3rd January 2023
Minister Eamon Ryan TD says it is critical to ensure an integrated approach to the challenges of the climate, biodiversity, and pollution crises. Ryan states that […]
Ossian Smyth TD
Minister of State with responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy
Ossian Smyth TD is Minister of State with responsibility for Communications and Circular Economy and Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement and eGovernment at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. He was appointed to this role in July 2020. He has been a TD for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since the 2020 general election. Following the 2014 Irish local elections, Smyth was elected to Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council for the Dún Laoghaire local electoral area. He served as Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council from 2018 to 2019. Smyth holds a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin.
Florika Fink-Hooijer
Director General of DG Environment at the European Commission
Florika Fink-Hooijer is the current Director General of DG Environment at the European Commission. She took up her position in September 2020 and was previously the Director General of DG Interpretation (SCIC) between 2016 and 2020. Prior to this Florika was Director for Strategy, Policy and International Cooperation at DG Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (DG ECHO) for four years. She is responsible for implementing the European Green Deal focusing on circular economy, biodiversity and zero pollution.
Antoine Oger
Head of Programme on Global Challenges and SDGs Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)
Antoine Oger is Head of Programme on Global Challenges and SDGs at the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP). His current research work focuses on the greening of the EU’s trade policy and the coherence of the EU’s internal and external policies related to trade, climate and sustainable development, including on the topic of critical raw materials. He previously worked for over 10 years on the provision of trade-related technical assistance to developing countries, working extensively with DG INTPA and EU Delegations on the delivery of the EU cooperation policy. His recent publications include the “Trade for an inclusive circular economy: A framework for collective action” developed with the Chatham House or an IEEP policy report on “Enhancing sustainability in EU Free Trade Agreements: The case for a holistic approach”. Antoine holds a MA in European Politics with a specialisation on the EU trade policy from the Institute of Political Studies of Rennes in France.
Laura Curtis-Moss
Director, 2050 Climate Group Scotland
Laura Curtis-Moss is the Director of 2050 Climate Group, an organisation working to empower Scotland’s young leaders to lead action on tackling our climate crisis and committed to building a fairer, more sustainable future. Laura's background is in environmental and outdoor education – working with schools, developing continuing education for teachers as well as community engagement. Despite originally studying fine art Laura has had a varied career – from tagging hen harriers to teaching snorkelling via volunteering with sloths and turtles in Costa Rica and even a stint with the Edinburgh Remakery! Previously she has worked for the RSPB and more recently managed a peatland restoration project in East Ayrshire – surveying peatland sites and monitoring the local wildlife. In her spare time she enjoys scuba diving, walking and camping with her partner and two dogs as well as volunteering with British Divers Marine Life Rescue.
Anthony Costello
Chair, Lancet Countdown for Climate and Health Action
After serving as Director of the Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, WHO Geneva, Anthony Costello returned to University College London in June 2018 as Professor of Global Health and Sustainable Development. Trained in paediatrics, he led the first Lancet Commission on Climate and Health published in 2009 with the strapline "Climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century". In 2015 he conceived and set up the international Lancet Countdown for Climate and Health Action of which he is chair. The Countdown publishes an annual Lancet report that monitors 44 indicators of climate and health progress and involves over sixty institutes and universities around the world. He is also founder and senior adviser to the Children in All Policies 2030 programme supported by WHO, UNICEF and the Lancet. He was a also co-founder of Independent SAGE which aims to bring a greater focus on public health, transparency and public engagement to the UK Covid response.
Anja Murray
Ecologist
Anja Murray is an ecologist, an environmental policy analyst and a broadcaster, familiar to many as a presenter on ‘Eco Eye’ on RTÉ 1 for the past 8 years – as well as her weekly ‘Nature File’ each Saturday morning on RTÉ lyric fm. Anja writes a weekly column ‘natural solutions’ for The Examiner newspaper and makes radio documentaries about Ireland’s natural environment – most recently ‘Root & Branch’ a series about Irelands native trees, on the Lyric Feature. Her first book, WILD EMBRACE -Connecting to the Wonder of Ireland’s Natural World- published by Hachette Ireland, has been received with critical acclaim and remained in the bestseller rankings since its publication in March 2023.
