David McCarthy, Chairman, Energy Action Ltd.

David was appointed to the Board of Irish Life & Permanent in March 2009 as Group Finance Director. He is a chartered accountant who formerly worked with Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers) and was the Group Financial Controller in Irish Permanent plc. He is a director of a number of companies within the group including the associated company Allianz-Irish Life Holdings plc.

Frank McDonald, Director, Energy Action Ltd.

Frank McDonald is Environment Editor of The Irish Times, author of several books, including “The Destruction of Dublin” (1985), “Saving the city” (1989) and “The Construction of Dublin” (2000) and joint author of “Chaos at the Crossroads” (2005) and “The Builders” (2008). A regular contributor to radio and television programmes, he won the Outstanding Work in Irish Journalism award in 1979, the Lord Mayor’s Millennium Medal (1988), Chartered Institute of Transport Journalist of the Year (1998), two ESB National Media Awards (1999 and 2003), a Lord Mayor’s Award (2003), Honorary DPhil, Dublin Institute of Technology (2006) and honorary membership of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (2010). He was also a Press Fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge, in 2008.

Pat Rabbite TD, Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources.

Minister Rabbitte is a full-time T.D. for Dublin South West since he was first elected to Dail Eireann in 1989. He has served in a number of different portfolios in opposition and was Justice Spokesperson in the last Dáil. He was the Dáil’s longest serving member of the Public Accounts Committee and was a prominent member of the DIRT Inquiry into tax evasion. He was Leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007. He served as Minister of State to the Government 1994 -1997 and Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with responsibility for Commerce, Science and Technology.

Heather Cousins, Deputy Secretary, Resources & Social Policy Group, Department for Social Development, Northern Ireland.

Heather was appointed to the post of Deputy Secretary, Resources and Social Policy Group in the Department for Social Development in May 2011. Prior to that Heather was Director of Housing from 2007 to 2011 and Director of Finance in the Social Security Agency from 2003 to 2007. Heather is a qualified member of CIPFA (the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) with over 20 years of post qualification financial management experience. As head of Resources and Social Policy Group (RSPG), her responsibilities include: Northern Ireland Child Maintenance Service; Financial Management; Human Resources; Housing; Social Security Policy and Legislation. The Group brings together social policy areas covering housing, social security, child support and pensions and Child Maintenance operational services for Northern Ireland and Eastern Region of England. It also negotiates and manages the allocation and control of resources across the Department and provides a range of corporate support services. Current priorities include major reform programmes bringing important and far reaching changes to the housing, social security, child support and pension systems.

Charles Roarty, General Manager & Company Secretary, Energy Action Ltd.

Charles has managed Energy Action since 1990, and has been the principal driver of fuel poverty policy in Ireland. He has helped to establish 24 community projects nationwide to deliver a similar service in their local areas. Prior to this, Charles worked for 20 years as an accountant in the steel, motor, chemical and banking industry in Ireland and Scotland. He is a graduate of Caledonian University.

Dr. Brenda Boardman MBE, FEI, Emeritus Fellow, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford.

Until September 2007, Brenda led the Lower Carbon Futures group at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford. In November 2007, she wrote “Home Truths: a Low Carbon Strategy to Reduce UK Housing Emissions by 80% by 2050” for Friends of the Earth and The Co-op Bank. Brenda has, in theory, retired and is now an Emeritus Fellow of the University of Oxford. She published Fixing Fuel Poverty – challenges and solutions with Earthscan in early 2010. The subject of fuel poverty is growing in importance across Europe. Brenda focuses on the built environment from the perspective of the user and the building provider, rather than the utility.

Prof. Christine Liddell, Psychology Research Institute, University of Ulster.

Christine Liddell is Professor of Psychology and Distinguished Community Fellow at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. She is a Chartered Scientist with the British Psychological Society, and is currently a member of the: Northern Ireland Fuel Poverty Advisory Group Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation’s Academic Advisory Panel; Bryson Energy Shadow Board. She chairs the Coleraine Health Psychology Research Group at the University of Ulster, and recent consultancy partnerships have permitted her to collaborate with the Department For Social Development Northern Ireland, National Energy Action Northern Ireland, Save The Children, Habitat For Humanity, and SmartGridIreland’s SMART Zones programme. In the past 12 months, she has delivered three keynote addresses to the British Psychological Society, as well as invited addresses to the Energy Savings Trust, and Energy Action Scotland. She is Guest Editor of the forthcoming Special Anniversary Issue of the British journal Energy Policy, which will celebrate 20 years of fuel poverty research and policy.

Prof. Sharon Turner, School of Law, Queen’s University.

Sharon Turner is the Professor of Environmental Law at the School of Law, Queen’s University Belfast and a member of the Irish Bar. She specialises in EU and Environmental Law with a particular interest in climate change and energy governance. In addition to her academic career Professor Turner was seconded to the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland from 2002-2004 as a Senior Legal Adviser on Environment during which time she advised on the development of legislation and policy across a wide range of environmental issues and lead the defence of several EU enforcement actions against the United Kingdom. In 2006 she was appointed by the Minister for the Environment in Northern Ireland to an expert panel tasked to undertake an independent review of the arrangements for environmental governance inNorthern Ireland and in 2010 was invited by the Irish Minister for the Environment and Local Government to chair the first review of the functioning of the Irish Environmental Protection Agency. She is currently co-authoring a book with Professor Jane Holder (University College London) on ‘Climate Justice in the UK’ for Cambridge University Press. In June 2013 Professor Turner will take up an appointment with Client Earth in London to become the Director of their Climate and Energy Programme.

