Policy Briefs

The environmental pillar of the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy that supports sustainable ‘blue growth’ is manifested through the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The MSFD aims to achieve and maintain good environmental status of all EU marine waters by 2020. A healthy and productive marine environment provides a variety of ecosystem goods and services… | Read on »

The European Union (EU) aims to protect, value and, where necessary, to restore nature both for biodiversity’s intrinsic value and for its contribution to human wellbeing and economic prosperity through ecosystem services. The main policy drivers in achieving these goals are the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and 2020 Biodiversity Strategy. Both policies recognise that… | Read on »

Prenuptial agreements have traditionally been considered legally void in Ireland. However, in 2007 a ministerial Study Group recommended limited legislative recognition of prenuptial agreements, in light of social and economic changes. The Study Group’s recommendations have never been implemented, and the legal recognition of prenuptial agreements remains controversial, largely due to fairness concerns, particularly in… | Read on »

A focus on generational renewal has been highlighted by the European Commission as a priority for future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform. A major challenge therefore presents itself in the area of intergenerational family farm transfer, to help achieve this objective. There are numerous, intricate emotional facets affecting the older generation’s farm transfer decision-making process… | Read on »

The economic rationale frequently cited for local government territorial reforms and municipal amalgamations is the economies of scale argument. It is argued that in the subnational public sector sphere larger councils may exhibit scale economies, and provide services at a lower per unit cost than smaller councils. As against the ‘small is beautiful’ argument that… | Read on »

Every day, at every meal, people across Ireland are reliant on a global network of actors to produce, process and distribute the food that they consume. But the dominant system of industrialized food provisioning is unsustainable both from a socio-economic and an environmental perspective. The additional demands that will be made on the food system… | Read on »

In line with the Immunisation Guidelines for Ireland from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee, the HSE recommend that all healthcare workers (HCW) in health services receive the seasonal influenza vaccination each year. Compared to adults working in non-healthcare settings, HCWs are at significantly higher risk of influenza. Achieving a high uptake of influenza vaccination among… | Read on »

Intergenerational family farm transfer is a complex and highly topical issue. Joint farming ventures (JFVs), including arrangements such as farm partnerships, share farming and contract rearing, have been advocated within Irish farm transfer policy discourses as succession models that can enable young farmers to become formal partners in the family farm business. They also allow… | Read on »

Information and communications technology and the development of the so-called ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) provide new and valuable affordances to businesses and consumers. The use of sensors, software, and interconnectivity (marketed as ‘smartness’) provide digital devices with useful adaptive capabilities. The rapid development of so-called ‘smart devices’ means that many everyday items are now impenetrable… | Read on »

The Irish Government’s Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth Strategy sets out a roadmap for integrated actions across policy, governance and business to enable our marine potential to be realised (Inter–Departmental Marine Coordination Group, 2012). Specifically, Action 29 aims to embed knowledge and consider options for the inclusion of marine studies in the secondary school curriculum. Research from… | Read on »