Niall Ó Donnchú
Director General, National Parks and Wildlife Service
Niall Ó Donnchú, MPhil, BSc (Econ), C(Dip) AF, is Director General of the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Assistant Secretary General at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. He is head of the Heritage Division of the Department and has responsibility for policy on built and natural heritage. He was formerly Head of Arts, Culture and Film Policy at the Department of Arts and Heritage. Prior to that he was Head of E-Commerce and Broadband Policy at the Department of Communications and is also a former Head of Alternative and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy. Niall is a graduate of Queen’s University Belfast , the London School of Economics and the Harvard University/IPA Adaptive Leadership Programme.
Mike Savage
Green Infrastructure Project Development Officer, Derry City and Strabane District Council
Mike Savage has a BSc in Ecology and a MSc in Countryside Management. He has been involved in greenspace management for over 40 years, including working as Mersey Valley Chief Warden and Operations Manager for Red Rose Forest. As Green Infrastructure Project Development Officer with Derry City and Strabane District Council he is responsible for the development and delivery of a range of GI projects including greenways, invasive species management and GI masterplans. He also leads on GIS for the GI Team.
Brian Carroll
Assistant Secretary General, Climate Action and Environment, Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications
Brian Carroll is the Assistant Secretary General leading the Climate Action and Environment function at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. He is responsible for national, EU and international environment policy, including in the areas of climate action, air quality, radiation and environmental awareness, as well as oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency. Brian joined the Department in 2008, and within the Department has worked previously as Assistant Secretary General for Natural Resources, Head of Decarbonisation and Head of Finance, Strategy and Corporate Affairs. He has wide experience across the public service, having also worked in the Departments of Finance, Foreign Affairs and Justice.
Claire Downey
Policy and Research Director, The Rediscovery Centre
Claire Downey is Policy and Research Director at The Rediscovery Centre. In this role since 2021, she is responsible for leading the research team on providing an evidence base for policy development and supporting circular living models within Ireland and internationally. With a background in Chemical Engineering, and over 20 years of experience in the sector, she has delivered multiple circular economy research projects and sits on the National Waste Advisory Group, the National Textiles Advisory Group, is a fellow with the Chartered Institute of Waste Management, and a board member of Green Foundation Ireland.
Oisín Coghlan
Chief Executive, Friends of the Earth Ireland
Oisín Coghlan has been Chief Executive of Friends of the Earth Ireland since 2005.Oisín co-founded the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition in 2007 and the Environmental Pillar of social partnership in 2009, and led the 14-year campaign for a climate law which culminated in the passing of the Climate Action Act 2021. He leads Friends of the Earth's work to ensure that legal framework is translated into the transformative action required to eliminate Ireland's polluting emissions. Oisín sits on the Board of the Irish Environmental Network, and the steering committees of Stop Climate Chaos, the Environmental Pillar and Coalition 2030, the Irish civil society coalition championing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Stephen Onakuse
Senior Lecturer, University College Cork
Dr Stephen Onakuse is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Food Business & Development, Cork University Business School (CUBS), university College Cork and the President of the European Alliance on Agriculture knowledge for Development (AGRINATURA). Stephen is an agriculturist and much of research investigate agricultural systems, value chain analysis for development and sustainable production practices. Dr Onakuse is the Principal Investigator on an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) project focussing on sustainable production and consumption and the UCC PI on a European Union DeSIRA funded project on Climate Smart Agriculture Research and Innovation Support for Dairy Value Chains in Eritrea.
Kevin O’Sullivan
Environment and Science Editor, The Irish Times
Kevin O’Sullivan is Environment and Science Editor and lead journalist reporting on climate change with The Irish Times. He served as Editor of the paper from 2011 to 2017. He joined The Irish Times in 1997 as Environmental and Food Science Correspondent. In his current role, he has a particular interest in climate solutions (especially nature-based actions); sustainability (including the pursuit of the UN SDGs), renewable energy and restoring biodiversity.
