Second Panel 1

Annual Conference of the Irish Government Economic & Evaluation Service

How many economists does it take to change a light bulb*?  Not one of the questions under discussion at the 2nd annual Conference of the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES), which took place last Thursday in Dublin Castle. However, the discussion was lively at the event, which was an opportunity for IGEES members working across the civil service to debate key policy and economic issues with their colleagues in academia, the European Commission, and even the private sector.

The theme of the conference was “delivering on socio-economic priorities while ensuring budget sustainability”. The morning started with insights from Angela D’Elia – who leads on budgetary policy and surveillance in the European Commission – on fiscal rules and the Stability and Growth Pact. Despite the technical nature of the topic, both the presentation and the following panel (and audience) discussion were animated and enlightening.

It is just over two years since the establishment of IGEES, and over that time members recruited to work in IGEES have been engaged in complex policy issues across the Government departments. The second session started with presentations from IGEES members on two of those issues – State supports for social housing, and the public drugs bill. The panel, which included economists from ESRI, DCU and Goodbody Stockbrokers then discussed the challenges involved in delivering on these and other socio economic priorities.

Expert chairing from John Fitzgerald contributed to what was a productive and enjoyable morning. IGEES enjoys the support of top management in the civil service, and the conference sessions were opened by the Secretaries General of the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform. The conference ended with a call for papers for next year’s conference. We look forward to another productive and interesting year as IGEES continues to grow and evolve.

Special thanks to the external panel members for their contribution: Seamus Coffey (UCC), John Howlin (IFAC); Prof. Richard Layte (ESRI); Dermot O’Leary (Goodbody Stockbrokers), Dr Cathal Guiomard (DCU), Dr Edgar Morgenroth (ESRI.

* None – if it needs changing the market will take care of it.