Gerry McGough, Energy Action Ltd.

Gerry McGough, a marketing consultant, worked with Energy Action on the organisation of this conference. He provides co-ordination support to the Forum representing Community Based Organisations (CBOs). Previously, Gerry spent many years with ESB where he fulfilled several roles, including managing ESB Customer Supply’s Energy Efficiency programmes and manager of its Sponsorship and Community Support projects.

Norman Kerr, Director, Energy Action Scotland.

Norman Kerr became Director of Energy Action Scotland in April 2005, having previously been Development Manager and Deputy Director since 1996. Prior to this he worked with Heatwise Glasgow for 12 years as Production Unit Manager with responsibility for delivering the organisation’s energy efficiency programmes. Norman currently sits on the Scottish Government’s Fuel Poverty Forum. He also sat on the Scottish Government’s Renewable Heating Pilot Advisory Group and on the working group measuring the health impacts of the Warm Deal and the Central Heating Programme. He is Chairperson of ScottishPower’s Energy People Trust, a trustee of the Aberdeen Combined Heat and Power Company, a member of the NEA Executive Board and has recently been appointed as an independent fuel poverty advisor to Scottish and Southern Energy.

Feargal O’Neil, Managing Director, Gamma Ltd.

Feargal is managing director of Gamma Ltd, the spatial solutions IT company and a director of Bizmaps, the internet mapping company. He is also a qualified town planner and a graduate of Trinity College and UCD.

Ryan Walker, PhD researcher at the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland.

I come from a human geography background and I’ve been involved in studying fuel poverty for just over 2 years. I’m interested in understanding the geography of fuel poverty and the important role it plays in the formation of more effective policies. My research uses small-area mapping techniques to produce geographic models of fuel poverty risk (“fuel poverty maps”), which allow policy-makers and other stakeholders to visualize where fuel poverty is concentrated. This knowledge is key for targeting policy towards places where fuel poverty is likely to be more prevalent and/or severe. The maps can
also be used to monitor fuel poverty remediation schemes and could potentially be applied in different countries/regions.

Jillian Ferris, Client & Stakeholder Director, Carillion Energy Services, Belfast.

The oil pay as you go project grew out of my experiences witnessing the efforts to reduce fuel poverty becoming more difficult as fuel prices continued to rise. The popularity of gas and electricity pay as you go meters brought me to conclusion that we, in Carillion along with our technology partner, Kingspan Environmental, should develop a pay as you go system for domestic oil consumers. I have been delighted to be involved in the launch and growth of a range of energy services to private ouseholders, based on providing the same end to end service as recipients of grants schemes. Working with Power NI we offer a range of energy services including renewable heat projects. I am Contract Manager for a boiler installation service with Sainsbury’s Energy in Northern Ireland. I previously worked in Phoenix Natural Gas as well as Belfast City Council and Invest NI.

Jonathan Jennings, Commercial Manager, Dimplex Renewables.

Jonathan Jennings is Commercial manager for Dimplex Renewables, and is responsible for the renewables business on the Island of Ireland for Glen Dimplex. Jonathan previously worked in product development for Century Homes, Kingspan Offsite and Kingspan Renewables, and is also currently a Director of the Heat Pump Association of Ireland, He also sits on the admission board for the Society of Chartered Surveyors for the award of title for Quantity and Building Surveyors.

John-Mark McCafferty, Head of Social Justice and Policy, SVP.

John-Mark is Head of Social Justice and Policy with the national office of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP). He is responsible for co-ordinating the following areas of work: gathering the experience of members and the people we support; developing policy positions; supporting SVP services to those we assist; liaising with the Oireachtas and decision makers and influencing public discourse in relation to poverty and social exclusion. He has worked in this position since May 2005, and prior to that worked as a policy officer in the same team. Energy Poverty is a big issue for SVP and John-Mark’s team. SVP spent almost €6 million in 2009 assisting households with energy costs and arrears. Income supports, carbon tax, energy efficiency and utility and regulator policies are of particular concern to him. John-Mark also represented SVP when Social Partnership was active and was a member of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) from 2003 to 2007. He studied a Masters in Development Studies in UCD, and has worked in a number of settings including policy and projects officer posts with both the Combat Poverty Agency and Scottish Homes, the national housing agency.

Brendan Hennessy, Liaison Officer, St. Vincent de Paul (SVP).

Brendan Hennessy (M.Soc.Sc.) is Membership Liaison Officer for the Social Justice and Policy team of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP) in Ireland. Brendan led the recent SVP negotiations on PAYGO metering and payment plans.

Siobhán Collins, Director, Energy Action Ltd.

Siobhán serves as a director on the Board of Energy Action in a voluntary capacity. Educated to Masters Degree level (Business Studies) from University College Dublin she has worked at senior level in a range of blue chip companies including the Irish Dairy Board, Irish Biscuits (Jacob’s), Danone, Yunken Industries, Cadbury Schweppes and Bord Bia. Siobhán has vast experience in the food industry particularly in the area of branding having worked both in Ireland and internationally including the position of Global Brand Manager for Cadbury Schweppes based in London. Siobhán has worked with many leading research, advertising and design agencies both in Ireland, UK and Australia. She currently operates as an independent management consultant and acts as a mentor for small to medium size food and beverage companies through Bord Bia.