Susan Hegarty
Associate Professor, DCU School of History and Geography
Susan Hegarty is a geographer at DCU. She began her interests in water while working on the Groundwater Protection Scheme for Kilkenny in the Geological Survey of Ireland, mapping the Quaternary deposits – one of the keys to determining the vulnerability of groundwater to pollutants. Her current research at DCU Water Institute focuses on the role of citizen science for monitoring of water quality in Ireland. Her interest in Irish landscape evolution since the last glaciation has led her to carry out research on the changing climate in Ireland over the Holocene, particularly with reference to the southeast of Ireland. She is passionate about communicating environmental issues to a wider audience, and has been involved in various TV documentaries over the past decade. She is currently Head of the DCU School of History and Geography.
Hendrik W van der Kamp
Planning Consultant
Hendrik W van der Kamp, is the former Head of the planning school in Technological University Dublin. He is past-president of the Irish Planning Institute and honorary-president and currently secretary-general of the European Council of Spatial Planners. In recent years he organised and delivered a nationwide Climate Action Training Programme for planners and advised the Environmental Protection Agency on international best practice examples of national land use policy. He has been consulted by the Government on a number of occasions on planning matters and was member of advisory groups of both the National Spatial Strategy and the National Planning Framework. He is currently planning consultant with RW Nowlan & Associates and programme chair of a BSc in Urban Planning programme in the Gengdan Institute of the Beijing University of Technology in China.
Philip Nugent
Assistant Secretary, Department of the Environment Climate and Communications
Philip Nugent is the Assistant Secretary leading the Circular Economy, Natural Resources and Waste Policy function in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. He has responsibility for leading a cross-Government approach to the circular economy, as well as geoscience policy and regulation (minerals, mining and petroleum), the Geological Survey, inland fisheries, and waste and resource efficiency. Philip joined the Department in 2019 from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government where he served in a range of roles across marine and terrestrial planning and housing.
Adrian Smyth
Development Officer - Biodiversity, National Federation of Group Water Schemes
Adrian Smyth comes from an Offaly farming background in beef and sheep rearing. He is a graduate of Waterford Institute of Technology with an Honours Degree in Agricultural Science. The focus of his final year project was on water quality and in creating a design for a low-cost sensor to detect phosphate in water. In June 2017 Adrian was recruited as a development officer by the National Federation of Group Water Schemes. In this role, he was assigned responsibility for servicing the needs of community-owned drinking water supplies across most of Munster. In addition to this, Adrian is also heading up implementing biodiversity enhancement measures on GWS as part of the Federations’ Biodiversity and Climate Action project. He can be contacted by emailing adrian@nfgws.ie
Ainhoa Gonzalez Del Campo
Associate Professor in the School of Geography, University College Dublin
Dr Ainhoa González is an Associate Professor in the School of Geography, University College Dublin. She has over 20 years of international experience as an environmental planner, and as a researcher and educator in sustainability, impact assessment, environmental management and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). She has led and collaborated in many international and national multi-disciplinary research projects, involving private and public sector practitioners. Recent research focuses on developing and applying geospatial analysis tools and methods for assessing environmental change and impacts, to better inform planning and decision-making. She has developed the Environmental Sensitivity Mapping (ESM) web tool and the Local Area Renewable Energy Strategies (LARES) web tool, both in collaboration with the All-Island Observatory. She is currently leading the development of a web tool for cumulative effects assessment in the marine environment in collaboration with the Marine Institute. She has developed several good practice guidance manuals on Strategic Environmental Assessment effectiveness, spatial analysis, alternatives, monitoring and public participation for the Environmental Protection Agency. She is a board member of the Spanish Association for Impact Assessment and she will be co-chairing the International Association for Impact Assessment conference in Dublin in 2024.
Geoff Dooley
Head of Sustainability Services, Antaris Consulting
Geoff Dooley is Head of Sustainability Services at Antaris Consulting. He is an experienced sustainability consultant and facilitator. He works with organisations to develop and operationalise sustainability strategies, enabling transparent and credible reporting/disclosures. Most recently, he facilitated the development of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Impacts and Adaptation Strategy, and he is the 2023 Chair of the Sustainable Development Goals National Stakeholder Forum. Geoff holds a primary degree in Environmental Science, an MBA, an MSc in Finance, a Level 9 Diploma in Executive Coaching, and an Advanced Diploma in Systemic Transformation for Organisations. He is a Nuffield Scholar and a member of the Institute of Directors.
