Ireland and UK independent advisory business Turley has recruited Catherine Murray as Director and Head of its Economics team in Ireland.
Dublin-based Catherine joins from AECOM Ireland where she was Chief Economist heading up its economics team since 2018. Catherine specialises in the economics of place with over 20 years’ experience in consultancy, local government and academia, from which she brings a deep commitment to sustainability – through her training in Ecological and Environmental Economics.
Catherine has worked on many of Ireland’s mega projects in the transport sector including DART+ expansion, BusConnects and the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme, while also addressing carbon reduction in smaller local transport initiatives, through numerous Active Travel schemes.
Catherine brings a wealth of experience working with local authorities on master planning, economic development and public realm/placemaking projects, alongside building business cases for funding and undertaking economic and financial appraisal for semi state bodies.
The move sees Turley continue to grow its Economics offering which delivers a wide range of services including economic, social and health impact assessments; housing and social infrastructure needs assessments; retail and employment work and business cases and funding advice. The team advises on retrofit, new build and large-scale regeneration and development projects operating throughout Ireland and the UK.
Turley has been delivering projects in Ireland since 2017 and established its Dublin office in 2020 to complement its Belfast and Derry~Londonderry offices. The business offers Economics, Planning, Strategic Communications, Design, EIA, Sustainability & ESG services across the island of Ireland. It is also working with a wide range of private and public sector clients in Ireland including Glenveagh Homes, Lioncor, Scannell Properties, SSE, Alanis Capital, Dublin City Council, Cork City Council, Kilkenny County Council and Uisce Éireann (Irish Water).
Speaking about the appointment of Catherine Murray, Antony Pollard, Head of Economics at Turley, said: “With Catherine joining us we are deepening our roots in the Irish market and enhancing our location-specific knowledge and connections. We are incredibly excited to grow our Economics service in this way.
“Catherine’s diverse skillset is borne out of economics specialisms which have become increasingly important in helping our society tackle the climate emergency and to create social value. As a business that is committed to a thriving planet and communities, we are excited to further bolster our abilities to support clients across Ireland and the UK in this most important of challenges.”
Catherine added: “I’m very excited to join Turley in Dublin. I have worked internationally, have observed different approaches taken to economic planning, learned what works well and am aware of how economics can contribute to better decision making at a societal level.
“I’m deeply committed to creating resilient communities in a low-carbon future. This can only be achieved through considered planning, developing tools that incorporate foreseen consequences along with the random unknowns, as our ways of living change and evolve.”
