Towards a sustainable water future



Wednesday 19 April


Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise

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Water Ireland 2023 will bring together all the key stakeholders in the water services sector on the island of Ireland to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. This year’s conference will have the theme of sustainability, in the widest sense: environmental sustainability; impact of climate change; delivering and managing water infrastructure in a sustainable manner. The conference will open with a plenary session looking at the strategic issues, including European water policy developments. The focus will then turn to environmental issues, including the impact of climate change on Ireland’s water resources. The afternoon sessions will focus on water and wastewater infrastructure delivery with investment at record levels. The conference will close with a panel discussion bringing all these issues together as we consider the future outlook for the sector.

location

Location

Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise

location

Time

From 08:30am
Wednesday 19 April 2023

The conference will look at the key challenges facing the sector:

  • Managing Director to outline future direction of water services with Uisce Éireann;
  • Expert visiting speakers on best practice aspects of the water sector;
  • Impact of climate change on water services;
  • Challenges facing infrastructure delivery, inflation and construction costs;
  • Closing skills gaps in the sector;
  • EU Drinking Water Directive;
  • Supporting housing development;
  • River Basin Management Plans;
  • Waste water infrastructure;
  • Transformation of water services;
  • Visiting speaker(s) from Northern Ireland to cover all-island issues.

Who should attend

  • Senior managers in water services
  • Contractors and suppliers in the water sector
  • Policy makers and other Government agencies
  • Local Government
  • Legal and financial advisors
  • Large water users
  • Environmental NGOs
  • Environment managers/consultants
  • Project developers
  • Regulatory authorities

Confirmed

Speakers

Darragh O’Brien TD


Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Niall Gleeson

Chief Executive Officer
Uisce Éireann

Karen Kavanagh

Director of Networks and Economic Regulation
Commission for Regulation of Utilities

Professor Conor Murphy


Maynooth University

Eamon Gallen

Chief Operating Officer
Uisce Éireann

Professor Mary Kelly-Quinn

School of Biology and Environmental Science
University College Dublin

John Kelly

Manager
National Construction Training Centre

Eimear Cotter

Director
Environmental Protection Agency

Finbarr Burns

Head of Infrastructure Delivery
Uisce Éireann

Matt Crowe

Chair
An Fóram Uisce

Sébastien Mouret

Policy Advisor
EurEau

Sinead McCoy 

Coastal Communities Manager, Education Unit
An Taisce

Fintan Towey

Assistant Secretary
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Evelyn McAuliffe

Water and Sustainability Consultant
Jacobs

Kevin Devine

Sales Director 
Xylem Water Solutions Ireland 

Soumeya Madani

Senior Project Manager
Xylem Water Solutions UK&I

Patrick Buckley

President 
Water Services Operators Group (Construction Industry Federation)

Joan Carles Guardiola

Client Solutions Architect
IDRICA

Jillian Bolton

Water Operational Lead
Jacobs Ireland and Scotland

Stephen Burke

Regional Operations Manager
Uisce Éireann

Angela Ryan

Asset Strategy Manager
Uisce Éireann

Maria O’Dwyer

Head of Asset Management
Uisce Éireann

Anthony Coleman

Director of Services
Local Authority Waters Programme

On the day

Event Programme

08.30

Registration and morning coffee

09.00

Jillian Bolton
Water Operational Lead
Jacobs (Ireland & Scotland)

Chair’s welcome and introduction

09.05

Darragh O’Brien, TD

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

MINISTERIAL ADDRESS
Protecting and improving Ireland’s water resources

Niall Gleeson
Chief Executive Officer
Uisce Éireann

Delivering sustainable public water services for Ireland

Professor Mary Kelly-Quinn
School of Biology and Environmental Science
University College Dublin

Protecting Ireland’s water resources

Sébastien Mouret
Senior Policy Advisor
EurEau

Future outlook for European water policy

Evelyn McAuliffe
Water and Sustainability Consultant
Jacobs

Decarbonisation of Water Utilities

Questions & answers / panel discussion
11.00

Networking break

11.30


SUSTAINABLE WATER SERVICES

Professor Conor Murphy
Department of Geography
Maynooth University

Impact of climate change on water supply and use in Ireland

Questions & answers / panel discussion

Angela Ryan
Asset Strategy Manager
Uisce Éireann


Eimear Cotter
Director of the Office of Evidence and Assessment
Environmental Protection Agency


Sinead McCoy
Coastal Communities Manager
An Taisce


Professor Conor Murphy
Department of Geography
Maynooth University


Anthony Coleman
Director of Services
Local Authority Waters Programme

PANEL DISCUSSION: CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY

Questions & answers / panel discussion
13.00

LUNCH AND NETWORKING BREAK

14.00

CHALLENGES IN DELIVERING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

Chair: Kevin Devine
Sales Director, Ireland
Xylem Water Solutions Ireland

Finbarr Burns
Head of Infrastructure Delivery
Uisce Éireann

Meeting the challenges of delivering water infrastructure

Soumeya Madani, Senior Project Manager
Xylem Water Solutions UK&I

&

Joan Carles Guardiola, Client Solutions Architectr
IDRICA

Smart networks: Improving existing water and wastewater networks

Questions & answers / panel discussion

Eamon Gallen
Chief Operating Officer
Uisce Éireann


Karen Kavanagh
Director of Networks and Economic Regulation
Commission for Regulation of Utilities


John Kelly
Manager
National Construction Training Centre


Patrick Buckley
President
Water Services Operators Group (Construction Industry Federation)

PANEL DISCUSSION: CHALLENGES IN DELIVERING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

15:15

NETWORKING BREAK

15.45

BUILDING A VISION FOR FUTURE WATER SERVICES

Maria O’Dwyer
Head of Asset Management
Uisce Éireann

Planning for the Future

Fintan Towey
Assistant Secretary
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage


Matt Crowe
Chair
An Fóram Uisce


Maria O’Dwyer
Head of Asset Management
Uisce Éireann


Stephen Burke
Regional Operational Manager
Uisce Éireann

PANEL DISCUSSION: Medium / long-term outlook for sector

17.00
Chair’s summary and conference close

SPONSORSHIP AND EXHIBITION

Limited sponsorship and exhibition opportunities available…

There are a limited number of sponsorship and exhibition opportunities available! This is an excellent way for organisations to showcase their products or services they wish to promote. For further information on sponsorship and exhibition opportunities and how your organisation can benefit, contact Sam Tobin on +353 (0)1 661 3755 or email sam.tobin@eolasmagazine.ie.

Water Ireland Conference 2023

Registration

€195
+ VAT @ 23% = €239.85

Register