Open Journal Systems Trinity College Dublin
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Determinants of Incumbent Electoral Success: Evidence from 30 Years of Irish Elections
Full text linkWe examine the determinants of incumbent electoral success among members of Ireland’s lower house of parliament, Dáil Éireann, over a time-period covering seven General Elections (1992 to 2020). We utilise multiple sources to create a dataset linking incumbent politicians’ electoral outcomes to personal characteristics, constituency and election-specific characteristics, as well as a range of constituency-level socioeconomic variables. Our analysis reveals a number of important factors in determining the re-election success of politicians. Notably, being a woman reduces an incumbent’s chances of re-election by 10 percentage points, even after controlling for a wide range of other potentially important factors. Holding a senior ministerial position is found to significantly boost an incumbent’s re-election prospects, while being a junior minister has no impact. However, absent a senior ministerial position, being a member of a ruling government party or coalition is associated with significantly lower re-election success. We construct a measure of competitiveness and find that an incumbent in a more competitive constituency is less likely to be elected, while past performance, as measured by the order in which an incumbent is elected in the previous contest, is found to be an important predictor of current success
Background and Major Choice in Tertiary Education: Evidence from Ireland
Full text linkWhile prior research has established a strong link between background and academic success, the impact of background on specific academic decisions, particularly college major choices, remains less explored. With the use of the Growing Up in Ireland dataset, I investigate whether children from different backgrounds make systematically different college choices from each other. Applying a multinomial logistic regression, I find that background measures such as parental education and income impact choices in several college majors. Maternal education is significantly associated with choosing Education and Arts and Humanities, while household income significantly influences choices in Social Sciences. Robustness checks indicate that these relationships differ by gender and type of tertiary institute, with the definition of background considerably impacting the shape and significance of estimates. Overall, the findings from this paper highlight the need for targeted policies to support students from disadvantaged and less educated backgrounds. Such policies may need to be major-specific to ensure equal opportunities for all students
PANEL RESPONSE: FISCAL POLICY - Fiscal Policy and Redistribution in Ireland
Full text linkI was delighted to contribute to this conference in honour of Patrick Honohan and to recognise and celebrate his outstanding contribution to Irish economics and economic policy. We have been very fortunate to have had him over the last half-century, not only as a scholar, thinker and analyst but also playing such a crucial “hands on” role in navigating the financial crisis. I am also fortunate personally to have had him as a good friend since we worked together in the Central Bank all the way back in the 1970s and subsequently for his time in the ESRI in the 1990s. Framed against the very helpful paper to the conference by Barra Roantree on fiscal policy and redistribution in Ireland (Roantree, 2025), my aim here is to complement and elaborate on it by highlighting a number of important points about inequality, redistribution and income growth in Ireland that are not as widely appreciated as they should be
Unpacking the ‘magical’ narrative of Creative Youth policy: Where do teachers belong?
Full text linkIn recent years, ‘creativity’ and ‘arts-in-education’ have become key features of youth arts policy in Ireland and heavily impact the provision of arts education in schools. Since 2017, the Creative Youth Plan and its Creative Schools programme have become the core mechanism by which this policy focus is translated into primary schools. Although the Creative Youth Plan and the Creative Schools programme have been recently renewed, research on their impact is still emerging and remains limited. This article addresses a gap in the research by presenting a critical discourse analysis of the narratives underpinning this plan and its Creative Schools programme, and how they may impact the positioning of primary teachers. Applying a Foucauldian lens, the researchers draw on Stone’s narrative approach (2012) & Pollitt and Hupe’s theory of ‘magic concepts’ (2011) to deconstruct the dominant policy narrative of the Creative Youth 2017-2022 and Creative Youth 2023-2027 Plan and how it is perpetuated through the Creative Schools programme documents. In doing so, it highlights how narratives embedded within policy can create the conditions for the potential othering of primary teachers through the policy’s programme, guiding its practice on the ground
Temporal Focus and Entrepreneurial Orientation of Solo Self-Employed Workers
Full text linkThe temporal dimensions of managerial behavior and their impact on organizational outcomes have garnered increasing attention in the literature. Given the significant role of managers’ time perception in shaping a firm’s strategic direction, this study contributes by examining the relationship between temporal focus and the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of solo self-employed workers. Drawing on a Dutch sample of 783 self-employed individuals, we find that both present and future temporal focus positively relate to their EO, and that this relationship is stronger for future focus. Our findings also suggest that these two temporal orientations act as substitutes rather than complements, in determining the EO of self-employed workers. We contend that this outcome may be attributed to the resource limitations typically encountered in solo self-employment. Collectively, our results underscore the critical role of temporal focus in the context of entrepreneurial pursuits
A Scenario Analysis of Financing Options for Energy Retrofits Among Irish Mortgage Holders
