 51 per cent by 2030 reduction target, Ó Ciaruáin strikes a confident note, but stresses the need for total involvement in Irish decarbonisation. “For a just transition, we need to bring the entire public with us and so we look at the opportunities around that, and especially the evolution of practical concepts like the 10- or 15-minute neighbourhood, which is gaining traction both in Ireland and internationally,” he says.

“We will be looking to local authorities in particular to help us deliver in that space. There is lots of excellent research and evidence-based policy making happening around this, and what we are now in is delivery mode, making sure that we deliver what is required over the next seven years.”

He concludes: “We need a huge amount of behavioural change to actually make the whole piece work together. As the recent OECD research has underlined, this is about systems change.”

Caoimhín Ó Ciaruáin, Assistant Secretary, DECC

“For a just transition, we need to bring the entire public with us.”

Governing cybersecurity under the European Union’s NIS2 Directive

Compared to its previous version, the new NIS Directive eliminates the distinction between operators of essential services and digital service providers: entities are be classified based on their importance and divided into two categories: essential and important entities, which are subjected to different supervisory regimes. This means that all sectors and organisations coming under NIS2 are of great importance to communities within EU member states. It is understood that their disruption would cause serious harm to society if they were no longer able to execute their functions.

The NIS2 Directive that came into force in 2023 is an EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity that provides legal measures to boost the overall level of cybersecurity in the EU. It requires the member states to be prepared and appropriately equipped with a Computer Security Incident Response Team and a competent national network and information systems (NIS) authority. It also connects the member states by

setting up a cooperation group to support to facilitate strategic cooperation and the exchange of information among them. The legislation also encourages a culture of security across sectors that are vital for our economy and society and that rely heavily on ICTs, such as energy, transport, water, banking, financial market infrastructures, healthcare, and digital infrastructure.

Ultimately, the two categories were created to distinguish the fact that not all sectors impact society at the same scale in the event of an incident.

Member states must ensure that they carry out effective supervision to ensure compliance with the requirements of NIS2. Regarding essential entities, this implies proactive supervision. In contrast, it implies reactive supervision for important entities, which may be

Over the years, we have witnessed many cyberattacks against various governmental institutions, state organisations and public infrastructure. Disruptions because of cyberattacks can have major consequences on the normal functioning of services as well as dire financial consequences.

triggered by evidence, indication, or information that the entity allegedly does not comply with the Directive. Indeed, in the latter case, action should only be taken when, for a member state, it appears that an important entity does not comply with the obligations laid down in the Directive.

Under the first NIS Directive, a duty to report incidents that significantly impact service continuity was introduced. According to the Directive, an incident is said to occur when there is “any event with an actual detrimental effect on the security of network and information systems”. Security refers to ‘the ability of network and information systems to withstand actions that affect the availability, integrity, confidentiality, and authenticity of network and information systems with a certain degree of reliability’. To assess whether an incident has significant impact, the guideline describes several parameters to be considered, including the number of users affected, the duration of the incident, and the size of the geographical area affected by the incident.

The NIS2 Directive sets up a consistent framework for sanctions across the EU, by establishing a minimum list of administrative sanctions for breach of

the cybersecurity risk management and reporting obligations. These sanctions include binding instructions, implementing the recommendations of a security audit, bringing security measures in line with NIS requirements, and administrative fines. Concerning administrative penalties, the new NIS Directive distinguishes between essential and important entities. In Ireland, the State also has responsibility for dealing with the security of services provided by multinational companies across the EU that have their European headquarters located in Ireland.

Member states must provide the relevant authorities the ability to impose considerable fines. Regarding essential entities, the NIS2 Directive requires member states to provide for a certain level of administrative fines, notably a maximum of at least €10,000,000 or 2 per cent of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher. Concerning important entities, the NIS2 Directive

requires member states to provide a maximum fine of at least €7,000,000, or at least 1.4 per cent of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.

Cybersecurity is not just something delegated to the AI department, but a complex process that involves legislation, cooperation, technology and education in order to be able to withstand the challenges of the current and evolving cyberthreats. At ESET Ireland we believe that the first step should always be receiving adequate information about the latest threats, which we make regularly available at blog.eset.ie

T: 053 914 6600

E: hello@eset.ie

W: www.eset.ie

‘Substantial’ north/south goods trade growth since Brexit

The substantial growth in the crossborder goods trade has seen the Republic of Ireland record €160.3 billion in goods exports and €99.8 billion in goods imports in 2021, while the North recorded totals of €10.5 billion in goods exports and €7.6 billion in goods imports, with this figure not including imports from and exports to Britain, which is not classified as international trade.

Most notable within the findings is the reassertion of the importance of crossborder trade to both economies, especially that of the North, in the wake of Brexit. In terms of total trade, the Republic accounted for 11.93 per cent of northern imports and 28.58 per cent of exports, making it the second most popular locations as both a destination and origin of trade behind only Great Britain (65.49 per cent of imports and 46.38 per cent of exports).

When trade with Britain is excluded, the Republic accounted for 53 per cent (€5.6 billion) of the North’s goods exports, and 35 per cent (€2.6 billion) of its goods imports, making it the North’s largest trading partner classified as international trade.

The “most striking difference” between the Republic and the North, “and indeed to the rest of the EU” is the dominance of the US as both an import and export partner for the Republic. The US accounts for 31 per cent of Irish exports

and 17.01 per cent into the Republic, with Britain second accounting for 14.15 per cent of imports and 8.84 per cent of exports, shares that “have reduced considerably in the aftermath of Brexit relative to the historic patterns of trade between the two countries”.

Having increased its share of the Republic’s imports from 1.5 per cent to 5 per cent in the first six months following Brexit, the North accounts for 4.71 per cent of southern imports and 2.29 per cent of exports, “sizeable shares given the much smaller size of the Northern Ireland economy relative to the other top 10 partner countries”.

The ESRI’s research, published in a paper titled Structure of International Goods Trade for Ireland and Northern Ireland, is notable because it is the first of its kind to include export and import data for Northern Ireland on product and market level, which first became available in 2021. The availability of this data allowed the ESRI to “examine how the structure of cross-border trade looks relative to Ireland and Northern Ireland’s trade with other trading partners” and overcomes previous limitations of trade flows being studied in isolation rather than the broader context of aggregate trade structures.

At the sectoral level, both sides of the border show a reliance on the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sector, which accounts for 55.7 per cent of the

Republic’s exports and 20.2 per cent of its imports, the second largest import sector just behind machinery and electrical (20.7 per cent). Chemicals and pharmaceuticals are also the largest export sector in the North, accounting for 23.4 per cent, and the largest import sector, accounting for 11.8 per cent. These figures are not in keeping with either the UK or the rest of the EU: in the UK, chemicals and pharmaceuticals account for 6 per cent of imports and 9.1 per cent of exports; in the rest of the EU, they account for 9 per cent and 9.6 per cent.

“Cross-border trade looks quite different in both directions to the aggregate trade structures” of both jurisdictions, the ESRI notes, a fact which mainly “comes about from a much greater variety of goods being traded cross-border relative to the more specialised patterns of overall trade, in particular exports”. Food and beverages as a sector “accounts for a considerably larger share of cross-border trade than it does in the overall trade sector”, making up 24 per cent of goods going north from the Republic and 27 per cent of goods going south from the North.

“Looking at openness and product range, we find that the values of overall goods trade are roughly in line with the sizes of the two economies,” the report states. However, the range of product–partner country combinations in both

North/south goods trade has grown “substantially” since Brexit, a report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found, with the Republic now accounting for over half of the North’s exports.

Composition of total trade by broad sector, 2021

Top trade destinations and origins, 2021

jurisdictions are “below the usual level observed in other countries of comparable size, reflecting the degree of specialisation in both trade structures –mainly on the partner country dimension for Northern Ireland and the product

Ireland.”

With both economies firmly aimed at the development of export-heavy industries, the ESRI says that cross-border trade can “play a role as an accessible first

step into broader exporting and, hence, a greater degree of information on these flows and on how they compare to trade with other markets nay help in the development of such policies”.

Delivering improved citizen services with AWS

Building a user-centric digital government service

A central focus of Ireland's digital transformation is to provide citizens with a seamless, personalised, inclusive, and responsive service experience.

Acknowledging the need to evolve from eGovernment to digital government, the Government aims to develop services based on an understanding of user journeys and preferences. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government witnessed a significant surge in digital service provision and uptake, creating a strong foundation for a more advanced and user-centric service model. For example, gov.ie, the central portal for government services and information, hosted on AWS, did not exist in 2016 but

by 2019 it had achieved five million hits for the year. However, between January and April 2020, the first few months of the pandemic, the portal had over 35 million visits, leveraging the power of AWS cloud to effectively scale and ensure a seamless end user experience. By harnessing data effectively, ensuring robust data governance, and emphasising transparency, digital government can transform the citizen user experience.

AWS's role in supporting digital transformation

AWS is deeply committed to supporting Ireland's digital transformation through a multi-tiered approach, focusing on key areas:

Connected citizen: The goal of the connected citizen in Ireland is to empower citizens to participate in decision-making, enhance their access to public services and information, and promote social inclusion using digital technologies. Naturally, the aggregation and distribution of citizen data brings data privacy and security to the forefront of concerns. Moreover, as citizen services become digital, it is crucial to guarantee equal access to these services nationwide and tackle digital literacy issues among citizens.

AWS is equipped to tackle these challenges by offering a secure and reliable cloud infrastructure, deploying data encryption and access control measures, and providing training and

With ambitious goals of making 90 per cent of applicable government services accessible online and ensuring 80 per cent of eligible citizens are utilising MyGovID by 2030, Ireland aims to create an inclusive, user-centric, and efficient digital government service. Amazon Web Services (AWS) shares this vision for Ireland's digital future and is committed to playing a pivotal role in delivering improved citizen services.

support to boost digital literacy among citizens. Additionally, AWS can assist in developing customised solutions to meet the specific needs of the initiative, such as building scalable and responsive applications, for example omni-channel cloud contact centres, to improve citizen engagement and streamline government services.

Continuity of Government IT: In response to serious challenges, whether it is a natural disaster, cyberattack, or geopolitical event, the Government must be able to protect and maintain core digital assets and records such as population and property registers, education records, revenue and tax data, benefits systems, and more. To better prepare the Government for what might arise, AWS has created Continuity of Government IT on AWS (CGIT), a comprehensive cloud-based solution that enables the Government to protect their digital assets and services during disruptions of any kind.

Investing in skills: Recognising the significance of digital and cloud skills in the future economy, AWS proactively addresses the skills shortage through education, training, and support initiatives. By empowering the next generation with innovative skills, AWS partners to enhance Ireland's global competitiveness in the digital landscape. AWS has committed to providing free cloud computing skills training to 29 million people globally by 2025, and within Ireland we have dedicated training for the Irish public sector bodies to meet their current cloud skills needs.

Accelerating sustainability: AWS is steadfast in its commitment to a sustainable future, with a target to power operations with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of its original goal. Collaborating with customers, AWS explores emergent technologies' potential to reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment.

Enabling innovation: At the heart of AWS lies our profound commitment to fostering innovation. By offering highpowered computing resources, AWS significantly reduces the cost of innovation for inventors and builders. Together with Irish Government, commercial organisations, and civil society, AWS aspires to address the nation's most pressing challenges through innovation.

National Broadband Ireland (NBI)

AWS worked with National Broadband Ireland to rollout Ireland's National Broadband Plan, the plan to provide high-speed broadband services to all underserved premises in the country. Utilising AWS as the foundation of its platform, NBI achieved its goal of delivering high-speed, future-proofed broadband access to over 1.1 million people across more than 569,000 premises. This operational environment for this landmark project was deployed quickly and at scale in under nine months, significantly contributing to the nation's digital transformation.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)

The DVLA in the United Kingdom holds over 47 million driver records and collects about £6 billion annually in Vehicle Excise Duty. The agency faced a massive increase in information requests, rising from 600,000 to over 70 million per month. To address these challenges and unlock the potential for economic growth, DVLA needed an elastic platform to handle the anticipated billions of monthly transactions. Leveraging AWS, DVLA evaluated Amazon API Gateway for controlled data access. Within days, a working prototype was deployed, showcasing the unprecedented speed of delivery. The serverless architecture of Amazon API Gateway eliminated the need to deploy, manage, or maintain servers, streamlining operations.

“When we deployed on premises, we had fixed capacity and had to procure more servers if we went beyond a certain limit,” says Matt Lewis, Chief Architect of the DVLA. “That model changed with the cloud, but even then, we had to provision capacity, manage images, create hardened builds, and so on. Now, using Amazon API Gateway, we have moved into a serverless world where the only thing we have to worry about is the code – the thing that creates the greatest value – and everything else is taken care of.”

E: aws-publicsector-ireland@amazon.com

W: www.aws.amazon.com

AWS worked with National Broadband Ireland to rollout Ireland's National Broadband Plan.

Redesigning Irish transport for net zero

Aimée Aguilar Jaber, Programme Lead for systems thinking and transformative change for net zero and resilience at the OECD and author of the OECD’s Redesigning Ireland’s Transport for Net Zero report, speaks to eolas Magazine about the report and the Government’s response to it.

Aguilar Jaber credits an Irishwoman –Gemma O’Reilly, a member of the Climate Change Advisory Council at the time of the project, and now a Policy Analyst for the National Economic and Social Council – with the genesis of the collaboration between the OECD and the Irish Government, which was the “first time that we put the systems innovation for net zero approach into a detailed country case study”.

By undertaking a systemic approach to its analysis, the OECD stated that the Irish transport system fosters growing car use by design and is thus unfit for reaching Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and achieving wellbeing for Irish citizens.

“Bringing systems-thinking to climate action allowed understanding that a very important first step was to reframe policy and its focus,” Aguilar Jaber says.

“Policy often focuses on the tip of the iceberg, for instance on the patterns of

behaviour that we have seen in the past. The problem with that is that if policymaking remains at the tip of the iceberg, its logic is about reacting to events or at most anticipating patterns that we see as inevitable, giving us policies that are solely focusing on trying to reduce the harm of unsustainable systems by improving their parts – often via technological change – but that are not doing much about improving the system itself.

“This project was about inviting stakeholders to think differently; what if we do not focus only on the trends that we see? What if we try to focus on what is behind those trends?” she says.

With private car dependence an acute challenge in the Irish case amidst a lack of public transport options outside of Dublin – Ireland has the second highest car dependency rate (76 per cent of people in the State use the car as their main form of transport) in the EU and rail travel accounts for just 3 per cent of passenger

kilometres per annum, significantly lower than the European average of 8 per cent –Aguilar Jaber says that part of the project entailed challenging assumptions around car use.

Accepted thinking states that private car kilometres driven rise with gross national income, for example, leading to a summation that personal wealth makes it more likely that an individual will use a private mode of transport.

“What is behind this specific trend is the system structure of a car dependent system. In a car-dependent system, we have induced demand, which is the phenomenon by which authorities expand road infrastructure, creating more demand; we have sprawl, because more car purpose capacity has made it possible for people to leave the areas where services are concentrated, and it becomes much more difficult for public and active transport to reach everywhere and be competitive.”

Aguilar Jaber says that challenging these assumptions also requires challenging the idea of car ownership as symbol of status and life quality.

“We did so by going through three different steps in collaboration with an array of Irish stakeholders: the first step was to envision a future where transport was bringing wellbeing; we then needed to understand the system that today does not bring wellbeing but brings unsustainable results; only then could we find the policies that would redesign the system so that it can become sustainable and bring wellbeing by design,” she says. Redesign of the system is key in the Irish context, where, as the OECD report stated, even transport decarbonisation efforts have historically had a heavy bias towards private car ownership, relying on the hope of swapping from internal combustion (IC) engines to electric vehicle.

“Policies such as incentives for private EVs help to maintain the lock-in of the car-dependent system and do not support systemic change. These incentives are also less powerful and slower than usually perceived and have proven regressive. Electrifying the sector will still play a key role, but embedding the electrification strategy in the shift away from car dependency can make electrification faster, more effective, and more equitable,” Aguilar Jaber says.

“We were also able to understand what other policies have low or medium transformative potential,” she adds. “We

are not necessarily saying that any policies with low or medium potential need to be replaced – there are some that are important to finance and speed up the transition such as carbon and road pricing – but it is important to understand that some of these policies can slow down the vicious cycle, but they will not shift the system away from car-dependency on their own.”

Outlining policies crucial to such a shift, Aguilar Jaber mentions three in particular: “Road space reallocation and street redesign allow us to rebalance space (a critical stock in the system) and utilise it in a wiser, more efficient, and more equitable way. This has the potential of changing current dynamics and producing more virtuous ones, for example generating disappearing traffic instead of induced demand. We also see the mainstreaming of shared on-demand services as a policy with high transformative potential, which could bring relevant well-being benefits, and that is currently underutilised in Ireland. These services need to support, not substitute for, public transport and with the right regulation and planning, they can. Communication efforts are also transformative if they can start the shift away from this car-centric mindset. It is important for the Government to start communicating in another way. Private EVs should not be talked about as zero emissions vehicles, and we state that in the report.”

The Government’s response to the report has been positive, the Programme Lead says, offering encouragement in the

policy shifts evident from Climate Action Plan 2021 to its 2023 successor. “In line with the recommendations of the report, we see key differences with the 2021 version,” she says. “For example, we have a total traffic volume reduction rather than just an IC-traffic reduction target, we have a very important role for modal shift, and we have targets that are ambitious for public transport and active and shared mobility. The new Sustainable Mobility Policy (SMP) already showed increased focus on policies identified as transformative but the alignment of targets and strategies in the CAP with systemic change are crucial and make of Ireland an international reference of good practice. We see government officials in other countries increasingly becoming interested in knowing more about the process behind the changes undertaken by Ireland.”

Concluding, Aguilar Jaber says that the collaboration between the OECD and relevant Irish stakeholders was key to the project and its ability to interrogate the systemic issues inhibiting the efforts to tackle Irish transport emissions: “This was a project that started with a brave question from one person and that ended up bringing together a community of systems-thinkers that were willing to question the way they were doing things and to bring the systemic perspective to say that it is not solely about people having the awareness to choose better. We need a better system; we need to offer a better system if we are going to ask for large-scale widespread behavioural change.”

Towards transformative climate (and wellbeing) strategies

Ireland’s increasing competitiveness

Ireland is the most competitive country in the eurozone and the second most competitive economy in the world, an improvement from 11th position last year, according to the latest IMD World Competitiveness Rankings.

The index of 63 countries, compiled by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, is acknowledged as one of the most reputable measures of global competitiveness.

The report states that Ireland’s sharp rise in the overall ranking is largely the result of its robust achievements in economic performance, rising from seventh to first. The State also makes significant progress across other competitiveness factors, rising from 11th to third in both government and business efficiency.

In addition, it is noted that Ireland’s ranking improves in several sub-factors including domestic economy (first), international investment subfactors (second), business legislation (third), productivity and efficiency (third), and attitudes and values (first).

At the indicator level, Ireland achieves notable gains in direct investment flows abroad, gross fixed capital formation, and direct investment flows abroad in US dollars, ranking first, second, and fifth respectively. The State also improved in key areas such as the growth of exports of goods (34th), overall productivity (real

growth PPP, 23rd), and the effectiveness of communications technology (25th).

In terms of government policies, Ireland advances in areas such as the effective management of public finance (eighth), government subsidies as a percentage of GDP (12th), and in the indicator that assesses whether immigration laws interfere with the hiring of overseas talent (fourth). The country also progresses in factors like the quality of air transportation as an enabler of business development (21st), the implementation of shareholders’ rights (eighth), the effectiveness of management education (seventh), and the credibility of managers (third).

In some areas, however, the report notes that Ireland experiences a drop, such as in total indigenous energy production (from 49th to 54th), life expectancy at birth (from 13th to 18th), and business expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP (from 21st to 32nd). The country also drops in current account balance (from sixth to 13th) and consumer price inflation (22nd to 30th).

Analysis of the report by the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (Nasdaq) Stock Market notes that there is an advantage for smaller states in increasing their competitiveness. Christos Cabolis, Chief Economist and Head of Operations at the IMD World Competitiveness Center, notes: “Navigating today’s unpredictable environment requires agility and adaptability. Countries that excel are building resilient economies, such as Ireland, Iceland, and Bahrain. Their governments can adapt policies based on current economic conditions in a timely fashion.”

The Nasdaq further notes that the relative decline of larger European economies such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, as well as the relative decline of the United States “signifies a changing reality for global titans whose economic, cultural, and regulatory landscapes influence global economic output”.

Furthermore, as a cultural backlash against globalisation continues to lead to political and economic instability in many European countries, it is noted that Ireland has “maintained a relatively

IMD World Competitiveness Rankings

welcoming immigration and trade policy to attract foreign investors and create a human capital pipeline to support their growing FDI ecosystem”.

The Nasdaq states: “The message from these smaller economies is clear, we are open for business and a steady ship in times of strife.”

Welcoming Ireland’s sharp increase in competitiveness, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney TD said: “The rankings recognise that dealing with today’s unpredictable business environment requires agility and

adaptability in order to build a resilient economy and that has certainly been the case with our economy.”

The Minister added: “Our ranking in the areas of government and business efficiency reflect the strength of Irish institutions which create a stable environment for enterprise to operate. Our skilled workforce also gives us a competitive advantage and our ability to attract and retain talent, as well as the continued growth in the labour force, has contributed to our hugely improved competitiveness ranking in this area.”

Sec-Gen reshuffle

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment have both appointed new secretaries general over summer 2023.

The Secretary General is the leader of a government department at Civil Service level responsible for implementing government policy. The Secretary General changes with relative regularity in most departments, as they are answerable to the minister of their department.

Oonagh Buckley

Oonagh Buckley was announced as the new Secretary General of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on 20 June 2023. Buckley is currently completing her term as Interim Chair of An Bord Pleanála. Prior to taking up that role, Buckley was Deputy Secretary General in the Department of Justice with responsibility for civil law, which includes immigration, courts, and legislation.

Buckley had previously held the position of Director General in the Workplace Relations Commission and before that she worked in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, as well as in the Department of the Environment and Department of Foreign Affairs. In her time in the Department of the Environment she worked for a number of years on planning policy and legislation and on wildlife conservation.

Buckley is a graduate of UCC, the College of Europe and University of London. She was called to the Bar in 1996. She has an MSc in business from the Smurfit School in UCD and has been an adjunct professor in the School of Law of UCC since 2017.

Declan Hughes

Declan Hughes was appointed as the new Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment on 30 May 2023. Hughes joined the department in 2014 as Assistant Secretary, heading the Strategic Policy Division and subsequently had responsibility for policy development and funding programmes for inward investment and enterprise innovation and for indigenous enterprise, SMEs, and entrepreneurship divisions. He was formerly on the Executive Committee of the enterprise, trade and science and technology advisory agency, Forfás. He has led a range of national and regional policy and funding initiatives, including on ecommerce, enterprise and trade strategies, skills and research prioritisation, regional enterprise plans, the Action Plan for Jobs, and Brexit and Covid-19 business supports.

Hughes is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate and holds a master’s and postgraduate diploma from the Smurfit Graduate School of Business, UCD. He has completed executive programmes at Wharton School of Business, Roffey Park Institute, and Singapore Civil Service College. He is a member of the Institute of Directors.

MARA launched as Irish offshore wind sector kickstarts

The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) was launched in July 2023 by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD to mark Ireland’s transition towards a new maritime consenting regime.

The founding of MARA was described as a “significant milestone” in the development of the State’s capacity to plan its marine environment and, relatedly, the building of renewable offshore energy infrastructure. The role of MARA will be to assess applications from prospective developers for the required maritime area consents before their application for planning permission for an offshore wind operation. The regulatory authority will also grant licenses for activities such as dredging and port development.

Upon the launch of MARA, Laura Brien was named as Chief Executive Officer, moving into the role from her former position as Chief Executive of the Health Insurance Authority. Brien has over 25 years of experience in regulation, and prior to her role at the Health Insurance Authority she held roles in the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, ComReg, and Nexant, where

she advised on power plant privatisation and regulation in the Middle East, Africa, and South-East Asia.

Commenting on Brien’s appointment, Minister O’Brien stated: “During this period of great change in how the State manages its maritime space, MARA will have a key role to play. It is important that the CEO provide effective leadership and strategic vision to the organisation, and I am delighted to announce that Laura Brien will be taking on this role. She has extensive experience in the area of regulation across a number of industries, and this will be crucial in leading the new agency.”

Mark Mellet, the former Chief of Staff for the Defence Forces, has been named as the Chair of MARA, with the board to be made up of: former Deputy Director General of the Legal Service of the European Commission Karen Banks; marine social scientist Ruth Brennan; marine environmental consultant James

Speaking upon her appointment, Brien said: “MARA will be a key enabler supporting delivery of projects of strategic importance including offshore renewable energy, ports development, cabling, and telecoms projects, and many uses of the maritime area. I look forward to working with the Chairperson, the board, and the broader stakeholder community to achieve MARA’s strategic ambitions in support of sustainable development of our maritime resource.”

Massey; commercial lawyer Philip Daly; renewable energy expert Niamh Kenny; solicitor Patrick Gibbons; Paul O’Neill of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications; Patrick Moran of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform; Alma Walsh of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; and Brendan McGrath of the County and City Management Association.

Laura Brien, CEO of MARA

Transport Ireland 2023

The 16th annual Transport Ireland Conference recently took place, bringing together key stakeholders to comprehensively explore the latest ambitions, challenges, and tangible opportunities for leaders and practitioners in Ireland’s transport sector. We were delighted to have a range of expert speakers, local and visiting, join us including Eamon Ryan TD, Minister for Transport; Anne Graham, National Transport Authority; Aimée Aguilar Jaber, OECD; Cormac Kennedy, Dublin Port Company and Helen Hughes, Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our conference partners, Iarnród Éireann, AECOM, Indra and Indaver, all speakers, delegates and exhibitors who joined us in the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin and made the conference a huge success.

Speakers: Jim Meade, Iarnród Éireann; Stephen Kent, Bus Éireann; Paddy Comyn, AA Ireland; Elaine Brick, AECOM; Aimée Aguilar Jaber, OECD; Billy Hann, Dublin Bus; Chris Conway, Translink and Ciarán Galway, eolas Magazine

Speakers: Jackie Keaney, Indaver with Derval Cummins, AECOM and Anne Graham, National Transport Authority on stage at the 2023 Transport Ireland Conference.

Conor Healy, Cork Chamber of Commerce with Barry Keegan, Payzone Ireland and Colin Delaney, Easytrip.

Orla Kearns and Stephen McCarthy, Emovis Ireland with Philip Pérez Abramov, Indra and Helen Hughes, Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

Krissel Alcaraz, Arup with Megan Roberts, KPMG. Kevin Brady and Colm Brennan, Tailte Éireann speak with Catherine Murray, AECOM at the Tailte Éireann exhibition stand.

Gerry Madden, Indra asks the speakers a question.

Water is the great connector. Our water resources and waterways link human society directly with the condition of our land, to the state of our biodiversity and to the impacts of climate change. Managed efficiently, water can play a key role in strengthening the resilience of social, economic, and environmental systems.

We have well-documented problems in Ireland’s water bodies. In the most recent national water quality assessment by the EPA, almost half (46 per cent) of Ireland’s waterbodies were found to be below good status. The principle causes of these challenges in water quality are the losses into water of excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) from farmland and inadequately treated wastewater, causing harm to ecosystems. We are also witnessing climate change having a direct impact on water: from water scarcity and droughts to the disruption of rainfall patterns that contribute to high-intensity localised rainfall.

The UN Water Conference has brought a renewed focus on water to the international stage. Here in Ireland, the recent report from the Citizen’s Assembly on Biodiversity included many recommendations on water. To act on the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations, I firmly believe that we need to focus on collaboration and not on conflict. Too often, the default response to a problem highlighted is denial, distraction, or deflection. Some try to pit rural against urban dweller – farmer against environmentalist. This conflict is a false narrative – we all need clean water.

Most recently, we have seen the discussion on the introduction of the EU Nature Restoration Law, and in particular the subject of rewetting, show us how divisive the debate can be. We cannot have good agricultural production without healthy nature and clean water, we cannot restore nature without the cooperation of our farmers, and we cannot feed people without the sustainable productive use of our land.

Neither can we shy away from the challenge of meeting our obligations to protect and restore water quality. In Ireland, we have significant challenges: the resilience of our water supplies, the loss of high-status water bodies, nutrient pollution and restoring the natural functions of our rivers for biodiversity and flood protection. It is imperative that we put ourselves on a sustainable pathway for water management. To address these many challenges we need to work harder to integrate our responses to water, climate change and biodiversity loss across all policy areas and across public agencies and authorities. The proposed national statement of environment policy due to be published by the end of 2023 will result in better coordination between the different environmental policy areas and a more effective implementation process.

The Programme for Government has committed to funding Uisce Éireann’s capital investment plan for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. The

Everyone, rural and urban, needs clean water to drink, to produce food, to support our livelihoods and for recreation. Conflict will only further delay action, writes Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Malcolm Noonan TD.

Fixing water quality in Ireland: ‘Cooperation not conflict’

Credit: Green Party

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage Malcolm Noonan

National Development Plan commits almost €6 billion capital investment by Uisce Éireann from 2021 to 2025. In Budget 2023 alone almost €1.6 billion of funding was made available to Uisce Éireann. This investment will deliver significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services, support improved water supplies right across urban and rural Ireland, and deliver improved water quality.

A revised and strengthened River Basin Management Plan, which covers the third cycle of river basin planning for Ireland up to 2027, will be soon launched to help address these issues. We are drafting this next plan, drawing on a collaborative approach between all stakeholders. This has been made possible through An Fóram Uisce – the national water stakeholder forum.

Using the integrated catchment management approach, backed up with a strong programme of measures, it will identify the main pressures on our water status and set the environmental objectives to protect and restore our water bodies, with the identification and implementation of ‘the right measure, in the right place’ being the central driver of the Plan.

We will seek to address the impacts from agricultural through a balance of engagement, education, and knowledge, such as through the expansion of the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP), the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES), alongside enhanced inspection and enforcement requirements.

The new Nitrates Action Programme includes stronger measures to reduce nutrient losses, to improve water quality and will work with the new CAP Strategic Plan which has brought ecosystem protection and environmental management to the fore.

Measures introduced include tighter controls on the application of chemical fertilizers and slurry, stronger emphasis on risk-based inspections and enforcement, with up to 16,000 farm inspections to be undertaken by local authorities during the lifetime of the plan, and an industry-led initiative

to reduce agricultural impacts on water quality.

Without the implementation of substantial measures to address the impacts of agriculture, it is unlikely that Ireland will achieve significant progress in delivering good water quality status for all its waterbodies in the longer term.

Another significant measure to help address water quality is the recently launched Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP) project. The initiative is co-funded by my department and will invest funding of €60 million in farms over five years. This project is specifically focused on reducing losses of phosphorus, nitrogen, sediment, and, where relevant, pesticides to water from agricultural lands by promoting the adoption of innovative best practice in nutrient management, such as the application of nature-based natural water retention measures (NWRM).

In urban areas, the plan will see the development of a new strategy for the implementation of nature-based solutions at a national scale to address the pressures from urban runoff, such as increased rainfall patterns due to climate change. A pilot project with Cork and Dublin city councils commenced in 2022 to investigate how naturebased solutions can be used to address urban run-off pressures.

In the meantime, an interim high-level guidance document has been finalised to assist planning authorities with implementing nature-based solutions as part of ongoing new development.