Ute Dubois, Professor of Economics, ISG Business School, Paris.

Ute holds a PhD in Economics from University Paris Sud. After a postdoc at University Paris Sud, she joined ISG Business School in 2010, where she teaches economics of organisations and institutions. Her research focuses on fuel poverty policy analysis and vulnerable households’ energy uses. She has also worked on the institutional dynamics of electricity reforms (market design, regulation and competition policy).

Professor Stefan Bouzarovski, Birmingham University.

Stefan Bouzarovski is a Professor in Geography at the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed papers on urban and energy issues, in addition to co-ordinating more than 30 international research projects on these topics. Stefan currently leads the EVALUATE (Energy vulnerablity and Urban Transitions in Europe) project, funded by the European Research Council.

Sergio Tirado Herrero, Spain.

Sergio Tirado Herrero (Madrid, 1978) is a researcher at the Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Policy
(3CSEP) and PhD candidate of the Environmental Sciences and Policy at Central European University (CEU) in Budapest. Under the supervision Prof. Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, his doctoral research focuses on fuel poverty alleviation as a co-benefit of residential energy efficiency in Hungary. As a 3CSEP researcher, he has contributed to research projects commissioned by the European
Climate Foundation (ECF) and the EC, and has coordinated an advisory team on climate and energy issues for the Hungarian National Development Agency (NFÜ). Prior to that, Sergio worked as a research assistant and assistant project coordinator in the Environmental Research Economics Group at the University of Alcalá (Madrid, Spain), where he gained extensive experience in the environmental economics field with the municipality of Madrid, the Spanish Ministry of Environment, the Spanish Energy Agency and the Inter-American Development Bank. Between 2004 and 2008 he has taught in courses and
seminars at the University of Alcalá (UAH), the National University of Equatorial Guinea (UNGE), the National University of Nicaragua (UNAN) and the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Sergio holds a BSc in Environmental Sciences and a Diploma of Advanced Studies (MSc. equiv.). He is co-author of the first study on fuel poverty in Hungary, has led the first comprehensive study on fuel poverty and unemployment in Spain, has two published articles in the ‘Energy Policy’ journal.

Ryan Coleman, CEO, Ecolighten Energy Solutions.

Ryan has over fourteen (14) years’ of experience working in the private and public sector and solely focused in the energy efficiency space, Ryan is passionate about clean energy solutions. Ryan has extensive experience in energy services by designing and delivering demand side management and energy efficiency programs for government and utility customers. Before founding Ecolighten Energy Solutions, Ryan developed his experience and expertise working in variety of roles for leading energy companies in Canada, UK and Ireland including BC Hydro, Terasen Gas, Eagaplc and Carillion plc.

Pedro Guertler, Head of Research Association for the Conservation of Energy.

Pedro joined ACE in 2003. In addition to carrying out energy policy research to inform decision-making in the UK and the EU,
he manages all aspects of the research team’s work, including its strategy and direction. He holds an MSc in Environmental Technology (specialising in Business and the Environment) from Imperial College London, and a BSc in Environmental Policy with Economics from the London School of Economics. He is a member of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes’ Fuel Poverty Strategy Group and advises the London Borough of Islington on building retrofit funding applications made to its Climate Change Fund. In 2009, he was a panel leader for eceee’s Summer Study. He is a guest lecturer for City University’s Energy, Environmental Technology and Economics MSc, and was appointed a Trustee of the eaga Charitable Trust in early 2009, assessing research funding applications made to the Trust.

Niall Ó Donnchú, Director, Energy Action Ltd.

Niall O Donnchu, MPhil, BScEcon, CDipAF, is the Assistant Secretary General of the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. There he is responsible for the arts, culture and film policy dossiers. Prior to that, Niall was Head of ECommerce and Broadband Policy at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. Niall also worked in the Department of Energy, where he was Head of Alternative Energy Policy from 1995 to 1998. He was also Secretary to the Energy Advisory Board. He worked prior to that in the Department of Finance and in the Department of Transport and Communications and in the (former) Department of the Gaeltacht. From 1986 to 1992 he was Company Secretary of the State owned seaweed processing company - Arramara Teo. He is a Board Member of the National Concert Hall, Culture Ireland, Science Gallery, and of Energy Action Ltd. Niall is a graduate of Queens University, Belfast and of the London School of Economics.

Stjohn O Connor, Principal Officer, Dept of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources.

Stjohn O’Connor joined the civil service in 1999 and heads up the Energy Efficiency and Affordability Division in the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Stjohn has worked in a variety of roles with the Department including most recently as head of the Exploration and Mining Division. Responsible for national policy on energy efficiency and energy poverty, Stjohn chairs the inter-departmental group on the implementation of the EPBD and represents Ireland at the IEA on the energy efficiency working party. Stjohn holds a doctorate in governance from Queens University Belfast.

Sorcha Edwards, Deputy Secretary General, CECODHAS Housing Europe (The European Association of Housing).

