COVID-19 Evaluation Convenes Future Focused Livestreamed Roundtable
Experts share insights and reflect on optimal emergency responses, resilience and preparedness in integrated discussion
Watch Future Focused Roundtable
Press Release
Ireland’s independent COVID-19 Evaluation hosted a live streamed roundtable, Monday 2nd Novemeber, bringing together a range of perspectives and disciplines for an expert lead discussion on whole-of-society approaches to managing national emergencies of scale.
The core aim of the session was to reflect on optimal future approaches to facilitate dynamic management of emergencies in increasingly integrated and complex environments, including how resilience and capacity can be built-in as part of future preparedness.
This roundtable focused on future preparedness and the overall factors that emergency responses should incorporate, as part of assessing and balancing objectives. Experts discussed future learnings from a range of perspectives, including mental health, human behavior, risk management, democratic processes and rights, health systems and economic sustainability and public policy. Discussants explored how these factors should be better incorporated into planning for emergencies.
It was an opportunity for participants to reflect on future crisis decision-making and related policy trade-offs. The roundtable considered how to protect social solidarity and manage disproportionate societal impacts. The purpose was to enable the COVID-19 Evaluation to gain insights which can guide future decision-making.
The roundtable featured national and international perspectives from high profile contributors including Lucy Easthope, the UK’s leading authority on recovering from disasters and Professor in Practice of Risk and Hazard at the University of Durham, Dr Caroline McMullan, Architect of the National Risk Assessment for Ireland, and Prof Pete Lunn, Founder and head of the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit, among others.
The event also heared from some of the COVID-19 Evaluation Panel members as they prepare to deliberate on their Report into Ireland’s response to the pandemic.
The event took place on the morning of Monday 2nd of November and was livestreamed to the public as part of the Evaluation’s commitment to openness and transparency. The discussion was facilitated by Professor Sara Burke, who is an expert advisor to the Evaluation Panel.
Ahead of the event, Professor Anne Scott, Chair of the COVID-19 Evaluation, said:
“The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that effective emergency management is about much more than a sectoral focus. Future preparedness needs to reflect on people’s experiences and behaviors, on how our society and economy functions, our collective resilience and our human rights and democratic institutions. This roundtable brings together a range of expertise to consider interrelated factors as part of Ireland’s cross-sectional preparedness for future emergencies.”
Ireland’s COVID-19 Evaluation is an independent, non-statutory process chaired by Professor Anne Scott. Its purpose is to learn lessons from the pandemic by examining Ireland’s response and its impacts including across health, society and the economy.
The roundtable was livestreamed from 10:00am to 12:45pm via the COVID-19 Evaluation website and YouTube channel.
Event Details
The roundtable will be livestreamed from 10.00am to 12:45pm. Irish Sign Language interpretation will be available. A recording will be made available on the Evaluation’s website following the event.
Full list of participants:
Prof Lucy Easthope, Prof Caroline McMullan, Prof Pete Lunn, Prof Brendan Kelly, Prof Mary Murphy, Art O’Leary, Prof Steve Thomas, Dr Martina Lawless and Mary Doyle.
This is in addition to the other Covid-19 Evaluation Panel members including Professor Anne Scott, Professor Bert Gordijn, Dr Nat O’Connor and Dr Nora Strecker, and facilitated by expert advisor to the panel Prof Sara Burke.
This roundtable focused on leveraging expertise for optimal future responses for emergencies of any type of significant scale that have whole-of-society impacts.
Previous public engagements which considered Ireland’s pandemic response and related impacts included several wide-ranging public consultations, a society focused stakeholder roundtable in July 2025, economic/sector roundtables with stakeholders and experts in November 2025, and a health focused expert roundtable in March of this year.