Through initiatives like An Fóram Uisce and ASSAP, the Government is engaging directly with water stakeholders and our focus will continue to be problem solving based on a collaborative approach.

Water is at the heart of adaptation to climate change and is the crucial link between the climate system, human society, and the environment. Managed efficiently, water can play a key role in strengthening the resilience of social, economic, and environmental systems.

“Without the implementation of substantial measures to address the impacts of agriculture, it is unlikely that Ireland will achieve significant progress in delivering good water quality status for all its waterbodies in the longer term.”

TD

Developing resilient water supplies to address climate change

Uisce Éireann’s purpose is to enable communities to thrive and sustainability goes right to the heart of its vision for a sustainable Ireland where water is truly respected and protected. With increasing pressure to meet the current demand for water as a result of population growth, climate change, and changing environmental regulations, Uisce Éireann is developing plans to ensure it can provide a safe,

sustainable, secure, and reliable water supply to customers now and into the future while safeguarding the environment.

Reduced rainfall with a growing population and economy will put increased pressure on water supplies during drought events. More intense and prolonged rainfall can also damage infrastructure due to flooding, cause

increased variability on source water quality or reduce the quality of treated drinking water supplies.

Uisce Éireann is implementing measures to adapt to future climate change and establish a resilient and low carbon water and wastewater service by developing Ireland’s first National Water Resources Plan (NWRP). This plan sets out how it will balance the supply and demand for drinking water over the short, medium, and long term through a 25-year strategy that ensures a safe, sustainable, secure, and reliable drinking water supply for everyone. The plan is based on three principles:

1. lose less;

2. use less; and

3. supply smarter.

The ‘lose less’ principle focuses on intensive leakage reduction and demand management measures and ‘use less’ focuses on water conservation and encouraging everybody to use less water by improving water efficiency in homes, businesses, and farms. Meanwhile, ‘supply smarter’ focuses on

In Ireland, climate change is predicted to result in warmer summers and wetter winters, and we have seen clear evidence of this in recent years. Extreme weather such as drought or heavy rainfall will become more frequent, intense, and prolonged and this will have a significant impact on our water services.

Lough Guitane Water Treatment Plant, County Kerry.

having the right infrastructure, systems and approaches working together in the right way to provide the most sustainable water supplies.

To ensure a resilient water service, climate change is a key consideration for water resource planning. An assessment of the vulnerability of all existing water sources was considered in the plan to enable a move away from unsustainable sources of supply which are vulnerable to climate change and allow the development of new and more resilient sources of supply along with connecting more communities to existing resilient sources like natural lakes, impounding reservoirs, and productive aquifers. These sources have the ability to store water during wetter periods, maintaining reserves for water supply during dry summer periods.

The National Water Resources Plan will deliver benefits throughout the country. When all projects set out in the plan are delivered approximately 76 per cent of the demand for public water supply will be delivered by interconnected systems. This means all customers supplied by these interconnected schemes will have access to supply from more than one source. This will provide significantly improved operational flexibility and increased resilience right across the water network that is much better equipped to manage the impact of climate change.

For example, in the eastern-midlands region, 55 existing supplies will be interconnected, of which 36 supplies are linking to the Greater Dublin Area including Mullingar and Tullamore.

The water within this interconnected supply will be provided by abstractions from sources with storage, including aquifers, impounding reservoirs, and lakes. This includes the planned new abstraction from the Parteen Basin on the River Shannon.

In the north-west region, 58 existing supplies will be interconnected form 15 larger interconnected supplies including Letterkenny, Buncrana, Inishowen, and the surrounding areas. These supplies will be secured further by improving the existing Eddie Fullerton Pollan Dam and providing new abstractions from local lake sources.

In the south-west region, 112 existing supplies will be interconnected of which 21 existing supplies are linking to the Cork City Supply which gets most of its

water from the Inniscarra Reservoir, including connection of Clonakilty and Bandon.

In the south-east, 62 existing supplies will be interconnected. Natural lakes and impounding reservoirs are limited within this region. Local groundwater sources for many of the supplies will be developed along with two sustainable abstractions from the River Suir which will supply key towns of Clonmel and Waterford. Nine supplies, such as Kilmacthomas and Ballyogarty, will be connected to the main Waterford supply and 10 supplies, such as Ardfinnan and Ahenny, will be connected to the Clonmel supply.

The remaining 24 per cent of demand will be provided by local resilient and sustainable groundwater and surface water sources.

Achieving these critical improvements will depend on continued delivery of sustained and significant public investment in water infrastructure that will secure a resilient water supply for generations to come.

For more on the National Water Resources Plan: W: www.water.ie/projects/strategicplans/national-water-resources/

Uisce Éireann delivers on commitments to support housing delivery

over 4,250 connections to water services infrastructure associated with over 25,000 homes.

may use for subsequent site development.

In response to the housing crisis, Uisce Éireann is now playing a critical role supporting housing delivery by expanding the existing water supply and treatment network to ensure that new and existing developments have access to a reliable infrastructure.

Yvonne Harris, Uisce Éireann’s Housing For All Programme Director explains: “Uisce Éireann is committed to playing its part in the national drive to provide homes to people who need them by developing and prioritising the delivery of key water service infrastructure and making progress in this area is a top priority for us.

“We have a dedicated team working closely with local authorities to inform their development plan preparation process, including the tiered zoning of lands to support the delivery of housing. We have also developed capacity registers to show whether there is enough water/wastewater capacity in an area for development, enabling developers and local authorities to prioritise development in areas with services.

“Uisce Éireann has a key role to play helping communities around Ireland to thrive by supporting the delivery of housing”, she continues, adding: “We have increased our capability to support connection applications and offers and onsite quality checks. In 2022, water infrastructure supported almost 37,000 housing connection offers, up 4,500 on 2021. These numbers are on track to increase further in 2023 with 21,990 connections already offered up to June this year as Uisce Éireann keeps up with industry demand. This includes

“Meanwhile, our connections team issued positive responses to 3,190 preconnection enquiries associated with 116,647 housing units. Of those positive responses issued, 92 per cent were within 16 weeks.”

Early engagement has been an important factor in maintaining momentum on new connections.

“Anyone considering developing housing should engage with us as early as possible through our free pre-connection enquiry process,” the Housing For All Programme Director outlines. “We can assess the feasibility of a connection to our network and advise on the best way to progress a project.”

Working with a wide range of stakeholders, including developers, the construction sector, chambers of commerce, local authorities, government, and others, Uisce Éireann has continuously refined its connections process to ensure it is fit for purpose.

It aims to build effective partnerships to meet the housing supply challenge, to listen to its stakeholders by hosting, presenting, or attending relevant conferences and events relating to housing and to take action to support the delivery of water infrastructure where and when it is needed.

Working with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), Uisce Éireann has also developed a first mover disadvantage (FMD) policy proposal to mitigate ‘first mover disadvantage’ for developers. Approved by the CRU in May 2023, this initiative will support housing delivery and share costs more equitably amongst developers who are connecting to water services. Developers will now be compensated for water and wastewater infrastructure development which others

The first mover disadvantage policy follows several other successful initiatives that Uisce Éireann has already delivered including a Self-Lay in the Public Road programme and a new Experience Based Accreditation Scheme that will accredit experienced contractors to deliver new water services infrastructure in public roads for housing developments.

The utility has also collaborated with the construction industry to encourage sustainable water management, launching the Water Stewardship and Sustainability in the Construction Sector campaign, in partnerships with the Construction Industry Federation, Irish Home Builders Association, Irish Green Building Council, Cairn Homes, and SISK. This initiative promotes the use of water-efficient appliances, like percussion taps, twin flush and lowwater-use toilets, as well as encouraging rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse systems.

The development of water infrastructure to support the delivery of housing is a critical step in addressing Ireland's housing crisis. By ensuring that new homes have access to a reliable water supply and wastewater treatment, Uisce Éireann is enabling the growth of sustainable settlements and reducing the strain on existing infrastructure. With ongoing investment and collaboration between stakeholders, supporting the delivery of housing will remain a priority for Uisce Éireann well into the future.

W: www.water.ie

In recent years, Ireland's housing crisis has been a prominent topic of public discourse. As the population grows and the need for new homes increases, this puts pressure on existing water and wastewater infrastructure.

Yvonne Harris, Uisce Éireann’s Housing For All Programme Director.

Uisce Éireann: A national utility investing in communities

new and upgraded water and wastewater treatment plants including the completion of five projects listed on the National Development Plan. Significant progress was also made to reduce leakage across the water network last year; leakage has now been reduced to 37 per cent nationally (from 46 per cent at the end of 2018) and Uisce Éireann is on track to reduce it to 25 per cent by 2030.

As one of Ireland’s most important infrastructure providers, Uisce Éireann’s capital expenditure on critical water and wastewater infrastructure exceeded €1 billion for the first-time in 2022, supporting key government policies, including the National Development Plan, Housing for All, and the Climate Action Plan.

“There is no doubt that the development of modern water infrastructure in a sustainable way is critical to Ireland’s future. A growing economy needs essential water infrastructure as much as it needs roads, hospitals, and energy generation. Along with hundreds of much needed local and regional projects across the country, we must also deliver generational national projects including the Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region and the Greater Dublin Drainage Project to support continued economic and population growth, and we must do this in a sustainable way,” says Uisce Éireann CEO Niall Gleeson, highlighting what this progress means for communities across the country.

“We are currently preparing our next price control submission to our economic regulator, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, to set out the capital and operational spending we will need to deliver services and infrastructure from 2025 to 2029,” the CEO explains, adding: “We anticipate a significant uplift in our spending requirement to respond to the growing demands on Ireland’s public water utility.

“This is also reflected in our submissions

to government for capital funding under the National Development Plan out to 2030. We have made huge progress with very strong funding and policy support, but we still face huge challenges in getting our services and infrastructure up to the standard Ireland needs to protect the environment and public health and enable sustainable economic growth.”

Key projects progressed during 2022 included the capacity upgrade at the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant in Dublin Bay. Ireland’s largest treatment plant is responsible for treating 40 per cent of all public wastewater in the country and is being upgraded on a phased basis. Significant interim milestones are anticipated in 2023 and when completed in 2026, this project will help provide the required treatment capacity until the Greater Dublin Drainage project is commissioned and it will bring about a significant improvement in Ireland’s compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive.

With pressure on housing showing no signs of easing, Uisce Éireann continues to deliver key water infrastructure to enable housing development and this remains a priority. Uisce Éireann’s water and wastewater capacity registers are now published on www.water.ie and have become a key tool to inform developers and planners which areas of the country have capacity for growth and development.

In 2022, the utility delivered a total of 15

Despite significant improvements on drinking water supplies, boil water notices remain an unfortunate reality for some customers in order to protect public health. That said, over 67 per cent of boil water notices imposed in 2022 were rectified within 30 days and 187,000 tests were carried out to ensure water quality.

Furthermore, 11 water supplies serving more than 130,000 customers were removed from the EPA Remedial Action List of water supplies considered to be at risk, 13 older plants were rationalised, and more than 10,000 lead services were replaced. Communities with no wastewater treatment were connected to new treatment plants, existing plants were upgraded to improve the capacity and quality of treatment and more than 100km of sewers were rehabilitated or replaced.

“Customers expect and deserve the highest standard of service from us,” Gleeson says. “We are aware of the many challenges ahead, but we are developing the plans to deal with them and are making important progress to ensure that is the case now and into the future. Uisce Éireann is becoming the modern water utility Ireland depends on and we will continue to be critical to securing Ireland’s environmental and economic success,” he concludes.

W: www.water.ie

Uisce Éireann capital investment in 2022 totalled €1,061 million and the critical infrastructure provider will increase this investment further to €1.2 billion in 2023.

First mover disadvantage: creating equity and clarity for new water connections

pays more than others for the same asset that they are sharing, effectively meaning the first mover developer bears the cost of an asset that others can then benefit from.

During the public consultation that set out proposed approaches for addressing first mover disadvantage, the CRU received a high response rate from stakeholders, which were both informative and constructive in developing the CRU finals policy decision.

Having considered all responses, the CRU decided to proceed with an approach called the Shared Quotable Rebate (SQR).

The key features of this approach were:

• it would be funded by subsequent developers connecting to the first mover developer’s asset;

• funding would be provided only if any subsequent developers connect to the first mover developer’s asset;

• a time limit would be applied between the first mover developer’s connection (and the subsequent connection(s); and

• funding would be provided to the first mover developer after any subsequent developer(s) connect.

The SQR approach meets the objectives of the Government Housing for All plan and addresses first mover disadvantage by redistributing the cost of the connection to ensure that everyone pays for a portion of the asset that they are using.

This scenario was where a developer, either domestic or non-domestic, is required to pay Uisce Éireann for a connection extension to the water network for their development project and, subsequently, other developers make use of this connection extension

to separate development projects without contributing to the cost that the original developer incurred.

This meant the connection extension charge was not proportionally distributed between developers and one developer

As it currently stands, the first mover developer bears the cost of an asset that others can then benefit from. The approach will also encourage more developers to share the funding of water and wastewater network infrastructure in areas where it does not already exist,

In May 2023, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), published its decision on future water connection charging policy under the first mover disadvantage.

aligning with the Government’s aim for accelerated housing delivery over the coming years.

The SQR differs from other approaches, as a rebate will be funded by subsequent developers and will not be speculatively subsidised by Uisce Éireann. This imposed additional costs on the utility, which in turn would impact taxpayers, non-domestic customers with increased connection charges.

The SQR approach is based on actual costs when they actually arise, rather than on estimated costs for a scenario that might never arise and is broadly consistent with the connection charging treatment of first mover developers in the electricity sector.

The CRU considers that this strikes the right balance between ensuring that developers are compensated for other developers making use of the asset that it funded, ensuring that the water utility continues to operate efficiently and that taxpayers do not carry the burden of funding the rebates.

As a result of submissions received during the consultation, the CRU decided to make several improvements to this overall approach. These changes had a positive impact on the proposed approach, which may contribute to further accelerated housing delivery.

The proposals are outlined below.

• Timeframe: The timeframe for this approach is now 10 years (extended from five years).

• Self-lay: Self-lay developers, which

are those who construct their own connections are now eligible to be covered by the first mover developer policy.

• Asset upsizing: Where Uisce Éireann decides to upsize an asset that has capacity for others to connect and was funded by the first mover developer (prior to UÉ upsizing), the first mover developer will receive a rebate in the first instance.

• Engagement: Uisce Éireann will proactively engage with the developers to help them understand how their rebate was calculated and will publish examples of how the rebate can be calculated under different scenarios.

In addition, the government recently announced the introduction of a refund for Uisce Éireann’s new housing standard connection charges for 12 months.

The CRU believes this is a positive development which, in combination with

the new first mover developer policy and will have a positive impact on reducing the cost of housing construction. It is important to note that while the refund is a temporary government measure, the first mover disadvantage policy is an enduring policy that will continue to apply after the temporary refund elapses.

To accelerate access to the new policy for future developments, Uisce Éireann will support the implementation of the policy by offering developers who apply for connection on or after the 1 August 2023 to have an option to avail of first mover disadvantage. In addition, Uisce Éireann will target a manual implementation, or go live, of the scheme by November 2023, with full implementation by May 2024.

Overall, the CRU considers the new policy a fair and equitable approach that will benefit all end water users.

“The SQR differs from other approaches, as a rebate will be funded by subsequent developers and will not be speculatively subsidised by Uisce Éireann.”

Protecting Ireland’s water resources

Mary Kelly-Quinn,

Professor of Applied Freshwater

Ecology at the School of Biology and Environmental Science at University College Dublin (UCD), outlines the scale and consequences of the water quality crisis in Ireland’s freshwater sources.

Kelly-Quinn begins by outlining that water quality in Ireland is continuing to decline. “As the EPA highlights, it is going in the wrong direction. That is affecting everything from clean drinking water, through to recreation, sense of place, tourism, and economic development. We have made some improvement, but declines are outpacing improvements. Therefore, the current efforts, are not efficient to stem the decline,” she says, before emphasising: “Our water resources will not benefit from glass half full perspectives.”

Describing Ireland’s freshwater systems as living in a “multi-stressor environment,” Kelly-Quinn explains how “agriculture is the dominant source of pressure followed by hydromorphology, discharges in urban wastewater, and inputs from forestry operations”.

“Ireland’s freshwaters are receiving cocktails of multiple pollutants delivered along multiple pathways, often from several sources, requiring the targeting of the right measures in the right places,” she says.

“We are dealing with the runoff of nutrients, excess fine sediment, pesticides from agriculture and farmyards, habitat damage from drainage, organic pollution from poorly treated wastewater, and storm water overflows.

“We also have runoff from nutrients and excess sediment from forestry operations. Excess sediment has immediate and long-term ecological impacts but, in my opinion, it is the low hanging fruit, and requires priority mitigation.”

Wastewater and pollution

Nutrient concentrations, Kelly-Quinn states, are too high and the trends are going in the wrong direction. “30 per cent of river sites have high phosphorus concentrations and 78 per cent of sites have increasing concentrations. One-third of lakes have high phosphorus concentrations and 10 per cent of lakes have increasing phosphorus concentrations.”

Kelly-Quinn adds that: “Nitrate concentrations are now increasing in nearly half of our river and groundwater sites that have been monitored. On top of that, pesticides have been detected in drinking water supplies. A report produced in 2022 shows that 31 supplies failed to meet our pesticide standards in 2021.”

The UCD professor further outlines the “challenging problem” of wastewater treatment. “Twelve large urban areas did not meet the EU treatment standards in 2021.

Thirty-two towns and villages discharge raw sewage into our seas and rivers every day. This is unacceptable in the 21st century in a developed country,” Kelly-Quinn emphasises.

“Wastewater discharges are a significant pollution pressure in 208 water bodies. Thirty-eight priority areas require improvements to protect rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters.” The Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage says that work is to be completed on 11 of these by 2024, although Kelly-Quinn states that she hopes that this work “will happen a little bit faster”.

Small streams and headwaters

Kelly-Quinn has recently completed research on Ireland’s small streams and headwaters. Said water sources make up around 75 per cent of Ireland’s river network, around 75,000km of river channel. These, Kelly-Quinn explains, “are the most vulnerable part of the river network because of a high land-water contact”. Kelly-Quinn further contextualises that, because of their narrow channel width and low water volume, these freshwater sources are easily impacted by pollution. “Equally, they are extremely important in terms of biodiversity providing spawning areas for fish and almost one-third of the invertebrate life that you find in a river catchment can be unique to the headwaters and found nowhere else.”

Against this backdrop, Kelly-Quinn explains how, in her research, she has examined 199 streams over an 11year period. “113 of these stream sites have elevated nutrients, half with exceedances in two nutrients, and some with exceedances in three nutrients. Without a doubt, there are greater resources needed to be focused on headwaters.”

She further outlines the scale of consequences of these elevated nutrient levels in the biodiversity crisis, as the

number of Irish pristine water sites has declined from a number of more than 500 in the 1980s, to only 32 in 2023. Although welcoming the classification of these water sites as high-status objective catchments, KellyQuinn laments the relatively slow pace of progress made thus far.

“Only 43 per cent of these sites are achieving high status. We need to give high priority to the protection of these sites and also to expansion in the number of these sites. They have a high level of strategic importance in terms of ecological recovery and restoration of ecological health because they contain a complement of flora and fauna that is required to repopulate areas which are recovering from pollution.”

Need for action

Concluding, Kelly-Quinn poses a difficult rhetorical question which she hopes decision-makers will ponder: “Are we doing enough, fast enough, and at a broad enough scale to achieve the outcomes we require?”

She further states her hope for a “higher level of ambition” in the revised River Basin Management Plan, adding that “deteriorating water quality needs to be taken more seriously at policy level”.

Kelly-Quinn states that decisions need to be taken with an understanding that there are “three interlinked crises: water quality, climate, and biodiversity loss”. “The solutions to these crises,” she concludes, “will be bespoke, and they should be co-developed with landowners and other stakeholders. Communication of the problems needs to reach a wider audience.

“There are lots of good projects and work being done across the country, but not at a scale that is good enough or fast enough, so we need an effective recovery plan with coordinated actions and resources to bend the curve of declining water quality and biodiversity loss.”

“Ireland’s freshwaters are receiving cocktails of multiple pollutants.”

Mary Kelly-Quinn, University College Dublin

Balancing the net zero equation in water utilities

In recent years, the urgent need to address climate change and protect our planet’s natural resources has become increasingly apparent. Our water environment faces multiple challenges including deterioration from pollution, intensifying flood events, prolonged periods of drought, in addition to the pressures of a growing population placing increased demands on ageing infrastructure.

As their operational impacts extend from ‘source-to-sea’ effectively, water utilities play a crucial role in addressing these interconnected challenges given their capacity to influence emissions reductions across the managed water cycle. Achieving net zero across the water cycle will require the challenge to be viewed through a holistic, catchment-wide lens to adopt a “systems-thinking” approach to solution development.

To achieve net zero (most UK and Ireland utilities have set targets between 2030 to 2040), reducing emissions alone will not be enough and utilities must adopt a two-pronged approach: reducing carbon emissions (sources) and embracing naturebased solutions (sinks). A balance must be achieved between these strategies, which offers broader

benefits for the environment and delivers the systemic change needed across the water industry.

Reducing carbon emissions in water services

Water utilities are significant contributors to carbon emissions due to the energy-intensive nature of water and wastewater treatment with a particular operational ‘hotspot’ associated with emissions related to electricity use (water services consumed 19 per cent of public sector electricity consumption in 2020)1

Utilities proactively reduce their energy-related emissions, by improving energy efficiency, optimising operational processes, and using renewable energy sources. A further source of operational emissions which

represent a priority for water utilities are the greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide, which are produced as a result of the treatment of wastewater and sludge. While these are more challenging to quantify, efforts are underway across the industry to baseline emissions from all key sources (including process and energy sources), thereby determining the utilities carbon footprint, a position from which effective reduction trajectories can be planned.

Beyond their operational emissions, utilities are beginning to focus on the whole-life-cycle carbon of all infrastructure projects and programmes of work, considering the embodied carbon of assets in addition to the operational emissions. Effective reductions will require emissions from all sources across the entire life cycles

of projects to be considered, including the embodied carbon (which is mainly emitted during the production/construction of buildings/infrastructure). Quantifying embodied carbon during the early work stages of projects, and applying a carbon reduction hierarchical approach2, helps water utility decision-makers to prioritise solutions which can avoid carbon emissions in the first place, switch to low carbon alternatives where feasible or, adopt solutions that improve the use of resources by embracing circular economy principles. By abandoning the unsustainable linear model, water utilities can potentially reduce whole-life-cycle carbon, e.g., by reusing treated water or recovering energy (operational phase) and, in the construction phase, by reducing the consumption of raw materials or by reusing excavated material as fill.

Nature-based solutions delivered by water utilities

Reducing the release of emissions, however, represents only one side of the net zero equation. Residual emissions, those that cannot be avoided, will remain. Nature-based solutions offer a complementary approach to emissions reduction, by leveraging the sequestering power of nature. By adopting the right measures in the right place, utilities can implement naturebased solutions, providing assets with less embodied carbon (by avoiding/reducing use of concrete and steel), less operational emissions (natural systems require less energy and emit less greenhouse gases), and with the potential to sequester carbon using natural vegetation to perform treatment functions.

Green (nature-based) infrastructure incorporates natural elements into the urban water cycle, which can help to manage stormwater runoff. By implementing solutions such as bioswales and permeable pavements, stormwater flows can be retained, alleviating the inundation of existing

conveyance systems, and potentially reducing the need to provide additional infrastructure and the associated carbon.

Nature-based alternatives to traditional treatment infrastructure e.g., integrated constructed wetlands and sludge-drying reedbeds, still require “construction”, but provide co-benefits using natural materials and the enhancement of biodiversity through the creation of artificial habitats which sequester carbon. While the provision of green alternatives to traditional solutions is a step in the right direction, nature-based solutions must be delivered rapidly and at scale to address multiple challenges effectively.

Co-benefits of catchment level naturebased solutions

Starting at source, healthy catchments will play a critical role in creating future resilience, adding socio-economic value, connecting the landscape, and supporting sustainable development. At Jacobs we recognise the central role collaborative stakeholder engagements play in the delivery of game-changing solutions for emissions reductions, water catchment approaches and naturebased solutions at scale. In association with a large collaboration of partner organisations, funding has recently been secured to support a national five-year programme of work aimed at mainstreaming water catchment and nature-based solutions in the UK3

Down at catchment level, while degraded wetland habitats are documented to emit greenhouse gases4, carbon can be sequestered through wetland restoration initiatives which also provide natural storage reservoirs for storm water, whilst preserving biodiversity and increasing adaptive resilience. Holistically, protection and restoration of these habitats can provide co-benefits to water utilities by improving source water quality, resulting in less chemicals and energy use for subsequent treatment, regulating flows

within catchments, alleviating pressure on already-constrained downstream infrastructure, and potentially avoiding future asset generation and energy demand.

Working together to balance the net zero equation

For water utilities striving to achieve net zero, the finite amount of land owned by the utility to deliver appropriate sinks represents a key challenge –notwithstanding the challenges faced to achieve nature balanced outcomes in urban areas. Demands to offset emissions will require ‘outside-the-fence’ collaborations to deliver decarbonised, nature positive solutions, and the establishment of new and innovative partnerships are central to success. Engagement with local ecosystem stakeholders, including landowners, regulators, policy makers and local communities, will be essential to understanding the competing land-use need and the common environmental objectives required to deliver sustainable solutions.

Appreciating the integrated nature of the need to decarbonise and tackle nature loss, a new level of ambition and opportunity for the water sector is emerging. Water utilities are in a unique position to demonstrate leadership to both encourage and enable collaborations across ecosystems and the supply chain, to scale effective solutions to balance the net zero equation.

T: 01 202 7718

E: jillian.bolton@jacobs.com

W: www.jacobs.com

Climate Action Plan 2023 and water

Climate Action Plan 2023 (CAP23) commits

CAP23 makes note of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) prediction that changes in the climate will lead to “further pressure on our water resources and food production systems with associated impacts on river and coastal ecosystems” and “poorer water quality”.

Furthermore, the Climate Status Report for Ireland 2020 found that Ireland’s sea levels have risen by approximately two to three millimetres per year since the early 1990s. It also projects significant reductions in average annual levels of spring and summer rainfall, and substantial increases in the frequency of heavy precipitation events in winter and autumn. Effects of these changes will include increased “likelihood of river and coastal flooding” and “increased pressure on water supply and water quality”.

While CAP23 does not have a dedicated water section, the actions that will be taken that affect the sector are included across multiple associated sections such as agriculture, landuse, and adaptation.

Agriculture

CAP23 states, “altered practices across land uses, under the correct conditions, can yield significant co-benefit for

ecosystem services including water quality, drought management, flood attenuation, and biodiversity”.

CAP23 cites Food Vision 2030 – the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s strategy that aims at Ireland becoming a world leader in sustainable food systems – as playing a part in the improvement of water quality in Ireland, with its aim of achieving a climate-neutral food system by 2050 requiring improvements in areas such as emissions, biodiversity, water quality, forestry, fisheries, organic farming, and food waste. Key to agriculture, as it relates to water quality, is reduction of nitrates in waters with estuaries, coastal water, and groundwater drinking supplies, with the south and the east of the country said to be particularly at risk. Teagasc states that 85 per cent of nitrates in rural water catchments originate in agriculture and that estuarine waters are in the poorest condition of the affected waters.

CAP23 notes that Ireland’s current level of organic farming –under 3 per cent, just 110,000 hectares of an agricultural landbank of 4.9 million hectares – is low compared to the rest of Europe, which has an average of 9.1 per cent. Accordingly, the plan notes the aim of the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy to reach at least 25 per cent organic farming by 2030, which would require

to Ireland’s communities being “healthy and secure”, enjoying cleaner water. eolas Magazine analyses the document to illustrate just how the Government plans to achieve this.

an increase of almost five times on Ireland’s part to reach 450,000 hectares.

While organic farming does not totally eliminate nitrate run-off, multiple studies have found it to significantly decrease the level of run-off. One such study, published in Food Science and Nutrition in 2013, found nitrate levels in organic production of baby leaf salads to vary between 1.45 and 6.40mg per kg of fresh weight, while conventional production ranged from 10.5 to 45.19mg/kg of fresh weight.

The establishment of the fifth Nitrates Action Programme will seek to address levels of nitrates used in Irish agriculture, with a review of maximum nitrogen limits as set out within the Nitrates Regulations to be performed by Q2 2024.

Land use

The Nitrates Regulations will also dictate some of the land use sector’s effects on Irish waters, with mandatory requirements to enhance carbon sequestration to be imposed. Also key will be the attempts to reduce the management intensity of at least 80,000 hectares of drained, agricultural, managed carbon-rich soils by 2030, which is expected to improve water quality, increase biodiversity, and enhance resilience to changing weather. Further measures within the land use section of the plan will also work to improve water quality should they come to pass. Although CAP23 does not make mention of this when discussing plans to increase afforestation by incentivising its increase to 8,000 hectares per annum, increased afforestation of previously bare or heavily eroded areas is known to control soil erosion. The control of the erosion extends the lives of nearby reservoirs and improves water quality through the infiltration of

precipitation in forest soils before flowing to the reservoir. Peatland rehabilitation will also play a role in the water system, with stated benefits including improved water quality and flood attenuation. The plan includes within it the goal to rehabilitate 77,600 hectares of peatland by 2030.

Adaptation

With climate change forecast to have significant impacts upon water quality and supply, the adaptation section of CAP23 contains within the most water-specific measures. Sectoral adaptation plans have been formulated and broken down into themes to be led by government departments. The Water Resource and Flood Risk Management Adaptation Plan is broken down into three sector level themes: flood risk management, to be led by the Office of Public Works; and water quality and water services infrastructure, both of which will be led by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Four actions included within the plan under the adaptation section make specific mention of working on water issues. First, options will be developed for the delivery of a national implementation strategy for nature-based solutions and interim guidance for the management of rainwater and surface water runoff in urban areas. Second, climate change groundwater flood maps will be produced and predicted climate change impacts to groundwater flooding at four pilot sites will be assessed. Third will be the improvement of the resilience of Ireland’s infrastructure. Lastly, the Government plans to increase awareness of water conservation and the “importance of protecting Ireland’s water resources” among students through the Green Schools Partnership programme.

Credit: Bern Thaller

The National Water Forum calls for the development of a national strategy for domestic water conservation

The Water Forum was established in 20181 to provide a platform for stakeholder engagement on all matters relating to the management of Ireland’s water resources.

The Forum provides an opportunity for stakeholders to debate and analyse a range of issues with regard to water quality, rural water policy, issues of concern to customers of Uisce Éireann, the implementation of the Water Framework Directive and the River Basin Management Plan. We consult with key agencies and commission research to leverage expertise, insight, and knowledge to make sure any policy positions developed are based on the most up-to-date science and information. In accordance with the Water Services Act 2017, the Forum has an advisory function in relation to water quality, water conservation and future proofing.

Why is a national strategy for water conservation necessary?

Ireland has abundant rainfall, over 12,000 lakes and 84,000km of river channel, yet water supply is under pressure in certain places and at different times of the year. We have experienced widespread water supply restrictions following extended dry periods over recent years, with national hosepipe bans in 2018 and 2020. Climate change will result in longer dry and drought periods in the summer months, particularly impacting the south and east of the country. The population is set to rise by up to 40 per cent by 2050 and this will put further pressure on water resources. Uisce Éireann state that 58 per cent of water supply zones have a supply risk at current demand, which increases to 66 per cent during drought conditions. Demand management, or reducing wastage of water, is essential to support a resilient and sustainable water supply.

