Plenary 3: Where are there tensions and where is there convergence on Rethinking Growth? – Towards a Wellbeing Economy for Ireland: June 25

In this session, which was facilitated by Dr Tadhg O’Mahony, the panellists reflected on a number of points made by President Michael D. Higgins during a speech which he gave in April 2023, in which he advocated for a paradigm shift in how we approach economics and how economics affects our politics and policies.

Topics explored included the importance of democracy as a core governance principle, in order to ensure that everyone’s voice can be heard; the extent to which public ownership will be needed in order to achieve a wellbeing economy; the role of investment in the care economy and in ‘public luxury’, potentially including a Universal Basic Income; the need to empower women, including in politics; the importance of tackling inequality rather than prioritising an absolute increase in income as a goal in itself; and the commons as an alternative paradigm of culture, economics and politics.