Ireland has a unique opportunity to capitalise on its position as the only English-speaking country in the EU, to attract and retain a young, mobile workforce according to Daseking, whose work in Freiburg has led to it being recognised as one of Europe’s most sustainable cities.
“You have this car-orientated society, you have problems in housing, you have a lot of work to do to save energy, and above all you have the Paris paper which Ireland signed in 2015, to reduce energy consumption by about 40 per cent by 2030. Well 2030 is tomorrow.” “That is a signal of alarm for me because in 2030 those who are now governing may still be on duty. By 2050 they will have all gone so they pass the necessity to act to the next generation. For me that’s a very, very great problem.”Ireland’s centralised structures, with city councils having very little power, were partly to blame for these problems he said.