Clare Pillman
Chief Executive, Natural Resources Wales
Clare Pillman is Chief Executive at Natural Resources Wales. Clare returned to Wales to join Natural Resources Wales as its Chief Executive in February 2018. Prior to this Clare was Director of Culture, Tourism and Sport at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In this role she led the work on the Cultural Olympiad and developed new strategies for Sport, Tourism and Culture. She oversaw the delivery of events such as the Rugby World Cup and World Athletics Championships, developed and led the programme to commemorate the Centenary of the First World War and created new models of governance and financing for organisations such as Historic England, English Heritage, the Royal Parks and Visit Britain. From 2004 to 2011, Clare ran the Courts Service in Wales. During this time she chaired the North Wales Local Criminal Justice Board, led the campaign for a prison in North Wales and led Her Majesty’s Court Service Wales to become the first Wales-wide body to receive the Chartermark award for Customer Service. Clare is currently a Board Member of Wales National Opera and prior to this was a Trustee of the Institute of Cancer Research in London for 10 years.
David Greenfield
Vice President, Circular Economy Institute
David Greenfield is Vice President at Circular Economy Institute and is responsible for External Affairs. He is a recognised circular economy expert, having been involved in resource and waste management policy making at local, regional and government levels in his early career, to developing circular economy businesses such as SOENECS and Tech-Takeback, that demonstrate the possibilities of circularity in the last decade. Taking circularity to the next level and recognising that innovation in circularity is essential to adapting and mitigating climate change and environmental pollution, in September 2022, David co-founded etsaW Ventures, a venture studio that accelerates circular material and waste innovation into game changing impact. David has been a volunteer for the CEC and CEI for six years and has run over 50 face to face networking events and spoken at over 25 international events for CEC and CEI. In September 2021, David was appointed as Professor of Circular Economy at the University of Brighton to lecture and work with academics to incorporate circular economy into the curriculum. In June 2023, David was elected by the membership to be Junior Vice-President of the CIWM, this is a four-year appointment and will culminate in David becoming President in 2025.
Danielle Conaghan
Partner and Head of the Environment and Planning Group, Arthur Cox
Danielle Conaghan is Head of the Arthur Cox Environment and Planning Group, and is a founder member of the firm’s Food and Drink Group. Danielle is noted as a skilled strategist, and is acknowledged as a ‘leading individual’ with almost 15 years’ experience in the environment and planning sphere (Legal 500, EMEA). She takes a pragmatic approach to making all types of infrastructure projects happen and constantly looks to find ways to reduce the risk of successful challenges to projects by objectors. She is especially interested in complex projects; and advises on wind, biomass, battery storage, flood relief, data centre, water, wastewater, telecommunications, SHD and offshore projects. She has a deep understanding of how best to defend multiple sets of civil and criminal proceedings taken against projects during the planning, construction and operational phases. She helps clients defend criminal proceedings, particularly in the waste and food and drink sectors. She specialises in European environmental law.
Mike Savage
Green Infrastructure Project Development Officer, Derry City and Strabane District Council
Mike Savage has a BSc in Ecology and a MSc in Countryside Management. He has been involved in greenspace management for over 40 years, including working as Mersey Valley Chief Warden and Operations Manager for Red Rose Forest. As Green Infrastructure Project Development Officer with Derry City and Strabane District Council he is responsible for the development and delivery of a range of GI projects including greenways, invasive species management and GI masterplans. He also leads on GIS for the GI Team.
Peter McEvoy
Director of Land Management, Ulster Wildlife
Peter McEvoy is Director of Land Management at Ulster Wildlife where he is responsible for management of Nature Reserves, Agri-environment Group Scheme delivery and advocacy and liaison on land use and agriculture. He is a plant ecologist by background with a PhD exploring impact of large herbivores on woodland and silvopastoral landscapes and has worked on land management, agriculture policy and agri-environment for over 20 years. Prior to working for Ulster Wildlife he worked in the Isle of Man for over a decade, firstly as Senior Biodiversity Officer and latterly as Director of Agriculture for the Isle of Man Government. These contrasting roles and the position of the Isle of Man as a self-governing Crown Dependency, outside of the EU and the UK, provided an unique opportunity to explore the impact and delivery of policy measures on food, farming and biodiversity.