Ireland’s water supply infrastructure is poor, with a leakage rate of treated water currently at 38 per cent. Significant and ongoing investment is needed to make water

supply sustainable across all water resource zones. The three pillars of Uisce Éireann’s National Water Resources Plan is to use less, lose less, and supply smarter. While work on the national strategy to reduce leakage from 38 per cent to 21 per cent by 2040 is ongoing, the use less objective remains reliant on water stewardship initiatives and water conservation awareness programmes such as the Green Schools programme.

Developing a national strategy for water conservation

To support the formulation of policy advice on water conservation, the Forum commissioned research on domestic water conservation in Ireland, which was carried out by Sarah Cotterill of University College Dublin and Peter Melville-Streeve of the University of Exeter.

1. An Fóram Uisce - the Water Forum was established in April 2017 initially on administrative basis, to provide a platform for public engagement in the drafting and implementation of the RBMP for Ireland 2018-2021 and on all matters relating to water as an environmental, social and economic resource. Subsequently the Water Services Act 2017 provided for the establishment of An Fóram Uisce - the Water Forum on a statutory basis.

Ministers Malcolm Noonan TD and Darragh O’Brien TD meeting with Dónal Purcell, Triona McGrath, Matt Crowe, and Keith Hyland from the Water Forum and Sarah Cotterill, UCD.

The research indicated that increasing efforts to conserve water provides multiple benefits:

• Reducing water demand will reduce the volume of water taken from the local waterbodies thereby protecting nature and water habitats from over abstractions.

• Less demand means less energy is consumed in abstracting and treating water which reduces costs and greenhouse gas emissions, therefore acting as a climate mitigation measure.

• 19 per cent of the energy used in the home is to heat water, transitioning to using more water efficient technologies and alternative water sources, such as rainwater harvesting, will decrease carbon emissions and energy costs in the household.

A policy brief informed by the research presented 10 recommendations to support the development of a National Framework for Domestic Water Conservation in Ireland, which has been approved by members of the Water Forum.

Water Forum policy position on water conservation

To further inform its policy advice, the Forum commissioned two research projects on the potential impacts of climate change on water quality and on water quantity in Ireland. This research provides the Forum with the most up-todate projections of the potential impacts of climate change on water resources. This knowledge has been used to support the development of the Forum’s Policy Position Paper on Water

Forum member organisations

Conservation which identifies policy interventions to improve water conservation.

Presentation of the policy position to the Minister

In July 2023, a representation of Forum Members and Executive along with Sarah Cotterill, presented the Forum’s Position Paper and Policy

Recommendations to Minister Darragh O’Brien TD, Minister of State Malcolm Noonan TD, and to members of the Water Policy Unit at the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage. The Government’s Housing for All policy, which aims to build over 300,000 new homes in the next decade, provides an excellent opportunity to advance domestic water conservation. A strategy to make these new homes water efficient could reduce domestic water demand by 25 per cent per person per day, reducing pressure on water supplies.

The Forum has also made recommendations to the Climate Action Regional Offices (CARO) to include water conservation as an action for climate change mitigation and adaptation, which should be included in local authority climate action plans. The Forum has shared its policy position on water conservation and made recommendations to the Climate Change Advisory Council for consideration in the 2024 Climate Action Plan.

Policy brief: scan the QR code

Water Forum Policy

Position: scan the QR code

E: gretta@nationalwaterforum.ie

W: www.thewaterforum.ie

S: @anforamuisce

Water Forum delegation at Leinster House. Keith Hyland, Dónal Purcell, Sarah Cotterill, UCD, Matt Crowe (Chair) and Triona McGrath

Outlook on future EU water policy

This “pivotal period” for water policy has seen a myriad legislation either directly relating to water and its management and protection or similar legislation that affects water management introduced at EU level. Among those to have been already passed are the Water Reuse Regulation, the Drinking Water Directive, the NIS2 Directive, and the Critical Entities Resilience Directive. At the same time, there are prospective agreements that are still under negotiation, yet to be adopted in their final form, like the revision of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, the Groundwater Directive, and the Industrial Emissions Directive. On top of this, other pieces of legislation are awaiting instigation including the Nitrates Directive, the Sewage Sludge Directive, and the Bathing Water Directive.

Chief among the directives currently being debated in the European Parliament and in the Council is the revision of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, first enacted in 1991. “In its evaluation of the existing text, the

Commission recognised that it has been very effective in its goals, which has been partly due to how simple it has been in its requirements,” Mouret says.

“Now the revision seeks not just to increase the ambition in terms of levels of treatment and environmental protection but also to include protection of human health, improving the energy balance of the wastewater sector, ensuring access to sanitation, improving the transparency of the sector, and also ensuring surveillance of wastewater treatment from a public health perspective following the experience of the sector during the Covid pandemic.”

On non-domestic wastewater, the new proposal would require an authorisation for all non-domestic discharges to sewers. This currently only applies to industrial discharges, but this would, for example, apply to businesses that do not fall under the Industrial Emissions Directive and would require the

Sébastien Mouret, Policy Officer at EurEau, speaks to eolas Magazine about the outlook of EU water policy and legislative priorities over a pivotal period for the sector.

permitting authority to consult the wastewater operators before delivering that authorisation, making it “something we very much support”, Mouret adds.

Energy neutrality

One of the major innovations of the revised directive is the requirement for energy neutrality within the sector, Mouret continues. “Broadly speaking, the idea is that the energy produced by wastewater treatment plants should cover the energy needs of wastewater treatment plants by 2040. That is going to be calculated at the national level for wastewater treatment plants treating over 10,000 population equivalent, but the idea is to have neutrality by 2040, with intermediate deadlines of 50 per cent coverage by 2030 and 75 per cent by 2035,” he explains.

“This is going to be a challenging goal for the sector with a very tight timeframe because the directive is not going to be adopted at the very least until 2024, with a transposition period likely to be two years, so that brings us within four years of the first deadline in 2030. This is going to be especially challenging because it comes at the same time as a major increase in treatment requirements, which is likely to increase the energy demand.”

Stringent requirements will also be introduced for tertiary treatments, with more plants being obliged to remove nutrients and tighter parametric values for total phosphorous and total nitrogen. A new requirement for quaternary treatment to remove micropollutants from water will be a first for the EU, with the aim to remove 80 per cent of a list of six substances out of a list of 12 named in the directive. “This requires a complete overhaul of wastewater treatment, adding a wastewater treatment stage that will be very capital expenditure-intensive, but also energy- and operational expenditure-intensive once it is online,” Mouret says. The Commission has introduced a producer responsibility scheme to cover the costs, targeting pharmaceuticals and cosmetics manufacturers, who are said to be responsible for 92 per cent of micropollutants in urban wastewater.

“What are we calling for is the mainstreaming of control-at-source for all pollutants. For quaternary treatment, extended producer responsibility is a

major step forward in this because it incentivises pharmaceutical and cosmetic producers to switch to less hazardous alternatives, but it needs to be fully implemented before the treatment requirements kick in, otherwise the funding will not be properly secured,” Mouret adds.

“We think that the deadlines for implementation should be extended; 2030 is very close when we bear in mind the time it takes to enact European legislation into national legislation. Finally, we need a holistic approach to energy neutrality because the wastewater sector can mobilise a wide variety of energy sources but not all of them are within the bounds of the wastewater treatment plant and so we need to ensure that the legislation takes into account renewable energy used by the wastewater treatment plants wherever it comes from. We hope to see this text adopted by spring of 2024, before the next European elections.”

The future of Europe

With European elections due to take place in June 2024, Mouret and EurEau are aware that the make-up of the European Commission is likely to change. “It is impossible to predict future elections obviously, but from the current trends it is likely that the next European Parliament is going to lean further to the right, which means that they will likely be less agreeable for environmental measures as opposed to industrial competitiveness concerns,” he says. Despite this, he mentions the, “slightly more remote possibility”, of a new commission adding to the European Green Deal with a Blue Deal – which the European Economic and Social Committee has been working on and expects to present in October 2023 – that would “integrate water across the EU’s policy priorities much like the Green Deal did with climate and environment”.

Mouret concludes: “Whatever the next Commission chooses to focus the next legislative output on, our priorities will remain securing investment through appropriate pricing which allows us to ensure access to water for everyone, protecting water resources from everyone, and protecting the sustainable use of resources through the circular economy.”

The future of smart water: optimising data

Clean water is essential for the country’s economy, aquatic wildlife, and our health and well-being, but is under threat from a range of human activities and wider socioeconomic factors.

Agriculture, changes to water bodies, and discharges from wastewater treatment plants are among the activities putting pressure on the water system, which has led to the development of new water governance arrangements to manage water quality.

Crucial to the provision of clean, healthy water is the monitoring of water quality and to do this, utilities need quality data that provides information on the condition of water and allows the utility

to assess its approach. The answer is digital, and water utilities around the world are experiencing the benefits of a holistic, joined-up approach that enables them to optimise the data they obtain and how they use it.

Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua is a single, integrated software and analytics platform – built by utilities, for utilities –that eliminates data silos to improve operational visibility and control of the entire water and wastewater system.

The challenge of data silos

Many water utilities assess data from multiple sources with different

Maintaining a water system fit to serve a modern, evolving society is a challenge for any water utility, writes Kevin Devine, Sales Director, Xylem Water Solutions Ireland.

parameters, such as temperature and chemical composition, addressing various functionalities to maintain their water system. There can be various data collection units for these sources, such as IoT sensors, SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition), and other distributed databases. The data received from each of these is unique and in different formats.

All the data collected is essential in providing a complete view of the water system, however, these data sets are without any cohesion, which can prevent effective monitoring of the water system. This also leads to a data silo that prevents universal access, leading to gaps in information and communication. Such incomplete and inaccessible data sets lead to poor decision-making and operational inefficiencies within the utilities.

Such information-sharing challenges need to be eliminated to improve the competence of utilities. Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua enables better interpretation of data by unifying it into a single, interoperable, and simple-to-use software and analytics platform.

The need for real-time data

With the abundance of data produced by the sensors that are monitoring our waterways, water utilities can improve their ability to identify leaks and rising main failures, which historically happen after they have caused significant damage, leakage, and financial loss. Access to real-time data would mitigate these across the entire system, enabling immediate, proactive action.

Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua provides real-time decision support at network, plant, and asset levels that can be customised to the needs of both water utility operators and enterprise managers. This not only enables water utilities to set up specific alerts and prioritise certain areas within their systems but also predict and prepare for contingencies (such as floods) that may arise based on the readings.

Additionally, the use of real-time data enables water utilities to identify and mitigate non-revenue water losses by quickly identifying leaks and implementing timely repairs.

Considering a holistic and integrated approach

Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua uses Smart Water Engine at the heart of its operations. This provides users across the system with a single holistic environment that can read and integrate

data from over 120 external data sources, from which they can not only manage operational data, assets, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices but also create customised views within the platform to meet their unique system needs. The implementation of such a 360-degree performance monitoring system is instrumental in prolonging the operational lifespan of utilities’ essential assets, resulting in sustained costeffectiveness over time.

It also serves to fulfil sustainability goals. Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua helps water utilities to accurately identify and calculate emissions and energy consumption over the entire network, allowing organisations to act towards reducing emissions and consumption wherever possible, and replacing components that have more sustainable counterparts. Energy usage over water and wastewater networks can be reduced greatly with accurate, real-time data, which would also help utilities garner public support.

Utilising holistic data for enhanced decisionmaking

Water utilities can benefit greatly from unified and real-time data to enhance and guide their decision-making processes. By leveraging comprehensive and up-to-date information, informed choices that optimise operations and resources can be made. For example, in the event of a

water shortage, water utilities can analyse real-time data on consumption patterns and water availability to implement targeted conservation measures and allocate resources accordingly.

Furthermore, by monitoring and analysing data on water quality in real time, water utilities have increased awareness and control over their entire system and their water cycles. This allows them to promptly detect and address any issues, ensuring compliance with regulations and safeguarding public health.

Xylem Vue, powered by GoAigua, provides water utilities with a complete view of their system, empowering them to make proactive, evidence-based decisions, leading to more efficient operations, improved service delivery, and enhanced sustainability.

E: kevin.devine@xylem.com

W: www.xylem.com/enie/brands/xylem-vue/

“Xylem Vue powered by GoAigua helps water utilities to accurately identify and calculate emissions and energy consumption over the entire network, allowing organisations to act towards reducing emissions and consumption wherever possible, and replacing components that have more sustainable counterparts.”

Water quality in Ireland

Pollution in rivers

Phosphate concentrations too high in 28% of rivers

Nitrate concentrations are too high in 40% of river sites nationally and in 20% of estuarine and coastal water bodies

Source: EPA, 2023

River biological quality

56% (1,317) of the river water bodies assessed over the period 2019-2022 in high or good biological quality

44% (1,045) in moderate, poor, or bad quality

2 river bodies in bad condition

671 (out of 2,362) river water bodies assessed in 2022

• 84 improved

• 77 declined

Source: EPA, 2023

Priority areas for action (PAAs)

190 Prioritised Areas for Action (PAAs) identified in the second River Basin Management Plan

671 river water bodies assessed in 2022

174 were in PAAs

Small net improvement of biological quality of six river water bodies in the PAAs (27 improved, 21 declined and 126 water bodies did not change)

Source: EPA, 2023

Phosphorus

Over one third (36%) of lakes had unsatisfactory total phosphorus concentrations in the period 20202022

28% of sites have unsatisfactory phosphate concentrations

72% are at levels which support high (58%) or good (14%) water quality

Source: EPA, 2023

Lake biological quality

224 monitored lakes for the period 2020-2022

Over half (55%) of monitored lakes are in high or good biological quality 45% in moderate or worse quality

Source: EPA, 2023

Irish bathing water quality in 2021

97.3% of all reported bathing waters

(1,537) are in line with the minimum quality standards of the Bathing Water Directive, thus classified “sufficient” or better.

Excellent 115 (77.7%)

Good 19 (12.8%)

Sufficient 10 (6.8%)

Poor 2 (1.4%)

Not classified 2 (1.4%)

Drinking Water Quality in Public Water Supplies 2022

99.96% of samples comply with microbiological parameter limits. 99.62% of samples comply with chemical parameter limits.

58 supplies were on the EPA’s Remedial Action List (RAL) at the end of 2022, compared to 52 at the end of 2021.

79 boil water notices and 10 water restrictions were in place in 2022 affecting almost 191,000 people.

25 of those boil water notices were in place for more than 30 days, meaning they are classed as longterm notices requiring investment in infrastructure to address.

E. coli bacteria was detected in three supplies, compared to four supplies in 2021

Trihalomethanes (THM) limits were exceeded in 45 supplies, compared to 58 in 2021.

Pesticides limits were exceeded in 17 supplies, compared to 31 in 2021.

Source: EPA, 2023

Source: EPA, 2023

25 years of transformation in the group water scheme sector

Although the landscape of the group water scheme (GWS) sector has been greatly transformed in the intervening period, the core co-operative principles of the Federation have underpinned every aspect of development.

The NFGWS traces its origins back to a government decision in late 1996, which saw the abolition of service charges in respect of domestic water supplies on public water schemes around the country. The private GWS sector, which served circa 150,000 homes and rural businesses at the time, was not included in this announcement. The Federation spawned from a series of group water scheme meetings throughout 1997, with ‘fairness and equity’ the main raison d'être for the newly formed representative organisation.

Its formation also came at a time where the GWS sector was at crisis point. Group water schemes lacked adequate treatment and effective governance and operational

organisation, as well as the financial capacity to address these issues.

Hence, the focus of the NFGWS expanded quite quickly, accelerated by the Department of Environment’s introduction of the Rural Water Programme (RWP) in 1998. The aim of the RWP was to protect the health of GWS members by providing a targeted funding stream that would help ensure compliance with the EU Drinking Water Directive.

The Department began working with the NFGWS and local authorities through a ‘partnership approach’ that would bring about significant improvements for the sector.

Co-operative ethos

As community-owned and communityoperated entities, the GWS sector was already steeped in the co-operative ethos. The NFGWS worked in close liaison with

This year marks an important anniversary for the National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS). In 1998, some 25 years ago, the newly formed organisation was officially incorporated as a co-operative society.

NFGWS board representatives, staff, steering group members, and personnel from participating group water schemes, photographed in March 2023 at the launch of its final report on the NFGWS Source Protection Pilot Project - Phase II. The award-winning project is a perfect example of the wide-reaching role of the GWS sector in rural Ireland.

the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society (ICOS) to better formalise this ethos from an organisational standpoint, both in terms of the governance arrangements for the co-operatives themselves and in respect of the rights and responsibilities of GWS members. This ethos includes operational transparency, democratic responsibility, and deliberative operations.

A core task of the NFGWS has been to work with individual GWSs to provide information and assistance to their membership when making key decisions about their future. Among the important decisions made in the early 2000s, was the move to introduce more professional management of GWS operations.

Some GWSs made the difficult choice to consolidate supplies by amalgamating or rationalising with neighbouring GWSs to create more sustainable and economically viable entities. The appointment of external, expert contractors to design, build and operate (DBO) treatment plants for 133 GWSs around the country gave these GWSs and their members reliable access to potable water.

Improvements

Increasing numbers of paid staff, such as caretakers, administrators, and managers, eased the operational burden on what had previously been an almost entirely voluntary-run sector. It has helped to ensure improved drinking water standards and freed up GWS volunteer boards of management to better focus on governance and long-term planning.

The NFGWS has worked closely with affiliated members through every step of this process, providing mentoring, training, and administrative support. The ‘partnership approach’ has seen over €1 billion invested by the State on capital infrastructure investments across the GWS sector.

In tandem with this infrastructural drive, the NFGWS has demonstrated a strong commitment to capacity building through training, mentoring and the dissemination of educational/information materials. This has included the creation of a quality assurance system for group water schemes, complete with regular training on its implementation. By dividing each step of the drinking water provision process into five critical control points, the system allows for continual monitoring and assessment of service delivery.

The combination of infrastructural investment, and training and governance improvements has seen GWS compliance

with crucial E. coli bacteria standards rise from less than 60 per cent in the early 2000s to 96 per cent in the most recent Environmental Protection Agency report for 2021.

Sustainable future

Of course, there is still plenty more to be done. A key priority is the achievement of full compliance with water quality standards by all group water schemes. The NFGWS continues to work closely with individual GWSs, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and relevant local authorities to deliver on further infrastructural improvements under the Multi-annual Rural Water Programme.

A number of amalgamation and rationalisation projects are still ongoing, in an effort to ensure sustainability for smaller supplies. The sector has also been a leader in the realm of drinking water source protection, through the auspices of various NFGWS national source protection projects. By focusing on drinking water source catchments as the primary barrier for pollution prevention, it eases pressure on treatment systems and can bring about significant co-benefits for the wider environment, biodiversity, and climate action.

Learnings from these source protection initiatives and the aforementioned NFGWS quality assurance system provide a strong grounding for GWSs as they prepare for the water safety planning approach dictated by new drinking water regulations, signed into legislation earlier this year.

These new regulations place extra onus on risk-based management and public

engagement. Through its co-operative approach, the sector will always hold itself to account and make every effort to provide the best service possible for its membership. With Ireland facing new challenges in the form of the biodiversity and climate crises, the NFGWS and the GWS sector as a whole is committed to doing everything it can to ensure a prosperous and welcoming rural Ireland for generations to come.

T: 087 612 4089

E: mark@nfgws.ie

W: www.nfgws.ie

S: @nfgws

NFGWS staff, board members, and a number of others who have worked with the GWS sector at a recent meeting.

Marine litter: An under-reported problem

Warning that “marine litter has no easy fix”, the From source to sea — The untold story of marine litter report, published in January 2023 explains: “The majority of beach and marine areas [in the EU] show worrying signs of pollution. Plastic waste generation is not yet decoupling from gross domestic product (GDP) in the EU and total EU waste generation is still growing.”

Growth and pollution reduction

Contrary to the increasing orthodoxy in the EU of degrowth as a solution to tackle pollution and climate crises, this report says that “economic growth does not have to result in more plastic waste in European seas”.

The report acknowledges that an “absolute decoupling” of waste from economic growth has not been achieved. However, it asserts that “there

are positive signs that waste generation seems to be increasing at a slower pace than gross domestic product (GDP)”. It outlines the main problem as being that demand for plastic is still growing, which translates into increased plastic waste generation per person, particularly packaging, which is subsequently easily converted into waste.

Although the report says that efforts to improve collection and waste management have made some headway in reducing mismanaged plastic packaging and small non-packaging plastic items (PPSI) waste as a share of total waste, it warns that “only a few countries have succeeded in lowering absolute amounts of PPSI waste”.

There is positivity in that total waste generation in the 27 EU member states has increased at a much lower rate than economic growth in recent years, with the growth of marine litter at a relatively

A European Environment Agency (EEA) report traces the problem of marine litter from source to sea to help policymakers and citizens understand what can be done about it.

low 4.4 per cent in the past decade compared to a GDP growth rate of 17 per cent between 2010 and 2018.

It is asserted that this level of modest progress indicates a relative decoupling of waste generation from economic growth was not observed for plastic waste generation. However, it is also stated that European plastic waste generation is growing at a faster pace than the GDP. The EU’s coastal areas and riverine basins remain under serious pressure from plastic waste loads.

Furthermore, mismanaged municipal plastic waste continues to plague urban areas, and the EEA states that coastal communities are not helping themselves by failing to tackle their own waste leakages into the environment.

“The total amounts of municipal plastic waste generated by the EU’s coastal regions increased between 2012 and 2018, based on country and regional estimates. The Mediterranean and Black Seas are the worst affected. Only in the northeast Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea regions have total amounts of coast-generated plastic waste declined.”

Improved use of data

Comprehensive data on rivers and the tributaries that feed them are crucial for understanding the relationship between the sources and pathways of litter flows. Yet the methods currently used to monitor and analyse freshwater environments and their complex relationships are underdeveloped compared with those used in the marine domain.

To fill the knowledge gaps, the report outlines that targeted and coordinated efforts are needed across Europe to set up observation stations, harmonise methods for collecting data, and develop protocols for reporting and analysing the extent and changing state of riverine litter.

“Better data informs funding and action proportionate to waste management capabilities and needs, and to litter prevention activities on the ground. They also support coordinated measures targeting system- and river-basin-wide solutions dealing with the cross-border nature of riverine systems,” the report says, further emphasising: “PanEuropean approaches developed by panEuropean policymaking are the way forward.”

Tackling at source

The EEA has clearly identified that litter needs to be tackled and prevented at source. For that, it outlines a need for more complete picture of what it describes as the “real issues”, namely the origins, pathways, amounts, and effects of marine litter.

It further states that traditional methodology such as clean-ups and physical monitoring by volunteer citizen scientists are invaluable, whilst also outlining how technology can play an increasingly important role, including via Earth observation remote sensing using satellites, planes, drones, and AI to “help make sense of the big data collected”.

Waste leakage and riverine litter estimation models, and the EEA’s novel Marine Litter Assessment Tool (MALT), are “just as important as fine-grained data collection and monitoring activities”. These tools are needed to drive political decision-making in countries and communities facing the biggest waste mismanagement problems, leading to the highest ‘litter loads’.

The report makes an overarching conclusion for EU decision-makers: “To find solutions, EU legislation is moving towards a more integrated approach based on monitoring.” However, it also states that more emphasis on building robust policy feedback loops is needed.

Seven global steps for a just water future

Published in March 2023, the Clean fresh water demand by 2030, Turning the Tide: A Call to Collective Action report firstly states that the global water cycles must be treated as a global common good, to be protected collectively and in the interests of all. It further asserts “that water is increasingly intertwined with climate change and the depletion of the planet’s natural capital” and that “water is critical to food security as well as all the SDGs”.

Second, the report calls for the adoption of a outcomes-focused, mission-driven approach to water, encompassing all the key roles it plays in human wellbeing. To do this, the Commission calls for mobilisation between multiple stakeholders: public, private, civil society, and local community; utilising innovation policy to catalyse solutions to concrete problems; and scaling up investments in water through new modalities of publicprivate partnerships.

“Proper pricing along with targeted support for the poor will enable water to be used more efficiently in every sector, more equitably in every population and more sustainably both locally and globally,” is the report’s third assertion.

There is also a call to acknowledge water’s non-economic value in decisionmaking to ensure we protect nature, on which the planet and all life depend.

Fourth is a call to phase out $700 billion of subsidies in agriculture and water each year, which “tend to generate excessive water consumption and other environmentally damaging practices”. It also states that decision-makers must drastically reduce leakages in water systems by prioritising sustained maintenance efforts and accelerate efforts to require disclosure of water footprints. Each of these steps, the report claims, will allow decision-makers to redirect resources towards incentivising water conservation and universal access.

Fifth is the establishment of Just Water Partnerships (JWPs) to enable investments in water access, resilience, and sustainability in low- and middleincome countries. JWPs, the report states, will rechannel “inefficient” domestic subsidies, leveraging on the multilateral development banks and development finance institutions, and crowding in private companies, banks and institutional investors, and philanthropic money. It further claims that economic

returns on these investments will “vastly exceed their costs”.

Sixth is maximising the opportunities with existing infrastructure such as freshwater storage systems and the natural assets such as wetlands and groundwater, subsequently developing an urban circular water economy especially by recycling industrial and urban wastewater. It also outlines that shifting agriculture to precision irrigation, less water-intensive crops, and drought-resilient farming can also raise incomes.

Finally, underpinning all said efforts is a need to reshape multilateral governance of water, which is currently “fragmented and not fit for purpose”. “Wasteful water subsidies and ensuring that trade policies do not exacerbate water scarcity in waterstressed regions,” the report states, arguing that trade policy must reflect these circumstances.

With agriculture currently having a significant polluting effect on Irish freshwater sources, this study’s recommendation of a call for cuts to the agricultural sector will be a hard sell, with the sector retaining key influence over government policy.

A sustainable and just water future requires transforming the economics and restructuring the governance of water, according to a report by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water.

Identifying and mitigating risk for water and wastewater workers

OBW recognises the safety challenges faced daily by workers the water and wastewater industry and recommended Blackline Safety’s G7c wearable cloud-connected multi-gas monitors with integrated cellular connectivity and location technology, including indoor location compatibility.

While NI Water had a variety of portable gas monitors in their fleet to detect the presence of hazardous gases, their existing devices did not supply real-time gas readings, had no connectivity, and no built-in two-communication capabilities.

NI Water also had difficulty maintaining a reliable phone signal across the organisation due to work locations around water tanks, reinforced steel, or underground. G7’s reliable cellular connectivity and its indoor location-compatible feature helped circumvent this issue. NI Water purchased over 700 G7c devices.

The green connectivity light on G7 let NI Water team members know they were connected to the Blackline Safety network, even deep underground. They could rest assured they could always be found quickly by team members through Blackline Live.

The real-time gas readings enabled by direct-tocloud data streaming while G7s were in use were a key feature for NI Water. With their earlier solution, NI Water had to wait until their devices were being calibrated to get a data dump.

With G7, HSE personnel have an insight into each user’s gas readings, helping them to identify and mitigate gas risks a lot more effectively.

T: 061 201 887

E: Info@obw.ie

W: www.obwtechnologies.com

In recent years, the urgent need to address climate change and protect our planet’s natural resources has become increasingly apparent. Our water environment faces multiple challenges including deterioration from pollution, drought and flood events, population growth, and aging infrastructure.

Hydrological futures for Ireland

With an eye on the State’s climate change objective of a climate neutral economy and society by 2050 and the Paris Agreement objective of limiting temperature increases to between 1.5oC and 2oC, Murphy and his colleagues have developed three different emissions scenarios in order to create a range of possible hydrological futures for Ireland:

1. SSP1, “which represents a sustainable future where we realise the objectives of the Paris Agreement”;

2. SSP3, which “could be defined as uneven, contested progress where we are slower at making our way towards global targets”; and

3. SSP5, “the fossil fuel-dependent future, continuing as we are, which is probably unlikely at this stage”.

Using multiple climate models and two hydrological models – GR4J and SMART – the research examined changes in 37 catchments across Ireland.

Seasonal mean river flows

Starting with seasonal mean river flows, Murphy begins to talk through the results of the research. “In the sustainable future scenario, for winter we can see more modest increases than for the higher emissions scenarios, and if we look at summer, we are again looking at modest changes in mean river flows for most catchments if we manage to reduce greenhouse gases globally. Even at that, we are still looking at some catchments showing reductions of up to 20 per cent by the end of the century under this scenario which will still require us to adapt.

“The SMART model shows larger changes in river flows in winter that the GR4J model, with increases by mid-century of about 20 per cent, as high as 40 per cent by the end of the century in some catchments, and in summer, we see significant reductions beyond 20 per cent for the end of the century. For summer in particular, the range of change covers a large spread and emphasises the importance of thinking about how we might build resilience in our water systems to accommodate a wide range of future changes.”

The fossil fuel-intensive scenario shows increases beyond 20 per cent for many catchments before the end of the century, and decreases in summer would become more prominent, with many catchments showing decreases over 30 per cent by the end of the century.

Conor Murphy, professor in the Department of Geography at Maynooth University, speaks to eolas Magazine about the range of possible climate change effects on water infrastructure amid the likelihood that Ireland’s winters will become wetter and its summers drier.

Using Q95, a “very important low flow and water quality metric” that measures the flow exceeded 95 per cent of the time, the GR4J model shows low flows to be facing “substantial reductions even in the sustainable future scenario”, ranging up to 20 per cent. In SSP 3, reductions in Q95 range between 30 and 40 per cent by the end of the century.

“That signal of change is also present in the SMART model for higher emissions scenarios, there are large reductions in low flows and Q95,” Murphy says. “For the 2050s, we see 20 per cent reductions for the middle of the road scenario and reductions exceeding 40 per cent for the fossil fuel intensive future.”

Explaining the importance of these figures, Murphy says: “Such changes show the urgency and present challenges to think through in terms of how we adapt, particularly given that other changes that are happening concurrently with increases in water demand, pressures on biodiversity and ecology, and other issues that are important within society. For successful adaptation we need to integrate these pressures and think about identifying solutions that offer multiple benefits.

“An important question we are often asked is: how does mitigation decrease the impacts and avoid adaptation costs into the future? Sometimes you hear either/or type discussions, such as should we reduce emissions within the sector or do we invest in adaptation to build resilience. We must do both; it is not one or the other. Climate change is already happening, and it is about adapting to the changes that are happening and trying to avoid the worst consequences. Even the sustainable future presents us with impacts we will have to adapt to.”

Drought

One of the most commonly discussed effects of climate change with regard to water is drought, and Murphy says that the “short, sharp” drought of 2018 has “reawakened us to sensitivity of drought in Ireland”. Using standardised indices to analyse drought events, Murphy’s research shows a decrease in precipitation in the summer, particularly from mid-century onwards.

“When we look at agricultural drought, which is precipitation minus evaporative losses, we can see significant reductions, pointing to significant droughts in summer,” he says.

“This highlights potentially large reductions in available water resources during the summer months. In terms of

annual and seasonal drought magnitude, we can look at future projected changes through these standardised indices, and the key take home message is a large increase in the magnitude of summer droughts.

“European work that we have done to contextualise droughts from precipitation records back to 1850 show that the British and Irish isles experienced the largest change in drought magnitude in summer of anywhere in Europe, including the Mediterranean.”

Commenting briefly on the perception that rainfall is increasing, Murphy says that this perception is correct, particularly when looking at rainfall intensity and that long-term records show rainfall intensity increase by between 7 and 8 per cent for every 1oC temperature rise, and that Ireland is also seeing wetter winters. The key challenge for water management is going to be what happens in summer, through reductions in rainfall and increases in temperature and evaporation.

