Dr Jim Fitzpatrick, B.Soc.Sc., M.A., PhD
Jim Fitzpatrick is the Managing Director of the firm. He has over 20 years' experience of economic consultancy in Ireland and internationally. Specialities include sectoral studies, industrial policy, international trade and development, science and technology, EU structural funds, regional and local development and public service modernisation. As well as Ireland he has also carried out consultancy projects for international organisations and in a wide range of countries including Hungary, Romania, Kenya, Vietnam, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique. Prior to establishing the firm he worked for three years at the Irish National Board for Science and Technology and for four years with United Nations development agencies. The author of a large number of publications on economic and industrial development issues, he has a Doctorate in Economics from University College Dublin.
e-mail: jfitzpatrick@fitzpatrick-associates.com
Niall Crosbie, B.A. (Hist, Poltcs), D.B.S. (Bnkg and Fince), M.B.S. (Econ)
Niall has over 10 years of economic consulting, public policy and strategic consulting experience in a range of areas, including transport, tourism, enterprise and trade, public policy evaluation, policy development, strategy development, market research, feasibility assessment, labour market and skills needs analysis, and forecasting. With Fitzpatrick Associates he has worked on over 50 different consulting assignments for clients in the public and private sectors, both in Ireland and overseas, and his consulting experience has included work on a diverse range of topics. He has also worked as a consultant with a specialist tourism consulting firm and with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Niall has a B.A. Degree in History and Politics and a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies (Banking and Finance) from University College Dublin and an MBS in Economics from the University of Limerick.
Dan Brennan, B.A (Econ.), Dip Town Planning
Dan worked for over 20 years with the Industrial Development Authority/IDA Ireland in the fields of regional and local planning and development, property and infrastructure planning and policy analysis. He has also worked with the National Economic and Social Council, Cork Harbour Commissioners and with the Planning Department of Dublin Corporation. Dan graduated from University College Dublin in Economics, Politics and Statistics and then qualified in town planning (also in UCD). He is a member of the Irish Planning Institute.
John McEniff, B.A. (Econ), M.A. (Econ)
John McEniff has wide economic research experience in both the public and private sectors. He worked as an economic consultant with the firm from 1984 to 1988, then joined the New Zealand Treasury for two years and returned to Fitzpatrick Associates in 1990. His areas of interest include the appraisal of public expenditure projects, tourism policy, industrial economics, economics of education and training, environmental issues and macro-economic forecasting. He has undertaken a variety of market research, cost benefit and policy studies in areas such as transport, clothing, the food sector, retailing, the environment and housing. John combines his consultancy activity with a management role in a family hotel and leisure group. He holds a double honours Degree in Economics from Trinity College Dublin and a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (Canada).
Brendan Shiels, B.Soc.Sc., M.Econ.Sc
Brendan Shiels is an experienced economic and management consultant with 11 years experience of economic evaluation, appraisal and analysis in Ireland. Now working independently, and as an associate with Fitzpatrick Associates, previous employers were Fitzpatrick Associates, a leading economic consultancy practice in Dublin, as well as the Republic of Ireland consulting practices of Arthur Andersen and KPMG, the international accounting and financial advisory firms. Previous clients of Brendan’s include Government Departments, the EU Commission, state agencies, local authorities, business representative groups and private companies. Brendan has particular experience in the assessment of value for money in the procurement of public infrastructure, and has advised and supported the Irish Prison Service, the Courts Service and the National Roads Authority regarding the assessment of value for money in PPP projects.
e-mail: bshiels@iol.ie
Jerry Sexton, M.Sc.
Jerry Sexton was a Research Professor at the Economic and Social Research from 1981 until 2004, having previously worked as a Senior Statistician in the Central Statistics Office. He has also worked on a contractual basis for both Eurostat and the OECD. His areas of interest include labour market issues both in an Irish and international context, employment forecasting, demography and migration. He is the author of a large number of publications in these areas. He is a past President of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland and was a member of the National Statistics Board from 1984 to 1994.
Sue Leigh-Doyle B.Soc.Sc., M.Soc.Sc., M. Business,
Sue Leigh-Doyle is a senior associate consultant with the firm. She has over twenty years experience of human resources research and evaluation consultancy for public agencies in Ireland and internationally. Specialties include employment, training and vocational education, equality, disability, social inclusion, health and safety at work, and arts research. Prior to becoming a consultant she was a Research Manager with FAS National Employment and Training Authority in Ireland. Her research work has been published by the International Labour Office (ILO) and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Sue also has extensive consultancy experience on management of vocational training and education in Africa, Russia and Hungary for the World Bank, ILO and EU.
Brendan Kearney, B. Agr. Sc., M.S. (Michigan State University)
Brendan Kearney is the Executive Director of Brendan Kearney and Associates. He was formerly Deputy Director of An Foras Taluntais (The Agricultural Institute) and Head of its Rural Economy Research Centre until 1989. In that oranisation he was responsible for planning, controlling and directing the research programme in policy analysis, production economics, marketing and rural development. In 1990 he established his own consultancy firm which has provided research and consultancy services in policy monitoring and evaluation, international trade and EU policy and programme information. Areas of expertise include agricultural economics, rural development, policy and sectoral studies, forestry economics, and programme and policy evaluation.
e-mail: bkearney@indigo.ie
Chris Mannion, BA Hons, C. Dip. A.F., H. Dip. GIS & Applied Remote Sensing
Chris graduated from the University of Manchester with a BA Honours degree in English and Geography. He subsequently joined Eason & Son Ltd Dublin on their Graduate Recruitment Programme. In 1990, he successfully completed the Certified Diploma in Accountancy and Finance awarded by the (ACCA).After 11 years of retail management he undertook a postgraduate Higher Diploma in GIS and Applied Remote Sensing at the National University Ireland, Maynooth where he subsequently worked in the University attached to the National Institute for Spatial and Regional Analysis (NIRSA) as a researcher and GIS analyst.
In 2002, he joined Fitzpatrick Associates as a Financial/Management Accountant. He has recently passed his final examinations as a Certified Public Accountant.
e-mail: cmannion@fitzpatrick-associates.com
Monica Keane
Monica Keane is Fitzpatrick Associates’ Secretary/Receptionist, and a key element of our office support structure. She has over 20 years’ secretarial experience, with excellent typing, shorthand and telephone skills, combined with a very good knowledge of MS Word, PowerPoint, Excel and e-mail/internet experience together with excellent organisational and communication skills. She has a detailed knowledge of company services and clients, and constitutes a key element of the “corporate memory” regarding past projects and the company archive.