IIEA Talks

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Standard-Bearers for Multilateralism: Canada, Ireland, and the UN Jul 06, 2023

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As a founding member of the United Nations, Canada’s commitment to multilateralism is the cornerstone of that country’s foreign policy. As the globe faces a confluence of multiple crises, UN member states, such as Canada and Ireland, have called for a recommitment to the UN Charter, and for necessary UN reforms to achieve a United Nations that is effective, efficient, relevant and accountable. As a founding member of the United Nations, Canada’s commitment to multilateralism is the cornerstone of that country’s foreign policy. As the globe faces a confluence of multiple crises, UN member states, such as Canada and Ireland, have called for a recommitment to the UN Charter, and for necessary UN reforms to achieve a United Nations that is effective, efficient, relevant and accountable. With a distinguished career at the UN and at the highest levels of Canadian politics, Ambassador Rae discusses how countries, like Canada and Ireland, can bring a strong voice on human rights, advancing peace and security and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals to the world stage through their engagement at the United Nations at this roundtable event. About the Speaker: Mr. Robert Rae is the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York. He served as Premier of Ontario from 1990–1995, interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2011–2013, and was appointed as Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar (2017) and Canada’s Special Envoy on Humanitarian and Refugee Issues (2020). From 1996 to 2008, he was a partner at Goodmans LLP and wrote government reports on the Air India bombing and higher education in Ontario. Mr. Rae also served as Chair of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Conservatory of Music, the Institute for Research in Public Policy, and the Forum of Federations. Mr. Rae taught law and public policy at the University of Toronto and in the VicOne programme at Victoria College, and was a partner and senior counsel to the law firm OKT LLP from 2014 to 2020, specialising in indigenous law and constitutional issues. Mr. Rae is a Privy Councillor, a Companion of the Order of Canada, and a member of the Order of Ontario.

The Co-Benefits of Energy Efficiency in an Irish Context by Marion Jammet Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

In this podcast, IIEA Director of Research, Dr. Barry Colfer, interviews Marion Jammet, member of the IIEA’s Climate and Energy Working Group and Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Irish Green Building Council. They discuss her recent IIEA paper ‘The Co-Benefits of an Energy Efficiency in an Irish Context’ which provides an analysis of the wide range of direct and indirect co-benefits of energy efficiency upgrades in the residential and non-residential building sectors, it also examines the next steps that should be taken by policymakers to support quality energy efficiency upgrades at scale.

Making Sense of a United Ireland Jul 05, 2023

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A united Ireland is among the most contentious issues in Irish and Northern Irish politics. At times during the past century, the idea united Ireland has seemed impossible or been dismissed as romantic but unrealistic. However, in recent years, the outcome of the Brexit referendum, changing demographics in Northern Ireland, and the electoral success of nationalism in Northern Ireland’s most recent elections have reinvigorated the debate around Irish unity, and whether, how, and when it should happen. In his most recent book, Making Sense of a United Ireland, Professor Brendan O’Leary, a global expert on the politics of divided places, explains how unification could happen, sets out potential models of a united Ireland, and analyses the economics and politics of Irish unity. In this keynote address to the IIEA, Professor O’Leary addresses questions of preparation and strategy in the light of public opinion North and South. About the Speaker: Brendan O'Leary is the Lauder Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and a Visiting Professor of Political Science at Queen’s University, Belfast. He is the author, co-author, and co-editor of thirty books and collections, and he has written extensively on the Northern Ireland conflict. Professor O’Leary also is a founding member of ARINS (Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South) programme at the Royal Irish Academy. Professor O’Leary’s three-volume study, A Treatise on Northern Ireland, received the James S. Donnelly Sr. best book prize of the American Conference on Irish Studies in 2020, and he is the inaugural winner of the Juan Linz prize of the International Political Science Association for contributions to the study of multinational societies, federalism and powersharing. Professor O’Leary has also been a political and constitutional advisor to the United Nations, the European Union, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, the Governments of the UK and Ireland, and to the British.

Towards a Sustainable and Equitable Food Future: Reshaping Food Systems around Small-scale Producers Jul 04, 2023

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Drawing on IFAD’s 45 years of hands-on experience in agriculture and rural development, IFAD President Alvaro Lario outlines how reshaping food systems around small-scale producers can limit global warming, regenerate ecosystems, and end poverty and hunger. While food production generates one-third of all greenhouse gases, drives biodiversity losses, and uses about 70 per cent of the world’s freshwater and President Lario contends that sustainable food systems hold the potential to generate US$4.5 trillion in new business opportunities every year and to create more than 120 million rural jobs. He argues that decades of under-investment in food systems and glaring inequalities have left many farmers and other rural people cut off from economic opportunities. He reflects on the current global food crisis, which is worsening as more than 700 million people go to bed hungry every night. Ending poverty and hunger are fundamental to the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals and President Lario demonstrates that reshaping food systems could end poverty and hunger and limit the impacts of climate change on the world’s most vulnerable. About the Speaker: Alvaro Lario is President of the International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD). A seasoned international development finance leader, he has more than 20 years of experience across private sector asset management, World Bank Group and the United Nations, including as Associate Vice-President of Financial Operations at IFAD. Under his stewardship, IFAD became the first United Nations Fund to enter the capital markets and obtain a credit rating, enabling the IFAD to expand resource mobilisation efforts to the private sector. President Lario received a PhD in Financial Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid after completing a Master of Research in Economics at the London Business School and a Master of Finance from Princeton University.

Fighting Terrorism while Protecting Human Rights: Interview with Fionnuala Ní Aoláin Jul 04, 2023

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In this interview, IIEA Researcher, Leanne Digney, talks to the UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, about the mandate of her office and the major challenges in this sphere today. This interview is part of the Global Europe UN podcast series which is sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Please note that due to the virtual nature of this interview, there may be some slight audio irregularities.

Foreign Direct Investment – Continued Opportunity or Growing Challenge? Jun 30, 2023

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

Keith Rockwell 'World Trade Disorder?' Jun 29, 2023

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

Where Next for the UK as an International Economy? Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

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

The Nature Restoration Regulation: Implications for Ireland and Europe Jun 27, 2023

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

Inside the Deal: The Brussels View on Brexit Jun 23, 2023

Show notes

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

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