Triona McGrath
Research and Policy Lead, An Fóram Uisce – The Water Forum
Dr. Triona McGrath is the Research and Policy Lead with the National Water Forum (An Fóram Uisce), who are the statutory body established to facilitate stakeholder input to water policy development in Ireland. One of her key roles is to commission and manage research projects to support the Forum to formulate statutory policy advice to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Water Policy Advisory Committee, Uisce Éireann and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. Triona leads the development of policy positions and submissions on behalf of the Water Forum on all water related topics, including water conservation, the protection and restoration of Ireland's water bodies and the delivery of water and wastewater services. Prior to joining the Water Forum, Triona's research focused on ocean climate change, completing a PhD and numerous post doctorate projects with the Marine Institute and the University of Galway, assessing carbon and nutrient dynamics in coastal and offshore marine waters of the North Atlantic. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2013 to develop skills in marine carbon chemistry at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego.
J Owen Lewis
Co-Chair, IIEA Working Group on Climate and Energy
J Owen Lewis chairs the IIEA Working Group on Climate and Energy. He is also Emeritus Professor of Architectural Science, UCD Dublin. He is former President of the Royal Dublin Society, and a former member of the Board of the National Gallery of Ireland. Owen was previously Chief Executive of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) between 2009 and 2012. Qualified as architect, engineer, and energy technologist, he has practised professionally in Ireland, England and Zambia. He was part-time Executive Director for Innovation and R&D at Bord na Móna between 2006 and 2008. Owen was Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at UCD Dublin and later Principal of the UCD College of Engineering, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. In 1976 Owen co-founded the Solar Energy Society of Ireland.
Gavin Smith
Scientific Officer in Earth Observation and Spatial Analysis, Environmental Protection Agency
Gavin Smith works with the Environmental Protection Agency as a Scientific Officer within the Evidence Programme’s Analytics Team, working with the EPA for 20 years. Gavin specialises in managing the development of new environmental evidence using earth observation and spatial analysis technology. He is the national lead on the European Environment Agency’s “Land Systems” and “Copernicus Land” groups within their EIONET network. Gavin was EPA project co-ordinator for the recently delivered National Land Cover Map, developed in partnership with Tailte Éireann, which his conference presentation will be on.
Imelda Hurley
Coillte CEO
Imelda Hurley is CEO of Coillte. Imelda Hurley joined Coillte in 2019 and was appointed to the board in January 2022. She has extensive executive and non-executive experience in public company, state owned, private equity and venture capital backed businesses. She has built that experience in multiple geographies including Ireland, UK, Eastern Europe, and Asia, and across a variety of sectors including forestry, agriculture, food, technology related product development and supply chain management. Prior to joining Coillte, Imelda was an executive director and CFO with agri-services group Origin Enterprises plc and, earlier in her career, she held a range of senior leadership positions at PCH International and Greencore Group plc. She has previously served as a non-executive director of Total Produce plc, Valeo Foods and Ervia. Imelda is currently president of Ibec, Ireland’s largest business representative group, and a non-executive director at the world’s leading fresh produce provider, Dole plc. She is also a patron of Chapter Zero Ireland, a community of non-executive directors that lead Irish boardroom discussions on the impacts of climate change. Imelda is a graduate of University of Limerick, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and an alumna of Harvard Business School.
Lucy Gaffney
Platform Development Lead, Business for Biodiversity Ireland
Lucy is a bio-scientist and entrepreneur and has been working within the life sciences sector since 2005. In November 2021, she teamed up with Natural Capital Ireland to lead the development of a national business and biodiversity platform, Business for Biodiversity Ireland, an initiative funded by the Irish Government. The platform aims to help businesses develop meaningful biodiversity strategies and ultimately help Ireland transition to a nature-positive way of working. In January, Lucy was named as one of the Irish Times 50 People to Watch in 2023 for her ongoing work in the business and biodiversity space.
