Department of Finance Annual Policy Conference 2025
-
From: Department of Finance
- Published on: 21 November 2025
- Last updated on: 21 November 2025
Event Overview
Theme: Planning for Ireland's Future
This year’s theme is Planning for Irelands Future, covered across two sessions. The first session, Geopolitical Shifts and their Economic Impacts on Europe, will open with a keynote address by André Sapir, senior fellow with Bruegel. Session two, Governing for the Future, will open with presentations on the Dept’s Future Forty Report and Juha Kaskinen, Director of the Finland Futures Research Centre, will present on Anticipatory Governance. Both sessions will close with a panel discussion.
The objective for this year’s conference is to bring policymakers together with economists, stakeholders and academics. This range of speakers will provide the audience with a broad perspective on the challenges facing the Irish Economy and approaches to preparing for them.
Programme
| Time | Topic |
|
13:30 |
Registration and tea/coffee |
| 14:00 | Opening remarks by Secretary General of the Department of Finance, John Hogan |
| 14:10 | Video address by Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe T.D. |
| 14:20 |
Session 1: Geopolitical Shifts and their Economic impacts on Europe Keynote address: André Sapir (Senior Fellow, Bruegel) (15 mins) Panel Discussion with Q&A (40 mins) Chair: Maeve Von Heynitz (Director General of EU & Trade Policy Division in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) Participants: André Sapir, Rory Montgomery (Former Second Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs, Chair of Press Council of Ireland), Loretta O'Sullivan (Chief Economist, EY), Caroline Mehigan (Head of EU & International Unit, Central Bank). |
| 15:15 | Tea/coffee |
| 15:30 |
Session 2: Governing for the Future Presentation: Future Forty. Overview & Results with Q&A, Department of Finance Officials (40 mins) Presentation: Anticiptions Governance, Juha Kaskinen (Director of the Finland Futures Research Centre) (15 mins) Panel Disscussion with Q&A (40 mins) Chair: Martina Lawless (Director of the ESRI) Participants: Juha Kaskinen, Ed Brophy (EU Strategy & Head of Public Policy, Ireland at Amazon), Dr. Tadgh O'Mahony (Adjunct Prefessor, Finland Futures Research Centre at Turku School of Economics, Assistant Professor in Enviromental Policy at UCD), John McCarthy (Chief Economist, Department of Finance). |
| 17:05 | Closing Remarks by Minister of State, Robert Troy T.D. |