A very successful conference was held this week in Trinity College Dublin (www.tcd.ie) under the aegis of the Institute for International Integration Studies (www.tcd.ie/iiis) There were some very good speakers including Bjorn Lomborg, Professor of Political Science at the University of Aarhus (www.lomborg.com)  and organiser of the Copenghagen Consensus (www.copenhagenconsensus.com) (2004) - who proposed a prioritised list of solutions to the world's greatest challenges. He raises some interesting questions about how we prioritise solutions and the results may not be what you would expect! Worth checking them out!

In light of the increased interest in recent times in the debt burden on developing countries and the proposals by the G8 countries to write off the debt in some cases, there is something to be said for developing a more effective ranking of programmes and initiatives so that the the most effective programmes are undertaken first. But the Copenhagen Consensus may only be the introduction to this - not the solution.

I attended the final meeting the 320th year of the Trinity College Philosophical Society (the 'Phil', as it is called) on Wednesday 8 June, www.tcdphil.com  It is a long established debating society and it has had some very famous members on its books- including Bishop Berkeley,  Dean Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker (Dracula author), Samuel Beckett, ETS Walton (Nobel laureates), et al ....

There was a star- studded attendance atlast night's meeting with the main speaker being Archbishop Tutu - introduced by John Hume. Others incldued Garret Fitzgerald and Albert Reynolds, both former Taoisigh (Prime Ministers) and Senators David Norris and Shane Ross plus many more....

Tutu spoke very well - a truly insightful and inspiring speaker. He obviously brings years of life experience to bear and he has a huge credibility. His voice raised and lowered as appropriate and he engaged the audience with some interesting stories and a real passion for anti-apartheid and anti-racism. He saw the spiritual dimension as being important and he was not slow to expand on his views about the what he thought important.  He was subtly critical of President Bush and was also very strongly supportive of the need for engagement. I must see if there is a paper around which he spoke.

Anyway, it was a great evening and trehre were some great people there.  Might continue the details later - if there is interest!

The Phil also adjourned to the GMB for a reception after the lecture - a and there were some really interesting people there. Well done to all, especially the President, Paddy Cosgrave.

The National Economic and Social Council (www.nesc.ie) recently published a great report titled The Developmental Welfare State. It has had some great international acclamation and it is worth a read. 

The report analyses Ireland's welfare state in a comparative context. It confirms that Ireland uses a low to moderate proportion of national resources in providing services and a low proportion in providing cash transfers. It examines the structure of Ireland's welfare state and the principal strategies advanced for reforming it: a switch to universalism, a stronger insurance system more targeting. While Ireland has much to learn from other European countries, the hybrid character of its welfare system is now a potential strength.

The central argument of the report is that the welfare state should be seen as consisting of three overlapping spheres of activity-service, income supports and activist or innovative measures-and that these should be integrated to form a 'developmental welfare state'. It argues that a radical development of services is the single most important route to improving social protection. It identifies ways in which welfare payments could be redefined and combined with services to create 'participation packages'. Ireland must build on its strong record of active labour market policies and local partnerships to more consciously generalise its innovations. Reform along these lines will pose major challenges for governance and leadership within Ireland system of government and social partnership. It will also require new systems for defining and monitoring rights and standards.

Just thought I would start my own blog and see how it works out. Always interesting to try something new! Will start putting some ideas up over the coming weeks and see the reaction.