Mitigation and adaptation

Reflecting on the research, Murphy concludes: “The overall distribution of change as derived suggests wetter winters and drier summers. These are consistent changes in terms of the magnitude and ranges in other work, particularly for the UK. These changes will have significant impacts on water resource management, biodiversity, and for ensuring a resilient future. What is crucial is, given the importance of summer change, monitoring droughts using indicators that include evapotranspiration is crucial. I am not sure that we do that at present and just focus on precipitation, but we need to look at the combination of precipitation and evapotranspiration.

“A key take home message from our research is that reduced greenhouse gas emissions result in more modest impacts, particularly for low flows, highlighting the importance of mitigation and adaptation. It is crucial that we stress test adaptation decisions and investment in water infrastructure to be functional across the range of changes possible. If we do not, we are creating lock in for the future and the infrastructure we invest in might not be fit for purpose in 50 years’ time.”

The full research paper – Simulated Changes in Seasonal and Low Flows with Climate Change for Irish Catchments – is open access and available to read on www.mdpi.com.

“The British and Irish isles experienced the largest change in drought magnitude in summer of anywhere in Europe, including the Mediterranean.”

H2.0: The future of water quality

Removal of trace organics from surface waters used for abstraction currently or in the future

This method applies mainly to river water, less so to lake water and groundwater.

Trace organics derive from pesticides like MCPA, 2, 4, d and triclopyr. They also include the derivatives of pharmaceuticals such as salbutamol, trimethoprim, antibiotics, and painkillers. Numerous trace organics have been detected in Irish surface waters, including substances leached from plastics and other packaging.

Technologies will be required to remove these substances from the water before it reaches the distribution system and the human drinking it. Currently, these technologies centre around OH radicals

With the world progressing at breakneck speed, our water sources face some challenges, but there is a silver lining: new and existing technologies could provide potential solutions. In this article, we will delve deep into the intricacies of contemporary issues and future developments in our potable water supply.

and similar oxygen radical compounds. Membrane filtration is a separation process where a semi-permeable membrane selectively allows water molecules to pass through while rejecting contaminants based on size and charge.

This method looks promising with the advent of molecular sieve-type filters and high-pressure devices to enable faster flow-through and production.

The recast parameters in the new drinking water regulations must be satisfied with improved monitoring and treatment

The main parameters of interest are trihaloacetic acids, which cause taste problems; microcystin, a natural neurotoxin found in lake waters; and PFAS compounds. PFAS is a genuine concern causing several effects on humans, including immune system disruption, liver disease, and cancer.

These compounds are used as a water repellent in many everyday items. Therefore, they can be found in the bloodstream of nearly every human on the planet. Thankfully, specialist filtration systems have been developed for PFAS. While it is difficult to degrade or eliminate PFAS by chemical treatment, they can be removed by membrane filtration too.

The direct implication of using these advanced filtration systems is the potential reduction in associated health risks.

A move away from surface water to groundwater

The issues described above are mainly problems associated with surface water. Interestingly, using groundwater instead may be the ultimate solution if the supply is adequate.

However, groundwater is not without its problems. It is more expensive to pump but cheaper to treat. Water from limestone aquifers scales and therefore requires softening.

Groundwater has problems with nitrate, iron, and manganese. However, nitrate levels will reduce over time with better control of agricultural emissions. Iron and manganese are only present in a fraction of aquifers. Ideally, groundwater

Michael Murphy is the

Director of Southern

Scientific Services, an environmental laboratory offering a national sample collection and testing

service. Southern Scientific works w

h clients in the

requires only disinfection when the source is chosen correctly.

If only disinfection is required for groundwater, the treatment processes can be more cost-effective, leading to potential savings that could reflect in consumer water bills.

Furthermore, adequately chosen groundwater sources might pose fewer health risks. They are less likely to contain the range of contaminants found in surface water, meaning safer drinking water for communities.

A move away from chlorine disinfection

Chlorine and its consequent derivatives created during processing, trihalomethanes, and trihaloacetics are known toxins associated with cancer.

Moves away from chlorine come with a significant increase in cost. But water is relatively cheap by comparison with most commodities.

The move to chlorine dioxide solves some problems and creates others; less THMs, but more chlorate formation. It has to be generated on-site. It extends the concerns of chlorine, a potent oxidising agent in the environment.

A move to ozone eliminates all the problems associated with chlorine and is a more effective disinfectant. However, it is also a potent oxidising agent and can cause bromate elevation and the formation of other undesirables. It has to be generated on-site with associated

health and safety. It also dissipates quickly.

The other alternative is UV disinfection. UV is a weak disinfectant that works well with good filtration and is safe. It is more suitable for point-of-use localised treatment. The advent of LED sources makes it a better option than the former mercury-based lamps. The invention of locally produced electricity from solar panels will see more people using pointof-use water treatment and disinfection. Small under-sink and utility room units with replaceable barrier filters and LED UV will practically eliminate central utility treatment and disinfection in time.

Conclusion

In conclusion, with adversity comes the opportunity to innovate. Continuous advancements in technology and shifts towards sustainable methodologies make the future of potable water supply promising. As we engage in various projects, we must know the journey water takes, from source to tap, and the burgeoning solutions on the horizon. Let's shape a future where water quality and safety are uncompromised. Your expertise and collaboration will be vital in this endeavour.

Michael is available for consultation at:

T: 087 261 8276

E: michael@southernscientificireland.com

W: www.southernscientificireland.com

it

A

gricultural, Environmental, Industrial, Food and

P

harmaceutical sectors.

M

ichael is a former Lecturer of Environmental Science at MTU and has over 40 years of experience in the field.

New EU Drinking Water Regulations in effect

Officially passed in March 2023, the new regulations, the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulations 2023, came into effect following the transposition of EU Directive 2020/2184 into Irish law.

The regulations enhance existing requirements to protect human health regarding the management of water intended for human consumption and access to water, in particular for marginalised groups. The key measures in the new regulations include:

• overarching application of a riskbased approach to water safety. This is divided across the provision of water from source to tap through:

 risk assessment and risk management of the catchment areas for abstraction points of water;

 risk assessment and risk management of the supply system; and

 risk assessment of domestic distribution systems.

• updating the list of parameters

monitored in drinking water;

• implementation of a watchlist of parameters which are of concern in respect of impact on human health and their presence in drinking water;

• minimum hygiene requirements for materials that come into contact with water;

• minimum requirements for treatment chemicals and filter media that come into contact with water;

• increasing access to water intended for human consumption in particular for vulnerable and marginalised groups;

• information to the public on water quality;

• requirement for water suppliers to assess water leakage levels in their distribution network; and

• broadening of the regulations concerning penalties and prosecutions to include offences in relation to pollution or contamination of a source of water intended for human consumption.

The new regulations are directed towards water suppliers such as Uisce Éireann and group water schemes. Relevant authorities, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU), will oversee the activities of these water suppliers.

Minister for Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, commented upon the passage of the regulations: “Water is such a basic right and access to good quality drinking water is a key public service. These new regulations will add additional quality measures to continue to ensure that our drinking water remains wholesome and clean.

“Guided by an expert working group of all relevant stakeholders providing professional advice, we have developed –and will now implement – regulations which will ensure we comply with EU standards and, crucially, provide high quality water supplies to the people of Ireland.”

The Government has transposed new EU drinking water regulations into law in the State, which will mean more oversight of group water schemes and of Uisce Éireann.

New water scheme aims to reduce agri-pollution

With funding to the tune of €60 million, the Government aims to ensure that the scheme funds up to 15,000 farmers by 2027. It will be run as a five-year European Innovation Partnership (EIP) programme, and it aims to assist farmers to improve water quality by working collaboratively with experts and other advisers to reduce losses of phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment to water from agricultural lands.

The scheme follows an evaluation of the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) which identified the need to support farmers who implement additional targeted water protection measures. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, states that “scientific tools developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can help with targeting of the right measure in the right place”.

The actions farmers will be incentivised to take under the Water Quality EIP include using flood plain and riparian woodlands, overland sediment traps, offline storage ponds, establishment of new field boundaries, including hedgerows, increased riparian buffer strips, drain management, grazing and livestock management, detailed nutrient management planning, and reduction in inputs.

Water experts have warned that, in freshwater sources

close to areas with high levels of agricultural intensification, the biodiversity crisis is evident in the loss of variety of species being found in said areas.

The EIP initiative is co-funded by the European Commission and the Irish Government as part of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme and will be continued under the CAP Strategic Plan.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will provide €50 million of the overall funding allocated to the scheme, with the remaining funds to be provided by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The scheme will be run under the aegis of the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO).

Upon formal announcement of the scheme, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD, said: “The agri-food industry is working together to improve water quality. However, there is a need to recognise farmers that invest above and beyond regulatory requirements to address specific localised water quality issues.

“This is the largest funding that my department has provided to a single EIP, recognising the importance of this project to enhancing sustainable agricultural practices and contributing in a significant way to improving water quality at a national level.”

The Government has introduced the Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP), an initiative which aims to incentivise farmers to improve water quality.

Cooperation agreed on protecting international waters

International waters are to be protected following the signing of the UN Treaty of the High Seas in June 2023, with the EU to add €40 million to the Global Ocean Programme.

The Treaty of the High Seas will ensure regulation on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond the national jurisdiction of a nation or state. This programme has been developed within the auspices of the UN’s United Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which is the main international agreement governing human activities at sea.

The ambition of the agreement, according to the United Nations, is to achieve “a more holistic management of high sea activities which should better balance the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources”.

Upon the conclusion of negotiations, the agreement will formally enter into force upon its ratification by 60 UN member states. At a European level, the EU has pledged to allocate €40 million in funding as part of the global ocean

programme, further stating that it is inviting members of the High Ambition Coalition to do the same within their capabilities.

The goals of the treaty are as follows:

• set up a procedure to establish large-scale marine protected areas in the high seas. This facilitates the achievement of the target to effectively conserve and manage 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030, which was agreed in December 2022 within the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework;

• establish the sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources and foresee capacity building and the transfer of marine technology between the parties; and

• set out clear rules to conduct environmental impact assessments, with the right checks and balances,

before running activities in the high seas.

Describing the agreement as a “victory for multilateralism,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said the agreement is a “breakthrough after nearly two decades of talks”.

Speaking upon approval of the draft of the agreement in March 2023, Guterres added: “[The treaty] is also vital for achieving ocean-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” Guterres said, referring to the ‘30 by 30’ pledge to protect 30 per cent of the planet’s lands and inland waters, as well as 30 per cent of marine and coastal areas, by 2030 made by a historic UN conference in Montréal December 2022.

The Future of Local Government

Local authorities: Key partners in housing

Local authorities across the length and breadth of the country are working in partnership with government and partners across a number of housing schemes and initiatives to realise the delivery of secure and affordable homes for people, writes Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, Kieran O’Donnell TD.

Housing for All, first launched in 2021, is an ambitious plan to build and boost supply and delivery of housing with accompanying initiatives. It commits to the delivery of 47,600 new build social homes from the period 2022-2026. More than 90,000 social homes will be delivered between 2022 and 2030.

To deliver on this ambition, the Government is making record State investment available for housing, with €4.5 billion of State funding committed in 2023. From July 2020 to end December 2022, 25,796 new social homes have been delivered, including 16,962 new builds, 3,199 acquired homes and 5,635 leased homes. 2022 had the highest delivery of new build social housing since 1975.

Housing supply

We are building on this positive momentum. Housing for All had a target of 11,830 new social homes in 2023,

however, funding is now in place to deliver 13,130 social homes, including 9,100 new build homes in 2023. Local authorities are central to practically delivering on this investment and realising the provision of social housing at scale where it is needed most. Significantly increasing our social housing stock will reduce the demand on our private rental market in many towns and villages across the country and provide people with housing options they did not have when the Housing for All plan was published two years ago. People can now buy a home through local authority led affordable purchase schemes. Schemes are coming on stream in several local authorities throughout the country. Through this scheme, people can purchase homes at discounted rates in return for the local authority holding equity in the home.

In addition, the improved Local Authority Home Loan offers first-time buyers and

Fresh Start applicants on low or modest incomes who cannot get sufficient funding from commercial lenders to purchase new or second-hand properties or to build their own home.

New measures now also provide local authorities with powers to acquire social housing homes to meet priority needs, where a tenant has received a notice of termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell. Local authorities are well placed to understand and respond to needs at a local level, and at least 1,500 social housing acquisitions by local authorities are being funded in 2023.

Despite the conflict in Ukraine, supply chain issues, and significant inflation on residential construction, construction activity remains strong – 6,525 social homes were under construction onsite at the end of 2022, with an additional 12,733 homes at various stages of design and procurement. There is now

The Future of Local Government

strong improvement in delivery, supported by measures introduced by government to address material inflation and energy costs.

A pipeline of social and affordable housing, along with further affordable housing is also being planned by the Land Development Agency (LDA) and approved housing bodies (AHBs). In Quarter 4 2022, 147 new social housing construction schemes, (713 homes) were added to the pipeline. In total, the Construction Status Report (Q4 2022) provides details on 30,766 new build social homes across 1,839 schemes funded through my department’s Social Housing Capital Investment Programme. Government continues to work closely with the local authorities and AHBs to ensure that social and affordable delivery is maximised.

Local authority support and investment to scale up

To further support local authorities to acquire land to deliver new build schemes, an allocation of €125 million was granted to The Housing Agency in December 2022 to establish a dedicated land acquisition fund. Approval was also given for funding of up to €100 million to pay down local authority loans on legacy indebted sites, which can deliver social housing projects through the use of accelerated delivery models, principally offsite/modern methods of construction (MMC) to commence on-site in 2023 and 2024. We are working with relevant local authorities on an accelerated delivery programme to progress delivery of MMC projects on approximately 30 sites with a potential 1,800 new social homes to be delivered.

A €150 million fund is also now available to local authorities for towns and cities eligible for the Urban Regeneration Development Fund (URDF) to end long-term vacancy and dereliction. Local authorities, when applying for the funding, have indicated that they could identify projects generating 4,850 residential units. Local authorities will receive a grant for the entire 100 per cent cost of acquiring suitable properties identified within their communities.

To support this, legislation now also provides a temporary time-bound measure to allow for accelerated

Kieran O’Donnell TD, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with responsibility for Local Government and Planning

delivery of social and affordable housing on zoned local authority owned and/or State land to allow for accelerated delivery of social, affordable, and cost rental housing by local authorities by way of exemption from the local authority own development Part 8 process in section 179 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

We are activating all possible measures and redoubling efforts and the commitment from all government departments, agencies, and site owners to developing much needed housing on underutilised public land in key areas of real housing need.

A new generation of social homes

Increased use of MMC and construction innovation in social and affordable housing is significantly helping to address Ireland’s housing needs. The development of guidance and procurement frameworks to support the adoption of MMC technologies by local authorities and AHBs are enabling local authorities and construction partners to build capacity and to deliver carbon neutral social housing like never before.

The widespread adoption of MMC is improving productivity in construction, increasing the efficiency, sustainability, and cost of public housing delivery. Specifically, MMC techniques can speed up the delivery of quality and compliant housing by between 20 per cent and 60 per cent and promote precision through digitalisation and strict quality-control processes. This means that social homes will achieve their intended performance and

durability requirements of 60 years. Through MMC, we are increasingly seeing the delivery of carbon neutral social housing – Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) dwellings where the nearly zero or very low amount of energy required is covered to a very significant extent by energy from renewable sources, including energy from renewable sources produced on-site or nearby. Improving the energy performance of homes promotes higher building energy ratings (BER) results in cosy homes, lower energy bills, and reduced carbon emissions. Social housing completed after 31 October 2020 is required to be an NZEB dwellingtypically a BER of A2. This, combined with standardised designs and reduced construction costs, means that new housing is more affordable for the purchaser or tenant.

A culmination of all these levers of support is helping to realise schemes like Oscar Traynor Road in Coolock –853 social and affordable homes which are part of this new generation of social and affordable housing –high quality homes, cultural and retail facilities and public open spaces. In addition to much needed housing, these schemes also contribute to creating vibrant communities with amenity spaces, parks, and public realm to complement new residential areas. Projects such as this really underscore this government’s commitment to Housing for All and mark a significant milestone towards the delivery of large-scale social and affordable housing in partnership with local government.

“Government continues to work closely with the local authorities and AHBs to ensure that social and affordable delivery is maximised.”

Asset management as an ESG and sustainability enabler

Environmental and economic trends in the 21st century are shaping up to be very different to those of the 20th century. The exponential growth of economies worldwide is no longer sustainable and the universal success measure of GDP (or cost/time/risk for infrastructure projects) is changing. This is being driven by the planet and the impact human progress is having on the world we live in.

So, what does this mean for the future? How do we continue to live as societies that can thrive? Much of the solution lies in the built environment, the infrastructure we build and invest in to support a quality of life that is needed to allow people to innovate and be creative, hence fuelling economies.

Balancing and thriving: Achieving the UN Sustainability Development Goals

In order to address the future infrastructure needs we need to understand how economies will flex and change to become more sustainable. In response to the challenge, economist Kate Raworth sets out her vison for the future of economics as a ‘doughnut’ or ‘doughnut economics’, acknowledging the planetary limits that society must

exist within referred to as the ‘ecological ceiling’.

This limit is broken down into nine ‘planetary boundaries’ beyond which Earth’s environmental systems will reach tipping point and become not only unsustainable but unliveable for future generations. Having set the upper limit, the baseline societal needs are represented as the ‘hole’ or ‘core’ of the doughnut below which basic needs are not met. This represents the essential minimum requirements for society. For example, access to clean water and energy should be a prerequisite, as should education and the opportunity to partake in an equitable economy.

When applying this concept specifically for core infrastructure requirements this can be summarised and aligned with the relevant UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs):

As per the UN SDGs, it is important to address the socioeconomic targets and ensure adequate investment is provided and accelerated for parts of the world where access to clean water and energy currently do not exist. The responsibility of other societies will be to recognise this need, where increased CO2 emissions and raw materials from the earth will be needed to achieve this minimum level of infrastructure. Not ideal in terms of environmental impact. This is where the concept of offsetting becomes powerful if applied well. Places where base infrastructure is the standard will need to reduce the impact of the systems that exist already and those planned for the future. For example, societies with access to clean water should reduce any ecological impact of wastewater and encourage responsible use of water.

In Ireland, the urban and rural divide is a good example where different levels of energy or transport infrastructure is needed across the island; a system approach would allow balancing of environmental impacts across the new and existing infrastructure.

The key change in mindset is once this baseline is established, infrastructure assets are used and maintained within an ecological limit. This is the limit beyond which emissions, pollution, and other environmental impacts become unsustainable.

By considering the asset lifecycle at all stages and using methodologies such as circular economy principles such as reuse/repurpose policies for materials, we can start managing infrastructure within this band of thresholds and move towards ‘balancing and thriving’ rather than constant ‘growth and expansion’.

Defining new models to measure success is key in transitioning our economic systems to meet our 21st century needs, writes Jenna Davis, Associate Director with KPMG Ireland’s infrastructure team.

The Future of Local Government

Measuring success: Priorities for a sustainable infrastructure system

But how do we go about transitioning to a more sustainable built environment? And how do we measure its success? GDP is such an engrained unit that future metrics will need to be just as compelling on the world stage.

The UN SDGs offer a framework as a starting point to be more specific on what infrastructure needs to deliver to create a sustainable system. KPMG, as part of the Net-Zero Infrastructure Industry Coalition in the UK, has identified four core ESG (environmental, social, and governance) priorities for sustainable infrastructure systems:

There is an opportunity for infrastructure projects to lead the way in defining new measures of success. The traditional drivers of success; time, cost, and risk need to be prioritised with social value, resilience, carbon impact and biodiversity.

Investment plans should set these targets and include future methods of measurement in the funding. Procurement strategies need to account for ongoing policy regarding end-of-life practices to reuse and recycle materials and components. Governments and regulators must set the ambition through clear policy and commitment to reducing carbon outputs across all sectors.

The more influential mechanism to drive such policies is to factor in carbon budgets and ESG metrics when developing business cases and tendering requirements for infrastructure projects. To enable this the appraisal

frameworks needs to expand beyond traditional financial and economic analysis. Measures such as biodiversity need to become the norm, not just maintaining what we have left in the natural world but improving and expanding its presence wherever we can.

Finding a starting point

So, how do we even begin to change and transition? Well, we start we are and use the knowledge we already have to make the first of many incremental changes. Asset management practices are well placed to guide the wholelifecycle approach that is needed, and the circular economy principles start to break the problem down into areas of influence such as designing for the end in mind.

The goal is to create an infrastructure system that continues to be sustainable through the build phases right into everyday operations. Currently, ESG is a hot topic with many sectors looking for guidance on how to design and implement ESG strategies and measures. Meanwhile, the National

Development Plan is ambitious and appropriately so.

The eight priorities outlined here will direct efforts towards achieving meaningful change where targets will be set to ‘balance out and offset’ rather than solely relying on profit and growth as the measure of a successful society. The KPMG Asset Management ESG Model serves a reference for all infrastructure sectors to begin making this transition.

For more information:

Jenna Davis, Associate Director, Infrastructure, KPMG Ireland

E: jenna.davis@kpmg.ie

W: www.kpmg.com/ie

“There is an opportunity for infrastructure projects to lead the way in defining new measures of success.”

Better services for citizens

MyCoCo is a secure online portal that citizens can use to access local authority services. It is a transformative cloud hosted solution that will help bring many of the 1,100 services online. Services range from enabling a local authority tenant to pay their rent online to booking a pre-planning clinic to applying for a street furniture licence. The project was first rolled out by Monaghan County Council and has since been adopted by eight other local authorities – Cavan, Clare, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Galway, Kildare, Laois, Sligo, and Westmeath County Councils. Additional local authorities will be on-boarded over the coming months. O’Hare hopes to see

leadership at government level which will allow local authorities to synchronise their work and avoid working in intra-authority siloes.

Currently, with the Connecting Government 2030 strategy being spearheaded by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (DPENDPDR), local authorities are required to work towards having 90 per cent of their services available online by 2030.

Adding to this challenge, O’Hare says, is the delivery of 24/7 online services, which she outlines “require not only an online platform, but AI to help with the

automation side of things”.

She adds: “We are looking at ensuring that the ‘once only’ principle is eminent in all of our designs, and MyGovID is one of the top means of ensuring that and it serves as the authentication method of MyCoCo.”

Cloud first solutions

O’Hare states that with MyCoCo “individuals are equipped with better access to their data. Until now, we have relied largely on manual systems which does not serve people as well as it could. With the manual system, the customer may submit an application and not know if it is being processed or

Carmel O’Hare, Director of Corporate Services and Innovation, Monaghan County Council, tells eolas Magazine about the rollout of a new one-stop-shop for digital public services.

The Future of Local Government

how long it is going to take. With MyCoCo, a citizen can log in and they can track their request. It is very much based on some of the most successful private sector examples of being able to track the progress of your service, so we have used models that work in the private sector as a model for what we can build.”

In order to achieve this, O’Hare tells of how the MyCoCo project board is currently focused on improving its current structures to deliver better use of data “capturing the data once and re-using it across service applications,” she explains.

“MyCoCo is a prime example of a build-to-share programme, it is delivering security and economies of scale. Connecting Government 2030 and the Digital Framework Strategy enhance and build on what was achieved during the Build to Share programme.”

This “cloud first solution” of which O’Hare speaks “provides not only the customer facing service but it also has back-office functionality to help local authority staff process requests, it is a true end-to-end solution”. The platform also facilitates online customer payments. The project board are considering offering open banking as a further payment option. O’Hare comments: “As a sector we need to keep on eye on what innovative technologies we can integrate into MyCoCo, innovation is a key motivating factor for all involved in the project.

“First class digital services cannot just be a case of filling in a form online and then everyone else still doing manual work. We are addressing the problem end to end with MyCoCo. It supports experimentation of new and emerging technologies.

“We are using AI to do the document recognition which will help automate the process. For example, if you are applying for a resident parking permit, when you upload your document, the AI will recognise your insurance certificate and that your car is kept at that residence, the entire journey is automated.”

The future of MyCoCo

With MyCoCo recognised as a building block of reform in the Better Public

Services strategy, O’Hare hopes to see the MyCoCo portal expanded right through all of the State’s 31 local authorities.

The optimised version of the digital payments portal O’Hare hopes will be fully rolled out in the latter part of 2023, with the Monaghan woman explaining that “we have continued to work with the customers on digitalised services”.

Citizens will be able to login to MyCoCo using their MyGovID digital identity following approval having been granted by the Department of Social Welfare earlier in 2023. There will be further development of new dashboards for analytics and reporting services.

“A user-friendly dashboard and strong use of analytics will be highly beneficial; it will provide us with key performance indicators which will mean continuous improvement. Efficiency of service

delivery has been difficult to measure previously in the local authority sector, we hope to change that.

“We are continuing to reform using artificial intelligence and we are also implementing multilingual services and voice recognition is one to do in the future. One possible idea is using Alexa so that people with sight issues can still use our services. We have done a lot of work with interoperability, and I am hoping that we will continue to learn and be led with our governance.”

Concluding, O’Hare emphasises the importance of being “agile and ready to pivot”, highlighting how MyCoCo took time to be developed properly but is now respected as a pioneering project which can be the inspiration towards the digitalisation of public services throughout the State.

“MyCoCo is a prime example of a build-to-share programme, it is delivering security and economies of scale.”

Seanad to examine future of local democracy

A Seanad Éireann committee on the future of local democracy will publish a report in 2024 ahead of the local elections.

With the elections scheduled for June 2024, the Seanad Public Consultation Committee is currently taking submissions from the public. Launching the call for submission from the public, Seanad Leas-Chathaoirleach, Senator Mark Daly said:

“Local authorities form an essential part of Irish life. For this reason, the Seanad Public Consultation Committee is interested in hearing the public’s views on engagement and participation in local government, the powers of

local authorities, as well as the impacts of recent and proposed changes to the local government process.”

The committee will explore the future of local democracy across three themes. These are: public engagement and participation in the local government process and functions; the powers of local authorities; and the impact of changes to the local government process, such as the abolition of town councils and the introduction of directly elected mayors.

Credit: Houses of the Oireachtas.

The Future of Local Government

The issues to be explored by the committee include:

• challenges of getting candidates for local elections;

• representation of women, minorities, and new Irish groups;

• powers of local authority members;

• impact of overarching legislation and national policy documents on the functioning of local authorities and the role of its elected members and executive;

• comparisons with other countries’ local democratic structures;

• consideration of the time involved in the role of councillors and how this impacts on their careers, family life, and wellbeing;

• how local government can play a greater role and have a positive impact on climate action, housing, infrastructure, regional development, etc;

• cross border cooperation at local government level across the island of Ireland;

• supports available to councillors;

• address the powers and functions between the executive and the elected council;

• examine devolving more powers to the local authorities through the legislative process to strengthen and enhance local democracy;

Committee membership

Senator Party Frances Black Independent

Victor Boyhan Independent

Pat Casey

Lisa Chambers

Emer Currie

Mark Daly (Committee cathaoirleach)

Regina Doherty

Vincent P Martin

Fianna Fáil

Fianna Fáil

Fine Gael

Fianna Fáil

Fine Gael

Green Party

Niall Ó Donnghaile Sinn Féin

Fine Gael

Joe O'Reilly

Mark Wall Labour Party

• examine training provided to elected members of local authorities in order to discharge their duties; and

• addressing the issue of abuse, threats and harassment in local government, and the importance of civility in public life.

Removing threats

A particular focus of the committee’s work, as emphasised by Leas-Chathaoirleach Daly, will be how to tackle violence and intimidation against local representatives.

Prior to the formal launch of the Seanad committee, an independent councillor in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Hugh Lewis, was attacked by what is believed to have been a farright activist. A rock bearing the message ‘stop supporting refugees’ was thrown through the window of Lewis’s family home.

Senator Daly commented on the issue of tackling violence: “The Committee is also particularly concerned by harassment on social media, and the rise of abuse and attacks towards those involved in public life, and it is anxious to get the views of the public on addressing these most serious issues.”

The Seanad Éireann committee is open for consultations until 24 September 2024, and will release its report ahead of next year’s local elections.

“The Seanad Public Consultation Committee is interested in hearing the public’s views on engagement and participation in local government, the powers of local authorities, as well as the impacts of recent and proposed changes to the local government process.”

Leas-Chathaoirleach Mark Daly

Fingal looks to the future with its model for multi-sport recreation hubs

These multi-sport facilities have emerged as vital assets, fostering community engagement, promoting active lifestyles, and providing a space for individuals of all ages to pursue their sporting passions.

With shining examples already in demand like those in Balbriggan, Porterstown Park, and Swords, Ireland’s third-biggest council believes it has a model in place that is undeniably setting a precedent for the future of communitycentric sports facilities across the country. While the concept is not unique

to Fingal, the Council recognises the importance of sports and physical activities play in individual well-being and community cohesion. In taking this forward, Fingal will invest heavily in the development of such community facilities as it looks to underline the immense social, economic, and health benefits of such investments.

Work is shortly set to begin on one such recreation hub in the heart of the Donabate-Portrane peninsula. The Ballymastone project serves as a shining example of the county's

commitment to fostering active and healthy lifestyles. This extensive facility will offer a diverse range of sports amenities, with a full sized floodlit allweather GAA pitch which incorporates two full sized all-weather soccer pitches, a floodlit eight-lane all-weather athletics track surrounding a floodlit grass soccer pitch which also provides for field events, bleacher seating, a skatepark, playground, and associated infrastructure which will cater to a wide spectrum of interests and age groups across the community.

One of the key aspects of the approach to Ballymastone Hub is its inclusivity and emphasis around local clubs being heavily engaged in the ongoing operation of the facilities. When it opens, the Hub will be jointly run by St Ita’s AFC, St Pat’s GAA and Lambay Sports and Athletics, as these clubs have approached the Council with view to managing the facilities on its behalf and to provide managed access to the facility to other sports clubs and community groups. What is more, and in

In recent years, Fingal County Council has been making remarkable strides in enhancing its community infrastructure, particularly when it comes to delivering state-of-the-art recreation hubs.

keeping with the Council’s vision to have community facilities in place to meet the demands of a growing population in the County, Ballymastone will also welcome the construction of over 1,200 new state-of-the-art homes.

The Mayor of Fingal, Adrian Henchy –who was born and bred in the Donabate-Portrane area – believes the delivery of the likes of Ballymastone will play a vital role in strengthening the desire for people to move to the region.

“Well-planned facilities like this mirror Fingal's commitment to encouraging a sense of community and shared experiences. They are not only transforming our landscapes, but more importantly, they are spaces where dreams are nurtured, friendships are forged, and lives are enriched,” he says.

“These hubs represent a departure from the single-purpose fields of the past, allowing diverse sporting activities to flourish in the location. Community engagement in ensuring the sustainability and success of such projects is key, as we want these hubs to form a blueprint for fostering active communities, promoting well-being, and fostering a sense of belonging that resonates with residents of all ages.”

Another jewel in the crown is the recently completed sports hub in Porterstown Park. This remarkable facility, which recently opened in the Castleknock area, embodies the spirit of intergenerational and multi-use thinking that Fingal is keen to develop elsewhere. The €2 million project features a top-class running track and an all-weather sports field, providing an exceptional platform for athletes of all levels to excel.