Sorcha has been CECODHAS Deputy Secretary General since 2009. She leads the coordination and supervision of lobbying, communication and exchange activities between national members of CECODHAS and EU institutions in the field of energy.
She is responsible for the CECODHAS Energy Expert Network gathering experts from 20 national federations of social housing across Europe. She is also leading the POWER HOUSE EUROPE Nearly Zero Energy Challenge Project After a communication and language degree at Dublin City University (1993-98) during which she studied a year in Bonn, Germany (1996-97) and
a year at the University of Salamanca, Spain (1995-96), Sorcha graduated from the University of Ulster with a post-graduate diploma for languages and business (1998-99). She later completed a MA in European Studies at Leuven University, Belgium (2002-03). She has worked for the Irish Institute for European affairs developing training seminars on EU policies and for a TACIS EU technical assistance office to monitor implementation of the TACIS programme supporting projects in EU10 (1999-2001). She is currently pursuing a distance learning MSc in Sustainability in the Built Environment at the University of East London. Sorcha speaks English (mother tongue), French, German and Spanish.

Impact of Fuel Poverty on Social Housing

Sorcha will present a snap shot of Social Housing Policies across the EU.  She will explain why Energy is high on the agenda within CECODHAS Housing Europe at EU level and give examples of how EU energy related polices are impacting on the sector.  Sorcha will also highlight why action is required at an EU level to tackle fuel poverty.

Dave Timms, Friends of the Earth, UK.

David Timms is UK Climate and Energy Campaigner at Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). During his seven years at Friends of the Earth he has worked on various aspects of energy policy and is currently leading the organisation's work on energy efficiency and fuel poverty. Most recently he led the successful campaign for the introduction of a legal minimum energy efficiency standard for rented homes in the Energy Act 2011.

Ed Mathews, Director, Transform UK.

Ed is the Director of Transform UK, an alliance building initiative which aims to accelerate investment into energy efficiency and renewables. He founded and coordinated the successful national campaign for the Green Investment Bank. This has resulted in the UK establishing the world’s first dedicated green public bank. Ed has also launched Transform UK’s second major
national campaign – the Energy Bill Revolution, the biggest fuel poverty alliance in Europe and supported by over 100 major organisations, unions and companies, is calling on the UK Government to use carbon tax revenue to super-insulate the homes of the fuel poor. Before he set up Transform UK, Ed was at Friends of the Earth where he led the Climate Economics Team for
four years. The team successfully campaigned for the introduction of Carbon Budgets within the Climate Change Act and the introduction of Feed in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive in the Energy Act 2008. Ed has 14 years experience as an NGO campaigner working on biodiversity and climate change issues and has also worked for WWF, The Wilderness Society in
Australia and the Environmental Investigation Agency. Ed is an award winning campaigner and has received The Energy Institute's Communication of the Year award for the Green Investment Bank Campaign, the Renewable Energy Association's Campaign of the Year award for the Feed in Tariff campaign and the Observer Food Monthly Campaign of the Year award for
the UK's first palm oil campaign.

Brendan Halligan, Chairman, SEAI.

Brendan Halligan was appointed Chair of SEAI on October 1st 2007. As Chair of SEI, he has been involved in many of the key decisions in relation to the promotion and assistance of the development of sustainable energy in Ireland over the last number of years. Brendan is also CEO of CIPA Consulting, Chairperson of the Institute of International and European Affairs and is on the board of Mainstream Renewable Power. He was formerly Chairman of Bord na Móna. a member of the Seanad and Dáil Éireann, a member of European Parliament and Secretary General of the Labour Party. He was recently awarded an Honorary Degree of Literature by UCD. He acted as Adjunct Professor of European Affairs at the University of Limerick.

Cathy Mannion, Director of Retail & Electricity Networks, CER

Cathy is the Director of the CER's Electricity Networks and Retail division. This division oversees the economic regulation and development of the electricity networks (transmission and distribution) in Ireland as well as approving charges for access to the networks and resolving disputes in the area of network connections. The division is also responsible for developing
policy in relation to network connection, with increased emphasis on connection of renewable generators. Cathy's division also licences electricity suppliers, regulates the end user prices charged by the public electricity supplier (ESB PES) to end customers and runs the Smart Metering Project.

Richard Cowart, Principal & European Programmes Director, The Regulatory Assistance Programme.

Richard directs European programmes for RAP, leading RAP’s international team in Brussels. He has deep experience on state and national energy and environmental issues in the US, China, and several other nations, with a particular focus on climate policy for the past decade. His recent work focuses on power markets, climate policy, and energy efficiency programs throughout Europe. A highly experienced regulator, He served as commissioner and chair of the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) for 13 years (1986-1999). He was elected president of the New England Conference of Public Utility Commissioners and chair of the US regulators’ Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment. He also served for four years as chair of the National Council on Competition and the Electric Industry, an association of the state and federal officials and legislators responsible for power sector reform in the US. Richard has worked closely with industry as a member of the Board of the Electric Power Research Institute and serves on the Environmental Advisory Committee of the New York Independent System Operators. Before his appointment to the PSB, he was assistant professor and director of the Program in Planning and
Law at the University of California, Berkeley (1980-85), and executive officerand general counsel of the Vermont Environmental Board (1978-80). He received his BA from Davidson College and his JD and MCP degrees from UC Berkeley, where he was editor-in-chief of the Ecology Law Quarterly, a leading journal of environmental law and policy.

