The prevalence of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in Ireland

Background: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) results from mutations in the SERPINA1 gene and classically presents with early-onset emphysema and liver disease. The most common mutation presenting with clinical evidence is the Z mutation, while the S mutation is associated with a milder plasma deficiency. AATD is an under-diagnosed condition and the World Health Organisation recommends targeted detection programmes for AATD in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), non-responsive asthma, cryptogenic liver disease and first degree relatives of known AATD patients.

Attitudes towards women in politics: Gender, generation and party identification in Ireland

This article analyzes the effects of gender, generation and party support towards a greater inclusion of women in politics in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It explores attitudes on this issue using the same question in the Irish National Election Study (INES) and the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILT). The article documents a consistent gender gap in both polities that persists across the generations, despite controls for socio-demographic factors. It also reveals an unexpected generational effect that we explain as the enduring legacy of politicization to women’s rights during the 1970s. Support among party identifiers for more women in politics follows predictable lines, yet gender and generational patterns persist. The gender gap and generational patterns found in the two polities on the island provide reason for concern among those committed to gender equality in representation.

The status of the cryptic bat species, Myotis mystacinus and Myotis brandtii in Ireland

The recent identification of Myotis brandtii in Ireland raised the possibility that many roosts previously identified as M. mystacinus had the potential of being misidentified M. brandtii. Thus, the distribution and population estimates for M. mystacinus may have been over-estimated, while M. brandtii may have been under-estimated. Results from an all Ireland genetic survey of known M. mystacinus maternity roosts confirm that no long term misidentification has taken place. All specimens caught and sampled were M. mystacinus. Additonally, no further records of M. brandtii were found during six nights of woodland trapping using the acoustic lure. While the status of M. mystacinus in Ireland is now listed as ‘least concern’ in the Irish Red List, M. brandtii is listed as ‘data deficient’ and cannot currently be considered a resident species

Individual employment rights and the renewal of economic citizenship: lessons from the Rights Commissioners in Ireland

Using a large-scale data set, this article considers the role and growing importance of the Rights Commissioners in Ireland. The Rights Commissioners’ service, which has no parallel in any other anglophone industrial relations system, provides an informal and accessible method for the resolution of disputes and the vindication of employment rights. In recent years, the number of cases handled by the Rights Commissioners has grown hugely. A close examination of the cases handled by the service suggests that the Rights Commissioners allow vulnerable workers to pursue cases of alleged breaches of employment rights. The service is seen as holding lessons for other economies in terms of developing a model of economic citizenship that has as a dimension the enforcement of employment rights.

Firms and Innovative Conflict Management Systems in Ireland

This article examines the practices adopted by firms in the Republic of Ireland to manage conflict involving groups of employees, focusing in particular on the uptake of 'alternative dispute resolution practices'. The article reveals that conflict management practices take the form of 'systems', and it estimates the incidence of innovative conflict management systems, incorporating alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practices, as involving about 30 per cent of firms. A series of influences are shown to be associated with innovative, ADR-based conflict management systems, especially commitment-oriented HRM practices and whether unions are recognized. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd/London School of Economics 2010.