Policy Briefs

This research argues for a disaggregation of pro-environmental behaviour into habitual and occasional behaviour. The former captures routine everyday activities such as regularly buying organic food or habitually conserving water. The latter describes occasional activities such as installing insulation and purchasing energy-efficient household appliances. Drawing on a survey of 1,500 households in the Republic of… | Read on »

Despite the reversal of net inward migration to Ireland after the international economic recession beginning in 2008, a sizeable number of migrant families have settled in communities throughout Ireland and have children who are currently moving through various stages of the education sector. Research in countries with a longer history of in-migration highlights an achievement… | Read on »

Intergenerational family farm transfer is a complex and highly topical issue that is increasingly seen as crucial to the survival, continuity and future prosperity of the agricultural sector, traditional family farm and broader sustainability of rural communities. While financial incentives to stimulate and entice the process are important, there are many more facets to the… | Read on »

Road user charging in the European Union has evolved from a mechanism of financing the construction and maintenance of motorways to an instrument for internalising road user costs in line with the polluter pays principle (PPP). The UK introduced a HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicles) Road User Levy Act 2013, which became effective from 1 April… | Read on »

The UK will hold a referendum on EU membership on the 23rd of June. If the UK votes to leave the EU (Brexit), the resulting changed relationship between the UK and the EU could have potentially far-reaching consequences for Ireland’s ocean economy. If the UK votes to exit, the UK then has two years in which… | Read on »

Billed in 2014 as the world’s longest planned coastal touring route, the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) is a €10m investment that is aimed at growing Ireland’s €3.5bn tourism economy. The goal of the WAW is to create an “overarching tourism brand for the west coast” that will lead to €5bn in revenues and ten million… | Read on »

Short–term low–skilled labour migration increased sharply during the two decades prior to the international economic recession of 2008, to fill deficiencies in local labour supply in developed countries. Ireland was one of the newer states to recruit labour internationally on a large scale between the late 1990s and 2008. Brazilian workers who were recruited initially… | Read on »

Cycling is increasingly recognised as a key mode in reducing the environmental impact of transport, promoting physical activity and developing the tourism sector. The provision of safe and attractive cycling routes is an important part of encouraging uptake of cycling. Greenways, as traffic-free trails, are fast becoming a feature of the landscape with an emphasis… | Read on »

Newer technologies such as mobile devices and the internet are ubiquitous in modern society. Health related behaviour change driven by such technologies has grown exponentially in recent years with downloads for health and lifestyle related mobile applications or “apps” expected to exceed 25 billion in 2015 and 50 billion in 2017. This presents a unique… | Read on »

The Irish government and the European Union engaged in an extensive series of investment programmes in transport infrastructure during the 1990s and 2000s using EU structural funds and Irish government exchequer funding. The provision of regional airports can provide regions and communities with fast access to national and international transport networks that are necessary for… | Read on »