Jonathan Stearn, Director, Consumer Focus.

Jonathan is a Director at Consumer Focus and has particular responsibility for sustainability and disadvantage. Jonathan has been driving Consumer Focus’s work on empowering consumers in vulnerable positions and has just produced Tackling Consumer Vulnerability, an action plan for empowerment for the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS). Jonathan was Head of Campaigns at energywatch. He was responsible for developing energywatch’s and Consumer Focus’s work on fuel poverty and establishing the End Fuel Poverty Coalition – in partnership with a wide range of charities and environmental organisations. Before joining Consumer Focus and energywatch Jonathan was the Director of the End Child Poverty Campaign. Previously Jonathan was seconded as a Communication Adviser in the Home Office’s Active Community Unit. He worked for six years at Age Concern England as Head of Public Affairs focusing on campaigns on age discrimination and pensioner poverty. He has also worked as a journalist and, in the housing field, as Deputy Editor of Housing and Inside Housing magazines. As a campaigner for Shelter he exposed the plight of homeless families in bed and breakfast and other temporary accommodation.

UK Electiricty and Gas Directives – the Obligations on Utilities

Jonathan will explain why people’s circumstances, mixed with the behaviour of companies in the energy market, is key to understanding consumer vulnerability and fuel poverty.

He will also explain how in England (particularly) the government has passed the responsibility to deal with fuel poverty to energy suppliers. As a result, consumers in the energy market fund fuel poverty programmes and energy suppliers in the market are expected to deliver energy efficiency measures (and social tariffs).

Jonathan will showcase why this situation is not working and how collecting money from consumers can be regressive resulting in the poor paying more and how the key players such as the local authorities and civil society are being left out in the cold.

Government and regulator have started to look at energy tariffs but energy efficiency programme falls well short of what is needed to deal with cold and drafty homes – that is why the arguments behind the Energy Bill Revolution are so important, not only to get more funding in the system,  but also why local government and civil society need to be more involved. The market by itself can’t tackle fuel poverty.

David Manning, Head of Public Affairs, Airtricity.

David is Director of Corporate Affairs for SSE Ireland and is responsible for SSE’s corporate communications, public affairs, community, and research and development programmes in Ireland. Previously Head of Public Affairs for SSE Ireland, David joined the company in July 2008 from the Irish Business Employers Confederation where he was Head of Energy Policy. He
has worked in the areas of energy and environment policy for over a decade.

Colin Bebbington, Residential Category Controller, Bord Gáis

Energy. Colin is Residential Category Controller for Bord Gáis Energy since September 2012 looking after the consumer electricity and gas segments for Ireland. Over 14 years experience in segment marketing, pricing and strategy within the Irish mobile and fixed telecommunications sector.

Déaglán O’Dónaill, National Retrofit Manager, ESB Electric Ireland.

Déaglán is Retrofit Programme Manager for ESB with reponsibility for developing ESB's Retrofit and Fuel Poverty strategy.

David Crothers, Chair, Bryson Energy, Northern Ireland.

Prior to his retirement as a senior civil servant in 2007, David was Director of Housing with the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland. He was responsible for the oversight, funding and policy development of the voluntary housing movement, the financial control of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the regulation of the private rented sector and the promotion of domestic energy efficiency. During his time as Director he had responsibility for, among other things, producing a Homelessness Strategy for NI, developing a policy on Put Back Housing in Urban Areas, initiating a review of Northern Ireland's affordable housing problems, providing a NI response to the Barker Report and introducing a new procurement strategy for the delivery of social housing in Northern Ireland. As part of his remit for promoting domestic energy
efficiency, he initiated a number of pilot schemes to tackle fuel poverty, introduced the Government sponsored Warm Homes Scheme to Northern Ireland, established a Fuel Poverty Advisory Committee and an interdepartmental working party on fuel poverty and produced a Fuel Poverty Strategy for Northern Ireland. Since his retirement he has been appointed a Trustee of National Energy Action (NEA). He is also a board member of Fold Housing Association, a Director of Fold Ireland, Chairman of Bryson Energy, part of Bryson Charitable Group and a board member of the Bryson Group Board.

Paula Butler, Head of Department, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

Paula holds an Honours Degree in Natural Science from Trinity College Dublin and a Masters in Environmental Management from Aberdeen University. She previously worked as a Company Associate of the engineering firm E.G. Pettit & Company, setting up and managing their Environmental Management Section. Paula joined the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in 2002 and since then has worked in a number of roles within the organisation. She was the Programme Manager responsible for the design, development and implementation of the Building Energy Rating scheme in Ireland and represented Ireland at a European level as part of that project. Paula is currently Head of the Delivery Department within SEAI and is responsible for the delivery of the domestic grants, including the Better Energy Homes and Warmer Homes Schemes with a budget of over €40M in 2013. Paula has been appointed by the Minister for the Environment to sit on the RIAI Admissions Board and was a member of the judging panel for the Irish Council for Social Housing’s Community Housing Awards in 2009 and 2011.

Donnie Mackay, Lochalsh & Skye Housing Association, Scotland.

