News & Events

NESC report shows Action is Needed Now to ‘Clear the Fog’ and Progress Ireland’s Energy Transition

18 April 2025
Topic: Economic, Energy and renewables
Type: Press Releases

Much of Ireland’s policy for transition in the power sector is headed ‘into fog’. Key actors are not ‘on the same page’ from a strategic standpoint. Actions must be taken now, next, and later to reinforce Ireland’s energy transition and economic resilience, and to help us reach our national decarbonisation potential. 18 April 2025,…

‘Policy must be seen to be able to address structural challenges’ – NESC Remarks to the EESC on 15/4/25

16 April 2025
Topic: Economic, Social
Type: News

The NESC Secretariat told a meeting of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) that more work is needed to address infrastructure and services deficits, to manage transitions, and to ultimately improve the lived experiences of people. On 15th April, the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion (ECO) of the…

NESC at the ‘Finding Common Ground’ Festival on 9/4/25

10 April 2025
Topic: Environment
Type: News

On Wednesday, 9th April 2025, NESC Senior Policy Analyst Niamh Garvey participated in a panel discussion on opportunities for land use change. The input drew on NESC’s Report No.162, Just Transition in Agriculture and Land Use, in addition to its participation in Phase 2 of the Land Use Review. The event was part…

NESC Publishes Its Statement of Strategy for 2025-2028

27 March 2025
Type: News

Today NESC is publishing its new Strategy Statement for 2025-2028 – click here to take a look! Work began on this Statement of Strategy in 2024, with an aim to targeting challenges in key areas and making our work processes as smooth, efficient and effective as possible. It was informed by feedback from both the…

Covid-19: Five Years On – A Look Back at NESC’s Policy Lessons from the Pandemic

11 March 2025
Type: News

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak was a global pandemic – 11th March 2020. Two years after that declaration, in 2022, the National Economic and Social Council published its report The Covid-19 Pandemic: Lessons for Irish Public Policy. This piece of…

NESC Speaks at IBSPN Seminar on 6/3/25

7 March 2025
Topic: Environment, Sustainable development
Type: News

On Thursday, 6th March 2025, NESC policy analyst Gemma O’Reilly presented to the Irish Behavioural Science and Policy Network on applying systems analysis to the Irish transport and energy sectors. The presentation drew on a study carried out by the OECD and funded by CCAC on Ireland’s transport habits, and also included stakeholder feedback from…

NESC Chairs Expert Discussion on Emerging Issues for Ireland’s Energy Security

4 March 2025
Topic: Energy and renewables
Type: News

On 25th February 2025, the Department of Environment, Climate, and Communications (DECC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) brought together experts from across government, industry, academia, and regulators to identify the key security challenges, trends, and solutions under Ireland’s energy transition out to 2035. The full-day workshop involved four sessions, all with a focus on…

NESC Participates in EESC-CNEL Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Industrial Relations

28 January 2025
Topic: Economic, Social
Type: News

David Hallinan, bottom right, at the EESC-CNEL Conference on AI. On 24th January 2025 NESC Policy Analyst Dr David Hallinan took part in a conference organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Italian National Council for Economics and Labour (Consiglio Nazionale dell’Economia e del Lavoro – CNEL) on “Artificial Intelligence and…

Launch of NESC@50 Commemorative Book

6 January 2025
Topic: NESC@50
Type: News

NESC@50 provided an opportunity to look back at the impact of the Council – to celebrate its achievements, and the impact it has had on Irish society and the policy making system over the last 5 decades. It was also an opportunity to look forward, and to consider how the Council can continue to find…

NESC Chairs Session at UCC’s EPMG Research Showcase Event

23 December 2024
Topic: Energy and renewables
Type: News

On Tuesday, 17th December NESC Policy Analyst Dr. Jeanne Moore attended an energy research showcase organised by UCC’s Environmental Research Institute and MaREI. The showcase was held at Engineers Ireland in Dublin, and saw nearly 100 stakeholders and guests from the policy, industry, and NGO communities in attendance. The purpose of the day was to…