Staff

Brendan Flynn

Lecturer

BA (UCG)
MA (University of Essex
PhD (University of Essex)

Office: 316 Aras Moyola
Telephone: 353 (0)91 493160
Email: brendan.flynnnuigalway.ie

Member of the Governance and Sustainable Development Research Cluster

Profile

Brendan Flynn was appointed within the School as a lecturer in 1998. He has studied at the University of Essex for his Masters and PhD degrees, his doctoral thesis having the title: "Subsidiarity and the Evolution of EU environmental policy", with Prof. Albert Weale, as his supervisor. He has taught a wide variety of undergraduate courses on topics in the areas of Irish politics, introduction to politics, and European Politics. He has also offered specialist third option courses in Environmental Policy and EU policy. His primary research interests include comparative environmental policy, with a special focus on EU and Irish developments. He also retains an interest in wider EU policy and European politics developments. He is the author of The Blame Game: Rethinking Ireland’s Sustainable Development and Environmental Performance (2007, Dublin: Irish Academic Press).

Teaching

SP158 Introduction to Politics & Sociology
SP216 European Politics
SP416 Environmental Policy and Politics
SP483 EU Policy

Research Interests

My major area of research is concerned with environmental policy, with a focus on EU and Irish developments. I have also written, or researched, on the interactions between agriculture, fisheries and environmental policies. I am currently Principal Investigator for the Marine Institute funded 'Fishers' Knowledge project (2009-20011). This research project aims to explore how more sustainable fishing practices could be discovered in collaboration with fishers themselves. Other research interests include the EU and its policies.

Selected Publications

Flynn, Brendan (2009) 'Environmental Lessons for Rural Ireland from the European Union: how great expectations in Brussels get dashed in Bangor and Belmullet', pp.53-68 in McDonagh, J., T. Varley, and S. Shortall (eds.). A Living Countryside? The Politics of Sustainable Development in Rural Ireland. Ashgate.

This chapter examines the implementation of EU environmental policies in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with regard to rural areas. Two main case studies are used: the directive on Nitrates and the directives on Habitats and Birds. In both cases implementation is found to be patchy, and at times woeful. One reason for this has been farmers' political opposition to such laws. Moreover, there are limits to the extent any implementation of such measures can be administratively improved, although it is suggested that scope exists within a further reformed CAP, to provide funding instruments to complement such laws.

Flynn, Brendan (2008) 'Reaching the limits of law? An Overview and Assessment of 50 years of EU environmental law and policy', The Irish Journal of European Law, Vol. 15, Nos.1-2, pp. 127-156.

This paper surveys and critically examines 50 years of the Treaty of Rome and its relevance for the environmental policy of the EU. It is argued that assumptions of the unimportance of the Treaty of Rome for the environment are mistaken. It was actually a very effective template for general legal powers that subsequently enabled an effective environmental policy to emerge. A second argument is to suggest that although the more recent Treaties have featured many changes on the environment, nonetheless the fundamental constitutional constraints on EU environmental policy remain, especially the demand for unanimity for many important environmental topics. This has not been altered by the Treaty of Lisbon text, whose significance is explored here as well.

Flynn, Brendan (2008) 'Planning Cells and Citizen Deliberation in environmental policy: deliberation and its limits', pp.57-72 in Coenen, F.H.J.M (ed.) Public Participation and Better Environmental Decisions: The promise and limits of participatory processes for the quality of environmentally related decision-making. Springer.

This chapter considers whether citizens' juries are likely to encourage better environmental policy decisions. The chief argument presented here is that they achieve a type of deliberation over policy options which is valuable because it forces engagement between views, values and information of ordinary citizens with those of policy experts or other 'insiders'. However, more ambitious claims for citizens' juries must be balanced against their apparent institutional fragility.

Flynn, Brendan and Taylor, George (2008) 'The Irish Greens', pp.93-108 in Frankland, E.G., P. Lucardie, and B. Rihoux (eds.) Green Parties in Transition: the End of Grass-roots Democracy? Ashgate.

This chapter examines how the Irish Green party has evolved, prior to entry into Coalition government in 2007. It is argued that while electoral competition has provided a powerful incentive for the Irish Greens to move away from amateur activism, one should be cautious as to whether they can be considered a fully fledged professional electoral party. The possibility of a return to a more activist-oriented politics, especially if the experience of coalition proves traumatic, cannot therefore be discounted.

Flynn, Brendan (2007) The Blame Game: Rethinking Ireland's Sustainable Development and Environmental Performance. Dublin: Irish Academic Press.

A must-read for anyone interested in environmental issues in Ireland. Ireland's record in the field of environmental protection is one of the worst in Europe, and this book explores the reasons why. It examines the evolution of Irish environmental policy over the so-called 'Celtic Tiger' years of Ireland's economic boom while looking to the future as well. It considers why Ireland's environmental performance has been so lacklustre during this period, and what scope exists for improvement. The emphasis is placed primarily on institutional aspects of Irish environmental policy. In particular, this book offers a strong critique of the current Irish style of reaching environmental decisions, an excessive dependence on legal instruments, and a weak Irish local government system.

Flynn B. (2004) “The Europeanisation of Irish environmental policy: a triumph of policy style over substance?”, chapter in A. Jordan and D. Liefferink (eds.) Environment Policy in Europe: The Europeanisation of National Environmental Policies. London: Routledge.

Flynn B. and Kröger, L. (2003) 'Can Policy Learning Really Improve Implementation? Evidence From Irish Responses to the Water Framework Directive', European Environment, 13 (3): 150-163.

Taylor G. and Flynn B. (2003) “It’s green, but is it of a light enough hue? Past performance, present success and the future of the Irish Greens”, Environmental Politics, Vol. 12. No.1.

Flynn, B. (2003) Chapter on "new" environmental policy instruments in Ireland, in A. Jordan, R. K.W. Wurzel, and A.R.Zito. (eds.) New Instruments of Environmental Governance? National Experiences and Prospects. London: Frank Cass.

Flynn B. (2003) “Much Talk But Little Action? ’New’ Environmental Policy Instruments in Ireland”, in A. Jordan (et al.) (eds.) Special Issue on New Environmental Policy Instruments, Environmental Politics, Vol. 12. No. 1, pp. 136-156.

Flynn B. (2002) “Voluntary environmental policy instruments: two Irish success stories?”, European Environment, Vol. 12, No.1, pp. 49-60.

Weale A., Pridham G., Cini M., Konstadakopulos D., Porter M. and Flynn B. (2000) Environmental Governance in Europe: An Ever Closer Ecological Union? Oxford: OUP.

Over the last thirty years, the European Union has created a system of environmental governance in Europe. With a large number of legislative measures, the EU's environmental policy is broad in scope, extensive in detail and often stringent in effect. Environmental governance also extends to the ways in which decision making on environmental policy has become institutionalized within Europe, both at the level of the EU itself and in the practices of the member states. This work seeks to understand this new system of environmental governance both at the European level and at the level of member states. It argues that the system is multi-level, horizontally complex, evolving and incomplete. Locating developments at the European level in theories of European integration, it goes on to examine the extent of convergence and divergence in environmental policy among six member states: Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK. It then looks at the operation of the system of environmental governance through an examination of policy case studies before examining the wider political significance of these developments.

Supervision of Research

Co-supervisor of Brendan Sweeney, who was awarded his PhD in 2004 (with Dr. Sinisa Malesevic)

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