Donnie is a Home Energy advisor who works for Lochalsh and Skye Housing Association. Funded by the Housing Association and the ScottishPower Energy People Trust - he and a colleague provide a free “Inhome” energy efficiency advice service to any resident of Skye and Lochalsh – their aim is to help people achieve affordable warmth. Key to their work is a holistic focus on the five key influencing factors which impact on comfort levels and costs in a home – fabric, ventilation, heating, behaviour and tariffs. The service keenly promotes the use of electricity and temperature monitoring alongside thermal imaging of the fabric of a building. He is also a qualified field archaeologist who worked for 16 years for the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England before returning toSkye in 2001. In addition to his work as an energy advisor, he is a writer and photographer and is a Director of the North Harris Trust the community group that owns 66,000 acres of Harris.

Kay Beagley, Programme Manager, Environment Unit, Kirklees Council, Huddersfield, UK.

I trained originally as a Home Economist, and worked in the gas industry for five years, as Home Service Adviser. Completed
a post graduate teaching certificate – specialising in further education and taught part time for 14 years in Leeds and Kirklees Education authorities, whilst working full time at Yorkshire Electricity as a Home Economist, but over the years included PR, advisory and educational role to a Customer Services liaison role addressing fuel poverty and energy efficiency in the domestic
sector. In 2002 was appointed ‘Fuel Poverty Officer', – (Energy Efficiency Officer) by Kirklees Energy Services later as the Energy and Water Conservation co-coordinator for Kirklees Council in January 2004. In September July 2007 I was appointed as Acting programme Manager for the Environment Unit. Key areas that I have responsibility for are, reducing carbon
emissions across the domestic sector, by delivering a range of energy efficiency programmes. We have just delivered the BIG Energy Upgrade programme of work which aimed at improving the hard to treat properties across the district. We are currently working on the Kirklees Energy Saver scheme which is a pilot to test the Green Deal principles and methodology.

Dr. Helen McAvoy, Senior Policy Officer, Institute of Public Health.

Helen graduated from Trinity College Dublin as a medical doctor in 1997 and worked for several years in both hospital and general practice. She completed her Masters in Health Promotion in NUI Galway and her thesis examined the role of day services for older people in rural Connemara. She has worked on a number of government programmes relating to ageing and
older people. She is now working as Senior Policy Officer with the Institute of Public Health in Ireland focussing on the government’s health inequality agenda in Ireland and Northern Ireland. In this role, she has contributed to a number of reports focusing on inequalities in maternal and child health, food poverty, fuel poverty and inequalities in the border region.

Dr. Miriam Owens, Preventive Care, Department of Health.

I am a Specialist in Public Health Medicine working in the Department of Health in Dublin. Areas of work include the development of a Health and Wellbeing Policy Framework.

Christine Patterson, Senior Advisor, Evaluation, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA), New Zealand.

Bachelor of Arts History Major from Victoria University of Wellington. For the first fifteen years of my working life I worked for the Department of Trade and Industry. I held a variety of roles including as Executive Officer in both Regional Development and
Trade Policy where I was part of the team to negotiate and implement the Closer Economic Relations Agreement with Australia; I was also appointed trade commissioner designate Canberra. I was later Senior Advisor with the National Health Committee working in the field of disability services. I wasinstrumental in standardising all care for older people in rest homes and hospitals in New Zealand so that quality could be assured. I also worked on policies for specific disability groups who were disadvantaged by the focus on health policy. People with disabilities had poor housing, low incomes, poor health outcomes and generally, at that time, little voice to drive improvements. The third part of my career has been back to my main love, business and energy as a senior advisor policy, and evaluation, with EECA, working in the Home Energy Rating Scheme; the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme one of the Governments most successful programme interventions with a national benefit to cost ratio of around 4:1; standards development; the Christchurch rebuild; the evaluation and compendium of all EECA’s programmes in 2010 in line with the government’s Value for Money exercise; and the evaluation of around five programmes each year. I am the EECA representative on the IEA Working Party on Energy Efficiency. I am particularly interested in the work programme on the Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency being developed by the IEA. Defining ways of appropriately valuing employment creation, wellbeing, benefits to industry, and energy savings, in addition to health benefits, are critical to the design of programmes that maximise the benefits to the country, the government and the people.

Ian Watson, Business Manager, (Healthy Homes), Liverpool City Council.

Ian Watson co-ordinates delivery of the award winning ‘Liverpool Healthy Homes’ Programme which, in partnership with Liverpool Primary Care Trust, is tackling health inequalities and deprivation caused by poor private sector housing conditions, improving access to health related services, and delivering a range of innovative interventions. He jointly designed the service,
and leads the dedicated team of Environmental Health Officers, outreach Advocates & Case Support Officers, and Liverpool’s ‘CLASS’ landlord accreditation scheme. Graduating from Nottingham Trent University in 2001, Ian’s career began as an Environmental Health Officer at Wrexham Council where he specialised in housing, with particular interests in HMO sprinkler systems, residential caravan parks and immigration. In 2007, Ian joined Liverpool City Council’s ‘Health Impact Team’, part of the New Heartlands Housing Market Renewal (HMR) pathfinder, managing one of the multidisciplinary teams delivering services designed to tackle housing market failure, and encourage regeneration. The Healthy Homes Programme has been; reported in the Marmot review, used as a supporting case study for the Audit Commission report ‘Building Better Lives’, features in the UK Government’s housing strategy ‘Laying the Foundations’, winner of the Municipal Journal Public Protection Achievement
of the Year award, winner of the European UNCCAS Fuel Poverty awards and shortlisted for the Chief Medical Officer’s Public Health Award.

