Policy Briefs

There is now high-level recognition that the UN Sustainable Development Goals can only be achieved if the decline of ecosystems and biodiversity can be halted and reversed. This will require effective control of ongoing pressures, meaningful protection and enforcement of protected areas, and significant investments in ecosystem restoration. This research explores the possible use of… | Read on »

Recent advances in offshore wind technologies implies that bottom fixed and floating turbines can be deployed further from shore at lowering cost and several studies indicate that Ireland is particularly well placed to exploit this potential. However, factors which influence the acceptance of offshore renewables may differ to those of onshore projects, particularly if energy… | Read on »

Growth in electricity demand together with the expansion of variable renewable energy will have significant implications for the future electricity system. One main concern is how the system can maintain balance between supply and demand to avoid blackouts from potential intermittent supply shortages. At present, this balance relies primarily upon traditional sources of flexibility on… | Read on »

Social gerontology extensively addresses financial reasons to work in later life, and pension inequalities. There is much less focus on the non-financial positive contributions that work provides for the older woman (Jahoda 1981), especially within a rural context. A qualitative study of twenty-five 45-65 year old women in Connemara, Ireland was undertaken from a lifecourse… | Read on »

The hospitality sector was uniquely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. While some establishments pivoted to food preparation and delivery, many were forced to shut down for over 16 months. Re-opening of in-door dining in July 2021 has led to extensive challenges of staff recruitment across the sector, along with claims by employers that this is… | Read on »

There has been a growing trend in recent years towards third level students studying abroad for a semester or more as part of their degree programme. For example, in Europe, around 2 million students participated in the EU’s Erasmus+ exchange programme between 2014 and 2020. Numerous benefits have been linked to study abroad, including improved… | Read on »

EU Atlantic ports as multi-activity transport and logistic nodes can play a major role in the sustainable development of traditional and emerging maritime sectors and in the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. While the Atlantic Action Plan 2.0 envisions that the EU’s Atlantic port infrastructure and services can play a critical role in blue growth… | Read on »

The relationship between media and the environment has been studied from a wide range of perspectives within the field of mass communication for many decades. Nature documentaries are also now an increasingly used modality to communicate environmental issues in order to create awareness, change behaviours or perhaps motivate increased viewers’ demand for environmental policy action. However,… | Read on »

This study tested the stability of environmental preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) values using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) across three countries pre and post the peak of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. A DCE examining the public’s preferences for alternative environmental management plans on the high seas, in the area of the… | Read on »

Physical distancing measures (e.g., keeping two metres apart from others outside of one’s household, limiting one’s number of close contacts, avoiding social gatherings) are among the most effective strategies to reduce the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the community and healthcare settings. Emerging evidence gathered at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic suggested physical… | Read on »