The success of Porterstown Park lies not only in its cutting-edge amenities but also in its strategic location, thereby encouraging locals to adopt an active lifestyle by providing easy access to sports and recreational opportunities. This approach not only benefits physical health but also fosters a sense of community belonging. In this light, Fingal's investment in such facilities can be seen as an investment in the holistic development of the area.

One of the driving forces behind these transformative initiatives, is Kevin Halpenny, Fingal’s Senior Parks Superintendent: “Our goal was to create spaces that go beyond traditional sports facilities. We wanted to craft environments where people can come together, where families can engage in

activities side by side, and where the joy of sports is interwoven with a sense of belonging. These hubs not only elevate our sports culture but also reinforce the bonds that hold our communities together.”

Historically, recreation spaces were limited to basic amenities such as playgrounds and open fields. However, with changing lifestyles and an increased understanding of the benefits of regular exercise, these spaces have been transformed into multi-sport facilities that cater to a wide range of interests and age groups. Here, the general approach of Fingal is to allocate these facilities to clubs annually in response to applications submitted by the clubs and on the basis of greatest local need. Currently around 170 grass sports pitches are allocated to sports clubs in Fingal on this basis.

With increasing demand for facilities and the need for weather independent evening training and sporting activities, Fingal is pioneering the provision of 14

active recreational hubs strategically located in parks and open spaces around the County and close to schools, public transport, and active travel infrastructure. Where hubs are located close to schools, this increases the daytime use of the facilities and ideally associated infrastructure (including, where feasible, indoor facilities), adding greatly to the financial and environmental sustainability of the facilities.

It is clear that Fingal is embracing a progressive approach to community recreation hubs that reflects a broader shift in societal values. By taking inspiration from global models and infusing them with their unique local touch, they are building more than recreational spaces; it is building a stronger, healthier, and more tightly knit and cohesive community.

W: www.fingal.ie

“These hubs not only elevate our sports culture but also reinforce the bonds that hold our communities together.”

Accelerating local authority delivery of active travel infrastructure

Mick Mulhern, Director of Land Use, Planning, and Transportation with South Dublin County Council (SDCC), speaks to eolas Magazine about the Cycle South Dublin plan

Mulhern begins by recalling his beginnings with the provision of active travel infrastructure and how the initial experience and difficulties encountered helped him and his SDCC team focus on four key elements to infrastructure planning. “I started on this just over four years ago, and, at that time, active travel was emerging as an idea, funding was starting to be made available, and there were good discussions about it, but we were struggling,” he says.

“We had a small team, we did not have much money, and the projects that we were getting through were compromised to keep everyone happy. We got protests out on-site and we had one scheme where we had to stand the contractor down and pay the fees. It was a bit of a disaster at that point, and it was not really working for us. We asked what we were going to do differently and what we focus on now is the plan, the design, communications, and engaging leadership.”

In focusing on developing a plan, SDCC produced Cycle South Dublin, a programme of work that served to address a previous challenge identified by Mulhern whereby small, unconnected projects would be completed, leading to a situation where “you might have world class infrastructure around a roundabout, but getting to that roundabout was a disaster”.

“The idea was to create a programme over an eight-10-year period, so that over two council terms, people could feel like they have seen some real positive change,” Mulhern explains. “We have set our vision, we have our mission, and this programme has been agreed by our council in April 2021. It has got 65 projects within it, and we have got 22 in the ‘now’, 21 in the ‘soon’, and 14 in the ‘later’ categories.

and four elements of focus for the successful implementation of active travel infrastructure.

A community cycle on SDCC’s Dodder Greenway. Credit: Ben Ryan / SDCC

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“All 22 projects in the now stage have been initiated, and by that, I mean they have got past gateway one. They could be at options stage, early design, they may have planning permission, they could be on-site, they could have been completed, or they may have been scrapped because we tried to take them forward and it became clear that there would not be support for them. We have now moved into the soon projects and in summer 2023, we are now in a position to appoint contractors for 11 new projects that could be completed over the next 18 months.”

In terms of design, Mulhern breaks the projects down into two broad categories: transformational schemes, such as the 17km Dodder Greenway and the 6km Wellington Lane project in a “really built-up urban environment that is challenging to design”; and rapid schemes, such as a 1.4km project in Templeville that took 10 months to deliver and one in Avonbeg that took 13 months from conception to completion to deliver 1.5km.

Transformational schemes are “costly, timeconsuming, and have big consultancies working on it with lots of engagement”, while rapid schemes are “about taking road space, and trying not to impaction road capacity”. “We do not go through planning for these projects, instead we go through Section 38, and the agreement that we have with our councillors is that where we are using section 38 powers we will still carry out informal consultation with the public and we will proactively engage with the councillors to finalise a design and then we crack on,” Mulhern says.

SDCC is also working on the D24 network, a national pathfinder project, with the Department of Transport. It is a project that has delivered considerable value for money, Mulhern says. “We are pretty much on target with 15 months of design and procurement and 15 months to complete all works on-site. This project will deliver 11km of well-designed deliverable, segregated cycling lanes at a total cost of between €6 million and €7 million. The NTA currently has a cost of €5.5 million per km for significant new build, so there is real value for money here. This will not work in every location because we have very wide streets in south Dublin, but a lot of this can be done elsewhere.”

On communication, Mulhern points to SDCC’s website, showing a map of the various active travel projects being undertaken that contains real-time information on the status of each project. “People can go on and see if a project is on-site, if it is has not commenced yet, etc,” he says. “All that information is on the website, can be downloaded, and is interactive. We are building on this to create a more engaging platform for people. The network is there, and councillors can defend this when people ask why this is being done.”

Questions around why projects are being undertaken are constant, Mulhern admits, saying that it is “incredibly difficult to get past the status quo bias” and points to protests in Clondalkin and Lucan around transformation plans. “That is negative, but we also have the positives,” he says. “We are collecting more sophisticated data to show people. In Avonbeg, there was a reduction in average speed from 49km/h to 34km/h.

“Communications is one thing, and it is different to engagement. It is about how you get your facts out there to disprove misinformation but also disinformation, which are two different things. We do workshops now with local councillors, local schools, residents associations, sports clubs, and traders associations, showing people what areas they could control to influence design.”

Concluding, Mulhern turns to the final part of the fourpart process: engaging with leadership. “Compromise is key to all of this,” he says. “Great schemes will sometimes not be approved but a little bit of compromise can go a long way and get our councillors into a much more positive space. Increasingly, more local authorities, with the help of the Department and the NTA, are working in this way, which is why we have been able to build up our pipeline of projects and we are ready to crack on and get the work done, and one important factor is that more funding be made available to meet the increasingly ambitious active travel programmes across all local authorities.”

Local authorities roll out Culture and Creative Strategies

All 31 local authorities have committed to the rollout of new Local Authority Creative Ireland

Culture and Creative Strategies for the period 2023-2027, with “a greater focus on health and wellbeing, creative industries, climate action, the development of the Irish language, and social sustainability”.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media Catherine Martin TD and Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning Kieran O’Donnell TD announced the 31 new strategies at an event at Farmleigh in Phoenix Park. These new strategies will “reflect the creative ambitions of communities around the country” and be supported by the Creative Ireland Programme 2023-2027. The Creative Ireland Programme was established as a legacy initiative following the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme, its extension to 2027 was announced by Martin in February 2022. The all-of-government culture and wellbeing programme is said to be “the only programme of its kind in the world”.

Creative Ireland has stated that the new strategies being formulated will place “a greater focus on health and wellbeing, creative industries, climate action, the development of the Irish language, and social sustainability”, with priority also to be given to develop creative opportunities for marginalised communities and those at risk of disadvantage.

In 2017, the Creative Ireland Programme outlined a commitment to “provide everyone in Ireland the opportunity to realise their full creative potential”, requiring each local authority to devise a culture and creativity strategy that was specifically developed to meet the needs of their communities. These strategies were devised by culture and creativity teams that included arts officers, heritage officers, librarians, museums, and gallery curators and led by local Creative Ireland coordinators.

From 2017-2022, Creative Ireland allocated €29.8 million to the local authority initiatives formulated under the original strategy, with a further €6.1 million announced in 2023 for the Creative Ireland Programme Creative Communities initiative.

Commenting on the announcement of the rollout of the new Culture and Creative Strategies, Minister Martin said: “The agility of the local authority teams has facilitated a collaborative and flexible approach to reshaping how creativity and culture is valued within and across local authorities. Through the Creative Ireland Programme, my department will continue to work with collaborators across Government to activate the power of creativity in every community.”

€30 million allocated to Local Authority Creative Ireland projects since 2017

€161,161 to be allocated to each county council for 2023 Creative Ireland initiatives

€236,161 to be allocated to each of the four Dublin authorities

A Scéal Trail by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council, a Culture and Creative Strategy initiative.

The Future of Local Government

Embracing connectivity and customer centricity

with newly integrated teams and processes — is enabling local government organisations to better serve their communities and stakeholders.

Self-service: Modern functionality is enabling a process to be started by the customer, unfold seamlessly through middle-office systems, and be completed with minimal human intervention. When done well, selfservice can increase customer satisfaction, decrease service costs, and enable staff to focus on value adding tasks rather than transactional activities.

Focusing on citizen needs and expectations can help local government prioritise investment to deliver the greatest value for citizens. Change is not easy, but our research shows that where digital services are designed around citizens’ experience, this drives both satisfaction and outcome of the service.

It is worth noting that local government organisations do not need to be technology leaders. The goal of ‘going digital’ should ideally be to create the best fit of services and capabilities that will help meet the diverse needs and expectations of their citizens.

The transformation journey unfolding at a local government level is about breaking down traditional government silos and becoming more connected — organisation and community-wide — to put the citizen at the centre of everything a modern local government does.

With digital technologies making customer-centric personalisation the norm, some local government organisations are picking up on this signal of changing expectations and are taking strategic action to transform how they operate to meet and exceed this emerging model of public service.

KPMG observes the following key trends in the transformation journeys of local government organisations both in Ireland and across our global network:

Connected services: The future operating model for local government organisations is built on the principle of ‘linked business capabilities,’ focusing on the need for today’s enabling technologies to underpin end-to-end capabilities — ultimately connecting every layer within and across the operating model. Front, middle, and back offices are newly connected to provide seamless, secure, and reliable citizen-centred services.

Smart data use: Bringing disparate data sources together to tap into the immense power of analytics and databased business insights is playing a critical role in reshaping local government for a new era. Smart data integration and secure management of trusted digital identities — combined

Citizen-led and digitally enabled transformation means truly understanding what matters most to citizens, and codesigning services with the citizens at the heart. There has never been a more significant moment for local government in digital transformation. Now is the time to get it right.

For more information:

Cormac Deady, Partner, Head of Government, KPMG Ireland

E: cormac.deady@kpmg.ie

W: www.kpmg.com/ie

The future of the local government sector is clear. It is digitally enabled, data-driven, and community focused as never before, writes Cormac Deady, Head of Government, KPMG.

Local climate action plans ‘within 12 months’

In March 2023, the Government introduced guidelines for the State’s 31 local authorities in establishing their respective climate action plans.

Local authorities are required to set individual plans under the aegis of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. Once adopted by the local authority, the plans developed by each of the local authorities will be valid for five years. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has stated its ambition for all local authorities to have their plans finalised by the end of March 2024.

Section 16 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, provides for the addition of Section 14B (1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 which sets out the provisions governing the establishment and operation of a local authority climate action plan.

Each plan will drive the adaptation and mitigation measures required at local level, and define a clear pathway for each local authority to:

• actively translate national climate policy to local circumstances with the prioritisation and acceleration of evidence-based measures;

• assist in the delivery of the climate neutrality objective at local and community levels; and

• identify and deliver a decarbonising zone (DZ) within the local authority area to act as a test bed for a range of climate mitigation, adaptation, and biodiversity measures in a specifically defined area through the identification of projects and outcomes that will assist in the delivery of national climate objectives.

As part of the process, each local authority will carry out a stocktake of its emissions levels through a baseline emissions inventory. Each plan will also

The Government is hoping to see all of the State’s 31 local authorities introduce their own respective climate action plans by spring 2024, as required under new legislation.

The Future of Local Government

include a climate change risk assessment to understand climate change impacts and raise awareness at the local level.

Scope of local authority action plans

When established, there will be four scopes for the local authority action plans:

1. Full accountability for climate action within the local authority, which includes tracking and reporting on the reduction of emissions from their own internal operations, buildings, and facilities (including transport fleet, public lighting, retrofitting social housing, the provision of infrastructure etc.) in addition to building resilience to the negative impacts of climate change, within the organisation, through the range of services and functions provided.

2. Influence sectors, business, communities, and individuals in the delivery of local climate action through the various functions and services provided, as well as using many regulatory levers and the sector's broader remit to enable, facilitate, and support them.

3. Co-ordinate and facilitate by bringing together key stakeholders, engaging in partnerships to maximise efforts and creating interactions that will yield successful initiatives and projects which may not otherwise occur.

4. Advocate for climate action by raising awareness, communicating, and engaging in open dialogues on climate related issues and responses.

CARO regions

There are four Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs) situated within four local authorities which provide for a coordinated regional approach on climate action across the local government system, with input from the County and City Management Association (CCMA). They will play a critical role in streamlining policies across the local authorities.

These offices were established to coordinate and oversee the delivery of the local authority sectoral adaptation strategies under the National Adaptation

Framework in 2018 to support the local government sector. Following their establishment, funding of €10 million over a five-year period was announced.

The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has a service level agreement with the four lead local authorities to host the regional offices and deliver an annual work programme. The CAROs also provide climate action training for local authority staff and elected members, in partnership with the Local Authority Services National Training Group.

Midlands and Eastern Carlow, Cavan, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow

Atlantic Seaboard South Clare, Limerick, Kerry, Cork City, and Cork

Atlantic Seaboard North Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway City, and Galway County

Dublin Metropolitan South Dublin, Fingal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Dublin City

Kildare County Council, supported by Kilkenny County Council

Cork County Council

Mayo County Council

Dublin City Council

The Future of Local Government

Elected mayors to govern Ireland’s cities

It has been confirmed by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that citizens of Limerick City and County Council will be offered the opportunity to vote on the proposal on a date which coincides with next year’s European elections.

Furthermore, a Citizens’ Assembly, sitting in June 2023, recommended citizens of Dublin be afforded the opportunity to have a referendum on the proposal of a directly elected mayor of Dublin.

Dublin mayor

The Government is aiming to ensure that a referendum is held in Dublin on a date in 2024 which coincides with local or European elections to establish a directly elected mayor. As Dublin is split into four different local authorities, it is unclear whether the proposed elected mayor would be for the Dublin City Council area or would cover all of the local authorities within County Dublin.

In June 2023, a Citizens’ Assembly recommended that a directly elected mayor of Dublin should be responsible for oversight of 15 policy areas including homelessness, housing, community healthcare, transport, the environment, and emergency services.

The Citizens’ Assembly also recommends that the mayor have the power to raise revenues and to borrow, further suggesting that the mayor should have the power to

introduce new regulations and to convene meetings with local and national agencies.

Although the mayor would have an overtly political role in formulating and managing policy, and be elected by popular vote, the Assembly recommends that the mayor be “above party politics” and should have a Cabinet made up of a majority of elected councillors. The mayor would also be term-limited, elected for a five-year term, for a maximum of two terms.

Speaking following the publication of the Citizens’ Assembly report in June, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD said: “We will be looking for a report from those committees before the end of the year so we can then make a decision and respond from Government early in the new year with a view to putting a question to the people of Dublin at the same time as the local and European elections as to whether we should have a directly elected mayor and reform local government in Dublin.”

Limerick mayor

The process of establishing a mayor of Limerick is further along than the proposal for Dublin, with the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill, published in August 2023, outlining the role and remit of the prospective mayor. The Bill will be put before the Oireachtas in autumn.

Both Dublin and Limerick could have directly elected mayors before the end of the current Government’s term, if ambitions are to be met.

The Future of Local Government

Minister of State for Local Government Kieran O’Donnell TD has further stated that the referendum to establish a mayor will take place concurrently in Limerick with the European elections in 2024.

The Mayor would be directly elected, and would be required to not hold a seat on Limerick City and County Council. The councillors in Limerick City and County would be further required to scrutinise and work in tandem with the mayor.

Furthermore, the proposal would restructure Limerick City and County Council to a three-tier structure of the councillors, the mayor, and chief executive, who would become director general of the council.

Although the mayor would have a wide range of functions including the strategic and economic development of Limerick, housing, road transport and safety, and environmental services, the director general would retain responsibility for managing the council's day-to-day operations.

Minister of State O’Donnell said: “The directly elected mayor will take on many of the executive functions which currently rest with the chief executive and will also take on a host of new functions, supported by a budget to implement the mayor’s programme and priorities.”

International examples

Although directly elected mayors are not yet established in Ireland, the model has been rolled out in countries such as France, the UK, and the United States, albeit with differing levels of satisfaction.

In England, the most notable mayor is the directly elected Mayor of London, who heads the Greater London Authority (GLA). The GLA is also partially governed by the London Assembly, an institution with similar powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly over the Greater London Area. The London Assembly also

performs scrutiny over the activities of the Mayor of London.

In addition to the governance of a city, a mayor is, in essence, a figurehead who is seen as a city’s representative throughout the world, as exemplified by former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s use of the role of Mayor of London to significantly increase his public profile through his time in office, with his increased fame playing a significant role in his eventual rise to power in the UK.

Although the role of mayor has been seen as a relative success with fairly high levels of approval in England’s larger cities, in small towns where mayors have been introduced, the levels of approval have been mixed, with towns such as Hartlepool having since voted to abolish its elected mayor and retain a traditional form of local government.

The path forward

This is not the first attempt at establishing elected mayors in Ireland. In 2019, pilot votes were held in Cork, Limerick, and Waterford on whether to introduce a directly elected mayor, with only Limerick voting in favour.

Additionally, the Local Government Act 2001 included a provision for the election of mayors, starting with the 2004 local elections, but this was repealed in 2003.

However, Minister of State for Local Government Kieran O’Donnell TD, who assumed his role in February 2023, has stated that “every county of Ireland” should have a directly elected mayor. “I think it is a natural evolution, and if we look at other European countries, they have all evolved in that space.”

Irish Renewable Gas Conference 2023

Thursday 7 September 2023

The Gibson Hotel, Dublin

In partnership with

Sponsored by

The Irish energy sector is undergoing a transition to a low carbon future. Although much of the focus to date has been on electricity, there is now a need to move the focus towards the transition of Ireland’s natural gas network to low and zero carbon gas sources. There are an emerging number of elements to the decarbonisation of the natural gas infrastructure including biomethane and green hydrogen.

Energy Ireland, in partnership with Gas Networks Ireland, will hold a highly insightful interactive conference on the future of renewable gas in Ireland, involving key stakeholders across the energy sector. The objective of the conference is to give delegates a genuine in-depth understanding of the developments in the gas sector and to investigate potential options for decarbonising Ireland’s natural gas infrastructure.

Key issues discussed will include:

• GNI’s strategy to decarbonise its network

• The potential for biomethane production in Ireland

• Biomethane injection into the gas network

• The future role of green hydrogen

• The potential for gas storage in Ireland

Register

Tel: +353 (0)1 661 3755

Online: www.renewablegasconference.ie

Email: registration@energyireland.ie

Speaker panel

Barry Quinlan Assistant Secretary Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications

Biljana Kulisic Policy Officer, Bioenergy European Commission

Cathal Marley Chief Executive Officer Gas Networks Ireland

Charlotte Morton Chief Executive World Biogas Association

Ross Moore Partner A&L Goodbody

Kamila Waciega Director, Energy & Infrastructure Policy Hydrogen Europe

Karen Kavanagh Director, Networks & Economic Regulation Commission for Regulation of Utilities

Christian Bendrup Faurholt Country Lead Energinet

Ciara Beausang Research Officer Teagasc

Luis Gay-Tarazona Programme Manager, Bioenergy Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland

Future of gas report

Sponsored by

There is a pressing need to phase out fossil fuels, for a faster uptake of renewable alternatives and to reduce our emissions. Through our strengthened climate legislation, the 2020 Programme for Government, and our annually updated climate action plans, we have set ourselves the ambition of halving Ireland’s

greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade and becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

We are determined that Ireland will play its part in EU and global efforts to stop climate change and, in so doing, harness the opportunities and rewards that will come from moving quickly to a low-carbon society.

As we transition to a more integrated, low-carbon energy system, enhancing our energy efficiency and greater electrification of our heat and transport sectors will be the primary building blocks of a net zero energy system. However, they alone will not be enough. There is no silver bullet, no one solution. We need to look at a variety of

The decarbonisation of Ireland’s energy system and economy is a key priority for the Government in tackling the climate crisis, writes Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD.

Minister Eamon Ryan TD: Green hydrogen, decarbonised gases, and the energy transition

solutions that suit different needs and circumstances.

Within this, decarbonised gases, such as green hydrogen and biomethane, will play a vital role as they provide the flexibility and energy density needed for the so-called ‘harder to decarbonise’ sectors, such as high-temperature heating, heavy transport applications, and, in the longer term, the aviation and shipping sectors.

They will also play a key role in decarbonising our electricity sector. Firstly, as we move towards 80 per cent renewables by 2030, there will be an increasing need for flexibility. Producing hydrogen from electrolysis at times when we produce more renewable power than instantaneous demand can provide some of this flexibility. Decarbonised gases can also be stored in large volumes.

This long-duration store of energy will be key to ensuring our energy system’s security and resilience into the future as we move from fossil fuels to a predominantly renewable-based system. This stored energy can then be burned in gas turbines or fuel cell technologies to create zero carbon electricity at times when the wind is not blowing. Whilst it is envisioned that these may only operate for a small number of hours each year, they will nonetheless be crucial to the resilience of our energy system.

Biomethane will be critical to decarbonising our agricultural sector particularly, taking wastes and residues from food and farms and turning them into renewable energy. This can drive a more circular and sustainable approach to food production, with bio-digestate helping to create a shift from the use of chemical fertiliser application to organic alternatives. Ireland has set a target to deliver 5.7 TWh of biomethane by 2030 in recognition of this fact and plans to publish a biomethane strategy later this year to enable the implementation of this target.

Ireland’s location in the Atlantic means that its coast is one of the most energy productive in Europe. With a sea area approximately seven times the size of its landmass, Ireland’s wind resources are amongst the best in the world. If we are to utilise these, we could produce significantly more renewables than we would ever need.

Hydrogen is one of the best ways of capturing these excess resources and

this represents a major opportunity for Ireland. We already know countries such as Germany will have a future deficit and are actively looking to source clean hydrogen internationally. Ireland is one of a small number of countries that has the natural resources to supply this.

In recognition of this opportunity, we are working on a number of projects, including engaging with our neighbours to better understand their needs. Earlier this year, I signed a Declaration of Intent with the German government to enhance our cooperation in the field of green hydrogen. I am also actively engaging with other neighbouring countries in Northwest Europe to enhance cooperation, building on the foundations laid through the North Seas Energy Cooperation. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is also developing an industrial strategy for offshore wind, which will be published next year. This strategy will begin to look at the skills and workforce needed to deliver the opportunity presented by our enormous offshore potential, as well as how we can best ensure that these resources are developed in a way which ensures there is maximum benefits to Ireland.

In July 2023, my department published the National Hydrogen Strategy, our first major policy statement on renewable hydrogen in this country. The strategy sets out our strategic vision for the role that hydrogen will play in

Ireland’s energy system and as a key component of our zero-carbon economy. It considers the needs of the entire hydrogen value chain, including production, end uses, transportation and storage, safety, regulation, markets, innovation, and skills. It also sets out 21 actions that will enable the development of the hydrogen sector in Ireland over the coming years. These actions aim to remove barriers which could inhibit early hydrogen projects from progressing today. They also aim to enhance our knowledge through targeted research and innovation across the hydrogen value chain, laying the groundwork to deliver on our longterm strategic vision for hydrogen in Ireland.

The future looks bright for decarbonised gases in Ireland. They will perform an essential role in the long-term deep decarbonisation and security of our energy system. Whilst the publication of the hydrogen strategy and anticipated publication of the biomethane strategy mark an important first step in developing an indigenous decarbonised gases sector in Ireland, there is still a distance to travel. However, the Government is fully committed to the journey. Together we can and will pursue the best interests of people through responsible, transformative climate action.

Ireland’s gas network to play a crucial role in our green hydrogen evolution

incredible opportunity to enable Ireland to transition to a climate neutral economy by being a zero-carbon substitute for fossil fuels. In doing so, green hydrogen will help Ireland meet its 2050 net-zero emissions targets, diversify, and strengthen its security of supply, provide a pathway to energy independence, and in the long term, potentially leading to the creation of a new energy export market.

The Strategy also highlights that green hydrogen is both safe and feasible to use in the existing gas distribution network to transport hydrogen blended with natural gas now, and with some modifications, transport 100 per cent hydrogen in the future. Gas Networks Ireland continues to undertake a programme of hydrogen testing on the gas transmission network.

Hydrogen testing centre

Working with University College Dublin’s Energy Institute (UCDEI), one of the first innovation projects undertaken at Gas Networks Ireland‘s Network Innovation Centre was Testing of Blends of Hydrogen and Natural Gas (HyTest). The team tested the operation and performance of gas appliances utilising a range of hydrogen concentrations from 2 per cent to 20 per cent hydrogen.

National hydrogen strategy

In July 2023, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) published the Government’s National Hydrogen Strategy which outlines the future role green hydrogen gas – harnessed from offshore wind – and the gas network will play in specific areas of Ireland’s energy system, particularly for hard to abate sectors such as transport, industrial heating, and power generation.

Gas Networks Ireland has strongly welcomed its publication as an important milestone in the decarbonisation of Ireland’s gas network, which is essential in the transition to a net-zero energy system in Ireland by 2050.

Green hydrogen: a zerocarbon substitute for fossil fuels

The National Hydrogen Strategy recognises that green hydrogen offers an

The research found that householders using natural gas blended with up to 20 per cent hydrogen will not need to make any change to their existing domestic appliances or notice any difference. There was also a substantial emissions reduction obtained by blending hydrogen with natural gas.

EU hydrogen project partners

Gas Networks Ireland is also participating in a major project to help the European Union meet its new accelerated goals and radically increase the use of hydrogen by 2030. The EU is predicting that circa 14 per cent of energy consumption across Europe will be from hydrogen by 2050, while it is expected to

Gas Networks Ireland operates and maintains Ireland’s €2.7 billion, 14,664km national gas network, which is considered one of the safest and most modern renewables-ready gas networks in the world and is perfectly positioned to become the nation's backbone for the green hydrogen economy.

Showcased in the Government’s National Hydrogen Strategy as a case study, Gas Networks Ireland established its Network Innovation Centre, located in Citywest, Dublin two years ago, to understand the full potential of hydrogen and ensure that the gas network is capable of safely transporting and storing both blended and up to 100 per cent hydrogen into the future.

of the European hydrogen backbone (EHB) initiative.

be 20-35 per cent in the Netherlands, and up to 50 per cent of the total energy demand in the UK.

The European Hydrogen Backbone initiative is focussed on planning for the future development of a European hydrogen market through new pan-European hydrogen transport infrastructure. The planned hydrogen backbone network will largely be based on repurposing existing natural gas infrastructure. It is envisaged that by 2040, for example, Ireland could be connected to the new European hydrogen backbone via a repurposed subsea pipeline to the Moffat interconnector in Scotland.

Working with third level institutions and Science Foundation Ireland

Additionally, Gas Networks Ireland is working with academia. The utility is one of a number of industry players funding a €16 million strategic partnership with Irish third-level institutions that will examine how to holistically decarbonise the overall Irish energy sector. Led by UCDEI, NexSys (Next Generation Energy System) is also supported by Science Foundation Ireland.

Gas Networks Ireland has a number of other strategic hydrogen research partnerships, including one with Ulster University on hydrogen blend safety and with AMBER on materials compatibility with hydrogen.

Gas Networks Ireland

W: www.gasnetworks.ie/hydrogen

The national gas network: Ireland’s hydrogen-ready infrastructure

Cathal Marley, CEO of Gas Networks Ireland.

Gas Networks Ireland is supporting Ireland’s journey to a cleaner energy future by working to replace natural gas with renewable gases, such as biomethane and green hydrogen.

Welcoming the Government’s strategy and its commitment to supporting the establishment of a green hydrogen industry in Ireland, Gas Networks Ireland’s CEO, Cathal Marley says:

“We believe it is important that the National Hydrogen Strategy recognises how Ireland’s modern gas network can be leveraged to accommodate hydrogen produced from wind energy, as well as acknowledging that during this transition, natural gas will continue to be needed to ensure continued security and resilience of Ireland’s energy system.

“The gas network is Ireland’s hydrogen-ready infrastructure and reliable energy backbone, which will substantially reduce the country’s carbon emissions and play a vital role in establishing our future hydrogen economies.”

Repurposing the gas network for hydrogen

David Kelly, Director of Customer and Business Development at Gas Networks Ireland. The gas network is the cornerstone of Ireland’s energy system, securely supplying more than 30 per cent of Ireland’s total energy, including 40 per cent of all heating and almost 50 per cent of the country’s electricity generation.

The cost of repurposing the existing gas network to transport hydrogen is estimated to be a fraction (10 per cent to 35 per cent) of the cost of building new dedicated hydrogen pipelines.

Gas Networks Ireland’s Director of Customer and Business Development, David Kelly, says: “As the gas pipelines are already in the ground, it is the least disruptive option also.

“Replacing natural gas with renewable gases, such as hydrogen, will substantially reduce the country’s carbon emissions by supporting our large industrial customers on their net zero journeys while also complementing intermittent renewable electricity and ensuring a more diverse and secure energy supply.

“We have been working diligently for an extensive period of time on preparing the existing gas network to accept hydrogen and natural gas blends from the UK, as well as preparing for the injection of indigenously produced green hydrogen at appropriate locations into the gas network. Results from our studies indicate that our network will be ready. We are confident that we will be in a position to onboard hydrogen as and when our industry partners are ready to produce the renewable gas.”

The return of geopolitics: Consequences for energy policy

the University of Warwick and co-chair and co-founder of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Research Network on Energy Politics, Policy, and Governance, speaks to eolas Magazine about how energy policymakers have responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It is, Kuzemko says, “self-evident” that we are now interpreting the world as one where geographic borders “matter a bit more”, there is a “little bit more competition” and a “little bit less cooperation” between countries in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent scramble to secure national energy futures. Not least, as outlined in the research paper, Russia's war on Ukraine, European energy policy responses and implications for sustainable transformations, published by Kuzemko and colleagues, as the EU’s REPowerEU strategy pledged to wean Europe off of its reliance on Russian fossil fuels.

“We think of energy policy as being set to meet multiple goals,” she says. “Historically, through the start of the last century when inanimate forms of energy became so important for modern living, security was obviously the goal. In the post-war period, the question of access and energy equity became increasingly important. In

the latter part of the last century and the beginning of this century, sustainability gained an increasing foothold on energy policy agendas and now is a firm goal of energy policy.

“I would suggest that the question of social justice has now added another dimension to energy policy. The question of who governs, whose voices are represented, and who is involved in the generation of energy have become important because renewables, given their distribution, change this up. It is in the balancing of these goals that we will be able to deliver lasting change, where citizens are bought in, engaged, and become part of the process will be key to keeping climate mitigation on political agendas.”

Energy security has returned to the fore as the main concern as EU member states have cut their supplies of Russian fossil fuels, an “immense task”. “I find it interesting as an academic that we are so used to historically

thinking about producer nations wielding the energy weapon, but we have seen the EU turn that on its head a bit and use demand reduction as a policy tool,” Kuzemko says. “The focus on reducing fossil fuel imports from Russia has meant an increase in EU joint gas storage, an uptick in acting with solidarity – which has been a real issue because member states have wanted to hold onto national control of energy traditionally.”

