Former Climate Minister Denis Naughten reflections

21 Oct 2025

Thanks to former Climate Minister Denis Naughten for reflecting on the role of UCC Sustainability Institute research and analysis in improving policy making processes.

'We often outsource difficult questions to consultants and expect definitive answers. You get a glossy deck, but you end up with less capacity in the public service as a result. The University College Cork approach did the opposite. It built understanding inside the government department. Officials learned what the model could say, and what it should not try to say. That changed the conversation. Meetings moved faster, options were framed more honestly, and we wasted less time arguing about shadows. I will say it plainly, that kind of co-production makes the public service more intelligent.'