165,687 research outputs found
All-Ireland Traveller Health Study
No full textSummary of Findings (PDF 9.4mb)
Alongside the executive summary above, this report is further broken into 3 technical reports and an appendix, which are available below. Because of their size, Technical Reports 2 and 3 are available in low-resolution format and are also broken into 4-part higher resolution versions.
Technical Report 1 features the findings of the Census of Traveller Population and a Quantitative Study of Health Status and Health Utilisation
Technical Report 1: Health Survey Findings (PDF 10mb)
Technical Report 2 reports on Demography and Vital Statistics including mortality and life expectancy data, an initial report of the Birth Cohort Study and a report on Travellers in Institutions. The Birth Cohort Study was a 1 year follow-up of all Traveller babies born on the island of Ireland between 14th October 2008 and 13th October 2009, with data collection up to 13th October 2010. Part D of Technical Report 2 is the Birth Cohort Study Follow Up and was published in September 2011.
Technical Report 2 – Parts A, B & C (PDF 12mb)
Demography & Vital Statistics: Part A of Technical Report 2 (PDF 5.3mb)
The Birth Cohort Study: Part B of Technical Report 2 (PDF 9.6mb)
Travellers in Institutions: Part C of Technical Report 2 (PDF 4.3mb)
Technical Report 2 Bibliography – Parts A, B & C (PDF 2.7mb)
The Birth Cohort Study Follow Up: Part D of Technical Report 2 (including bibliography) (PDF 7.1mb)
Technical Report 3 reports on Consultative Studies including qualitative studies based on focus groups and semi-structured interviews with Travellers and key discussants, and a survey of Health Service Providers
Technical Report 3 : Full Report (PDF 11.8mb)
Qualitative Studies: Part A of Technical Report 3 (PDF 4.2mb)
Health Service Provider Study: Part B of Technical Report 3 (PDF 5.4mb)
Discussion & Recommendations: Part C of Technical Report 3 (PDF 3.1mb)
Technical Report 3 Bibliography (PDF 2.6mb)
Preamble Health Service Providers Questionnaire for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (PDF 75kb)
Questionnaire for the Republic of Ireland (PDF 326kb)
Questionnaire for Northern Ireland (PDF 140kb
Innovation policy in Ireland and Northern Ireland, 1991 to 2001 – the changing face of enterprise-level financial incentives for R&D
No full textSystemic thinking on innovation policy highlights the breadth of policies which can influence innovation e.g. skills, inward investment, enterprise, regulation and competition policy. This suggests that innovation policy must be examined holistically, both in terms of the framework conditions to promote innovation as well as in terms of more targeted or specific policy to promote innovation at the enterprise level e.g. financial incentives to enterprises. It has been suggested that national innovation policy tends to reinforce the strengths of a country’s industrial system, particularly in relation to large firms and the promotion of R&D in core technologies and focuses less on innovation transfer which is often left to regional technological policy initiatives. In lagging regional economies, which are often dominated by SME’s, this presents specific challenges for innovation policy. This paper presents a comparative analysis of innovation policy at both the national and regional levels in Ireland and Northern Ireland respectively, over the 1990s. In both Ireland and Northern Ireland the period from 1991-99 was marked by expansion as measured by steady output growth for manufacturing as a whole (albeit at substantially lower levels in Northern Ireland than in Ireland). In Ireland this largely reflected rapid economic growth of output in the high-tech sectors, itself a consequence of inward investment and re-investment. Despite growth in gross expenditure on R&D over the 1990s closely related to output growth, Ireland’s investment in R&D (at 0.95% of GNP) lags behind Slovenia, Norway, the UK, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, the US and Japan. This paper assesses the role of national innovation policy in Ireland and regional innovation policy in Northern Ireland. A number of issues are addressed, such as; to what extent did innovation policy in Ireland and Northern Ireland merely sustain prevailing economic strengths or was it instrumental in overcoming specific deficiencies in R&D investment and moulding current economic strengths? What effect does the underlying industrial structure have in shaping innovation policy in terms of industrial sectors, ownership and the size distribution of firms? What differences are evident between national innovation policy initiatives and regional innovation initiatives, particularly in a lagging region? Innovation policy is examined in terms of targeted assistance i.e. direct government financial support for business sector investment in R&D. This is based on a database of all grant offers (Northern Ireland) and payments (Ireland) made by the industrial development agencies in Ireland and Northern Ireland over the 1991 to 2001 period which was developed for this paper. The paper emphasises issues concerning the concentration of R&D investment, change in the balance between pre-competitive and near market R&D and the move towards financial incentives for innovation transfer of R&D.