The move away from Russian fossil fuels has led to a diversification of supplies, with new infrastructure being built in Europe to facilitate the importation and regasification of LNG from the US, for example. “Most interesting”, Kuzemko says, is the “rethinking of the place of renewables”.

“Those of us who have been thinking about climate change for a while now will be familiar with arguments that renewables are less reliable and resilient, but this re-emphasis on homegrown energy and energy independence means that renewables are now seen as a solution on both the sustainability and security sides,” she says.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that global emissions must peak by 2025 and reduce by 43 per cent by 2030 if current climate goals are to be met, a “tall and urgent order” that Kuzemko says has had interesting implications for energy policy and sustainability.

“Clean energy and energy saving are two of the pillars underpinning REPowerEU and there have been some great success stories there and some quite huge revisions of North Sea wind targets that are very interesting. I particularly noted in terms of encouraging more investment in renewables the temporary relaxation of state aid rules in the EU and on the planning side, the notion of renewables as being in the overriding public interest,” she says.

“On the demand side, the decision to put in a mandatory target to reduce electricity demand at peak times was very innovative. Obviously, this was temporary, and it ended in March 2023, but it will be interesting to see if it the kind of thing that happens again in winter 2023/2024 and further out, because a smaller electricity system is a cheaper one.”

While there have been positives in boosting the production of clean energy, Kuzemko states that the complications have come in the phasing out of fossil fuels and the knock-on effects of Europe’s increasing consumption of LNG.

“A completely unintended knock-on consequence of the EU entering into global LNG markets in a much larger sense has meant that there has been less LNG available for developing economies, some of which have been priced out of the market,” she states.

“In some developing economies like Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where the move towards gas to replace coal was being made, there has now been a move back towards coal. In China’s 2023 strategy, for the first time in a long time, there was real emphasis on coal on security grounds. This clearly poses questions about emissions.

“To get the world to net zero or the 1.5oC target, everybody must be involved, and by that, I mean all countries in the world. In terms of energy equity, there are implications tied up in keeping the lights on in Europe. There is also the question of equity in terms of the allocation of unburnable carbon; it has been agreed at UN COPs that certain parts of the world, mainly the global north, are more responsible for emissions and have more capability to bring those emissions down. Research around the equitable allocation of unburnable carbon suggests that it should favour the global south, but what we have been seeing is the UK and Norway increasing output and using what is going on at the moment to announce new extraction plans for oil and gas.”

Concluding, Kuzmemko reflects on how “social justice has been part of what the EU has been doing in energy policy” and how measures such as the 2019 Clean Energy Package included provisions for more public engagement and more bottom-up cultivation of sustainable energy such as solar panels. “I find it very interesting that, at the Commission and member state level, there is clear commitment – and this may be a continuation of the Covid crisis – for governments to step in and deliver social goals and also now to deliver on sustainable energy,” she says.

“We are so used to historically thinking about producer nations wielding the energy weapon, but we have seen the EU turn that on its head a bit and use demand reduction as a policy tool.”

Caroline Kuzemko, University of Warwick

Bord Gáis Energy welcomes National Hydrogen Strategy

Bord Gáis Energy has welcomed the publication of the Government’s recently published National Hydrogen Strategy as a keystone to Ireland becoming a green-energy powerhouse.

The National Hydrogen Strategy sets out the Government’s vision for how hydrogen will be produced and used in Ireland and outlines how green hydrogen can help Ireland become a zerocarbon, secure energy system and an energy exporter. A key objective of the strategy was to provide certainty to investors and industry as to how hydrogen will be deployed in the Irish energy system. Bord Gáis Energy welcomed the signals to industry in the report.

Bord Gáis Energy, which was purchased by Centrica in 2014, strongly believes that green hydrogen is a keystone to Ireland becoming a clean, green-energy powerhouse, and is investing €300 million in the construction of two hydrogen-capable power generation plants, which will be ready to support the grid at the end of 2024.

Emma Burrows, Legal, Regulation and Corporate Affairs Director at Bord Gáis Energy said: “We welcome the Government’s significant efforts to embrace green hydrogen as a safe and secure energy solution. Ensuring that industry is provided with the necessary certainty to inform future investment strategies is vital if Ireland is to unlock the potential that green hydrogen presents.

“At Bord Gáis Energy we plan to deploy our significant expertise in engineering, innovation, and energy to support these plans. Centrica’s UK trials in the hydrogen sector bring significant learning opportunities and have enabled our teams to identify the areas where this technology can be effectively implemented in Ireland.

“We are working with other like-minded investors

The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, joined by Meadhbh Connolly, Future Opportunities Manager, ESB Generation and Trading; and Gillian Kinsella, Senior Policy Manager, Bord Gáis Energy and Co-Chair, Policy and Advocacy Working Group, Hydrogen Ireland at the launch of the National Hydrogen Strategy.

Hydrogen facts and figures

• Ireland has potential for up to 90TWh of hydrogen production according to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. For context, the current gas network provides 74TWh of gas supply on the island of Ireland to 720,000 customers.

• Ireland’s demand for hydrogen is estimated to be in the region between five and 39TWh for domestic demand and between 20 and 75TWh for total demand by 2050.

• The Irish Government has set a target of 2GWs of offshore wind to use for hydrogen production and to deliver between one and three TWh of renewable gas (including hydrogen) by 2030.

• Ireland needs approximately 20TWh of dispatchable generation by 2050. Green hydrogen can provide a route to decarbonise this dispatchable generation that is needed in periods of low wind/solar.

• Gas Networks Ireland is currently assessing the potential for hydrogen to be blended in the gas grid, initial results are promising, and the hope is that the gas grid can accommodate blends of up to 20 per cent hydrogen volume without the need for significant adjustments.

seeking to deliver Ireland’s net zero ambitions to create an indigenous cluster that will use Ireland’s natural resources off the southwest coast to provide an abundant, flexible, and secure zero carbon energy source that can be used across Irish society and beyond. Indeed, Government’s recent Joint Declaration of Intent on cooperation in the field of green hydrogen with Germany demonstrates that green hydrogen has the potential to meet not just Ireland’s but Europe’s growing green-energy needs.”

Gillian

Kinsella, Senior

Policy Manager,

Bord Gáis Energy and Co-Chair, Policy and Advocacy Working Group, Hydrogen Ireland said: “The publication

of the Government’s National Hydrogen Strategy outlines the strategic pathway for hydrogen’s role in decarbonising our economy, enhancing our energy security, and creating industrial and export market opportunities. It will enable investment, increase skills, support regionally balanced economic growth and system resource efficiencies, thus providing a crucial pathway for delivering a future that will benefit the Irish people for generations to come.”

For further information visit bordgaisenergy.ie

“Bord Gáis Energy is currently investing €300 million over 24 months in hydrogen-capable infrastructure.”

Decarbonising Ireland’s heat demand

Barry Quinlan, Assistant Secretary, Energy – built environment, retrofit and heat policy at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, speaks to eolas Magazine about government priorities in the decarbonisation of heat demand.

Setting the context for his responsibilities and the immediate pressure under which he operates, Quinlan states that when threatened, for example by the war in Ukraine, “security of supply and affordability, trump everything else”, pointing to his work on 2022’s electricity credit, ensuring that the country had requisite diesel levels, and making market adjustments to ensure access to fossil fuels. “It is about making sure people can heat their houses,” he says.

However, Quinlan outlines that the decarbonisation of the heating of houses will be a major part of the State’s push towards net zero by 2050, with the overall policy context dictated by the Climate Action Plan. “Chapter 14, Built Environment, is how we are going to decarbonise our

buildings,” he says. “We have done a lot of work on new buildings and the standards. In my old department [the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage], they are very, very strong. People buying houses now are buying Arated houses with heat pumps primarily, but it is a completely different story for older homes which are on oil and gas. That is the big thing we have to change.”

District heating

This change will be governed by the currently progressing National Heat Policy, which is “working through the system at the moment”, and its emphasis on electrification and district heating. In the case of district heating, Quinlan acknowledges that “we do not do [that] at any scale here yet, but we know it

works well in Europe”. “The great thing about district heating is that when you have one source of heat for multiple buildings, as is the rationale for changing our heating source, you can do that,” he elaborates.

The National Heat Study highlighted progress in the area of heat pumps but said that district heating still requires significant work. “District heating needs to be focused on a district or a part of a large town or city,” Quinlan says. “We have brought together good people from the system: planners, regulators, finance, and local authorities which have already done district heating here, looking at the delivery model at scale.

“We are going to need major district heating projects in all of our cities as a start. At the moment, the primary delivery model is a co-operative model based on local authorities, which certainly has its merits, but to do it at scale, we can see from countries which have done this that it requires a mix of public and private.”

Heat and Built Environment Taskforce

A number of taskforces have been set up by Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan TD, with Quinlan chairing the Heat and Built Environment Taskforce, whose members include nine government departments, Enterprise Ireland, the HSE, the local authority City and County Managers’ Association, IDA Ireland, the Office of Public Works, SEAI, and Teagasc.

Quinlan states that the membership of the HSE is especially important, given that the executive owns 4,500 of the circa 11,500 public buildings in the State. The membership of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine allows for “a lot of work” to be done on biomethane, and the area of residential retrofit – where Quinlan acknowledges “a huge job” – is also being covered.

“The taskforce is bringing all sorts of people together from different departments,” Quinlan says. “We also have subgroups covering industry. Industry has a big job to do in terms of heat, processes, and also buildings. We have the public sector, and the public sector has to be a leader. We have to formulate a policy there which works over time, particularly to retrofit our buildings.”

Renewable heat

Another major focus for Quinlan is the Renewable Heat Obligation, and the taskforce is playing a role in this regard by participating in the formulation of a biomethane strategy. “A key part of it is building that whole business model to make those projects work,” he says. “We are looking at biomethane and anaerobic digestion with not only a link to agriculture, but the key parts are around feedstock and how you feed this over time. The other bit is being able to offload the energy efficiently at the end. That is the whole piece around the Renewable Heat Obligation, and we will be going out to consultation.”

Some “incredible schemes” are being run through SEAI’s Industry programmes in this regard, Quinlan says, pointing to a recent trip to a large industry network in a “major facility” in Tipperary as an example. “It was incredible; a big solar farm, working towards a massive heat pump, going to use the excess energy that will deliver from offshore wind,” he says.

“They are all moving in this direction; it is coming from their own boardrooms. They are looking for the Irish regulatory regime and how we support them. We do not have to ask them to go on this journey, those decisions have been made and the decarbonisation is just as high a KPI as profit at boardroom level.”

Quinlan also makes note of “improvements” made to the “very generous” Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme and reaffirms the Government’s commitment to it, despite admitting that the process has been “difficult”. This contrasts with the National Retrofit Plan, where “huge progress” is being made according to Quinlan, much like the rollout of heat pumps. “Huge amounts of people have to make those decisions,” he says. “It is a big intervention, and it is not a well understood technology for people that are in existing homes. New homeowners are very familiar with it now.”

Concluding on a positive note, Quinlan focuses on the success of the retrofit scheme as evidence of the progress being made towards weaning Irish domestic heat off oil and gas: “We doubled the amount of money spent. 27,200 upgrades is 80 per cent up on the year before; that tells its own story.

“Heat is one of the last big challenges that Ireland needs to get on top of. We are preaching to the converted when it comes to industry. We are going to have to bring homeowners and others with us and make sure that the transition is just.”

“We have brought together good people from the system: planners, regulators, finance, and local authorities which have already done district heating here, looking at the delivery model at scale. We are going to need major district heating projects in all of our cities as a start.”

Barry Quinlan, Assistant

Secretary, Energy – built environment, retrofit and heat policy at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications

Paving the way for a just transition: The role of renewable gas in Ireland’s future

As the world collectively strives to achieve netzero carbon emissions, it is imperative that the transition be just and fair, leaving no one behind.

Renewable gas emerges as a crucial player in this journey, offering a unique avenue to address both environmental concerns and social equality, particularly for rural off-grid gas customers. We know that the current ‘one size fits all’ approach to retrofitting homes is not working – the figures tell us so.

The uptake of grants available for deep retrofitting and heat pump installation through the National Home Energy Upgrade Scheme, is lower than anticipated, particularly in rural areas. For the Irish Government to hit its target, 62,500 houses need to be retrofitted annually.

The future vision: navigating Ireland's transition

Ireland's commitment to a net-zero future by 2050, as outlined in the Climate Action Plan, underscores the nation's dedication to

combatting climate change. To achieve this ambitious target, Ireland must optimise its energy mix and ensure a mixed technology approach with wider choice of viable options for homes and businesses off the natural gas grid.

According to recent figures for the SEAI’s Better Energy, Warmer Homes Scheme, 603 homes were provided with a heating system upgrade in the first half of 2023. The Scheme provides free energy efficiency upgrades for eligible homes, and the aim of the Scheme is to make eligible homes warmer, healthier, and cheaper to run.

Of those 603 homes that underwent energy efficiency upgrades, only 20 installed a heat pump, while 348 were refitted with gas boilers. Retrofitting and installing a heat pump is a costly process, requires additional insulation actions, and requires many homeowners to vacate their premises when certain works are required. For many, this just is not feasible.

For these homeowners, switching to a renewable ready gas boiler that caters for lower

In the pursuit of a sustainable future, Ireland stands at a crossroads, facing the challenges of combating climate change while ensuring an equitable transition for everyone, writes Duncan Osborne, Chief Executive Officer of Calor Ireland.

carbon LPG, BioLPG or a blend of both, would have an immediate and lasting impact on reducing carbon emissions.

It is clear from these figures that it is vital that homeowners have a suite of energy efficiency upgrade solutions available to choose from, or they may choose inaction.

A just transition

One of the defining principles of Ireland's approach to the transition is the commitment to a just transition, ensuring that vulnerable communities and individuals are not disproportionately burdened by the changes necessitated by climate action.

We know from a recent report by Liquid Gas Ireland (LGI), the association representing companies operating in the LPG and BioLPG industry in Ireland, of which Calor Ireland is a member, that 65 per cent of properties located off the gas grid rely on oil as the energy source of choice for home heating while others rely on high carbon traditional fuels such as coal and turf.

Integrating LPG, BioLPG, and rDME (renewable dimethyl ether) into the energy solution means ensuring that those living in rural dwellings have the same options to decarbonise as those in urban settings.

Calor Ireland has been at the forefront of this journey by introducing BioLPG, a certified renewable gas, in 2018. Alongside our parent company SHV Energy, Calor is making strides in developing, investing in, and growing Futuria, our sustainable fuels portfolio.

Innovation and collaboration

The journey towards net zero and a just transition requires innovation and collaboration at every level. The government, private sector, academia, and local communities must work in tandem to drive technological advancements and enhance the efficiency of renewable gas production and distribution.

As a leading global distributor of LPG and LNG, SHV Energy – Calor Ireland’s parent company –invests in research and development to find novel ways to produce sustainable fuels such as BioLPG, BioLNG, rDME, hydrogen, and other sustainable ‘future’ fuels. Innovation is considered essential to realise these goals.

Developing and investing in a range of fuel sources will ensure that measures are being applied across all sectors in society. Transport, for example, is one of Ireland’s major causes of pollution, and sustainable fuels such as BioLPG are being used in our forklift truck cylinders to support the decarbonising of the logistics sector, as well as contributing to the Government’s Biofuels Obligation Scheme targets.

Calor will continue to invest in developing sustainable energy solutions to enable consumers to make lower carbon choices. We are fully committed to bringing a full range of solutions to market, but our consumers need to be supported to decarbonise, if the just transition is to genuinely mean what it says.

Calor urges the Government to develop a regulatory environment which supports the use and availability of renewable liquid gases to meet the energy needs of rural Ireland. Integrating LPG, BioLPG, and rDME into current and future Government policy will help to ensure a mixed technology approach and wider choice of viable options for homes and businesses off the natural gas grid.

T: 01 450 5000

W: www.calorgas.ie

Published in July 2023, the National Hydrogen Strategy is the Government’s first major policy statement on renewable hydrogen and is aimed at increasing certainty and reducing commercial risk to drive private sector investment.

The strategy explores the opportunity for Ireland, hydrogen production, enduses, transportation, storage, and infrastructure, alongside safety and regulation, research, cooperation, and scaling. In addition, it determines Ireland’s strategic hydrogen development timeline, seeking to “provide clarity on the sequencing of future actions needed and guide our [the Government’s] work over the coming months and years”.

Outlining the rationale for developing an indigenous hydrogen sector in Ireland, the National Hydrogen Strategy identifies three primary policy drivers:

1. Decarbonising the economy

Ireland requires a radical transformation of its entire economy if it is to achieve net zero emissions no later than 2050. Indigenously produced renewable or green hydrogen can play a significant role in this transformation, with its potential to be a zero-carbon alternative to fossil fuels in hard to abate sectors of the economy. This includes those in which electrification is unfeasible or inefficient.

National Hydrogen Strategy published

Long awaited by many in the energy sector, the National Hydrogen Strategy was launched by Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, aboard a hydrogen-fuel-cellelectric double-deck bus.

2. Enhancing energy security

Ireland imports around three-quarters of its energy supply annually. However, by harnessing one of the world’s best offshore renewable energy resources and using the surplus to produce renewable hydrogen, Ireland has an opportunity to reduce reliance and potentially achieve energy independence. While fossil fuels are utilised as a backup to renewable energy sources, renewable hydrogen could become a zero-carbon replacement. As per the National Energy Security Framework, hydrogen is highly energy dense and, therefore, suited to the development of seasonal storage solutions at scale, helping to mitigate variability and seasonal demand.

3. Creating industrial and export market opportunities

In the long term, Ireland has the potential to produce excess renewable energy, including hydrogen. At the same time, many European countries have identified a long-term demand for renewable carbon imports to meet decarbonisation ambitions. As such, the establishment of an export market could be beneficial to the domestic development of renewable hydrogen.

In the short term, the National Hydrogen Strategy establishes a series of actions aimed at enabling the development of Ireland’s hydrogen strategy. The

strategy aims to removal obstacles which could inhibit hydrogen projects while enhancing knowledge through targeted research and innovation.

Established in 2020, the Interdepartmental Hydrogen Working Group is tasked with monitoring the delivery of these actions, while identifying further actions to support progress as the sector evolves.

Combining long-term ambitions with 21 short-term actions, the National Hydrogen Strategy aims to:

• kickstart and scale up renewable hydrogen production;

• identify end use sectors, supply chains, and required quantities;

• determine what infrastructure is needed;

• ensure the implementation of rules around safety, sustainability, and markets; and

• establish conditions which foster continued technological advancement and innovation.

Minister

In his foreword to the National Hydrogen Strategy, Minister Ryan asserts that alongside other decarbonised gases, renewable or green hydrogen will have a key role to play in Ireland’s energy transition. Describing hydrogen as a “major opportunity for Ireland”, he contends: “It provides the potential for long-duration energy storage,

Hydrogen Strategy

Actions to be delivered through the implementation of the National Hydrogen Strategy

Number: Action:

1 Develop and publish data sets showing the likely locations, volumes, and load profile of surplus renewables on the electricity grid up to 2030.

2 Establish an initial hydrogen innovation fund to provide co-funding supports for demonstration projects across the hydrogen value chain.

3 Adopt EU standards for renewable and low carbon hydrogen and develop a national certification scheme to provide end users with clarity as to the origin and sustainability of hydrogen.

4 Develop the commercial business models to support the scaling and development of renewable hydrogen, via surplus renewable electricity until 2030 and an initial 2GW of offshore wind from 2030.

5 Develop a roadmap to bring net zero dispatchable power solutions to market by 2030, supporting the establishment of a near net zero energy system by 2035.

6 Assess the role that integrated energy parks could play in the future energy system, including potential benefits and barriers.

7 Publish the draft National Policy Framework on Alternative Fuels Infrastructure and support the roll-out of hydrogen fuelled heavy vehicles and refuelling infrastructure as per the recast Renewable Energy Directive and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation.

8 Assess the feasible potential for end uses such as eFuels, decarbonised manufacturing, and export via the development of a National Industrial Strategy for Offshore Wind.

9 Determine the quantities and profile of zero carbon long duration energy storage required up to 2050 and develop a roadmap for its delivery.

10 Review the existing licensing and regulatory regimes relevant to the geological storage of hydrogen, progress the necessary legislative changes, and develop regulatory regimes to facilitate future prospecting and development of underground hydrogen storage solutions.

11 Continue to prove the technical capabilities of the gas network to transport hydrogen while working closely with network operators in neighbouring jurisdictions in respect to interoperability between the networks.

12 Develop a plan for transitioning the gas network to hydrogen, duly considering plans to develop a biomethane sector in Ireland; the prioritisation of end uses set out in the National Hydrogen Strategy and their likely locations where known; the need to maintain energy security through the transition; how existing end users can transition from natural gas to hydrogen or alternative energy solutions such as electric heating; and the potential use of hydrogen blends during a transition phase, associated costs, and how the transition from blending can occur.

The plan should look to identify where the network can be repurposed, or where new pipelines may be required, providing detailed costings and a programme of works.

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13 Identify and support the development of strategic hydrogen clusters. 2024-2026

14 Review current approaches to energy systems planning and make recommendations to support a more integrated long-term approach across the network operators.

15 Establish a working group comprising relevant regulators, government, and industry representatives to develop a roadmap for delivering the necessary safety frameworks and regulatory regimes across the entire hydrogen value chain.

16 Adopt the hydrogen and decarbonised gases market package into legislation once approved by the EU.

17 Review the entire hydrogen value chain to identify any gaps within the spatial planning, environmental permitting, and licensing regimes.

18 Engage with Ireland’s research sector to ensure sufficient focus is given to renewable hydrogen development and commission relevant research to help close the knowledge gaps identified throughout the National Hydrogen Strategy.

19 Continue engagement in EU hydrogen related initiatives and develop cooperation in renewable hydrogen development with neighbouring jurisdictions and international partners.

20 Continue to assess, and support the future skill needs of the offshore wind and renewable hydrogen sectors via the expert advisory group on skills established under the Offshore Wind Delivery Task force.

21 Review and update the terms of reference of the Interdepartmental Hydrogen Working Group in recognition of its role in oversight and implementation of the National Hydrogen Strategy.

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dispatchable renewable electricity, the decarbonisation of some parts of hightemperature processing, as well as a potential export market opportunity.”

However, the Minister makes clear that the deployment of hydrogen technologies must be optimised to deliver the most efficient or advantageous solution.

“Hydrogen provides us with an incredible opportunity in Ireland, but its use must be targeted to the uses where it will deliver the greatest benefits. We must not become distracted by the possibility to deploying hydrogen technologies where direct electrification would deliver a better outcome,” he writes.

End-uses

Renewable hydrogen deployment, the new strategy asserts, will centre on hard to abate sectors where direct electrification and energy efficiency measures are unfeasible or cost ineffective. Meanwhile, heavy transport applications bound by EU targets for 2030 are expected to be the first end-use sectors to emerge, quickly followed by industry and flexible generation.

While identified as significant highpriority end-users, the aviation and maritime sectors will take longer to develop. Indeed, given the uncertainties which exist in demand projections, it is thought that domestic hydrogen demand could range between 4.6 TWh and 39 TWh by 2050, increasing to 19.8 TWh and 74.6 TWh when including non-domestic energy needs such as international aviation and shipping.

Consequently, more research is required to determine a better understanding of the potential demand of end-use sectors, as well as the role that renewable hydrogen will play in an integrated net zero energy system.

In order of priority, the strategy lists 11 envisioned hydrogen end-uses:

1. Existing hydrogen end-users: Renewable hydrogen will replace niche grey hydrogen uses with a likely market entry timeframe of 2025-2030.

2. Flexible power generation and long duration energy storage: Net zero flexible backup generation and long duration energy storage with a likely market entry timeframe of 2030-2035.

3. Integrated energy parks for large energy users: As a backup to renewable electricity to meet reliability needs with a likely market entry timeframe of 2025-2030.

4. Industrial heat and processing: For high temperature heating and processing needs with a likely market entry timeframe of 20302035.

5. Aviation: As a zero-carbon synthetic fuel alternative to jet fuel with a likely market entry timeframe of 2035-2040.

6. Maritime: As a zero-carbon fuel (e.g. ammonia) with a likely market entry timeframe of 2035-2040.

7. Road and rail transport: For longrange road transport requiring long duty cycles and rail where electrification is unfeasible with a likely market entry timeframe of 2025-2030.

8. New non-energy uses: Such as fertiliser production and other chemical processes not currently undertaken in Ireland.

9. Export: Renewable hydrogen production exceeding domestic demand with a likely market entry timeframe of 2035-2040.

10. Blending: As a mitigation solution for end use variability and excess production with a likely market entry timeframe of 2023-2030.

11. Commercial and residential heating: In niche areas where electrification is unfeasible with a

Hydrogen explainer

likely market entry timeframe of 2035-2040.

Blending

Acknowledging a Gas Networks Ireland technical and safety feasibility study that determined transporting blends of hydrogen and natural gas via the gas network was both safe and feasible, the strategy recognises that “blending may offer an initial demand sink in the short term”. Notably, however, it concludes:

“Overall, blending is not seen as a high priority end-use for renewable hydrogen.”

Commercial and residential heating

Similarly, the strategy indicates:

“Hydrogen is not expected to play a role in commercial and residential space heating.” Rather, a combination of energy efficiency measures, direct electrification via heat pumps, and district heating are identified as “more efficient and cost-effective solutions” for the commercial and residential heat sector. Overall, the strategy contends that hydrogen will play a role in a small number of niche end use cases in commercial and residential heating which will “likely be required to work in parallel with energy efficiency measures such as hybrid heating systems where possible”.

Transportation, storage, and infrastructure

Ahead of hydrogen pipelines becoming the dominant mode of transportation, early hydrogen applications are anticipated to employ compressed

Hydrogen is most commonly chemically bonded to other elements, especially water (H2O) and hydrocarbons (CxHx). Hydrogen production relies on the chemical bonds between elements such as water to be broken, and the hydrogen separated and stored. This process requires an energy input, usually electricity or heat, the source of which, allied to the resulting byproducts, determines the carbon intensity of the production process.

Globally, most hydrogen is currently produced using hydrocarbons and in the absence of emissions abatement of the carbon byproduct. Grey hydrogen production is carbon intensive and unsustainable.

Electrolysis of water utilises electricity to split the molecule into hydrogen with oxygen as the byproduct. If the electricity used is generated via a renewable source, such as offshore wind, the resulting high purity hydrogen has no associated emissions and is therefore renewable or ‘green’ hydrogen.

tankering solutions. Initial infrastructure is expected to be concentrated in regional clusters with co-located production, high priority demand, and large-scale storage. Subsequently, as the hydrogen market matures, these clusters will be linked in a national hydrogen network, repurposing existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure where feasible.

To date, the gas network has proven technical capability to transport hydrogen blends of up to 100 per cent. However, the strategy suggests that more work must be undertaken to better understand “the costs, phasing of transition, and potential impacts for existing network users”.

Meanwhile, long duration storage via geological solutions will be essential to ensure the cost effectiveness and price resilience of hydrogen supply.

Simultaneously, allied with network infrastructure, storage will be crucial in ensuring security of supply. Commercial ports, interconnection, and import/export routes will be vital to the establishment of a hydrogen economy in Ireland, and the longterm planning must identify the infrastructure requirements of an integrated net zero energy system.

Long-term vision

Recognising, that renewable hydrogen is a nascent technology with much uncertainty around costs, end-uses, infrastructure, skills, and supply chains, the National Hydrogen Strategy seeks to provide a long-term vision for hydrogen in the Irish economy.

Ultimately, the strategy outlines, the proportion of onshore and offshore renewable energy dedicated to the production of renewable hydrogen “will eventually be determined by the market”. Though the delivery of sufficient renewable energy to both meet indigenous demand and enable export opportunities hinges on optimising the offshore renewable energy potential.

Commentary

Broadly welcomed by academia and industry alike, eolas Magazine spoke with several of Ireland’s hydrogen experts to gauge their reactions to the National Hydrogen Strategy.

Rory Monaghan, lecturer of mechanical engineering, College of Engineering and Informatics, University of Galway:

“Overall, the published hydrogen strategy is a great start. It delivered much more than I thought it would. The drafters really took the results of the public consultation seriously and have produced a very impressive document.

“Of particular note are the identification of end-use sectors and realistic timelines for hydrogen deployment in them. I am very happy to see heavy duty transport and public transport feature.

“The key next step for the sector is for the demo project fund to get established as quickly as possible so it can start dispersing support for projects. The commercial and research communities are ready to go.”

James Carton, assistant professor in sustainable energy, Dublin City University:

“Speaking with colleagues, we are quite impressed by the strategy. It is a nice piece of work. Both nationally and internationally, it has been well received. I have received positive feedback from my colleagues in academic, the public sector, and the private sector across Europe, the UK, and Ireland.

“It is a good document that sets out what Ireland is doing well, and that the interest mainly lies in hydrogen production and integrating it with renewable energy. It allows casts a light on some gaps which exist. One of the big gaps that it has identified is in end-use.

“There is a list of 21 actions, and each is very good; they all need to be actioned by the relevant bodies. Meanwhile, the Government has explicitly said that it is going to undertake pilots to learn, upskill, cultivate the knowledge and experience in the industry before building more larger scale projects.

“Government must quickly action the early points made in the action list of the National Hydrogen Strategy, while in parallel get going on ticking off these pilot projects so that we can enhance our experience and knowledge.”

Gillian Kinsella, co-chair of the policy and advocacy working group, Hydrogen Ireland:

“Hydrogen Ireland welcomes [the] release of the Government’s Hydrogen Strategy. The strategy marks a key milestone in the development of a green hydrogen sector in Ireland, one which can enable investment, increase skills and support regionally balanced economic growth. We look forward to supporting the implementation of the strategy in future to aid Ireland’s transition to a secure, net zero economy.”

Emissions reductions for industry: Lessons from Germany

Paul Münnich, Project Manager for Agora Industry, outlines the scale of the challenge in decarbonising the industrial sector in Germany.

Münnich contextualises that the German energy sector is currently in a state of relative flux, with the use of coal-powered energy having seen a short-term uptick in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and reducing the German supply of natural gas. Prior to the invasion, Germany had a significant reliance on the use of natural gas imported from the Russian Federation, amidst the German phase out of nuclear power. Therefore, Germany has had to adapt to an energy market with a much-reduced supply of natural gas and has utilised carbon-heavy sources as a medium-term solution. With the increased use of coal, Germany, in spite of having one of the highest rates of renewable energy sources in Europe, has a higher carbon intensity than European countries such as the UK, France, and Spain.

Münnich and his organisation, Agora Industry, have carried out the Power-2-heat study, which examines how best to maximise efficiency in German industrial heating systems.

Killing two birds with one stone

Münnich explains that “after the energy sector, industry is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions”.

“In Europe, industry accounts for 24 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Of this 24 per cent, roughly two-thirds can be attributed to the supply of power and heat, but the boundary conditions for the industrial transition are already set by the very ambitious ETS framework that the EU set in place.

“With the latest reform of the EU ETS, industry needs to be climate neutral by 2040. That gives us 16 years for the transformation, which is really not a lot for the big task we have ahead of us.”

Münnich adds: “In Germany, process heat accounts for 22 per cent of final energy demand and one-fifth of that process heat demand is still being met with coal, whilst the majority (41 per cent) comes from natural gas.

