Padraig McManus, the Chief Executive of Ireland’s Electricity Supply Board (E.S.B.), will occupy the speaker’s platform at a Council luncheon scheduled for Thursday, May 1 at Dublin’s Four Seasons Hotel. The energy company recently announced a €22 billion capital investment plan, fully half of which will be directed at renewable energy sources.

Also appearing at the speaker’s podium at the Council lunch will be Robert J. Faucher, Deputy Chief of Mission at the United States Embassy in Dublin, who will discuss key current issues in the bilateral business relationships between America and Ireland.

The President of the Council’s Ireland Chapter, Mr. Brian Goggin said “It is an honor for the Council to host a luncheon with two such excellent and important speakers. The E.S.B. plays a most important role in the economic life of the country. The business of supplying electrical power in our world today is more complex, more difficult and more costly than ever before. Of course, it is always a pleasure to have a representative of the U.S. Government address the Council. I know that our Council members and their guests will benefit greatly from their remarks and insights of both our speakers on this occasion. We look forward to welcoming them to this week’s event.”

Pádraig McManus has been Chief Executive of the E.S.B. since July 2002. A native of County Kildare, he joined E.S.B. after graduating in electrical engineering from UCD and worked throughout the company, including E.S.B. International where he became Managing Director. He has had extensive international experience, including working in Germany for a cable manufacturer. His overseas experience with the E.S.B. includes managing major projects in Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Cambodia and The Philippines.

Robert J. Faucher is the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Dublin. He came in August 2007 directly from a two-year assignment as the Deputy Office Director for European Union Affairs in the Bureau for European and Eurasian Affairs at the State Department in Washington, D.C. Mr. Faucher joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1985 and has served overseas in Suriname, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and the U.K. He grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. He holds BA and JD/MBA degrees from Arizona State University, an LLM degree from Edinburgh University.

The Ireland-U.S. Council was founded in 1963 by American and Irish business leaders with the principal objective of encouraging closer business links between America and Ireland, north and south.

Council members are complimentary at the lunch. Guests and non-members @ €95 per person. Further information on the May 1, 2008 Lunch Meeting can be obtained from:
Dublin:
Roddy Feely: Tel: (01) 667 4040; Fax: (01) 667 4041;
e-mail: iusc@eircom.net

New York:
Geraldine Byrne: Tel: (212) 867 6268; Fax (212) 730 2232;
e-mail: rsvpiusc@aol.com