News

New Report: The European Union and the Northern Ireland Peace Process in the shadow of Brexit

The Whitaker Institute is proud to launch a new report, written by Giada Lagana, Niall Ó Dochartaigh and Anita Naughton entitled ‘The European Union and the Northern Ireland Peace Process in the shadow of Brexit’. The report highlights the substantial and deeply-rooted character of European support for the search for a political solution in Northern Ireland. It is based… | Read on »

RTÉ Brainstorm: How rural and agricultural areas can deal with climate change

An RTÉ Brainstorm article by Whitaker Institute member Sinead Mellett delves into RiskAquaSoil, a Whitaker project which aims to improve farmers resilience to the affects of climate change. How rural and agricultural areas can deal with climate change     “A pilot study revealed that farmers in Ireland are concerned about severe weather events and its effects on… | Read on »

Advisory Services and Dairy Expansion in Ireland

Since April 2015, EU dairy farmers can expand milk production without facing restrictive milk quota constraints. This opportunity has been well received in Ireland and milk output has increased by 30 percent since quota abolition, mainly achieved through expansion on existing farms. The Irish dairy sector’s remarkable growth rate began once milk quota abolition was… | Read on »

Exploring complex social drivers of (un)sustainable consumption

Rising consumption and the increasing resource intensity of daily living practices are key drivers of environmental change. As a result, individual consumption and the promotion of positive pro-environmental behaviour change have become a key area of attention in European and Irish sustainable development policy. In finding ways in which environmental transitions can be achieved through… | Read on »

2019 Monsignor de Brun Lecture by Philip Lane, Governor, Central Bank of Ireland

The 2019 Monsignor Pádraig de Brún Memorial Lecture, entitled Climate Change and the Irish Financial System, addressed the implications of climate change for the Irish financial system. Delivered by Governor of the Central Bank, Philip Lane, the lecture emphasised all sectors will be affected by climate change, whether through exposure to weather-related shocks or the… | Read on »

Irish Shipwrecks Providing Sanctuary for Fragile Coral Reefs

Work undertaken by members of the SEMRU research cluster, along with the University of Limerick, has discovered shipwrecks are acting as artificial reefs, “making an important contribution to maintaining coral and other species.” Continue reading about the discoveries below:   Irish Examiner The Times 

End-of-life considerations for onshore wind in Ireland

Most Irish wind farms have been granted a time-limited, 20 year, planning consent with a requirement to subsequently decommission. However, in the context of renewable energy targets, increasing pressure on land and opposition facing new sites, it will be important for existing sites to retain their license to operate. This could be achieved through extending… | Read on »