Work Rich, Time Poor? Time-Use of Women and Men in Ireland

Are we running out of time? This paper uses data from a recently completed time-use survey in Ireland to consider whether the recent employment growth has led to high workloads, time-pressure and a lack of free time. We examine levels of total committed time, that is, time spent on employment/education, unpaid work (caring and household work) and travel, across different groups in the population. We find high workloads among the employed and those caring for young children and adults. High levels of committed time are found to be associated with greater subjective feelings of time-pressure. Our evidence suggests that recent employment growth is likely to have contributed to time poverty and feelings of time-pressure.

Female participation increases and gender segregation. ESRI WP564, May 2017

This article examines the impact of a large increase in female participation on occupational segregation. Increases in female participation may decrease occupational segregation if women enter male dominated sectors but may increase segregation if they enter already female dominated sectors. Using Ireland as a test case due to the recent large increase in female participation rates, we firstly carry out a decomposition analysis between 1991 and 2006 and find that the rise in female employment was driven predominantly by increased demand while between one tenth and one fifth of the rise was due to women increasing their share of occupational employment. Formal measures of segregation show that occupational segregation fell over this time period. The formal measures of segregation show that the level of occupational grouping is important with stagnation or smaller falls in segregation using a broad occupational grouping and sharper falls using a more detailed occupational grouping. Our findings support previous U.S. research that found a rise in female participation resulted in a decline in occupational segregation

THE AGEING WORKFORCE IN IRELAND: WORKING CONDITIONS, HEALTH AND EXTENDING WORKING LIVES. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 92 OCTOBER 2019

Extending working lives is a central element of active ageing policy in Ireland and Europe, and is seen as promoting active lifestyles and sustaining social protection systems in the context of an ageing population. However, efforts to extend working life must consider the reasons why workers leave employment early. Simply raising the minimum retirement age will not build sustainable jobs. A central element of this picture is the health and working conditions faced by older workers. This project explores the retention of older workers in Ireland, drawing on several sources of data to describe their experience in the Irish labour market. While there is no official age threshold to classify a worker as an older worker, the literature on ageing workforce often focuses on workers aged 55 and over.1 In Ireland, according to the 2018 Labour Force Survey, there are currently 396,060 workers in this age category, accounting for 18 per cent of the employed population. We set out to explore the following questions: • How do the working conditions and the health of older workers compare to those of younger workers? • What types of jobs and working conditions are associated with perceived ability to work longer? • Which sectors and occupations are best able to retain older workers? • Among those who exit early (aged 55–59 years), what are their reasons for leaving work? • Are older workers more vulnerable to fatal injury in the workforce? Are they embedded in sectors prone to injury

Women Returning to Employment, Education and Training in Ireland - An Analysis of Transitions

Recent improvements in the Irish labour market have led to a substantial increase in the labour force participation rate of women in Ireland. Part of this increase has been fuelled by women moving from the home into paid employment. Much of the existing research on labour market activity among Irish women has focused on cross-sectional analyses of the stock of labour market participants. In this paper we aim to address some of the gaps in the literature by investigating the transition from home to work, and from home to education, training and employment schemes among women in Ireland during the period 1994 to 1999. We adopt a dynamic approach by drawing on the nationally representative longitudinal data in the Living in Ireland Survey. This allows us to provide, for the first time, a representative profile of returners, and to formally model the transition process in terms of supply and demand factors. The analysis also investigates the factors associated with the return to part-versus full-time work. Our analysis reveals that about one-quarter of those engaged full-time in home duties in 1994 had made a transition to paid work within the six-year period 1994-1999. The study identifies a number of key factors that influence the transition from home to work or education, training and employment schemes, including, on the supply side, age, education, previous work experience, time out of the labour force, and the presence of young children in the household, and on the demand side, macro-economic conditions and urban versus rural residence.

Temporary Jobs in Ireland: Does Class Influence Job Quality?