Full text linkThis paper examines household costs and benefits of investing in building energy efficiency. Using a large sample of mortgaged households, we compare long-run benefits (energy and mortgage savings) and costs (loan instalments) across several loan types and scenarios. Our results show that retrofitting generally leads to net lifetime savings for most households. However, these savings are highly dependent on a number of key factors, including energy price assumptions, rebound effects (where energy use increases post-retrofit) and interest rates. In particular, the financial viability of retrofitting improves under scenarios with higher fossil fuel prices and lower electricity prices. Retrofitting through loan financing can create short-term cash flow pressures, where loan repayments exceed energy and mortgage savings, posing a significant barrier for many households. Longer loan terms and, in particular, mortgage top-ups, are the most effective means to smooth costs over time. These findings highlight the importance of tailored financing options and supportive policies to encourage retrofitting at scale, helping Ireland achieve its national climate targets. We note that these results are likely to be at the lower bound of household net benefits, as they do not account for increased wealth (higher property value) or improved comfort and health, all of which can be substantial
A Systematic Analysis of Risk Attitudes across Partners in Entrepreneurial Double-earner Households
Full text linkThe willingness to take risks is one of the overall best predictors of individual self-employment. Most papers compare the willingness to take risks of randomly selected paid employees and self-employed. The contribution of this explorative paper is to revisit the view that risk-taking is mainly an attribute of the self-employed person by explicitly considering that the self-employed and household members usually form an economic unit with blurred boundaries between the business and the private sphere. Specifically, we examine the distribution of risk attitudes of partners within double-earner entrepreneurial households with the German Socio-Economic Panel. Our findings suggest that the more risk-averse partner is self-employed in almost three in ten entrepreneurial households. This finding is not well documented in theory and empirical research. Also, households with relatively risk-averse self-employed individuals differ in several ways from households where the self-employed are relatively more risk-tolerant. Moreover, the distribution of risk attitudes of partners might change over time. Promising avenues for further research are discussed
Current Antiviral Options for Therapeutic Management Of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Full text linkIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to an urgent need for effective antiviral treatments. This paper provides an overview of current antiviral options for therapeutic management of SARS-CoV-2 infection, focusing on their mechanism of action, clinical efficacy and considerations for specific populations.
Methods: A literature review of several antiviral drugs have been evaluated for their effectiveness. Notable options include ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir, remdesivir, molnupiravir, favipiravir, and chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine.
Results: Ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir has shown promising results in reducing the risk of hospitalisation or death when administered within 5 days of symptom onset. Remdesivir has demonstrated efficacy in reducing hospitalisation rates and improving clinical outcomes in certain patient populations. Molnupiravir, has shown a reduction in rate of hospitalisation, although caution is advised regarding its use in pregnancy. Favipiravir and chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine have shown varied efficacy and are not currently recommended by organisational guidelines. Considerations for special patient populations, such as pregnant individuals, are discussed. While antiviral therapies may offer potential benefits, the evidence for their use in pregnant individuals is limited, emphasising the need for a case-by-case multidisciplinary approach.
Discussion: While antiviral treatments play a crucial role in managing SARS-CoV-2 infection, more research is needed to fully understand their efficacy and safety profiles, particularly in specific patient populations. Vaccination remains the most effective method for preventing severe COVID-19 presentations
Perspectives on Practice: A female journey in theatre-an interview with Brenda Winter-Palmer by Ali FitzGibbon
Full text linkIn this Perspectives on Practice interview edited by Shonagh Hill, Ali FitzGibbon speaks to Brenda Winter-Palmer about her work as a founding member of Charabanc, an all female theatre company. They discuss her later work in supporting young people and young people with disabilities in Northern Ireland theatre. It explores the challenges of being a mother and a care-giver in the arts sector and the ways this has impacted on Winter-Palmer’s career choices
New Voices: Transforming Trauma and Conflict in Northern Ireland with the Arts
Full text linkA quarter of a century on from the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, evidence of residual tension and division along community lines in Northern Ireland remains. Northern Ireland also exhibits elevated rates of mental illness and trauma, particularly stemming from the Troubles, and spans across generations in the form of transgenerational trauma. Still, a thriving arts scene with active public engagement is a key feature of Northern Irish culture. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that peacebuilding and trauma recovery initiatives incorporating artistic approaches would be well-received. This study examined the potential for creative therapeutic interventions to promote conflict transformation and trauma healing in Northern Ireland. A review of the existing scholarship further elucidated the nature of conflict and trauma in Northern Ireland. Additionally, an understanding of artistic therapeutic approaches, such as dramatherapy, was established. Using an interpretivist, qualitative approach, this author interviewed five theatre makers and dramatherapists in Northern Ireland and then conducted a thematic analysis of the interviews. The findings suggest several mechanisms by which therapeutic art-making could assist in trauma healing and transforming conflict, including distancing, creating narrative, connecting through shared experiences, and validation while also offering significant cautions, insights, and recommendations for successful implementation. Further research to advance understanding of this dynamic is recommended