A lack of sufficient staff is the biggest barrier facing Irish businesses and organisations when it comes to implementing environmental policies, according to a new study by University College Dublin.
The research, which was undertaken by UCD’s Environmental Policy programme, drew on interviews with stakeholders involved in environmental policy design and delivery, on the challenges they see in achieving the commitments set out in Ireland’s 2020 Programme for Government.
Interviewees, which included representatives from government and state agencies, NGOs, academia, media, and industry, cited the increased workload associated with environmental targets, which was not being met with sufficient staffing resources. Local government authorities cited this as a particular pressure point.
‘Lack of capacity to deliver’
“Our research shows that Ireland’s biggest environmental challenge right now isn’t a lack of ambition, it’s a lack of capacity to deliver,” commented Dr Cara Augustenborg, who led the study.
“Across all sectors, stakeholders described a system where environmental policy targets continue to grow, but the staff and specialist skills needed to implement them have not kept pace. If we want to see real progress on climate, biodiversity, water quality, and the circular economy, we must urgently address these staffing gaps.”
Shortages were reported in areas such as renewable energy, retrofitting, transport, water services and agriculture, while skill gaps in associated industries such as construction, plumbing and electrical work were also highlighted.
As one interviewee put it, “We need to double the number of civil servants working on climate.”
Targeted efforts
According to the research team, efforts to hire or redeploy more staff, more targeted training and better allocation of resources to facilitate policy implementation, should be considered a priority. In addition, a full audit of current vacancies would help determine the financial resources needed to address the issue.
Other barriers to environmental implementation cited by interviewees included siloed structures within government, unclear distribution of responsibilities, financial constraints, competing political priorities and delays in planning processes. Read more here.
