School of International Futures

Ireland’s Long Term Governance Hub: Building the foundations for long-term governance

Challenge

Approach

Outcome

Ireland’s upcoming EU Presidency, growing political awareness of both Irish jurisdictions’ economic vulnerability amid current geopolitical shifts, and rising momentum behind an inclusive, vibrant “Shared Island” are creating a new openness to embedding long-term governance into national and European policy. The question was how to turn that openness into lasting institutional change.

The Hub originally supported Ireland’s Commission for Future Generations Bill, a legislative proposal introduced in 2023 by Green Party TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh. If passed, it would establish a Commission for Future Generations and potentially an Ombudsman for Future Generations, acting as a “guardian for the interests of future generations.” But when the bill lapsed following the dissolution of the Dáil ahead of the November 2024 general election, the Hub faced a choice: tie its future to a stalled bill, or build a broader foundation for long-term governance in Ireland.

When political winds changed, the Hub adapted, widening its strategy across institutional anchors, foresight capacity within government, and participatory futures methods.

The Hub grew its membership to serve a wider cross-section of the policy community, welcoming University College Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast, the former Chief Medical Officer of Ireland, and the Environmental Justice Network of Ireland. Together with founding members Feasta, Coalition 2030, and Wellbeing Economy Ireland, this cross-sectoral, cross-island base now spans all three dimensions of the Foresight Governance Prism: movement building, political engagement, and institutional capacity.

In early 2026, two national activation events brought this coalition to life:

  • A roundtable at Queen’s University Belfast drew senior figures including the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, the head of the NI civil service, and representatives from the Departments of the Taoiseach and Finance and the Regional Assemblies.
  • A workshop at UCD convened senior politicians from several parties, representatives from government departments including Public Expenditure and Foreign Affairs, business groups including Enterprise Ireland and Chambers Ireland, youth organisations, farmers’ federations, and local government.

The Hub also collaborated with the Environmental Justice Network of Ireland to brief Irish officials ahead of the EU Presidency, directly connecting national reform efforts to the EU Intergenerational Fairness agenda.

SOIF supported the Hub with a media activation to regenerate interest in the Future Generations Bill, technical support for advocacy efforts, and meetings with senior Irish leadership at both national and international level.

The two activation events produced a public-facing Roadmap for Long-Term Governance—a concrete advocacy tool for the next phase of the Hub’s work. Three shifts stand out:

  • From single pathway to resilient coalition. While the Future Generations Bill remains on the legislative agenda the Hub has kept the fundamental values of long-term governance alive in the Irish political imagination. Through its roadmap, it has identified interventions beyond the bill to bring a whole-of-society approach to long-term governance.
  • Opening space for national dialogue. The Hub championed whole-of-society engagement: structured national conversations that move beyond consultation toward participation, hope, and shared stewardship.
  • Connecting Ireland to the European agenda. In collaboration with the Environmental Justice Network of Ireland, the Hub’s briefing aimed to influence Ireland’s EU Presidency priorities—directly linking national governance reform to the EU Intergenerational Fairness agenda and placing Ireland’s work on a European stage.