NESC Hosts Bioeconomy Workshop at Tom Johnson House

• 30 January 2026
• Topics: Economic Environment
• Types: Events

On Wednesday, 21^st January NESC hosted a workshop on ‘Rural Innovation, Climate Action and New Economic and Social Opportunities: How to realise the potential of the bioeconomy in Ireland’.

The workshop included presentations on the current policy, research, and implementation of bioeconomy projects by Karl Walsh (Department of Agriculture, Forestry and the Marine), John Brosnan (Irish Cooperative Organisation Society) and Sean Douglas (BiOrbic). A panel representing the different NESC members discussed how to realise the potential of the bioeconomy, which included remarks from: John Brosnan (ICOS), Tom McDonnell (the Nevin Economic Research Institute), Michelle Murphy (Social Justice Ireland and member of the Just Transition Commission), Ian Talbot (Chambers Ireland), and Caroline Whyte (the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability).

Ireland’s draft bioeconomy strategy and action plan was presented by Laura Broomfield (Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment), which was followed by a facilitated discussion among participants with an aim to providing feedback on the plan. Participants highlighted that the development of the bioeconomy represents significant opportunities across multiple objectives, and that Ireland has the potential to be a leader in this area by building on these strengths and taking action to address uncertainties.