Laurence Arbuckle, Bryson Energy, Northern Ireland.

Laurence is currently employed by Bryson Energy, part of the Bryson Charitable Group, as a Senior Manager. He is based in the organisation’s Derry office and is responsible for Advice & Education managing Bryson Energy’s independent energy efficiency advice and grants line, Microgen, Home visits, Schools programmes (Energy & Waste), EU programmes and oil rokeringprojects in the North-West. Laurence was previously manager of the Foyle Regional Energy Agency, part of Derry City Council, for five years and joined Bryson when the three Northern Ireland energy agencies merged in 2007. He is a former Director of the North-West Centre for Learning & Development and worked in inner city development in Derry for over ten years. He is currently a board member of the Loughs Agency, a government cross-border body which aims to provide sustainable social, economic and environmental benefits through the effective conservation and development of the fisheries and marine resources of the Foyle and Carlingford Areas. He also works with a number of local community groups on a voluntary basis. He holds an MSc in Renewable Energy and is a member of the Energy Institute.

Jim Scheer, Programme Manager, SEAI.

Jim Scheer is a Programme Manager (Energy Modelling Group) at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. During the last 10 years he has worked in the field of policy analysis and development related to environmental issues. He is currently responsible for analysing the impacts of sustainable energy policy in Ireland and is an expert advisor to government. In 2012 he completed a MSc. (Economic Policy Studies) at Trinity College, Dublin (Distinction). His thesis identifies potential welfare
gains through alternative government spending arrangements to address energy poverty. Outputs are based on detailed least-cost energy modelling and cost-benefit analysis.

Marie-Helene Laurent, Senior researcher at EDF R&D, France.

Since 1998, Marie Helene Laurent is specialized in energy demand forecasting and prospective studies for building sectors at EDF R&D branch. Prospective studies (2030; 2050) are realized at a global scale (France and European countries); but focused on building energy efficiency impacts (envelope thermal insulation, energy management, equipment performance and distributed generation of renewable energies). Studies must be conducted with a large view on energy demand drivers in buildings: technical ones as equipments and building envelope; human ones as behaviours; geographical ones as urban context and climate evolution; economic ones as macro and micro economical contexts; and political ones as European and
national policies with impacts on energy demand).

Eoin Ó’Broin, Dept. of Energy and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.

Eoin Ó Broin's research involves using top-down (econometric) and bottom up (simulation) modelling of energy demand in the European building stock to make scenarios for energy demand to 2050. He has an M.Sc. in Industrial Ecology from Chalmers and a B.Eng. in Electronic Engineering from the University of Limerick and has also undertaken internships at the UN ECE Committee on Housing and Land Management and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Geneva, Switzerland.

Paddy Sweeney, Managing Director, Enprova.

Paddy Sweeney is Managing Director of REIL who run the Enprova scheme for the Irish Petroleum Industry Association. He is also a Director of Derchil CosiHomes one of the largest Insulation companies in Ireland. As a qualified Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager, Paddy worked on numerous large scale building projects for public and private clients. This experience left him ideally placed to manage the requirements of the SEAI large scale retrofit program "The Warmer Homes – Area Based Pilot". Having been involved in the application and delivery of a number of projects directly, and as an obligated party supporting numerous CBOs he has a unique perspective on the workings of the scheme.

Anne Golden, Senior Architect, South Dublin County Council.

Anne Golden is a Senior Architect working with South Dublin County Council. Her portfolio of work includes housing, community buildings and fit-outs of civic offices. She is currently working on a refurbishment programme for existing housing estates and adaptations of dwellings for special needs. She is a graduate of UCD School of Architecture.

Mary Taylor, Assistant Area Manager, North West Area, Dublin City Council.

I am based in Ballymun Civic Centre and along with being responsible for the delivery of some City Council services to the area,
particularly in relation to Housing and Community Development, I hold several directorships of locally based companies, including Ballymun Whitehall Area Partnership (the local development company), youngballymun, (the area-based Prevention and Early Intervention strategy), Axis, (the local arts and community resource centre), and Ballymun Local Drugs Task Force. I am also a member of the Safer Ballymun Steering Group and Ballymun Regeneration’s Social Regeneration cub-committee.

Dr Nick Banks, Centre for Sustainable Energy, UK.

Nick joined CSE as in 2010. His current responsibilities include development of new projects in CSE, particularly within the research function and also in contributing analysis and management to the projects themselves. Nick has over 18 years experience working and studying in the environmental field. Work experience includes domestic energy policy research with Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute, installation of photovoltaic lighting systems in rural Nepal with a small NGO based in Kathmandu, community energy work with Carbon Descent, an energy agency based in central London and energy and environmental consultancy for Sustain where Nick led the policy and strategy function within the organisation. Nick specialises in behavioural and attitudinal research but has also delivered energy and environmental audits, carbon foot printing of organisations, life cycle assessments, implementation of environmental management systems (ISO 14001), energy modelling and mapping projects, statistical analysis and general strategy and policy work. Nick has a first degree in Human Sciences from Sussex University (BSc), an MSc in Energy Conservation and the Environment from Cranfield University, a post graduate diploma in Science Communication from Birkbeck College (pg.Dip) and completed his PhD in the Sociology of Energy Use with Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute in 1998.

