At a Glance

The workshop piloted the draft WHO-OECD tool for anticipatory governance in public health, using genetic biocontrol agents as a case study of a locally critical emerging technology. Engaging with policymakers, regulators, biosafety agencies, and public health experts from a number of African countries made for a richly diverse set of perspectives on how to govern emerging technologies under conditions of uncertainty.

Dr Gráinne Collins was part of a panel that helped launch the ESRI’s latest report on young people’s perceptions of discrimination and the impact on health and well being. She was joined by Aisling Murray, Department of Children, Disability and Equality; Rebecca Ryan, member of Belong To’s Youth Advisory Panel; and Mohammad Naeem, former UN Youth Delegate for Ireland & former member of the DCEDIY Advisory Group on Racism and Racial Equality. The full report can be accessed here.

NESC Ireland were delighted to collaborate with our colleagues in Concelho Económico E Social, Portugal; Conseil central de l’Économie and Conseil national du Travail, Brussels; Conseil économique, social et environnemental, France; CES, Economic and Social Council of Romania; Consejo Económico y Social de España; Economic and Social Council of Bulgaria; and Economic and Social Council of Greece to produce our latest Research Report Social Cohesion: European Case Studies. Special thanks also to our colleagues in the European Economic and Social Committee for supporting this collaboration.

• Brian O’Donovan, RTÉ Online: ‘Government urged to minimise risks of artificial intelligence‘
• NewsIreland.EU: ‘Ireland must ‘actively shape’ AI, urges advisory council‘
• Pat Leahy, Irish Times: ‘AI job losses in Ireland likely to hit women and ‘younger workers’ hardest‘
• Irish Times Editorial: ‘Tentative State response needs to ramp up‘

The Council of Europe held a Conference in Strasbourg on the “Algorithmic Age” seeking to explore how new and emerging digital technologies operate in real social, institutional, and legal contexts, and what this means for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Dr Siobhán O’Sullivan was an invited speaker and discussed the implications of digital technologies and AI in particular for human dignity, autonomy, and privacy.

Policy Analyst Colette Bennett co-facilitated this workshop during European Economic and Social Committee Civil Society Week, bringing together civil society stakeholders from across Europe to discuss what Social Cohesion means to them and how we might support it at national and EU level.

Senior Policy Analyst Siobhán O’Sullivan presented to the FutureNeuro Clinical Conference 2026 on the “Ethical Aspects of AI in Healthcare”.

Siobhán was part of a lineup of high profile researchers and clinicians tackling the use of AI as a means to treat neurological conditions.

NESC’s newest research paper is now live on our website – many thanks to Aoife Molloy and Caroline McKeon of the Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water who prepared this piece of work for us on the potential of more integrated approaches to addressing climate mitigation, climate adaptation, biodiversity, and water quality in Ireland – read it in full now.

We are pleased to announce that a new Research Paper is now available on our website – read Examining the Concept and Use of Just Resilience in Ireland and Internationally now by clicking here.

This work was undertaken for NESC Ireland by Orla Dingley and Matthew Donoghue, both of University College Dublin. As well as examining the core meaning behind just resilience and examples of its implementation in different contexts, the paper provides recommendations for the development of such a framework nationwide.

Dr Jeanne Moore chaired a seminar on ‘Bureaucratic Burdens in a Warming World’ at the UCD Earth Institute, part of a series on ‘adapting for the future’. Jeanne and panellists Dr Cara Augustenborg, Dr Hannah Julienne, Dr Desmond O’Mahony, and Dr Gerry Clabby highlighted the issue of ‘sludge’, such as excessive paperwork and administrative barriers, that can either slow down or completely halt important mitigation projects and other forms of critical climate action. The panel also discussed how sludge audits could relieve this congestion and red tape.

Policy Analyst Colette Bennett participated in the ERASMUS of civil society organisations at the Palais d’Iéna in Paris – Organised by the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Conseil économique social et environnemental), this event considered the recently published European Democracy Shield and the role of European Social and Economic Councils in the protection of democracy and civic space.

Our new Council Report entitled Connecting People to the Energy Transition focuses on how to better connect people to a changing, just, and inclusive energy system.

Some mentions of Council Report No.169 International Trade and the Energy Transition in print & broadcast media:

• Kevin O’Sullivan in the Irish Times: ‘Costs holding back Ireland as a renewables exporter, Nesc warns‘
• Kevin O’Sullivan, Irish Times (in business section): ‘Irish renewable energy policy gets a badly needed reality check’
• Business Post: ‘Ireland at risk of facing ‘substantial’ EU fines if reliance on fossil fuels not curbed‘
• Irish Examiner: ‘Advisory body warns Government dependence on fossil fuel imports risks disruption and sabotage’