Dr Venkatesh Kannan
Technical Manager, Irish Centre of HighEnd Computing
Dr Venkatesh Kannan is Technical Manager at the Irish Centre of HighEnd Computing (ICHEC). He oversees ICHEC’s technical vision, strategy and roadmap and manages a team of over 30 computational scientists across offices in Dublin and Galway. ICHEC is the national highperformance computing (HPC) centre established by the Government of Ireland in 2005 and hosted in NUI Galway to support the use of HPC and advance its application for academic research, the public sector and commercial activity. ICHEC’s Environmental and Climate Science activities include, Regional Climate Projections for Ireland and Europe, Earth Observation (EO) expertise, Enabling AI in EO applications, EO Data Archive and Access and Renewable Energy Modelling.
Kevin Hegarty
Director of Green Growth and Climate Action, DAERA
Kevin Hegarty is the Director of Green Growth and Climate Action within DAERA leading the development of the NI Executive’s first Climate Action Plan. Prior to this Kevin led on the Executive’s Green Growth Strategy. Kevin joined the team early in 2021 from the Strategic Investment Board where he was Head of the Energy Management Unit and a Strategic Adviser on Energy to the NI Civil Service. Prior to that he was Acquisitions, Development and Policy Manager for ESB. Kevin has held senior roles with Airtricity as Head of Onshore Development and with E-ON North America as Chief Development Officer. Kevin has over 25 years’ experience working in the public, private and utility sectors and has spent his entire career addressing the climate challenge. Kevin holds a BSc in Environmental Planning from Queen’s University Belfast and an MSc in Rural Development also from QUB.
Eimear Cotter
Director of the Office of Evidence and Assessment, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Eimear Cotter was appointed in 2017 as Director of the EPA initially with responsibility for the Office of Environmental Sustainability. She is currently Director of the Office of Evidence and Assessment. Eimear has a wide range of experience in environmental protection, climate change, sustainable energy and sustainability. Eimear holds a BA (Mod) in chemistry from Trinity College Dublin, a PhD in atmospheric chemistry from Oxford University and an MBA from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. She is a 2019 Eisenhower Fellow.
Aditya Arora
Data and Reporting Team Lead, FoodCloud
Aditya Arora is Data and Reporting Team Lead at FoodCloud, an Irish not-for-profit that uses technology to enable surplus food rescue at scale. FoodCloud partners with leading businesses in the food supply chain, as well as non-profits and food banks across several countries to help rescue surplus food. Aditya is responsible for implementing and maintaining data and reporting systems at FoodCloud, and worked as an analyst on an EPA funded Carbon Balance project.
Patric Child
-Deputy-Director General DG Environment, European Commission
Patrick CHILD is currently Deputy Director-General in DG Environment at the European Commission with particular responsibility for the EU’s zero pollution strategy, chemicals legislation, urban agenda, research and innovation for environment and communication. He is also the Mission manager for the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, which aims to reach 100 climate-neutral cities by 2030. From 2016-2021, he was Deputy Director-General in DG Research and Innovation (R&I) at the European Commission. Until April 2016, Patrick Child was Managing Director of the European External Service with responsibility for administration and finance, covering human resources policy, security and the budget. Before he took up this post in 2011, he was director in the EC External Relations Directorate-General in the responsible for managing the network of Commission delegations. He has previously served as head of cabinet for External Relations Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Chris Patten. With a background in the UK Finance Ministry, he joined the European Commission in 1994, where he started in the Economic and Monetary affairs Directorate General before becoming Commission press spokesman for economic and monetary union from 1995-1999.
Eleanor Roche
Head of Environmental Regulation and Compliance, Uisce Éireann
Eleanor is the Head of Environmental Regulation & Compliance for Uisce Éireann, responsible for driving environmental regulation within the business, overseeing all drinking water and wastewater compliance monitoring nationwide, as well as regulatory reporting activities for the UÉ asset base. Eleanor is a qualified Environmental Scientist with over 20 years experience. She spent the first half of her career working as a consultant successfully delivering a wide range of projects across waste management, environmental management, and communications before joining Irish Water in 2014. She is also a chartered member of CIWM and an Associate member of IEMA.
Andy Bleasdale
Director, Scientific Advice and Research
National Parks and Wildlife Service
Andy Bleasdale heads up the Scientific Advice and Research Directorate of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), which is an executive agency of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Andy is an ecologist with a PhD in Botany and he has worked in the Scientific Unit of NPWS since 2000 in a variety of roles