Beyond the Catholic-Protestant divide : religious and ethnic diversity in the North and South of Ireland
No full textPaper presented to the IBIS conference Old structures, new beliefs: religion, community and politics in contemporary Ireland, University College Dublin, 15 May 2003.This paper explores the challenges posed by the ethnic diversification of contemporary Irish society for conventional understandings of and responses to issues of religion, community and politics. It argues that the particularities of social and institutional histories and structures in the North and South have eclipsed wider considerations of both race and ethnicity and religious identity beyond the Catholic-Protestant divide. This has, in turn, served to obscure the many dynamic changes that such diversity has catalysed both within Irish civil society generally, and within the island’s traditional religious institutions themselves. The paper discusses the promises and potentials of conceptualising religion or religious identity and the relationships between religion and ethnicity within broader cultural and political fields, and their implications for the “new” (multicultural) Ireland.Not applicableti -TS 07.07.10
Author is part of the school of Sociolog
Technology and Foreign Direct Investment in Ireland
No full textTwo routes by which foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) may transfer technology - direct R&D undertaken in Ireland or through the transfer of the fruits of R&D work undertaken by the parent firm - are examined. Direct R&D undertaken by MNEs in Ireland now accounts for two-thirds of all R&D in Ireland but does not appear to differ significantly, in terms of application or orientation, from the R&D work undertaken by Irish-owned industry. Using US tax rules on the allocation of parent firm R&D expenditures between the parent firm and the host firm, technology transfer from US parent firms is estimated. It is found that incorporating technology transfer from parent firms doubles the level of R&D expenditure attributable to US firms for use in Ireland.
Peat slope failure in Ireland
No full textRecent peat failures in Ireland in the autumn of 2003 at Pollatomish, County Mayo
and Derrybrien, County Galway have focused attention on such events. However, peat
failures are not a recent phenomenon with possible evidence of peat failures in Ireland
having been identified as far back as the Early Bronze Age. This paper summarises
the issues surrounding peat failures in Ireland that would be of interest to an
engineer\engineering geologist assessing this geohazard. The distribution of peat
throughout Ireland, its formation, and its typical characteristic properties are
discussed. A review of historical failures shows that there is a relationship between
run out distance and failure volume and that the majority of the failures are clustered
at slope angles between 4º and 8º. It seems that the risk of fatalities from peat slides is
relatively low. The likely casual factors attributed to peat failures are presented using
examples of failure, including the recent failures at Pollatomish and Derrybrien both
of which have been investigated by the authors. Particular attention is paid to shear
strength properties of peat and the applicability of traditional soil mechanics. Given
the uncertainties which exist about peat strength, a cautious approach to slope stability
assessment is advocated together with identification of potential causal factors to
mitigate against this geohazard.Not applicabl
Determinants of Private Afforestation in the Republic of Ireland
No full textThis paper employs a panel regression analysis using county-level data to quantify the relative importance of competing forestry and agricultural policy incentives in explaining trends in private afforestation in Ireland. It concludes that an increase in the level of up front payments to planters is the most cost efficient way of increasing planting levels. The introduction of the Irish agri-environment programme REPS has contributed to a significant decline in the level of forestry planting and offset the recent increases in the level of forestry grants and premia. Several policy reforms to encourage forestry planting in Ireland are proposed, including greater integration of forestry with the REPS scheme and increasing the value of the initial payment which farmers receive.
