Issue 647
Public Affairs Ireland
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This week’s update on public sector news features a range of topical updates to include:
Referendum on removing constitutional reference to woman’s ‘life within the home’ to be held in November. The vote follows the Citizens’ Assembly recommendation to refer specifically to gender equality in the Constitution.
The COP28 president, Sultan al-Jaber, calls for climate action. He?will lead international climate talks later this year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and spoke on Monday at the premier oil and gas industry conference in Houston, Texas.
Irish data watchdogs to jointly assess cyber risks of TikTok. The meeting comes as agencies in US and EU have banned the app on staff smartphones.
Irish consumers face the prospect of higher fresh-produce prices and occasional shortages due to a combination of global supply chain issues, high energy prices and the increasing effects of climate change.
Anti-drone technology will not be deployed at Dublin Airport for several weeks. Unclear timeline for purchase and delivery of system as DAA reluctant to take long-term responsibility for what it sees as a ‘State-wide issue’.
Vote follows Citizens’ Assembly recommendation to refer specifically to gender equality in Constitution
?A referendum on gender equality and removing a constitutional reference to a woman’s place being in the home is to be held in November, the Government has announced.
It follows recommendations from the?Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality?and the special joint Oireachtas committee on gender equality last year.
Announcing the timeline on Wednesday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that for too long “women and girls have carried a disproportionate share of caring responsibilities, been discriminated against at home and in the workplace, objectified or lived in fear of domestic or gender-based violence”.
Last October, his predecessor Micheál Martin said?he would like to see a referendum?on the constitutional clause about a woman’s place in the home being held in 2023, as had been the preference of the Oireachtas committee.
Tuesday, March 21st, 2023
9.30am – 4.00pm, Online
Wednesday, March 15th, 2023
9.30am – 4.00pm, Online
The man who will lead international climate talks later this year in Dubai, United Arab Emirates spoke Monday at the premier oil and gas industry conference in Houston, Texas, known as Ceraweek
Sultan al-Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., who will lead international climate talks later this year told energy industry power players on Monday that the world must cut emissions 7% every year and eliminate all emissions of methane, strong comments for an oil executive.
But speaking at Ceraweek in?Houston, al-Jaber did not directly address emissions from transportation. the destination of most crude oil. Emissions from transport are the largest contributor to climate change in many countries, including the United States.
Al-Jaber singled out electricity, cement. steel and aluminum as targets for clean up, but not trucks, cars, trains and aircraft. He called for far greater investment to speed the transition to cleaner industries.
“According to the?IEA, in 2022, the world invested $1.4 trillion in the energy transition,” he said. “We need over three times that amount.”
Each year, nations gather at COP to discuss how?Paris Agreement?goals to limit global warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050, can be achieved through international collaboration.
Thursday 23rd March 2023
9.30am – 4.00pm, Online
22nd and 29th March 2023
9.30am – 4.00pm, Online
Meeting comes as agencies in US and EU have banned app on staff smartphones
Irish Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon will meet the director of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) today, Tuesday, March 7, over the potential safety issues linked to using TikTok in Ireland.
The meeting is happening as the Government seeks views on whether to follow the European Commission and US government agencies in banning TikTok from?staff smartphones for security reasons.
Speaking to Independent.ie, Ms Dixon said that while no government minister has directly raised the issue with her, the National Cyber Security Centre “has made contact as they have indicated this is an area of interest to discuss”.
In addition to US government agencies and the European Commission, TikTok has faced security restrictions from official bodies in Canada, India and Taiwan, with reviews currently under way in the Netherlands and Denmark.
The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) currently has two investigations into TikTok in process, including a probe into whether data is being improperly sent to China, home of TikTok’s parent firm, Bytedance. Ms Dixon said a draft decision on the investigation is expected in the coming months...
27th and 28th March 2023
2.00pm – 5.00pm, Online
18th, 19th, 25th, 26th April 2023
9.30am – 1.00pm, Online
领英推荐
Irish consumers face the prospect of higher fresh-produce prices and occasional shortages due to a combination of global supply chain issues, high energy prices and the increasing effects of climate change.
Retail giants including SuperValu, Dunnes Stores, Aldi, Lidl and Tesco have been hit by shortages of some fresh fruit and vegetables items –?with the problems exacerbated by cold weather in some core Mediterranean supplier markets and a reduction in output from northern European glasshouse producers due to?soaring energy costs.
The problem is so severe in the UK that some retailers have imposed purchasing limits on some fresh produce lines including peppers and tomatoes.
Other retailers warned that some types of fruit and vegetable items may be unavailable on shelves for certain limited periods.
Pressures of widespread demand and production costs due to?soaring gas and electricity prices mean that some fresh fruit and vegetable prices will inevitably rise over the coming months.
While the problem is far more severe in the UK than Ireland, consumers here have been warned that a few fresh produce items cannot be guaranteed on a daily basis on supermarket shelves.
Retailers now face "a perfect storm" of problems. Dunnes Stores confirmed some fresh produce items are in short supply.
Tuesday, March 28th, 2023
10.00am – 3.00pm, Online
Wednesday 19th April 2023
10.00am – 12.00pm, Online
Unclear timeline for purchase and delivery of system as DAA reluctant to take long-term responsibility for what it sees as a ‘State-wide issue’
?It will be several weeks before technology to force drones from the skies around Dublin Airport is up and running, with its deployment dependent on delivery time from the manufacturers.
With the Coalition under pressure from airlines after drones disrupted operations at the airport, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Minister of State Jack Chambers outlined a plan to Cabinet this week?for drone security at the airport?and the wider issue of protecting critical infrastructure from interference.
However, the?DAA, which operates the airport, warned that it did not want long-term responsibility for intercepting drones in its airspace.
DAA will be approved by the Government as the operator of counter-drone technology and will be told to purchase the system and operate it. However, it said?that “given this is a State-wide issue, we remain of the view that the ultimate owners of this must be An Garda Síochána or the Department of Defence”.
Tuesday, March 28th, 2023
09:30 am – 1:00 pm, Online
19th, 20th, 25th and 26th April 2023
9.30am – 12.30pm each day, Online
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