Fixed term and casual employment have become increasingly common in OECD countries in the last decade. Research suggests that non-permanent contracts are associated with lower job quality. This paper examines differentials in three indicators of job quality in Ireland: hourly wage, probability of training and level of autonomy. The paper also examines four hypotheses on job quality derived from transaction cost and insider-outsider theories which suggest an important interaction between social class position, non-permanent employment and job quality. Results show that fixed term and casual contracts are associated with lower earnings, less training and lower autonomy.

European Survey Data on Attitudes to Equality and Human Rights Technical Paper. Research Series

This report maps the data available on attitudes to equality and human rights issues in Ireland collected in European surveys over the period 2000 to 2018. These surveys provide a rich source of evidence for researchers and policymakers in Ireland. We identify a total of 1,509 relevant questions from a search of over 125 attitude surveys. These questions are categorised according to the groups and topics addressed. We find that attitudes towards minority ethnic/nationality groups, gender/gender roles and social welfare recipients are the most widely covered. Questions on attitudes towards religious minorities, age groups/ageism, family status, disability and sexual orientation are much less common. Moreover, while the frequency of attitude questions relating to sexual orientation has increased over the period, questions on age and disability groups have declined. Within these equality groups the surveys cover a range of topics including social distance, social contact, tolerance and policy preferences

Initial geological considerations before installing ground source heat pump systems

The performance of an open- or closed-loop ground source heat pump system depends on local geological conditions. It is important that these are determined as accurately as possible when designing a system, to maximize efficiency and minimize installation costs. Factors that need to be considered are surface temperature, subsurface temperatures down to 100–200 m, thermal conductivities and diffusivities of the soil and rock layers, groundwater levels and flows, and aquifer properties. In addition, rock strength is a critical factor in determining the excavation or drilling method required at a site and the associated costs. The key to determining all of these factors is an accurate conceptual site-scale model of the ground conditions (soils, geology, thermogeology, engineering geology and hydrogeology). The British Geological Survey has used the modern digital geological mapping of the UK as a base onto which appropriate attributes can be assigned. As a result it is possible to generate regional maps of surface and subsurface temperatures, rock strength and depth to water. This information can be used by designers, planners and installers of ground source heat pump systems. The use of appropriate geological factors will assist in creating a system that meets the heating or cooling load of the building without unnecessary overengineering

Gender balance at work: A study of an Irish Civil Service department. ESRI Research Series 115 December 2020.

While men occupy the majority of senior positions in the Civil Service, they are more likely than women to perceive gender bias in promotional competitions, according to an ESRI study. The study draws on survey responses from 904 Civil Servants within the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) from 2018, as well as administrative data from the Department. DAFM has been actively involved in dealing with the challenge of gender balance in their Department, and the 2018 survey was undertaken as a means of determining the road map for future action. The report examines gender differences in flexible working, promotions, training, and networking

Malaria in the Vasilika Valley in 1925: with especial reference to the reaction of anopheles breeding water; and a plea for anti-malaria educational work in Macedonia today

This essay is concerned with malaria in the Vasilika Valley, and it can now be understood that it is a fortunate locality in which to study the subject. It is isolated geographically, and presents in miniature the problem of malaria in Macedonia, containing as it does, a slow flowing river, hill streams, small swamps, and a great variety of water supplies. In addition to these facts the geological formation is unusual, as is that of a large part of Macedonia, and the reaction of the natural waters has a wide range, making it of great interest to the student of mosquito bionomics. Economically the district is of great importance. It is part of the market garden of Salonika; it contains three important institutions, namely, the Greek Agricultural School, the Aerodrome, and Lutra,a health resort; and it is rapidly becoming la popular holiday resort for all classes in Salonika.The observations to be recorded are based on information collected during almost two years residence in the district. Even in so short a time, because of the rapidity of the settlement, and the astonishing enterprise of the refugees along many lines, it was possible to foresee what measures should be taken if malaria is not to become worse, at least in some of the villages