How do they do it?” European perspectives on Irish issues
We are excited to announce the launch of our new debate series, exploring how European models can help solve some of Ireland's most pressing issues.
How many times do we hear citizens say, in relation to issues like our housing crisis, hospital waiting lists or child poverty: “Why can’t this be fixed?”, or “Why is this taking so long?” We belong to a union of states with a huge variety of administrative and policy solutions to these and other issues. Can we learn from them, instead of trying to re-invent the wheel?
The European Parliament Office in Ireland is hosting a series of talks in Spring 2025 on a number of issues which deserve scrutiny: health policy and implementation; social housing; and children’s rights. For each talk, there will be an Irish and a European expert and a moderator, so audiences will learn what the Irish situation is, and then hear possible alleviating ideas from Europe. What harm can it do to explore alternative solutions to problems which sometimes seem intractable?
The talks series is curated by Catriona Crowe, Curator of First Thought Talks at the Galway Arts Festival.
The first talk, on 13 February, will launch the series with a conversation between Fintan O’Toole and Catriona Crowe, looking at the overall idea of European models useful for Irish imitation or adaptation, particularly for the areas under discussion in the programme. Fintan O’Toole is one of Ireland’s best-known journalists, and an author of international renown. His book We Don’t Know Ourselves is a brilliant, complex and enlightening history of the second half of the twentieth century in Ireland, seen through the lens of his own life. His column in the Irish Times has covered all of the important issues affecting this country over many decades.
To register for this event, please email events@gdsi.ie
When: 13 February 2025
Where: Europe House, 5 Balfe Street, Dublin 2
Time: 18:00-20:00