IIEA Talks

Launched in 2023, the IIEA Disability Policy Programme explores Ireland’s obligations, strengths, and shortcomings in the area of disability policy. The programme has been designed in consultation with leading experts in the field of disability policy in Ireland and seeks to explore and understand the lived experience of persons with disabilities in Ireland and across Europe including in relation...

The importance of space for the global communications, finance, technology and daily life continues to grow. In this context, commercial organisations are increasingly developing upon the new opportunities which commercial space flight now provides. This panel discusses how Ireland, with its advanced technology sector and capabilities, could be well-placed to develop its space industry and make th...

'Outlook for the Irish and Transatlantic economies' Conall Mac Coille, Chief Economist of Davy Stockbrokers and Chief Economist designate of Bank of Ireland, in conversation with Dan O'Brien, IIEA Chief Economist

In the past decade, the European Union has faced unprecedented challenges; the first withdrawal of a Member State from the Union, increased irregular migration flows, and international conflict on European soil. These events pose legal, as well as political, challenges which the legal services of the EU institutions must navigate. The Council Legal Service assists the European Council, the Council...

Colombia is in the midst of a change, the development of a new focus on life, human rights, dignity and peace. Its foreign policy reflects that. In his address to the IIEA, Vice-Minister Coy discusses the Colombian Government’s foreign policy approach and priorities, especially regarding shared experiences and lessons on Peace implementation between Colombia and Ireland. He also discusses the uniq...

Václav Bartuška is Ambassador-at-Large for Energy Security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czechia. Policies to enhance energy security formed an important component of the Czech Presidency of the European Union which concluded at the end of 2022. Ambassador Bartuška has also served as a plenipotentiary of the Czech Government for the expansion of Temelin Nuclear Power Plant. He teaches secu...

Whistleblowing is a relatively new concept, with the term only being popularised in the 1970s. Until recently, protection for whistleblowers remained fragmented, precarious, and unequal across countries and economic sectors. In 2016, the French Parliament first defined a whistleblower in legislation. Later, in 2019, the Whistleblower Protection Directive was passed by the EU Institutions and has b...

Central banks around the world are exploring the case for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) – essentially a digital version of cash. In the same manner as cash, a CBDC would allow citizens to directly hold central bank money but in a digital format. In the first of the IIEA’s mini-series of webinars exploring the future of CBDCs, Dr Katrin Assenmacher, Head of the Monetary Policy Strategy Div...

According to Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg, former Chief Economist of the World Bank Group, the recent retreat from globalisation has been triggered by a perception that increased competition from global trade is not fair and leads to increased inequality within countries. Is this phenomenon a small hiccup in the overall wave of globalisation, or are we at the beginning of a new era of deglobalisati...

In his address to the IIEA, Professor Gearty reflects upon the divergence between British law and EU law in the aftermath of Brexit, particularly in the field of human rights, and what this may mean (if anything) for Ireland as one of the few remaining common law jurisdictions in the European Union and the Council of Europe. Professor Gearty also reflects on Britain’s future relationship with, and...

General Birame Diop is the Military Advisor to the Department of Peace Operations at the United Nations. General Diop has over 30 years of military experience, previously serving as Chief of the Defence Staff of the Senegalese Armed Forces. He has also served as National Security Advisor to the President of Senegal and Air Force Chief of Staff. He has also served as Deputy and Chief Air operations...

On the back of the publication of the 2023 African Economic Outlook report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in May 2023, Professor Kevin Chika Urama, Vice President and Chief Economist of the African Development Bank, and Mette Knudsen, the Executive Director who represents Ireland’s constituency on the Board of the African Development Bank, are doing a tour of several of the AfDB’s donor co...

Sinn Féin is the most popular political party in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The local government elections in Northern Ireland in May 2023 cemented Sinn Féin’s status as the largest party north of the border, while polling indicates that Mary Lou McDonald could lead the party into government in the Republic at the next General Election. Questions therefore arise as to what a Sinn Féin governmen...

The global security environment is in a state of flux. Not only is Europe contending with the kinetic threat posed by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, but emerging threats – including climate change, AI, cyber, quantum computing, food and water shortages, and advanced robotics – are increasingly becoming threat multipliers. In this context, strategic foresight has become an important ca...

In this address to the IIEA, Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment delivers a keynote address discussing the recently published White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 and its implications for SMEs and multinationals based in Ireland. Following this, the event features a panel discussion during which Martina Fitzgerald, CEO of Scale Ireland, and Dr Frances Ruane, Chair of the...

Artificial intelligence (AI) already plays a role in deciding what unemployment benefits someone gets, where a burglary is likely to take place, whether someone is at risk of cancer, or who sees an advertisement for low mortgage rates. Its use keeps growing, presenting seemingly endless possibilities. However, AI also poses major challenges to upholding fundamental rights standards in Europe. In h...

The UK has seen significant levels of industrial action taken by many public sector trades union over the past 18 months. Just three years after the COVID-19 pandemic led to an outpouring of public support for the NHS, major strike action has been taken by nursing staff across the UK to fight for better pay and patient safety. In her keynote address to the IIEA, Director of Nursing of the Royal Co...

Professor Eftimiades contends that The People’s Republic of China's massive ‘whole-of-society’ approach to espionage is creating a new paradigm on how intelligence activities are conducted, viewed, and addressed by nations and businesses. In his address, Professor Nicholas Eftimiades discusses how specific espionage and covert action tradecraft is used by China's intelligence services, State Owned...

'EU policy outlook: what, how and when?' Professor Desmond Dinan, Jean Monnet Professor at the George Mason School of Public Policy in Arlington Virginia, in conversation with Dan O’Brien, IIEA Chief Economist

In his remarks, Dr Bassuener focuses on the EU’s relationship with the Western Balkans in advance of the country reports which will be published in October 2023. Dr Bassuener’s contention is that, writ broadly, the political elites of the region have demonstrated that they do not want to do the heavy lifting regarding EU accession. Yet, according to Dr Bassuener, the EU’s interest in the region re...

What are the pros and cons of Putin’s regime maintaining its grip on power after the Prigozhin mutiny? Does the Kremlin have a war strategy in Ukraine and if so, what is it? How are Western sanctions impacting Russia? Will China distance itself from Russia? And is there a chance of negotiations beginning between Moscow and Kyiv in 2024? DW’s Russian affairs analyst Konstantin Eggert, who recently...

Panel 2 The question of how to ensure the Russian Federation, and its political and military leadership, are held to account for serious breaches of international law in and Ukraine, including its war of aggression, has been an important aspect of the international response since the onset of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ireland has taken a strong position on the topic...

Panel 1 The question of how to ensure the Russian Federation, and its political and military leadership, are held to account for serious breaches of international law in and Ukraine, including its war of aggression, has been an important aspect of the international response since the onset of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ireland has taken a strong position on the topic...

Marking European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s 2023 State of the Union address, the European Commission Representation in Ireland, the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland and the IIEA will host a live stream of the address, followed by a hybrid panel discussion assessing the key themes explored and President von der Leyen’s outlook and priorities for the future of Europe. S...

Join Eliot Higgins, the founder of Bellingcat, as he delves into the significant role of open-source investigation in comprehending the Ukrainian conflict. This lecture covers the role open-source intelligence played in the tracking of the conflict's build-up, the swift debunking of misinformation, an analysis of open-source evidence to comprehend the war's impact on civilians, and an exploration...