

The doctor helping to rewire how Ireland delivers public services
17/12/2025 | 26 mins.
Dr Tony Shannon, Head of Digital Services in Ireland’s Office of the Government CIO, shares his remarkable journey from emergency medicine to the front line of digital government.He shares why healthcare’s chaos taught him how to fix complex systems, how the NHS’s multi-billion-pound IT failure shaped his thinking, and why now—in his words—“is a moment that matters and a decade that matters.”Expect insight, urgency and practical lessons for anyone who believes public services can, and must, work better for people and planet.Part 1 of 2.Listen for:How a doctor’s pattern-recognition mindset applies to digital reformWhat went wrong with the NHS national IT programmeThe three-way equation of People + Process + TechnologyWhy the pandemic briefly showed how agile government can beWhy risk-aversion, if left unchallenged, will cost us allDigital transformation, public sector innovation, Ireland eGovernment, Tony Shannon, OGCIO, Maeve Kneafsey, healthcare informatics, open source, agile delivery, leadership, government reform, risk culture, digital public services, data, AI in government, life-event strategy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From endless pilots to real progress
10/12/2025 | 37 mins.
How do great ideas in healthcare move from pilot projects to everyday practice?In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey talks with Louise (Lou) O’Hare, Assistant National Director at the Sláintecare Transformation and Innovation Office, about how the Sláintecare Integration Innovation Fund (SIF) is creating a clear pathway for innovation across Ireland’s health system.Lou shares how the new Health Innovation Framework will ensure promising solutions — from clinician-led ideas to community telehealth — can move from proof of concept to full rollout, with proper governance, funding, and scaling support.We hear the story behind the Healthy Islands Project, how AI and innovation hubs are shaping the future of care, and what’s next for collaboration between Spark, HSE innovators, and digital health leaders.Sláintecare, HSE innovation, healthcare transformation Ireland, digital health, health technology, Spark Fund, SIF, health innovation framework, healthcare governance, telehealth, clinician innovation, HSE leadership, healthcare transformation podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joined-up by design: How Ireland’s largest dept. is re-thinking digital services around real life events
02/12/2025 | 41 mins.
In this episode, Maeve Kneafsey talks with Paula Lyons, Ass. Secretary and Head of Service Development at the Department of Social Protection, about how her team is redesigning services around life events like having a child, retirement, or bereavement.They discuss:Why DSP’s philosophy is “digital by desire”, not by forceHow citizen trust and data sharing are unlocking connected servicesThe next generation of online welfare and pension servicesA must-listen for anyone shaping digital government and citizen-first transformation.Subscribe now for personal email updates www.digitalgovawards.com01:05 – What motivates Paula to stay in public service10:00 – How “Digital by Desire” became DSP’s guiding principle24:05 – Designing services around real life events29:30 – AI pilots and the future of digital service delivery Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How digital twins could solve Ireland’s housing emergency and end paper planning
21/11/2025 | 35 mins.
Ireland is preparing radical moves to accelerate housing delivery. But what if the real breakthrough doesn’t come from policy — but from technology?In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey meets Gavin Duffy, Founder & CEO of RealSim, the Irish company building ultra-accurate 3D digital twins of real towns, cities, and infrastructure.Gavin explains how immersive planning tools can speed up decisions, reduce objections, and help councils and agencies build better homes and infrastructure, faster.From Jersey to Fingal and Balbriggan, this is a masterclass in practical digital transformation for public planning and housing delivery.Digital twin Ireland, housing emergency Ireland, planning reform Ireland, public-sector innovation, RealSim, Gavin Duffy, Maeve Kneafsey, Transform Gov, Fingal County Council, Balbriggan regeneration, Jersey planning model, e-planning Ireland, 3D planning tools, Irish housing delivery, local authority innovation.00:00 – Why Ireland’s housing emergency needs new tools04:30 – What RealSim actually does in plain English08:10 – Lessons from Jersey’s planning transformation14:00 – Why Irish planning is still PDF-first18:40 – Balbriggan case study25:00 – How digital twins reduce objections30:40 – What councils need to adopt digital twins35:30 – The future: national digital twin for Ireland Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why kids can't skip skipping
11/11/2025 | 34 mins.
Childhood movement skills — hopping, skipping, throwing, catching — have collapsed globally. But one Irish spin-out is changing that story.Dr Jamie McGann, co-founder of MoveAhead, joins Maeve Kneafsey on Transform Gov to reveal how his Dublin-based team built the world’s largest dataset of children’s movement, and how it’s now driving apps, curricula, and classrooms from Ireland to China.In this award-winning collaboration with Smart D8, MoveAhead helps teachers objectively assess movement, personalise PE through AI, and bring physical literacy back into the heart of education.Learn how Irish innovation can tackle one of the biggest health and education challenges of our time.Listen, share, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts — or watch on YouTube UC8jdqo_NbX6BHmkTynUdWJw.Kinder Joy of Moving, Kinder App, Smart D8, Dublin City University, DCU, Sport Ireland, NCCA, Irish EdTech, Global Child Health, Movement Skills, AI in Education Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.



Transform Gov - the digital government podcast