“The supply of power and heat in industry, accounted for 24 per cent of natural gas consumption in Germany, which is a lot, and much of the natural gas we used to use for industry in Germany came from Russia. Therefore, with the study we tried to find a good balance and an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: reduce emissions and also reduce natural gas consumption.”

Three levers

“The biggest lever for reaching climate neutrality,” Münnich states, “is the deployment of renewables”. “Of course, we still have to get faster, however, we have already achieved quite a lot, for example, in 2022, 83 per cent of all new power generators globally were renewable which, I would say, is quite impressive.

“The second and third levers touch upon the issue of heat; we have to switch from fossil to renewable heat sources and increase energy efficiency. In residential heating, we already see quite a lot of improvement. For example, in Europe sales of heat pumps have increased by roughly 100 per cent since 2019.

“I think this is the right way to go and the upward trend is continuing. The industrial heat transition has not reached that speed; it needs more momentum and it needs more political priority if we want to reach our targets.”

Hydrogen and heat pumps

“In the end, we will have to use a lot of renewable electricity for climate-neutral heat in industry. Often, hydrogen is at the centre of the debate, despite its high energy intensity and cost,” Münnich states. “Hydrogen is very versatile energy carrier and can be used in many different applications like producing steel and chemicals, however, producing renewable hydrogen is very energy intensive.

Providing one kWh of heat using renewable hydrogen requires over 1.5 kWh of renewable electricity to produce the hydrogen. So, wherever we can find a

better solution which requires less electricity, we should try to opt for that.”

As more efficient alternatives to the use of hydrogen, Münnich notes “electric boilers and large-scale industrial heat pumps are some of the many technology solutions for electrifying heat”. “Our analysis shows that hydrogen uses a lot of electricity whilst heat pumps can provide the same amount of energy with just a fraction of the electricity and the use of low temperature industrial waste heat or environmental heat, so this should really be the focus.”

However, Münnich also believes that “we will need more flexible demand”. “The electrification of industrial heat means that we cannot meet our heat demand in a base load pattern, but we should use renewable electricity when there is a lot of renewable electricity in the grid. When there is little power production by solar and wind we should try to reduce our load as much as possible, for instance by using heat storage technologies.”

Action to be taken

Münnich concludes that there is a need to phase out all fossil fuel usage for heat below 500oC before 2035 to help achieve climate goals.

“We have strategies for hydrogen and the circular economy but not yet for electrification. To quickly reduce emissions and dependence on natural gas in this decade, electrification is a key lever. That is why we also need an electrification strategy.”

“To quickly reduce emissions and dependence on natural gas in this decade, electrification is a key lever.”

Paul Münnich

Gas needed as transition fuel

carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent) compared to imported gas from UK which has an average emissions intensity of 36kg CO2e/boe, 13 times higher. The UK imports on average between 15 and 20 per cent of its gas supply from LNG, including LNG from the USA which, being fracked gas, which is gas extracted by hydraulically fracturing the shale/reservoir to release the trapped gas, has an emissions intensity 145kg CO2e/boe, 50 times more than the gas which could be produced from FEL 4/19.

Currently, Ireland relies heavily on the UK for its gas supply and will do for the foreseeable future unless the government can create an environment where foreign direct investment (FDI) feels welcomed to invest in Ireland and fund the further development of its plentiful domestic gas resources. Although existing exploration licences are permitted to continue, the policy to end the issuing of new licences has sent the opposite signal from a country where FDI is a cornerstone of its economic development.

The sole source of domestic gas supply in Ireland comes from the Corrib field, located in the Atlantic Ocean roughly 85km offshore of County Mayo. Figure 2 shows the location of Corrib and the associated infrastructure that supplies Ireland with gas. Corrib supplies roughly 20 per cent of Ireland’s annual demand, with the remaining 80 per cent coming from the UK via the Moffat gas interconnector. The gas supplied from the UK comes from various sources including liquified natural gas (LNG), which has very high associated emissions intensity due to the cooling

process to liquefy the gas before it is transported via sea tankers.

Adjacent to Corrib is the FEL 4/19 exploration licence, which contains two sizable gas prospects, and is owned and operated by Europa Oil and Gas. The first is about the same size as Corrib and the second is roughly twice the size of Corrib. Because these two prospects are geologically very similar to the Corrib gas field the risks associated with the development of these fields are well understood and the chance of success is high for an exploration project, roughly one in three for each of them. FEL 4/19 borders the Corrib field and as such the discovered gas within the FEL 4/19 licence could be quickly connected to the existing infrastructure and brought online to displace high emission imported gas from the UK/USA.

An independent emissions report by Sustainable, (www.esgable.com), calculated that the average emissions resulting from the development of domestic gas produced at FEL 4/19 would be 2.8kg CO2e/boe (kilograms of

The Corrib field is in decline and without the development of an adjacent gas field it will produce less gas each year before eventually being shut down, potentially within the next 10 years. This will result in 180 well paid jobs being lost at the Bellanaboy Gas Terminal and will have a material economic impact on County Mayo. Any discovery at FEL 4/19 would extend the life of the Bellanaboy Gas Terminal and has the potential to provide Ireland with circa 75 per cent of its forecast gas demand until 2035.

Figure 1 shows the historical supply and demand for gas in Ireland as well as the forecast demand until 2050. It is clear from this that natural gas will continue to play a major role in Ireland’s energy mix well into the future and, without new sources of domestic gas, Ireland will be completely reliant on high emission imported gas as soon as Corrib is shut down.

Exploration and development of an offshore gas field is a complex and costly business and to realise the potential of FEL 4/19 an international energy company would need to drill and

Ireland’s lack of energy security is topical, and selfsufficiency is an area of particular weakness. While a government decision to end the issuing of new licences for gas exploration was clearly founded in the policy of transitioning to renewable energy, the reality is that gas is required as a transition fuel, writes William Holland, CEO of Europa Oil & Gas.

Ireland’s annual gas supply and demand

connect these fields to the existing Corrib infrastructure. Although expensive, these activities would come at no cost to the Irish taxpayer. In fact, the development and production of domestic gas generates material income to the State through taxes and job creation. The development of FEL 4/19 is forecast to generate over €10 billion in taxes from just the licence itself, in addition to this there would be taxes from the jobs created at Bellanaboy and the associated economic activity that stems from this employment.

The risk-reward value proposition provided by FEL 4/19 to a major upstream energy company is not just highly compelling, it is world class. Yet since 2018 major energy companies, such as ENI, Total, Equinor and Woodside, have all exited Ireland. This is because Ireland is perceived to be an inhospitable jurisdiction by the upstream sector, a situation that was highlighted at the recent Energy Summit hosted by the Taoiseach. The fact is Ireland has the necessary legislation to explore and develop existing licences, such as FEL 4/19, but this is not recognised by the

upstream industry as a whole. Perception is reality and in order to change the current perception of Ireland, the Government needs to vocally emphasise its commitment to the status quo, i.e., that the existing licences remain valid, any major upstream energy company that invested in Ireland would be welcomed, and that these exploration licences could be progressed through their natural phases of development and production. By doing so, the Government could secure a reliable and plentiful supply of domestic gas out to 2035 and beyond. Not only would this provide Ireland with security of gas supply but importantly the produced gas would be the lowest emissions gas that Ireland can obtain, which would reduce emissions and help Ireland achieve its net zero 2050 goals.

William Holland is CEO of Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc, which owns 100 per cent of the FEL 4/19 licence.

E: mail@europaoil.com

W: www.europaoil.com

Figure 1: Historic and forecast Irish gas supply and demand. (Source: Petroleum Affairs Division, DECC)

Figure 2: Ireland’s domestic gas supply and distribution infrastructure.

Fit for 55: Hydrogen and decarbonised gas position agreed

European Council’s position on the proposed hydrogen and decarbonised gas market package, with a market shift targeted whereby renewable and low-carbon gases would account for two-thirds of gas usage by 2050.

The agreement was reached as the EU progresses towards its Fit for 55 goals, with the cutting of EU greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent the ultimate goal. Following the European Commission’s proposal of a review of EU gas market design as part of these reforms, the hydrogen and gas market package was devised to revise the gas regulation and directive of 2009 and the security of gas supply regulation of 2017.

Member states agreed the Council’s position for negotiations with the European Parliament in March 2023. With renewable and low-carbon gases currently making up 5 per cent of European gas storage, the agreed proposals aim to increase that proportion to 66 per cent by 2050. These renewable gases will come from either organic sources such as biogas or biomethane, or non-biological (using electricity) renewable sources such as hydrogen and synthetic methane. The low-carbon gases produced will not come from renewable sources but will

produce “at least 70 per cent less” greenhouse gas emissions than fossil natural gas across their full lifecycle.

These new rules are aimed at enabling four major EU policy goals under the Fit for 55 principles:

1. Creating a market for hydrogen. The EU aims to have 40 gigawatts of renewable hydrogen electrolyser capacity and the ability to produce 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030.

2. Integrating renewable and lowcarbon gases into the gas grid. 2049 will be set as the maximum end date for long-term fossil gas contracts as the EU looks to facilitate access to the existing has grid for more renewable options through measures such as the removal of cross-border tariffs.

3. Engaging and protecting consumers through measures such as providing simpler ways to change energy provider, more

transparent billing information, and access to smart meters.

4. Increasing security of supply and cooperation through integrated planning for electricity, gas, and hydrogen networks, certification of storage system operators, and strengthened solidarity arrangements between EU countries, to deal with “crisis situations”.

Also agreed in July 2023 was the revised Energy Efficiency Directive, which sets a legally binding target of an 11.7 per cent reduction in final energy consumption by 2030 when compared with 2020 levels. EU member states will be legally required under the new directive to prioritise energy efficiency in policymaking, planning, and “major investments”, a requirement that will give the energy efficiency first principle “substantial legal standing for the first time”.

Outlook on European gas market

Studies says that while the European gas market is in much better position than a year ago, tightness in the market means there is little room for complacency in the time ahead.

European gas (and energy) prices have been on a roller-coaster since 2021. They climbed from very low levels in 2020 to record highs in 2021 and 2022, before declining again from December 2022. In May 2023, they reached their lowest point in almost two years at about €30/MWh (TTF Front-Month on 19 May). Despite this relative lull, the supply and demand balance remains very tight.

For the next 12 to 18 months, indigenous production and pipeline imports are unlikely to be higher than at present. Russian gas flows via Belarus, the Baltics and Finland, and Nord Stream stopped in 2022; and the only flows left are via Ukraine and TurkStream. Other sources of pipeline gas (Norway, north Africa, Azerbaijan) have been relatively stable, but there is limited additional gas to be expected.

LNG imports ramped up rapidly in 2022 to make up for the loss of Russian

TTF Front-Month gas prices from January 2017 to April 2023 (midpoint, Euro/MWh)

Source: data from d’Argus, chart by Anouk Honoré (OIES)

pipeline gas. It is now the single largest source of supply to the region, with some upside potential thanks to new regasification capacity (over 40 bcm expected in Northern Europe by end 2023 plus additional capacities around the region in the coming years). The downside is that Europe is now far more exposed to global LNG trends than ever before, although for now, the return of freeport liquefaction capacity (USA) and relatively low Asian demand mean that cargoes are arriving in Europe, in time to help with storage replenishment.

Europe finished the winter with relatively high storage levels, and stocks were already at 63 bcm by the end of April 2023. This was over 28 bcm higher year-on-year. As a result, Europe is unlikely to need to repeat the large net injection made in the calendar year 2022. Meeting the target of 90 per cent of the stocks filled by November should not be problematic despite the region receiving far less Russian pipeline gas in Q2 2023 than in Q2 2022, although the speed of stock build remains uncertain. There could be some potential nervousness (and therefore likely higher prices) around September if storage levels are still low by then.

The biggest uncertainty might be on the demand side. Gas consumption in Europe (EU27 + UK) collapsed in 2022 (-13 per cent) on the back of mild temperatures, high gas prices, and changes in consumer behaviour. Trends in 2023 remain subdued (-14 per cent in the first four months) helped by unseasonably mild weather across most of Europe and higher availability of renewables (hydro, wind, and solar) in power generation, but the fundamentals in the three main sectors seem to point toward a potential recovery of gas demand in the coming months.

Many industrial sectors were able to reduce their gas demand without reducing their production over the past 18 months, by switching to alternative fuels (especially oil products) and improving operational efficiency (although the chemical sector, the pulp and paper sector and the iron and steel sector were clear exceptions). Since the beginning of 2023, there seems to be a slow recovery of gas demand in most sectors, and a continuation of relative

Monthly gas demand in the EU27 + UK,

low gas prices in 2023 (and continued governmental support), as well as a limited economic downturn, could contribute to higher industrial gas use in the coming months compared to 2022.

In the residential and commercial sectors, mild weather limited the use of gas for heating in 2022 and early 2023. Coupled with high gas prices, warm temperatures also seem to have facilitated an important demand response from small consumers, a usually rather inelastic sector. Continued participation of consumers in demand saving measures will be essential in the coming months, though consumers’ willingness to reduce their energy for heating may erode if cold temperatures hit Europe at the end of 2023.

The biggest unknown is in the electricity generation sector. Lower

electricity demand, strong renewables, and the progressive return of French nuclear fleet limited the need for gas at the end of 2022, but gas demand could remain high this year due to uncertainties regarding the level of French nuclear generation in 2023 (stress corrosion tests, new cracks, drought in the summer), coal to gas switching, low hydro availability in the summer and a possible electricity demand recovery.

The European gas market is a complex puzzle with many moving pieces, and despite lower gas prices since the beginning of 2023, the market is still tight. Even small changes on the supply or on the demand side could trigger a sharp increase in gas prices. Europe is in a much better position than a year ago, but it still cannot be complacent.

“Europe is in a much better position than a year ago, but it still cannot be complacent.”

bcm

Source: charts by Anouk Honoré (OIES) with data from IEA, Eurostat, Entsog, Entsoe, GRTgaz, Terega, NCG, Gaspool, THE, SNAM, Enagas, NationalGrid, Gridwatch, Honoré’s assumptions and calculations.

Internal markets rules positions determined

enshrines the provisions of the gas storage regulation of June 2022 into text and introduces a 100 per cent discount to capacity-based transmission and distribution tariffs to underground gas storage and LNG facilities.

Full ownership unbundling has been retained by the member states as the default model regarding the unbundling of future hydrogen networks. However, the agreement will still allow for the independent transmissions system operator model – meaning energy supply companies can still own and operate networks through the use of a subsidiary – under “certain circumstances”.

The Council also stated that it had “made various changes to the consumer-related provisions” put forward by the European Commission as part of the second batch of the Fit for 55 proposals. These changes were said to regard “provision of information, facility of switching suppliers and termination in case of bundled offers”. Member states will have more flexibility regarding the deployment of smart metering systems, according to the Council.

Among the most notable of the positions agreed by the European Council is that of the tariffs and tariff discounts offered to hydrogen and renewable gases seeking access to the gas grid. Tariff discounts for renewable gasses have been set at 100 per cent, with tariff discounts for low-carbon gases set at 75 per cent. Also notable

is that the agreed position allows for the blending of hydrogen into the natural gas system of up to 2 per cent by volume rather than 5 per cent “in order to ensure a harmonised quality of gas”.

In terms of the certification of storage system operators, key to these market developments, the general approach

The agreement also contains the extension of the transition phase for implementing detailed rules for hydrogen for member states until 2035. A mechanism allowing for public intervention in price setting in case of an emergency situation has also been added, “mirroring provisions in the proposal for the electricity market design review currently under discussion”. This mechanism “would be adapted according to the outcome of negotiations on the electricity market design”. Limited derogations to some provisions for some member states in “specific circumstances” have also been added.

The Council will now enter into negotiations with the European Parliament as Brussels seeks to finalise its package and discuss proposals for renewable gas and hydrogen regulation and a European directive on the matter.

EU member states and the European Council agreed their negotiating positions on proposals to set common internal markets rules for renewable and natural gases and hydrogen in March 2023, with different tariff discounts for renewable and low-carbon gases agreed.

Energy Markets and Security Conference 2023

Wednesday 4 October 2023 • The Gibson Hotel, Dublin

Electricity market design has come into sharp focus since the Russian invasion of Ukraine that disrupted gas supply to Europe causing both gas and electricity prices to rise sharply. In addition, the increase in renewable electricity sources has led to the need to rethink how the existing electricity market mechanism works. In March 2023, the European Commission published a proposal to reform the EU electricity market to address these issues and make the EU electricity market design fit for 2050.

The 2023 Energy Markets and Security Conference will examine the next phase of electricity market evolution on the island of Ireland. This conference will consider the drivers behind the coming reforms and the implications for the Single Electricity Market and will also look at related issues such as security of supply.

Speaker panel

John Melvin Director of Security of Supply and Wholesale Commission for Regulation of Utilities

Richard Murphy Partner Pinsent Masons

Savannah Altvater Data Management and Flexibility Lead Eurelectric

Colm O’Neill Partner KPMG

Lucy Plant Manager Strategic Partnerships, Energy Solutions, Enel X

Neil Walker Head of Infrastructure, Energy and Environment and Transport, Ibec

Simon Ludlam CEO MaresConnect

Todd Bessemer Managing Director and Principal Market Reform

Key issues discussed will include:

3 Drivers for electricity market reform

3 Integrating 80 per cent renewable electricity

3 Decoupling the price of gas from the electricity price

3 The future role of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

3 Price outlook for gas and electricity markets

3 Electricity security of supply

3 The future role of interconnection and multi-purpose interconnectors

3 Designing an electricity market fit for 2050

Sponsored by

Retrofitting homes: The frontline of climate action

After the turmoil of the winter following Putin’s murderous invasion, the next few months will be a moment of truth for Europe. Have we done enough to prepare for what the next six months will throw at us? Can we protect consumers from high energy prices? Can we accelerate the green transition in the light of climate breakdown, and more importantly, can we ensure that the lights stay on? These questions have dominated much of my work as a Member of the European Parliament over the last few years, and as a European legislator I want to ensure that we protect the public, and the planet in the months and years ahead.

But it is worth stepping back from these immediate concerns and taking a look at the bigger picture: How did we

get here? Where are we going?

For years, European governments were content to borrow against their planet’s future through cheap fossil fuel imports from neighbouring autocracies. Wind and solar were nice to have, the thinking

went, but real energy security would continue to arrive by pipeline and tanker for the foreseeable future. The Ukraine war exposed that security as a mirage. Now renewables, long dismissed as too intermittent and expensive to make economic sense, are being recognised as the key not just to the long-term security of the planet, but also to short-term energy sovereignty.

Such a radical shift in time horizons is welcome, but challenges persist. Europe burns 11,500 TWh worth of fossil fuels every year. If we had to replace all of this with renewables, we would have no hope of meeting our 2030 targets.

Fortunately, we do not. Fossil fuels, as well being disastrous for the health of people and planet, are woefully inefficient. 15 per cent of the energy from fossil fuels is lost in the process of electricity generation. The key to sustainable energy independence will be in eliminating these inefficiencies across the energy supply chain.

Will this winter be like last winter? That is the question looming in the minds of policymakers as the summer draws to a close, writes Ciarán Cuffe, MEP for Dublin.

Credit: Green Party

That is where building retrofits come in. Buildings are responsible for approximately 40 per cent of Europe’s energy consumption and 36 per cent of its CO2 emissions. That puts them right on the frontlines of the energy transition. Retrofits can improve our energy security in at least four ways:

1. Structural upgrades like insulation can improve the efficiency of whatever heating system a building is using.

2. Electrification of buildings can facilitate the transition to more efficient and renewable energy systems. Heat pumps, electric car charging points, and even induction stove-tops are all cleaner and greener than the combustibles they replace.

3. Smart metering systems that allow occupants to proactively respond to fluctuations in energy prices throughout the day have a dual benefit. Firstly, improving energy security for households by providing a means of keeping down costs, and secondly, improving energy security for the country by incentivising reduced energy use during times of stress on the grid

4. Like smart meters, feed-in tariffs for electricity from home discharging electric vehicles and solar panels are crucial for aligning the financial interests of households with the national objective to balance the grid.

Of course, it is one thing to recognise the potential of retrofits for fuelling our energy transition, and quite another to realise that potential. Readers of eolas Magazine are likely familiar with the Government’s efforts on this front. The number of retrofits taking place rose 78 per cent to 27,199 in 2022, a rate of increase which the Government hopes to sustain in 2023. The six-fold increase in the number of trainees enrolled in retrofitting courses should help this.

Of course, Ireland accounts for only a small fraction of Europe’s buildings. To ensure that Ireland’s example is followed across Europe, I am leading negotiations on the revised Energy Performance of

Buildings Directive, or EPBD. The EPBD is Europe’s plan to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from buildings by 2050 and is one of 14 laws included in the Fit For 55 package aimed at hitting our emissions reduction targets for 2030.

At its core are the Minimum Energy Performance Standards, or MEPS, which essentially require member states to incrementally improve the BER ratings of their entire building stock over the course of the coming decades. This gives tradespeople the certainty they need to invest in their businesses in anticipation of a future surge in demand.

From the basic principle of incremental energy upgrades comes a plethora of other considerations. Foremost among these is the need for flexibility among member states. Each government will be tasked with developing a National Retrofit Plan for upgrading their national building stock, starting with the worst performing 15 per cent. Protected structures, and 22 per cent of all other buildings, will be exempt, and each member state can design its own incentive structures. Substantial European funding will also be made available, as well as technical guidance on how to accelerate the rollout. For their part, member states will also have to provide substantial supports to homeowners and businesses through networks of one-stop-shops. National retrofit plans will have to include social safeguards to ensure that, for example, retrofits in the private rental sector do not serve as a pretext for evicting tenants; so called ‘renovictions’.

These policies are just the beginning of a gentle revolution which will transform European living standards in the years and decades to come. But it is not too late for them to also have an impact on our immediate future. As the nights get longer and the days get colder, each family in a warm, comfortable home is a victory over Putin’s attempts to hold Europe to ransom. This winter does not have to be like the last one. To isolate Putin, we must insulate homes.

“As the nights get longer and the days get colder, each family in a warm, comfortable home is a victory over Putin’s attempts to hold Europe to ransom.”

Ciarán Cuffe MEP

EU CITIZENS’ VIEWS ON COMMISSION POLICY

Most important issue

27% think that inflation/cost of living is one of the two most important issues facing the EU (-5% since January-February)

Foreign affairs 25% (-3%)

Immigration 24% (+7%)

Environment and climate change 22% (+2%)

Energy supply 16% (-10%) has seen a sharp decrease, dropping from the third position to the sixth

EU’s Ukraine policy

88% of EU citizens are in favour of providing humanitarian support to the people affected by the war in the Ukraine

86% are in favour of Ukrainian refugees entering the EU

75% approve of financial support to Ukraine

72% back economic sanctions on Russian government, companies, and individuals

66% agree with banning Russian media, such as Sputnik and RT, from broadcasting in the EU

64% support financing the purchase and supply of military equipment to Ukraine

64% agree with the EU granting candidate status as a potential member of the EU to Ukraine

56% of respondents are satisfied overall with the EU's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine

54% are satisfied with the response by their national government

The most recent Eurobarometer for (spring 2023) shows that, broadly, ongoing actions of the European Commission and moves towards closer policy cohesion are supported by the public in most of the EU member states.

EU’s energy policy

85% of EU citizens think that the EU should “invest massively” in renewable energies

82% agree with the statement “increasing energy efficiency of buildings, transport, and goods will make us less dependent on energy producers outside the EU”

80% believe that EU member states should “jointly buy energy from other countries to get a better price”

81% of respondents say that reducing imports of oil and gas and investing in renewable energy is important for energy security

82% say that the EU should reduce its dependency on Russian sources of energy ‘as soon as possible’

EU defence and foreign policy

77% of Europeans are in favour of a common defence and security policy

80% think that cooperation in defence matters at EU level should be increased

77% believe that member states’ purchase of military equipment should be better coordinated

69% would like the EU to reinforce its capacity to produce military equipment

66% say that more money should be spent on defence in the EU

77% agree that the EU should build partnerships with countries outside the EU to invest in sustainable infrastructure and connect people and countries around the world

69% believe that the EU has sufficient power and tools to defend the economic interests of Europe in the global economy

Levels of trust in the EU in candidate countries:

• Albania 77%

• Bosnia-Herzegovina 57%

• Montenegro 54%

The economy

• North Macedonia 48%

• Moldova 44%

• Türkiye 41%

• Serbia 32%

45% think the European economy is good (+5% since January-February 2023) slightly outweighing the number thinking it is bad (44%, -7%)

40% describe the economic situation in their own country as good (+5%) and 58% as bad (-8%)

55% of Europeans think NextGenerationEU can be an effective measure to respond to the current economic challenges

In the eurozone, support for the single currency remains very high (78% vs. 17%)

• slightly lower for the EU as a whole (71% vs. 23%)

Energy priorities of the European Commission

Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Energy Directorate-General, Matthew Baldwin, reflects on “a year of unprecedented change” as Europe strives to be the first climate neutral continent.

“The fundamentals of energy policy are really what we were confronted with in 2022,” Baldwin says, outlining his vision of the three fundamentals of energy policy being security of supply, affordability, and the more recent “third leg of the triangle”, sustainability. “They were all challenged in a very fundamental way in 2022. We set out in REPowerEU exactly how we envisage rolling that forward. It is about a faster phase out of gas, coupled with a big step up in terms of our efforts on renewability.”

Baldwin points out that it is “worth remembering that energy security fears did not begin with the war” and that “manipulation by

Russia of our gas markets” had begun before February 2022. These attempts to “divide member states to weaken the resolve of the European Union” have had the opposite effect, he says. “We have not always responded to crises with unity in the face of adversity, and I do not think we have ever responded with such speed.”

In answer to the events of February 2022, European consumption of gas has changed irrevocably: less than 10 per cent of total gas imports to the EU come from Russia since the start of 2023, compared to 56 per cent the year before; Norway, Europe’s new top gas supplier,

has “pledged to maintain its level of supply over the coming year”; and Russian gas has been phased out by two-thirds overall. “The IEA, when it looked at this in its 10-point plan in 2022, did not think such a move would be possible,” Baldwin says.

He outlines the tools that have enabled such a shift, such as the introduction of a common storage policy, which required member states to ensure 80 per cent of their storage levels are filled, and requires 90 per cent for 2023. “We actually managed to reach 95 per cent in November 2022,” Baldwin continues. “As of May 2023, we are still around an average of 58 per cent of our inventories, which is more than twice the level of the same time in 2022.”

A framework for coordinated gas demand reduction was also introduced, with member states agreeing to reduce their demand by at least 15 per cent. Demand dropped by more than 19 per cent between August 2022 and January 2023, “helping to save us around 40 billion cubic metres of gas”.

“In that number, we should allow for

demand destruction,” Baldwin says. “It is clear that industry went through hell last year; they described it to us as a year of survival. It is something that we went through together and we have seen some changes, particularly at the consumer household level, in the way we consume gas.”

In terms of affordability, Baldwin notes the introduction of a mechanism to correct price peaks in the TTF gas market, and states that we “have seen retail prices start to come down, even though they remain extremely high, and we have managed to do that without derailing the Green Deal transition”.

To further combat rising prices, the EU has begun on the road to joint purchase and 2023 has seen the issuance of the first international tender to enable joint purchase of gas by EU companies. Again, this appears to be delivering beyond expectations: 107 EU companies subscribed as buyers or sellers to the first round of tenders, with 77 companies submitting demand requests for a total of 11.6 billion cubic metres. Given the legislative target of 13.5 million cubic metres and the fact that tenders will run

bimonthly, the aggregation should far exceed this target.

2022 set records for Europe in terms of sustainable energy, with 16GW of new wind and 41GW of solar capacity installed, an increase of “nearly half” compared to 2021. Wind and solar generated 22 per cent of total EU electricity together, overtaking natural gas for the first time. “It is not enough,” Baldwin says. “We have got to go further, and we have got to go faster. We are very pleased that the member states, the Council, and the Parliament agreed to a higher level of ambition through our Renewable Energy Directive, increasing our target for renewables for 2030 to 42.5 per cent with an aspiration to 45 per cent. I am very confident that 45 per cent is realisable.”

To achieve this, Europe will need over 1,000GW of wind and solar capacity, compared to today’s levels of circa 400GW. Coupled with significant price inflation – prices hit €330/MWh in August 2022, compared to a pre-war average of €25/MWh but are now back “in range” of pre-war levels according to Baldwin – it is clear that the cultivation of renewables for reasons of both sustainability and affordability will be key to Europe’s energy future.

While he admits that the immediate future may be tough, with gas markets predicted to “remain tight until at least 2026”, Baldwin concludes on a defiant note: “We will finally win this energy war when we deliver on the clean energy transition, it really is as simple as that. The endpoint of REPowerEU is not to replace an unreliable source of gas with more trusted sources of gas, although we make no apologies for that being the focus of our efforts in the last months.

“It is to leverage Europe’s economic and energy interdependence, to leverage our strategic autonomy by massively increasing the rate of renewables and accelerating our clean energy transition. It has been quite a ride and the ride is not over; there is more work ahead.”

Credit: K. Reichert

Ireland to have extra MEP in next European Parliament

Following of the next European elections, scheduled for June 2024, Ireland is set gain an extra MEP in the next European Parliament.

The extra MEP will give the State a total of 14 MEPs and is the second increase in seats since the 2019 elections as the United Kingdom’s MEP seats were reallocated following its withdrawal. The State had 11 MEPs in the immediate aftermath of the last election, although an extra two later took their seats following the UK’s formal withdrawal, which took place just months after the 2019 election.

Fourteen is the highest number of MEPs the State has had since the 1999 European elections, when it had 15 MEPs. It also means that the island of Ireland will have the same number of MEPs it was allocated in 2019, taking account for the three MEPs lost in the North following the UK exit from the EU.

Following a vote in the European Parliament on 15 June 2023, the EU will have an extra 11 MEPs throughout the member states, with one of these being allocated to Ireland. The vote follows a report by the European Parliament’s Constitutional Affairs Committee (AFCO) recommending the change.

The allocation of extra seats is mostly focused on smaller EU member states, with the report by the committee taking account of the principle of “degressive proportionality”, which ensures that smaller

member states gain more MEPs per head of population and are not under-represented.

All EU member states have to agree to the proposal before the extra seats can be allocated. Spain and the Netherlands will both gain two extra MEPs, whilst, in addition to Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia, Latvia, and Slovenia will all gain one extra seat.

It is expected that the Midlands–North-West constituency will be allocated the extra seat, although An Coimisiún Toghcháin has not formally confirmed this and will make an announcement on the matter before the beginning of autumn 2023.

Following the vote, Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly said: “Ireland is a European success story and has been transformed by the opportunities that the EU offers. We have moved from a benefactor to contributor, and when you factor in Brexit, it makes sense for Ireland to have another MEP.”

Kelly added: “This procedure must be completed in time to allow member states to introduce the necessary modifications to their respective electoral laws. With the 2024 European Parliament election scheduled for 6 to 9 June 2024, the proposal needs to be finalised as soon as possible.”

Ambassador of France to Ireland Vincent Guérend: ‘France: Ireland’s closest EU neighbour’

Ahead of the 225th anniversary of a company of French soldiers landing in County Mayo in support of the 1798 rebellion – colloquially chronicled as the ‘Year of the French’ – the Ambassador of France to Ireland, Vincent Guérend, invites Ciarán Galway to discuss how bilateral relations between the two nations, already bolstered by ancient friendship, have deepened.

