Printing Deutschmarks

I was told by a source in the printing industry some weeks ago that the Germans were printing DMs.

Surely not said I.

Google ‘printing Deutschmarks’ and you will be surprised by what you will find!

God help us if the Germans abandon the Euro.

Public Sector Reform Plan – Croke Park 2

Yesterday, I chaired a conference on the Public Sector Reform Plan organised by iQuest.

My opening remarks are enclosed.

The positives are the clear intent of Government and the fact that the public sector trade unions have bought in to what amounts to Croke Park 2.

However, to date there is limited evidence of leadership among many of senior public servants for a fundamental reform and modernisation programme.

If it is to succeed the Reform Plan will require a shift in behavior, a less risk-adverse culture and a relentless push to extent the e-government programme across government.

 

 

Phil Hogan’s Big Idea

Critics of the Minister’s apparent U turn on Ireland’s climate change policy would be well advised to read his Department’s well-written Review of National Climate Policy. The Government has got the message: the debate has moved on from one of strict compliance with a view to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to increase the share of renewable energy to a much more strategic discourse about how Ireland must prepare to become a low carbon economy.

Yes, legislation will be needed, but as correctly stated by the Minister its content must be informed by evidenced-based policy research. Hence the NESC has been tasked with this job. The big unknowns are: how the effort to meet the current (minus 20% by 2020) emissions reduction target will fall in an equitable manner on households, farmers and businesses; the impacts of the higher targets that will be introduced once international negotiations on climate change are concluded next year; and how to deliver the EU’s and Ireland’s political commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.

Ireland needs a Low Carbon Plan for quite a few reasons.

Firstly, Ireland has world class resources in abundance (wind and water being two obvious examples) but has yet to determine how best to develop these assets in a sustainable manner and the potential scale of the investment. Secondly, the projected €80 billion in green economy investments (renewable, grid, forestry, water and waste etc.) in Ireland already announced could generate upwards of 80,000 jobs. To put it more bluntly, a fifth of the people who are currently unemployed could find jobs in green economy companies if the government and its agencies got their collective act together. Thirdly, current enterprise policy has not given the green economy sector the same priority (nor resources as a consequence) as ICT and pharmaceuticals. Thus the State’s agencies responsible for this sector are not helping more Irish indigenous companies target the UK’s £325 billion investment in their green economy. Finally, project promoters (of which there are very many) need policy certainty, all bottlenecks to deployment removed and a whole of government approach to the twin challenges of climate change and energy security.

While we await the NESC review, the Minister might wish to consider the following options that are cost neutral but which if acted upon promptly could give a significant and short term boost to Ireland’s fledgling green economy sector.

Firstly, concentrate all the State’s efforts (including R&D) into one agency. SEAI is the obvious candidate given its credentials and reputation as a ‘can do’ organisation. The underused engineers and planners in the NRA, RPA and local authorities should be transferred to this agency and tasked with facilitating the construction of the necessary infrastructure and the development of the emerging technologies, including ICT convergence. Secondly, a share (say 50%) of the Exchequer’s revenue from carbon taxation and the auctioning of emissions permits should be recycled into potentially commercial and sustainable projects:  at least €1 billion in additional ‘green’ revenue will be collected by 2020. Thirdly, the enterprise agencies should be instructed not to grant aid companies (other than by way of competitive tendering) but to finance all the sub-sector networks that advise and support these innovating cleantech/greentech companies. Specialist staff in the agencies would be better employed working in these networks than processing application forms. Fourthly, stop the prevarication and require the electricity generators to co-finance a nation-wide

programme of retrofitting for energy efficiency in some one million households. Finally, Ireland should introduce schemes (all approved under EU State aid rules) to support R&D, the wider use of environmental technologies, and ICT convergence that many of our competitors already take advantage of.

The green economy is happening. It is real. Jobs are being created. For example, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, some $41 billion was spent on clean energy  investments in the third quarter this year across the globe despite of (our because of one might argue) the economic down turn. In addition, $2.2 billion was invested in just three months in renewables projects by venture capitalists. The European Commission, the OCED and many developed countries (including the UK, the Scandinavian countries and China) have adopted low carbon strategies that are already resulting in a surge of investment. Ireland (again) is playing catch-up with its competitors. The fact that Ireland does not feature as investors look elsewhere for ‘green’ investments should be a matter of concern for everyone.

This country has more strategies than counties. Some have been on the shelf for years. Very few are being fully implemented. Most have no budget or a detailed implementation plan. Whatever Minister Hogan does he should not let the much needed 2050 Low Carbon Plan fall into the same trap. We need to identify and plot a sustainable and affordable pathway to transition Ireland as a low carbon country; to be a world leader where we have a natural competitive advantage. This ambition will not happen unless the Minister and his advisors engage with the private and public investors who have projects in the pipeline but are frustrated at the government’s inability to get their plans to a ‘shovel ready’ state.