Transitioning from blue growth to the sustainable blue economy: A review of Ireland’s new marine governance in the aquaculture sector

This paper reviews the evolution of marine governance in Ireland in response to EU policy requirements in relation to the development of a sustainable blue economy in coherence with the United Nations Ocean Decade (2021-2030). In response to these EU requirements, Ireland has introduced the National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) and Maritime Area Planning Act, 2021 (MAPA) in 2021 to deliver this sustainable blue economy. This new marine and coastal governance framework in Ireland reforms the consenting regime for key blue economy sectors such as Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) and sets new policy requirements for the integration of aquaculture within the MSP framework. However, the exclusion of aquaculture from the new consenting regime may hinder the full integration of the sector into MSP and impede compliance with environmental goals established by EU Directives (e.g., WFD, MSFD, MSPD). This review identifies policy and legal gaps which may impede the integration of aquaculture into the new Irish marine governance and national MSP process. Furthermore, this paper analyses aquaculture licensing cases to assess the integration of environmental criteria into planning decisions to gather insight into the readiness of the sector’s transition towards a sustainable model. The analysis from this paper indicates that the legal framework underpinning MSP in Ireland may have a limited impact on the integration of aquaculture and hinder the delivery of sustainability across all marine sectors

A systematic review of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of peer education and peer support in prisons.

BACKGROUND: Prisoners experience significantly worse health than the general population. This review examines the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of peer interventions in prison settings. METHODS: A mixed methods systematic review of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness studies, including qualitative and quantitative synthesis was conducted. In addition to grey literature identified and searches of websites, nineteen electronic databases were searched from 1985 to 2012. Study selection criteria were: Population: Prisoners resident in adult prisons and children resident in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs). INTERVENTION: Peer-based interventions Comparators: Review questions 3 and 4 compared peer and professionally led approaches. OUTCOMES: Prisoner health or determinants of health; organisational/ process outcomes; views of prison populations. STUDY DESIGNS: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed method evaluations. RESULTS: Fifty-seven studies were included in the effectiveness review and one study in the cost-effectiveness review; most were of poor methodological quality. Evidence suggested that peer education interventions are effective at reducing risky behaviours, and that peer support services are acceptable within the prison environment and have a positive effect on recipients, practically or emotionally. Consistent evidence from many, predominantly qualitative, studies, suggested that being a peer deliverer was associated with positive effects. There was little evidence on cost-effectiveness of peer-based interventions. CONCLUSIONS: There is consistent evidence from a large number of studies that being a peer worker is associated with positive health; peer support services are also an acceptable source of help within the prison environment and can have a positive effect on recipients. Research into cost-effectiveness is sparse. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO ref: CRD42012002349