Overlooking Dublin’s Merrion Square Park, the walls of Guérend’s office in the Embassy of France in Ireland are choicely bedecked. A portrait of the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron –flanked by the tricolore and the Flag of Europe – stares directly across the room at a large map of Ireland, while in the corner hangs a print of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.

Perched above the hearth is a large Gallic rooster which, in this case, is a version coopted as the logo of La French Tech. On the marble mantle below sits a little collection of memorabilia which offers some insight into the interests of the room’s inhabitant.

A copy of Thomas Flanagan’s The Year of the French, The Chieftains’ Year of the French LP (which accompanied the 1982 RTÉ series of the same title) replete with

the image of Général Jean Joseph Amable Humbert in full dress uniform, a Gilbert rugby ball in IRFU livery, and an iconic picture of Charles de Gaulle on his visit to Ireland in 1969 during which the recently resigned French president toasted: “Je bois à l'Irlande; à l'Irlande toute entire.”

Sporting a subtle shamrock tie, Guérend is, by all estimations, an Hibernophile. Having been appointed as Ambassador of France to Ireland in September 2020 his diplomatic mission was shackled by the pandemic. Since the subsidence of the Covid crisis, he has wasted no time in exploring his adopted home.

The wall-mounted map of Ireland proves to be useful prop as he narrates his travels across the island. As it turns out, he has spent much time in the west and southeast, venturing to the midlands, as well as the North (though in a private capacity). He

recalls also his first trip to Ireland in summer 1985 when, in an effort to improve his English, he stayed with the O’Reillys of Stradone, County Cavan.

Irish posting

As a French diplomat for over 25 years, much of Guérend’s focus has been on European affairs, Asia, and sometimes a blend of the two. Outlining that his current posting to Ireland is “very different” from his previous roles, including most recently as Head of Delegation, Ambassador of the EU to Indonesia and to Brunei Darussalam, he also expresses his “honour and privilege” of the appointment.

“It [the posting] is competitive and very much sought after. Firstly, because the relationship is extremely strong and deeply anchored in history – you can feel here every day that this is a friendship that runs

very deep – and secondly, because of our common membership of the EU, this relationship has gained a new momentum and a new depth,” the Ambassador explains.

Upon having been appointed to Ireland, Guérend made a statement on the proximity between the two nations by opting to travel by rail and sail from Paris via Cherbourg rather than fly into Dublin. “It was a beautiful way to arrive,” he says, adding: “I wanted to symbolically illustrate that we are close by and that we can sail from one shore to the next as neighbours.”

Bilateral relations

Speaking in Paris in late 2022, thenTaoiseach and now Tánaiste Micheál Martin TD asserted: “The ties between Ireland and France are going from strength to strength... they have never been stronger.”

The sentiment is echoed by the Ambassador. “The friendship between France and Ireland is extremely solid and extremely warm. There is only one theme on which we really compete and that is rugby. In rugby, we are certainly at the same level,” he comments.

Discussing Brexit as a watershed for the EU, Guérend suggests that the experience has served to consolidate Franco-Irish relations. “We try to encapsulate this into one sentence when we say that France is Ireland’s closest EU neighbour. Beyond the catchphrase, which resonates well, we want to work even more closely together.

“One good illustration of this is that there has been a very sharp and rapid increase in the direct maritime links between France

and Ireland since 1 January 2021. Within a few weeks, the number of direct sailings increased from 12 a week to close to 45 a week. Initially, it was only for trucks and freight, but now there is also demand for passengers and tourists.

“It is nice to see that these new links between France and Ireland, which are a direct consequence of Brexit, have also fuelled new ways for people to meet and discover each other’s country. That is one very strong and simple illustration of our increased connectivity between France and Ireland.”

Joint plan of action

At policy-making level, during the visit of President Macron to Ireland in August 2021, the Ireland-France Joint Plan of Action 2021-2025 was signed by thenMinister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney TD and France’s then-Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian. Committing to “further strengthening and deepening bilateral relations, especially as France is now Ireland’s closest EU neighbour”, the action plan outlines six priority projects to be implemented by 2025:

1. supporting sustainability;

2. increasing trade connectivity;

3. fostering the digital economy;

4. strengthening education and research links;

5. promoting the French language;

6. fostering cultural cooperation;

7. strengthening our people-to-people links; and

8. strengthening policy dialogue and cooperation.

“It is really a joint roadmap between France and Ireland. We are now focusing our actions on those guidelines,” the Ambassador explains.

Trade

From a trade perspective, the reality matches the rhetoric. In June 2023, the CSO indicated that the value of goods and services imported and exported between Ireland and France totalled €30 billion in 2022. Likewise, its French counterpart, Douane Française, recorded €16 billion in commerce goods alone in 2022.

“To give you some perspective, €16 billion is equivalent to the trade between France and Japan or France and Brazil,” the Ambassador details. Providing one example which explains this level of trade, he emphasises the role of the pharmaceutical industry.

“Intra-business trade, typically pharmaceuticals or input from pharmaceuticals, represents 40 per cent of our trade. Take, for example, two big French pharmaceutical companies – Sanofi and Servier. Sanofi has a large plant close to Waterford with almost 1,000 staff and turnover of €7 billion. Equally, Servier, which is perhaps less know, has its second largest plant worldwide close to Arklow, County Wicklow. The plant has 550 staff, and they import all kind of chemical products for their production and export ready to use pharmaceuticals. This fuels, a lot, the trade between France and Ireland,” he summarises.

“The friendship between France and Ireland is extremely solid and extremely warm. There is only one theme on which we really compete and that is rugby.”

Ambassador of France to Ireland, Vincent Guérend

Infrastructure

Simultaneously, two ongoing major FrancoIrish infrastructure projects are, the Ambassador suggests, emblematic of the deepening relationship.

In particular, the Celtic Interconnector – a 575km subsea link to facilitate electricity interconnection between France and Ireland – mirrors ambitions for enhanced cooperation. Led by EirGrid and Réseau de Transport d’Electricité, the project is due for completion in 2026.

“It is a major energy capital project and something which will be mutually beneficial. Whenever Ireland’s renewable energy capacity will not suffice, France will be happy to provide backup with its nice clean nuclear energy. Whenever Ireland will have surpluses in due time with offshore wind, we will be glad to get it offloaded into the French or European grid,” Guérend explains.

At the same time, in December 2021, Alstom, the French multinational rolling stock manufacturer, won a major 10-year contract to deliver the new DART+ system with 750 electric and battery-electric rail cars. “With the big expansion of the Irish rail network announced [in July 2023], I think there is plenty of work for all rail manufacturers or operating companies. That is very positive,” he adds.

Ancient friendship

Of course, the existing rapport between France and Ireland is built upon ancient affinity. Deftly précising the “many waves of exchange” between France and Ireland, including the Celts, the Hiberno-Scottish

missions, the Normans, and the Huguenots, the Ambassador is well versed in Franco-Irish history.

“Not to forget that the French Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment,” he says, “which brought some ideas here to Ireland. I think it is no secret to say that the United Irishmen, led by [Theobald] Wolfe Tone, were very much inspired both by the US independence struggle and the French Revolution. After he spent some time in the United States, Wolfe Tone, as you know, spent a few years in France and convinced the French Government to send a flotilla.

“First, the Bantry Bay disaster in September 1796, but then in August 1798, when Général Humbert landed at Killala, and there was the so-called Races of Castlebar, and the short-lived Republic of Connacht with [President] John Moore. That was something that was more significant from an Irish perspective than a French perspective, but nevertheless, a strong defining moment. As your constitution [Proclamation of the Irish Republic] says, ‘our [Ireland’s] gallant allies in Europe’ – France was certainly one of these gallant allies.”

Year of the French

Having made a conscious decision to thoroughly commemorate the Year of the French, the French Embassy has participated in several events throughout 2023 including: the Ambassador’s visit to Ballina, County Mayo in February to launch the Mise en lumière digital arts installation; the transformation of the Residence of France into ‘Humbert’s pub’ on the eve of the Six Nations match between France and Ireland; the planting of 225 trees of liberty

to mark the journey of Général Humbert to Ireland, as well as the planting of an Irish oak tree in the gardens of the Residence of France; a visit to Enniscorthy, County Wexford, to participate in local commemorations; and collaboration with the In Humbert's Footsteps festival in Ballina, County Mayo to mark the 200th anniversary of Humbert’s death and the 225th anniversary of his landing at Killala. “Ultimately, we want to revive the memory of these events. For example, An Post offered to have a postmark which says: ‘1798: Year of the French’. This runs for two weeks in July and two weeks in August 2023.

“We do this together with the Irish Government. Likewise, the Irish Embassy in Paris has various events ongoing, including in La Rochelle where we will reenact the departure of the flotilla which carried Général Humbert.”

Republican ideal

Rounding off the programme of commemorative events will be a conference organised by the Embassy itself. Focusing “on the notion of the republic”, it is set to take place in Dublin in early November 2023, and will attract several high-level French and Irish representatives.

Explaining the rationale, Guérend notes: “The republican ideal – this aspiration to freedom, equality, and fraternity, and something which is a fair and just society –is very strong in Ireland and equally very strong in France. It is something we want to reflect upon in November 2023. It will be both for academic and political speakers

and we want to reflect both on what happened then – in 1798 – but more importantly, how have our institutions evolved since and how much are they still fit for purpose or do they need to evolve further to match the aspirations of our citizens.

“Maybe in Ireland, but certainly in France, there are still a lot of questions about our institutions. Are they still fit for purpose given the new context? People may say the institutions should better reflect the climate challenge, or better reflect the climate transition as a political goal, while others would say they should be more inclusive towards minorities. There are all sorts of questions around the French institutions these days, which are quite interesting. The answers are not always easy, but I think it is worth reflecting on worth reflecting together about this.

“In Ireland you may have different discussions about the institutions, not to mention whatever may happen or not happen if there is a border poll, but also about how good or not institutions are reflecting society today.”

Irish unity

Asked about the extent to which France is monitoring the prospect of Irish unity, the Ambassador can provide only a limited response, indicating that France “would respect any outcome”, and acknowledging: “We will certainly follow this with great interest, but, ultimately, it is a decision only for the Irish people.”

When asked to draw comparisons between the active role played by the European community in German reunification and the potential role of the EU in the event of Irish reunification, he insists: “There may be similarities but there are also big differences with German reunification because, as you remember, the German reunification was also very much linked to the overall collapse of the Iron Curtain and the Soviet Bloc. The comparison has strong limitations. Very strong.

“At the same time, there is a protocol, annexed now to the EU Treaty, saying that the day that there would be Irish unity, if so decided by the Irish people, Northern Ireland would join the EU. That is something that mirrors very well what was foreseen for the German case. In a way, that is the only comparison I can make.”

Protest

Returning to the ongoing debate in France around republican values, the Ambassador discusses the fallout from the fatal police shooting of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk in June 2023 and the major violence which was witnessed across metropolitan France in response.

“It is fair to say that it took everyone by surprise, including the social workers and community workers,” Guérend reflects, adding: “Nobody expected this to be so strong and violent. People expected anger to be expressed and an expression of strong discontent but not of this size.

war crime should be prosecuted in due time”, followed by reference to the speech that Macron delivered at the GLOBSEC conference in Slovakia in May 2023.

“Firstly, the president said that France clearly supports Ukraine’s accession to the EU; something that was maybe not the French view until recently. Secondly, he said that the EU or NATO should provide security guarantees to Ukraine, meaning that we do not believe that as long as Ukraine is at war with Russia, it is reasonable to offer immediate NATO accession. This would oblige NATO to be a belligerent, which we do not want it to be because this would have very far-reaching consequences. This is not an option now, but what is certainly something to be envisaged is to provide security guarantees to Ukraine.”

While acknowledging that France and Ireland, as EU member states, “share the same view that this war is illegal, unprovoked, and not justifiable by any account”, and articulating respect for Irish military neutrality, Guérend believes that “the global and continental security environment has changed enormously and has deteriorated enormously”.

“Each and every member state must draw lessons from this, both in terms of increased investment in defence and reflection on the country’s position when it comes to a security threat. That is, I understand, what the Irish Government is doing by increasing investment in defence following the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces in 2022, and by the launch of the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy. It is something which is needed in the current context,” he asserts.

Ambition

“The initial reaction of the French Government and the French president now, has been to say we must invest even more heavily in social care and education for those specific communities which are or feel marginalised and where there is very obviously a need for stronger social help.”

Ukraine

Meanwhile, in the wider geopolitical context, the Ambassador unpacks the French perspective on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He begins by insisting that “all war crimes and all people who have indulged in acts of

Discussing his ambitions for the remainder of his posting, the Ambassador is reticent. “It is too early to say,” he comments, concluding: “I have been here for three years and expect to stay for some time. Again, as we have discussed, a lot has been done bilaterally over the last two or three years thanks to the very strong commitment of our leaders in the EU, both the Irish Government and the French Government – there is a very strong impetus and appetite to do more bilaterally and now, based on [the Joint Plan of Action], we will try to deliver on this ambition, but the ambition is high and the delivery is good. I am enthusiastic and very motivated.”

“The republican ideal... is very strong in Ireland and equally very strong in France.”

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT CONFERENCE 2023

The Public Procurement Conference took place in the Crowne Plaza, Dublin Airport in June 2023. Supported by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and King’s Inns, the 2023 conference allowed delegates to gain a genuine, indepth understanding of key issues via a high-level panel of local and visiting speakers including Paul Quinn, Office of Government Procurement Ireland; Edward Green and Ursula Tebbet-Duffin, Cabinet Office UK; Alistair Kerr, The British Association for Support Employment Scotland Network and Ceara McBride, Bus Éireann.

The conference brought together key stakeholders from across the Irish procurement sector to discuss the latest developments and their implications across the sector. Topics included; green public procurement, collaborative procurement across public services, procurement across the health sector and the challenge of digital procurement.

Speakers: Nathy Dunleavy, King’s Inns; Ursula Tebbet-Duffin and Edward Green, Cabinet Office UK; Paul Quinn, Office of Government Procurement Ireland; Orla Shevlin, Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC); John Swords, Health Service Executive and Aidan Sweeney, Ibec.

Margaret McCabe, Carol Breslin, Melanie Oliver and Breeda Melvin, Dublin Fire Brigade.

Susan Whelan and Karen Warren, Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), speaking with a delegate at their exhibition stand.

A delegate visits Marian Kavanagh and Kirstyn Dunne, King’s Inns, at their exhibition stand.

Edward Green, Cabinet Office UK with Zachary ColmanHoskins, Commissioners of Irish Lights.

Speaker: Jackie Fowler, Fingal County Council.

Frank Keenaghan, Synergy Security asks a question during the panel discussion.

Ethics and standards responsibility returned to DPENDPDR

The Government has approved orders to return the responsibility for functions relating to ethics legislation and the Standards in Public Office (SIPO) Commission to the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, following the closure of a complaint against the Minister.

In January 2023, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD announced in Dáil Éireann that following the opening of a SIPO investigation into a complaint made against Donohoe and his subsequent recusal of ethics and SIPO functions, the relevant function would be transferred to the Minister of Finance, Michael McGrath TD.

The complaint that had been made against Donohoe arose from controversy surrounding the Dublin Central TD’s election expenses for both the 2016 and 2020 general elections after it had emerged that the businessman Michael Stone had paid significant sums of money to erect posters for the Fine Gael candidate within the constituency.

SIPO found that, given Donohoe had amended his electoral returns, the matter did not warrant referral to the Director of Public Prosecutions under the Standards of

Public Office Act 2001. Donohoe apologised in the Dáil and made two separate statements on the matter.

The relevant functions transferred from Donohoe to McGrath, which have now been returned to Donohoe, were those from the following legislation:

• the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards of Public Office Act 2001;

• part 15 of the Local Government Act 2001;

• the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 and the Regulation of Lobbying (Amendment) Act 2022;

• the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) Acts; and

• the Electoral Act 1997, as amended.

In February 2023, Statutory Instrument (SI)

No. 89 of 2023, Standards in Public Office (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2023 and SI No. 88 of 2023, Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2023 were passed, giving effect to the transfer of powers from 1 March 2023.

The Taoiseach then instructed that the recusal was no longer necessary in June 2023 given the closure of the complaint against Donohoe. This was given effect by the Standards in Public Office (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) (No.2) Order 2023 and the Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (Revocation) Order 2023. The orders were approved by Government on 4 July 2023 and came into effect on 5 July 2023.

The Oireachtas in 2022

Published in late June 2023, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission’s annual report for 2022 presents an overview of the work of the Commission over the past year in performing its functions.

Seanad Éireann sat for 105 days (721 hours).

• 125 Seanad divisions were recorded.

• 406 commencement matters were tabled for debate in the Seanad.

Dáil Éireann sat for 106 days (1,076 hours)

• The Dáil Business Committee held 36 meetings.

• The new Dáil Business website facilitated the production of 135 Dáil business daily PDF versions and 38 Dáil business weekly PDF versions, replacing the printed Dáil Order Papers.

• 152 Dáil divisions were recorded.

• 385 topical issues were selected for debate in the Dáil.

• 68,153 parliamentary questions were processed.

• 121 Bills were initiated in the Houses.

• 55 per cent were Government Bills and 45 per cent were Private Members’ Bills (PMBs).

• 52 Bills were passed by both Houses during 2022, all Government Bills.

Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO):

• Produced 61 publications (briefing papers, commentaries, notes, working papers, analytical tools, and original data visualisation presentations and infographics);

• Prepared 7 briefings for Oireachtas Committees; and

• Completed 39 costing requests.

Parliamentary Research Service (PRS):

• Published 50 Bills Digests;

• 41 Bills Briefings on Government Bills;

• Detailed scrutiny of five PMBs and eight pre-legislative scrutiny outputs of general schemes of government bills for committees; and

• Provided 12 Committees with research support during 2022.

Overall, parliamentary committees held 1,065 meetings (over 1,842 hours):

• 3,296 witnesses attended committee meetings.

• 69 committee reports were presented.

The Debates Office published 44,502 pages of the Official Report of the proceedings of the Dáil, Seanad and Parliamentary Committees:

• three Dáil bound volumes

• four Seanad bound volumes; and

• written replies to parliamentary questions (55,688 questions) not taken on the floor of the Dáil are also included in the official report.

Library and Parliamentary Research Service (PRS) delivered 1,301 information and research briefings in response to requests from members and parliamentary committees. Office of the Parliamentary Legal Advisers (OPLA):

• 619 parliamentary and corporate legal advices were issued:

160 of these advices took the form of legal briefings

delivered to parliamentary committees;

459 advices issued to the service; and

– 197 issuing to the service on parliamentary and procedural issues and 262 issuing to the Service on corporate issues.

• Legal advisory services were provided for 45 private member’s bill (PMB) proposals.

• Legislative drafting services were provided for 22 PMB proposals.

• 11 PMBs settled by the OPLA were introduced to the Houses in 2022 and a further 10 PMBs were settled in 2022 with the members concerned.

The Records Management Unit coordinated the Service’s response to 120 FOI requests, and 8 Data Protection Subject Access Requests (SARS). The FOI GDPR Cross Service Working Group met 10 times during 2022.

Photos credit: Houses of the Oireachtas Service

New Dáil constituencies announcement imminent

The Oireachtas has given An Coimisiún Toghcháin permission to increase the number of TDs in the next Dáil by between 11 and 21, meaning that there will be between 171 and 181 TDs in the next Dáil.

In ordering An Coimisiún Toghcháin to carry out the review based on the findings of the 2022 Census, the Oireachtas stated that each constituency can have a total of between three and five TDs, further stipulating that “the breaching of county boundaries shall be avoided as far as practicable”.

An Coimisiún Toghcháin was established as a statutory agency in February 2023 under the aegis of the Electoral Reform Act 2022. In practical terms,

it is an electoral commission that merges the roles which were previously carried out by three statutory agencies: the Constituency Commission, the Referendum Commission, and the Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee.

The commission’s membership may consist of between seven and nine members: a chair appointed from the judiciary, two ex-officio members, and between four and six ordinary members.

With a population of 5,123,536 people and a total of 160 TDs in the 33rd Dáil, the average number of people per TD in the State is 32,022, meaning that

Having concluded a consultation on the makeup of constituencies for the next Dáil, An Coimisiún Toghcháin is expected to announce approximately 20 additional TDs in the 34th Dáil.

an increase in the number of TDs will be required under the limits set within Bunreacht na hÉireann.

The Constitution states that political representation at Dáil level must have a minimum ratio of one member per 20,000 population, and a maximum ratio of one member per 30,000. In theory, this means there could be as many as 250 TDs.

Currently, 38 of the 39 Dáil constituencies in the State now show an average of over 30,000 people per TD, with Limerick County the only constituency still within the legal limits for representation. The constituency with the highest number of people per TD is Dublin Fingal, with 34,138 people per representative.

Good news for Sinn Féin

In the last two Dáil elections, Kerry and Donegal had been unified into single county constituencies after the Fine Gael-Labour government under Enda Kenny ordered the size of the Dáil to be reduced as a component of wider austerity measures following the 2007/2008 economic crisis.

With Donegal seemingly one of Sinn Féin’s strongest constituencies, the creation of more seats in the county may lead the party to have an increased opportunity of maximising its representation ahead of the next election.

Under the current number of 160 seats in the Dáil, it is speculated that a vote share of just under 32 per cent – the party’s polling average – in an election would leave Sinn Féin significantly below a Dáil majority, with some projections showing that it would win the party in the region of 55-60 seats. This is in spite of the 2011 election granting Fine Gael 76 seats – eight below what was then required for a majority – on a vote share of 36 per cent.

Speaking on RTÉ’s This Week on Sunday, Theresa Reidy, political scientist at University College Cork (UCC), said the changes would have a “reasonably important impact” and that they are “going to advantage Sinn Féin”.

“There is no doubt that this is a technical change, and it effects outcomes at the

margins... It is not going to drive any transformation of politics. The momentum is with Sinn Féin. So, when you add that with the extra seats, you would have to say this is really going to advantage Sinn Féin,” she said.

Reidy added that it is “quite likely” that nearly every county in the State is going to see some changes: “We will see some quite big changes in some of the bigger rural counties like Donegal and Kerry.”

Other developments

In addition to the Dáil constituency review, An Coimisiún Toghcháin is also contemplating the allocation of an extra seat in the European Parliament, which is expected to be granted to the Midlands–North-West constituency.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD has further ordered a review of potentially lowering the voting age to 16, although An Coimisiún Toghcháin has not yet carried out research which could indicate public opinion or interest in this area.

The Fianna Fáil minister has also speculated that the use of byelections to fill the use of vacant Dáil seats could be scrapped, with O’Brien reportedly in favour of retaining a list system where new members would be coopted to the Dáil. This system is commonly used in local authorities and is used for the Northern Ireland Assembly.

In spite of the views forwarded by the Housing Minister, there have been recent court rulings requiring by-elections to be held, notably in a case brought in relation to under-representation in Donegal, resulting in a Sinn Féin victory. Current legislation aims for byelections to be filled within six months of falling due.

The main concern for politicians, however, remains how the constituencies for the next Dáil will be formulated, with DPENDPR Minister Paschal Donohoe TD recently stating that there is “red hot interest” among TDs, as the parties aim to prepare their strategies for the ever closer next election.

Political Platform

Currently serving as Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD was first elected as a Fine Gael TD for CavanMonaghan in 2011. Re-elected in 2016 and again in 2020, she has also served as Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and Minister for Justice. A native of Drum, County Monaghan, she is the only serving Presbyterian member of the Oireachtas.

How did your political career begin?

Prior to entering politics, I worked with Ulster Bank, and I also served as Manager of the Cootehill Credit Union. That experience gave me such a great grounding in terms of dealing with families, their problems, and the real-life challenges affecting their lives.

I never really had any intention of embarking on a career in politics. But for that I owe a great deal of gratitude to my friend and mentor, the late TD Seymour Crawford. In 2003, I was co-opted onto Seymour’s seat on Monaghan County Council. That then kicked off my political career.

What are your most notable achievements in the Oireachtas to date?

I am very privileged to have served as

Minister in several key government departments.

I am proud, and indeed privileged, to have led the successful 1916 commemorations, which I believe did so much in terms of both healing community divisions and strengthening our identity as Irish people. In 2016, we also delivered the Creative Ireland Programme, which represented the most significant moment for arts and culture in Ireland in a generation.

A year later, I was appointed the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. In that role, I worked hard to support businesses through the challenges of Brexit and, of course, the Covid-19 pandemic. This was an unprecedented period in our country’s history, and it was therefore only right that we rolled out unprecedented supports for our businesses to ensure their survival.

That theme of working to support people through Covid-19 very much continued for me when I was appointed Minister for Social Protection in 2020. We ensured that people who lost their jobs virtually overnight were protected and supported with the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).

Following the rollout of the PUP, we delivered the biggest social protection budget in the history of the State –supporting our pensioners, carers, people with disabilities and working families. On top of that, I am proud to be spearheading significant reform in the areas of pensions, hot school meals, child maintenance and pay-related benefit.

Similarly, I was too only privileged to serve as Minister for Justice on two occasions, when my friend and colleague Helen McEntee TD took maternity leave. I worked very hard in that role on issues

Heather Humphreys TD

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD launching the 2023 Town and Village Renewal Scheme in July 2023. Credit: Merrion Street

affecting communities, An Garda Síochána and our wider justice system.

In my Rural and Community development portfolio, I launched Our Rural Future in 2020. This really is the most ambitious rural development policy in decades and is underpinned by unprecedented investment in our rural towns and villages.

Anyone who knows me knows I am someone who has ‘rural’ in their DNA. I believe rural Ireland is where the heart of our country beats. We now have more people living and working in rural Ireland than ever before and through the likes of remote working, we will continue to attract people back to rural Ireland.

Rural Ireland is alive and well – a place where our communities do so much to support each other. As minister, I will continue to support, backing, and investment in our towns and villages –making them better places to live, work, visit, and raise a family.

What is unique about representing the CavanMonaghan constituency?

Representing my constituents in Cavan, Monaghan, and north Meath has been the greatest privilege of my life. Being a border TD gives you a real insight into the importance of bringing people together.

In terms of my constituency, I have worked very hard on many projects – the Ulster Canal is one that stands out. This will be a game changer in terms of tourism. But above all, the Ulster Canal will be a symbol for peace and reconciliation helping to strengthen and protect the common bonds between both traditions on our island.

I am also very proud of what we have achieved in relation to Cavan Institute. We delivered an almost €40 million investment that will deliver a state-of-theart college accommodating 1,000 students.

And then of course, we have the PEACE Campus in Monaghan, the IDA factory, and the development of Rossmore Park –the number one forest park in the country in terms of visitors. So, by working together, we have achieved a lot for this constituency, and I am proud of the role I have played in this regard.

How can Fine Gael maximise its impact during the lifetime of the current government?

Fine Gael has always been to the forefront in terms of responding to the challenges and difficulties facing Irish families. Whether it was the Covid-19 crisis, the horrific war in Ukraine, or the ongoing cost of living pressures – we have shown that we will not be found wanting in terms of protecting and supporting families and businesses the length and breadth of the State. We have and will continue to support our pensioners, our carers, people with disabilities, and working families in Budget 2024 and beyond.

We will continue to be to the fore of helping more people to own their own home, as well as continuing to help our renters. We will work hard to deliver further reductions in income tax, as well as ensuring that we deliver further improvements in our healthcare system and that every child gets the best start in life. And we will continue our record as the party that understands and

represents rural Ireland and our farming community.

Fine Gael is the party that has delivered more investment for rural Ireland in the history of the State, helping to make our rural communities better places to live, work invest and raise a family. We are now at a point that we have never been before, with unemployment now at a record low of 3.8 per cent. There are other parties that would destroy the progress we have made in recent years. Fine Gael in government will not allow that to happen.

What are your interests outside of the political sphere?

I am a new grandmother to my grandson, Arthur. So, a lot of my spare time is spent looking after him which is a truly wonderful experience.

I am also a keen gardener – an activity which is great for clearing the head, especially after a busy week.

Certainly this summer, with the Dáil in recess, I will try to visit as many agricultural shows as possible. I really believe that our agricultural shows are intrinsically linked to our rural towns and villages.

They sum up all that is good about rural life and are a central point for our farming community. They are also fantastic days out for all the family.

Through my rural brief, I was very pleased to announce a record level of funding for our agricultural shows this year. The €1 million investment will assist 122 agricultural shows across the country, and I want to wish all the volunteers the very best.

“Fine Gael is the party that has delivered more investment for rural Ireland in the history of the State.”

Heather Humphreys TD

Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys TD, hosting the Department of Social Protection’s annual Pre-Budget Forum at Farmleigh House, in July 2023. Credit: Merrion Street

Ray Murphy: ‘Ireland should retain the triple lock’

Ireland should retain the triple lock mechanism for Defence Forces deployment on peacekeeping missions writes Ray Murphy, professor in the Irish Centre for Human Rights at University of Galway and former Defence Forces captain and UN peacekeeper.

UN peacekeeping is one of the most successful examples of multilateralism today, and Ireland has a long and distinguished record of participation in UN peacekeeping operations. The so-called triple lock is a requirement for UN, Dáil, and government authorisation for Irish involvement in peacekeeping operations.

The commitment to the triple lock process was made prior to the second referendum on the Nice Treaty. Its purpose was to assuage fears among the Irish public regarding involvement in international peacekeeping or peace enforcement missions that did not have express UN approval. It was not intended to apply to short-term humanitarian or evacuation missions.

Most of the current discussion regarding the triple lock is focused on Russia’s ability to veto approval of peacekeeping operations in the Security Council. It seems to be forgotten that this privilege is extended to all five permanent members of the Security Council, namely the US, China, France, the UK, and Russia. However, a quick review of the use of the veto shows how the US has most often exercised this prerogative, especially in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict. In fact, in 2002 the US threatened to use its veto to prevent the renewal of all UN operations in its efforts to evade the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. In this way, there is nothing new in the ability of permanent members of the Security Council to exercise their veto.

Furthermore, when the Council is unable to act, the issue can be transferred to the General Assembly for approval. It is acknowledged that this system is not without its challenges. However, the General Assembly is a UN organ with far greater representation and legitimacy than the Security Council.

In recent years, there have been increased tensions among the major powers that have spilled over into all UN activities, in particular the work of the Security Council. This has been reflected in the paralysis when responding to the brutal wars in Syria, Yemen, and,

more recently, Ukraine. It is also noteworthy that many peacekeeping operations are delegated by the UN to regional organisations such as the African Union, the EU, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and NATO.

Ireland’s recent term on the Security Council was characterised by several diplomatic successes. These owed much to our perceived independence and history, especially on a range of issues including disarmament, human rights, and nuclear non-proliferation. Ireland has also advocated for reform of the UN to strengthen its mechanisms. This will not be helped by participating in missions that do not have prior UN approval. It would also set a precedent for bypassing the UN in the future.

The UN is often dysfunctional and inefficient, but it remains the most important international organisation with responsibility for peace and security. If Ireland is really committed to the UN Charter and international law, then it cannot be part of any decision that goes outside this framework.

The 2015 Defence White Paper confirmed Ireland’s policy of military neutrality. This is a fundamental tenet of Irish foreign policy that underpins engagement in all peacekeeping operations. Deployment of Defence Forces personnel on peacekeeping missions should continue to be in accordance with the commitment to the triple lock.

Any peacekeeping operation outside the UN framework would most likely be EU or NATO led and would lack international legitimacy. Ireland can still play a role in promoting human rights, rule of law, and good governance while supporting political processes ahead of military solutions. Ireland’s real strength lies in its capacity to utilise its soft power to forge alliances with a wide range of global actors, including our EU partners, while still maintaining an independent foreign policy on certain issues.