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Abstract Background: Contact tracing remains a critical part of controlling the spread of COVID-19. Many countries have developed novel software applications (Apps) in an effort to augment traditional contact tracing methods. Aim: To conduct a national survey of the Irish population to examine barriers and levers to the use of a contact tracing App.Methods: Adult participants were invited to respond via an online survey weblink sent via email and messaging Apps and posted on our university website and on popular social media platforms. Results: A total of 8,088 responses were received, with all 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland represented. 54% of respondents said they would definitely download a contact tracing App, while 30% said they would probably download a contact tracing App. 95% of respondents identified at least one reason for them to download the App, with the most common reasons being the potential for the App to help family members and friends and a sense of responsibility to the wider community. 59% identified at least one reason not to download the App, with the most common reasons being fear that technology companies or the government might use the App technology for greater surveillance after the pandemic.Conclusion: Irish citizens surveyed express high levels of willingness to download a public health-backed App to augment contact tracing. Concerns raised regarding privacy and data security will be critical if the App is to achieve the large-scale adoption and ongoing use required for its effective operation.

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Urban areas are increasingly associated with negative environmental impacts due to concentrated resource consumption; however urban areas also offer economies of scale in terms of service provision. There is no accepted mechanism to aid decision-makers in policy selection to determine where to promote population growth or how to select settlement specific policies to improve sustainability of urban areas. There is strong political desire for methods assessing policy implementation impact on overall sustainability targets, but this has proved challenging, as views on the meaning of sustainability vary, and methods developed satisfying scientists' needs for rigor are deemed too complex and inadequately transparent by decision-makers. Sustainability measurement is vital to check whether a new policy, decision or technical innovation is helpful in enhancing sustainability. By 2055 estimates indicate that 75 percent of the world population will live in urban areas, highlighting the importance of promoting low cost policy decisions providing greatest environmental benefit, with short implementation timescale. This paper describes an evidence-based method developed and piloted to address these drivers and provide a decision support system for planners and policy-makers developed for Irish settlements with population range 500-20,000, which may have application elsewhere. OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 1820

Policy making to promote more sustainable development is a complex task due in part to the large number of both stakeholders and potential policies. Policy feasibility testing provides a guide to the viability and practicality of policy implementation and forms an important part of an evidence based policy making process. An extensive literature review has identified no standardized approach to feasibility testing. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by describing a novel method using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) for feasibility testing of policies aimed at increasing the sustainability of towns and villages in Ireland. Feasibility results are provided for 40 frequently cited policy interventions tested for 18 settlements in Ireland. Policies were selected in the arenas of transport, food, housing and urban form, energy, waste and water. Policies are feasibility tested through analysis of operational evidence from both quantitative and qualitative data sources. Following testing, policies are ranked in terms of feasibility. This research examines the effectiveness of local and national level policies and the importance of both local community involvement and central government regulation in policy success. The inter-settlement variation in feasibility testing scores prioritises policy selection and aims to reduce cherry-picking of policies to support the viewpoints of the decision maker. Although developed for an Irish urban context the methods described here may have applicability elsewhere.