A review of perennial ryegrass variety evaluation in Ireland
No full textpeer-reviewedOfficial National List (NL) testing of perennial ryegrasses commenced in Ireland at
the start of the 1970s with Northern Ireland (NI) having one site as part of the UK NL
testing network, and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) using 5 sites. The different testing
strategies adopted to achieve sufficient precision for regional Recommended Listing
in ROI from a multi-site system and from a single-site system in NI were considered,
including the test protocols, use of sequential sowings, timeframes and ‘merit scores’. The precision with which varieties can be discriminated for yield potential was shown to decline at lower trial plot yields. Furthermore, reducing the number of data sets used for decision making was shown to increase the ‘breeder’s risk’ of having an improved variety incorrectly rejected but not the ‘tester’s risk’ of erroneously recommending a variety that was not a clear improvement, because statistical analysis expanded confidence limits. These variety lists initially assessed only yield and persistency, giving a progressive improvement in recommended varieties and despite high genotype-x-environment
interaction effects was most clearly evident in spring productivity improvements. The
lists have been highly influential in both jurisdictions as almost all agricultural grass seed sales were recommended in ROI or NI, but the overuse of late maturing varieties in the ROI market and declining reseeding levels across Ireland indicated the current limits of this influence. This, and increasing requirements from Irish farmers for improvement in the nutritive value of varieties to support greater dependence on grass for animal production, has led to increased testing for digestibility and other quality parameters. While there is valid scientific evidence that shows that improvements in perennial ryegrass varieties has increased milk and meat production, more detailed information is required to satisfy the specific needs of local farmers. Consequently, a research initiative has been instigated to develop an index that will incorporate all the yield, persistence and quality performances of each recommended variety into a ranking score for a specific herd management system. This guidance should simplify recommendations and better quantify variety improvements in financial terms. It is envisaged that this will encourage an increase in the renewal of Irish pastures, promote selection of varieties based on enterprise-specific value and will continue to enhance the profitability and sustainability of grass-dependent Irish farming as has been achieved
since recommended lists were first introduced in Ireland
Air quality and MOLAND : description of a methodology to determine emissions output and affected populations
No full textIn recent years, awareness of air quality issues in urban areas has increased significantly. The negative consequences
for human health as a result of poor air quality have resulted in numerous laws being enacted both in Ireland and
around the world, in an attempt to limit exposure. Within the urban environment, motor vehicles are one of the most significant contributors to pollution. As a result, constant monitoring takes place but little work is done on predicting likely changes in air quality, for better or worse, as a result of changes in landuse or transport. The MOLAND model can provide the basis for an emissions estimation methodology to predict changes in vehicular
emissions, and consequently air quality, both now and in the future, enabling policy makers and planners to examine the air quality implications of their decisions.Other funderEnvironmental Protection Agencyti,ke.kpw6/10/1
The Tangible Contribution of R&D Spending Foreign-Owned Plants to a Host Region: a Plant Level Study of the Irish Manufacturing Sector (1980-1996)
No full textUsing plant level data from the Irish manufacturing sector, we explore the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and economic growth in Ireland. The central question explored in this paper is whether the tangible contribution of MNC plants which undertake R&D investment in Ireland is greater than the tangible contribution of MNC plants which undertake no R&D investment. We conclude that the scale of R&D activity in a plant is an important determinant in (i) lengthening the duration over which that plant will remain in Ireland and (ii) in improving the quality of employment created in that plant.
Contraception and Modern Ireland : A Social History, c.1922-92
No full textContraception was the subject of intense controversy in twentieth-century Ireland. Banned in 1935 and stigmatised by the Catholic Church, it was the focus of some of the most polarised debates before and after its legalisation in 1979. This is the first comprehensive, dedicated history of contraception in Ireland from the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 to the 1990s. Drawing on the experiences of Irish citizens through a wide range of archival sources and oral history, Laura Kelly provides insights into the lived experiences of those negotiating family planning, alongside the memories of activists who campaigned for and against legalisation. She highlights the influence of the Catholic Church's teachings and legal structures on Irish life showing how, for many, sex and contraception were obscured by shame. Yet, in spite of these constraints, many Irish women and men showed resistance in accessing contraceptive methods
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