Suchergebnisse

This book provides a thematic case-study analysis of the wide-ranging public sector reforms introduced in one of the states most deeply affected by the global financial crisis: the Republic of Ireland. It presents a timely and apposite examination of how a crisis can be used to overcome barriers and facilitate new reform agendas. The study draws upon unique insider access to the centre of Irish government, as well as interviews with over 60 key figures, to examine the implementation of those reforms over the 2011-16 period. The book opens with a contextual analysis of the creation of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Subsequent chapters explore the process of shrinking the Irish state, renegotiating the political-administrative bargain, expenditure reforms, administrative culture reforms, and political reforms. This rich 'in action' study of a reform agenda undertaken during a period of crisis will appeal not only to students of executive politics, cutback management and public sector reform, but also to practitioners seeking to implement administrative reforms.--

Abstract
Amongst his many interests in public administration, the practical and challenging task of implementing and evaluating public service reform has been a consistent feature of the oeuvre of research over Richard Boyle's career (cf. Boyle, 2004, 2016; Boyle & Joyce, 1988; Boyle & Lemaire, 1999; Boyle & MacCarthaigh, 2011). In this article, the focus is on the role played by the 'centre' in public service reform both conceptually and in practice. The article first considers what is meant by the centre in Irish political– administrative life, before reflecting on how we might understand different forms of public sector reform governance and then applying them to the Irish case. The centre-led reforms that occurred between the 1960s up to the late 2000s are reviewed, before more recent efforts from 2011 up to the present are presented. A final section summarises the contribution.

Amongst his many interests in public administration, the practical and challenging task of implementing and evaluating public service reform has been a consistent feature of the oeuvre of research over Richard Boyle's career (cf. Boyle and Joyce 1988; Boyle and Lemaire 1999; Boyle 2004; Boyle and MacCarthaigh 2011; Boyle 2016). In this article, the focus is on the role played by the 'centre' in public service reform both conceptually and in practice. The chapter first considers what is meant by the centre in Irish political-administrative life, before reflecting on how we might understand different forms of public sector reform governance and then applying them to the Irish case. The centre-led reforms that occurred between the 1960s up to the late-2000s are reviewed, before more recent efforts from 2011 up to the present are presented. A final section summaries the contribution.

Following the Irish general election of 2011, a new ministry emerged which sought to combine public expenditure, industrial relations and public sector reform. The creation of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) represented a major departure in Irish administrative history, not least because it introduced a new actor at the heart of Irish government, but also for the range of tasks with which it was endowed. This article provides an administrative reform context for the creation of DPER before examining its work across three domains: industrial relations, financial management reform and administrative reform. Drawing on Kingdon's 'multiple streams' model of policy change, the article argues that reform efforts across all three were made possible by the 'window of opportunity' presented by the department's creation and the coming together of problems, policies and politics in respect of public service reform.

Following the Irish general election of 2011, a new ministry emerged which sought to combine public expenditure, industrial relations and public sector reform. The creation of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) represented a major departure in Irish administrative history, not least because it introduced a new actor at the heart of Irish government, but also for the range of tasks it was endowed with. This article provides an administrative reform context for the creation of DPER before examining its work across three domains: industrial relations, financial management reform and administrative reform. Drawing on Kingdon's (1995) 'multiple streams' model of policy change, the article argues that reform efforts across all three were made possible by the 'window of opportunity' presented by the department's creation and the coming together of problems, policies and politics in respect of public service reform.

The impact of the global financial crisis has been particularly severe in Ireland, and the 2008-14 period has been one defined by considerable state retrenchment. It has, however, also given rise to a period of unprecedented public service reform, and particularly following the election of a government with a strong reforming mandate in 2011. In this paper, the context and content of the reforms are examined along institutional, financial and politico-administrative dimensions respectively. A final section discusses the politics of reform in a time of crisis.

The termination of state agencies has been a prominent aspect of administrative 'rationalization' programmes arising from the Global Financial Crisis. In this article, the frequency and type of agency terminations that have occurred in Ireland post‐2008 are examined in longitudinal perspective. Following a consideration of agency types, the logic of agency rationalization is explored with a focus on the different ways in which agencies are terminated. Drawing on a unique dataset of Irish state agencies over a 90‐year period, the article presents evidence concerning the degree to which terminations over the 2008–11 period differ, if at all, from those that have occurred previously. In concluding, the article proposes that rather than witnessing agency 'culls' and 'bonfires', there is 'life after death' for agencies and their work.