Duncan Stewart, Award Winning Architect and TV Presenter

Duncan Stewart has been producing and presenting television documentaries and factual/lifestyle genre series, broadcast on RTE for the last twenty years. Through his company, Earth Horizon Productions, his programmes have consistently attracted large audiences. They typically feature in the ‘toptwenty’ list of weekly viewed television programmes in Ireland, with audience
numbers of up to 550,000 viewers per episode. He is well known in Ireland for his wide knowledge and commitment to demonstrating solutions to climate change, environmental and energy related issues, to the general public. As a leading ecological architect in Ireland, he has throughout his forty-year career, pioneered sustainable design and ecological technologies appropriate for new and existing buildings, ranging from conservation of historic and vernacular structures, to innovative ‘passive-house institute’ standard for homes to exemplar sustainable large civic and commercial buildings.

Dr. Sarah Darby, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford.

Sarah Darby is deputy leader of the Lower Carbon Futures programme at the Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University. She works mainly on the implications for electricity customers of smart grids and demand response; energy feedback and advice; and evaluation of low-carbon community initiatives.

Antonello Buondonno, International Business Development, ENEL.

Born in Naples in May 1957, Buondonno graduated with a Master in Mechanical Engineering in Rome University with 110/110 grade cum laude, and with an MBA in Bocconi University of Milan. Buondonno has 10 years of experience in Consulting, initially in McKinsey & Co and later in Bain & Co in Italy, with several projects in Europe and US, mainly in Energy and Trasportation; his
responsibilities as Partner included development of Firm reputation and client base, establishment of relationship with top client executives, leading multiple engagements, coaching and development of consultants and development of Firm
Kwow-how. In ’98 joined Enel where he has further developed his experience in the Energy business, managing several key positions: Head of Organizational Development and Process Reengineering, with the responsibility of designing and
implementing major ICT and change management project (SAP, Contact Center, Meter Data Management system,..); Head of Real Estate, leading major restructuring projects of Group offices space and operating bases; Chief of Marketing and Sales of Enel Sole (Enel Group ESCO), specialized in smart lighting/LED based solution. Now leads Europe & Americas Business
Development for the Infrastructures and Networks Division, with the responsibility of developing the Group presence in the smart metering and smart grid business.

Simon Jones, Country Manager, Aereco Ltd.

Simon is also Vice Chairman of the Irish Ventilation Industry Association (IVIA). Since joining Aereco in 2009, Simon has been a prominent figure in raising awareness of Indoor Air Quality and the impact that improving the building stock has on it. With over a decade of experience in cutting edge and renewable technologies in the Irish construction sector, Simon offers a practical and common sense view of this field. Aereco are a French multinational who have been at the forefront of Indoor Air Quality and ventilation in Europe for 30 Years and offer Ireland through their direct subsidiary an enormous wealth of knowledge and
experience in matters regarding ventilation and IAQ at a European and Global level.

Joseph Little, Architect.

Joseph Little is a Dublin-based practicing architect and building fabric consultant. A retrofit-extension of his practice in Monkstown, Dublin, recently became Ireland’s first super-low energy retrofit to be certified by the Passivhaus institute of Germany. Heset-up Building Life Consultancy in 2009 to give independent, technical support to those focused on raising insulation standards for new and existing buildings in a healthy, appropriate way. The consultancy provides hygrothermal, condensation and mould risk analysis using the full suite of WUFI software, thermal bridge analysis, and physical assessments of problem building. Little and his team teach hygrothermal evaluation (alongside the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics), thermal bridge assessment and two courses for the RIAI. His ‘Breaking the Mould’ series of articles in Construct Irelandand ‘Technical Paper 15’ for Historic Scotland focus on hygrothermal assessment methods and the appropriateness of alternate internal insulation strategies for solid wall buildings.

Professor Frank Convery is Senior Fellow, UCD Earth Institute, University College, Dublin, and chairman, publicpolicy.ie

He was educated at University College Dublin and the State University of New York and has degrees in forestry and resource economics. Prior to taking up his post at UCD, he was Assistant and then Associate Professor of Natural Resource Economics at Duke University, USA and Research Professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute, Ireland. Frank Convery has been
active on a number of EU wide investigations and bodies, including membership of the Science Committee of the European Environment Agency, President of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists and the DG Environment Expert Economists Group on Resource Efficiency. He has written extensively on resource and environmental
economics issues with particular reference to the use of market based instruments for environmental policy. He is co-author of (with Ellerman de Perthuis) Pricing Carbon – the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, Cambridge University Press, 2010, 390 pp. His energy involvemenet includes chairing the board of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, leading the Atlantic Energy Efficiency Project (with UC Berkeley, CEPS Brussels, and Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland), and many ublications, including: A Guide to Policies for Energy Conservation – the European Experience (Ed and contributor), Cheltenham UK and Northampton MA, Edward Elgar. 1998, and ‘Reflections–Energy Efficiency Literature for Those in the Policy Process’, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 5 (1), 2011: 172-191.