Coordination
#26Key Findings
Ireland scores relatively poorly (rank 26) in the category of coordination.
Interministerial coordination is overseen by the Department of the Taoiseach. A Parliamentary Liaison Unit coordinates legislative and expenditure proposals with other ministries. Interdepartmental coordination is mainly handled through the cabinet committee.
The government operates under a collective doctrine in which ministers share responsibility for all decisions. However, ministries often operate in silos, with weak communication and little incentive for cooperation. The political culture is known for a certain level of informality.
The political system is highly centralized. Local governments lack autonomy. Key policies in areas such as healthcare, housing and transport are drafted at the national level, with local governments functioning effectively as administrative units. Proposals to enhance coordination are emerging in the context of sustainable development discussions.
Interministerial coordination is overseen by the Department of the Taoiseach. A Parliamentary Liaison Unit coordinates legislative and expenditure proposals with other ministries. Interdepartmental coordination is mainly handled through the cabinet committee.
The government operates under a collective doctrine in which ministers share responsibility for all decisions. However, ministries often operate in silos, with weak communication and little incentive for cooperation. The political culture is known for a certain level of informality.
The political system is highly centralized. Local governments lack autonomy. Key policies in areas such as healthcare, housing and transport are drafted at the national level, with local governments functioning effectively as administrative units. Proposals to enhance coordination are emerging in the context of sustainable development discussions.
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To what extent do established coordination mechanisms between the government’s office and line ministries effectively enhance policy coherence?
10
9
9
Functional coordination mechanisms between line ministries and the GO/PMO, aimed at enhancing policy coherence, are in place.
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7
6
7
6
Largely functional coordination mechanisms between line ministries and the GO/PMO, aimed at enhancing policy coherence, are in place.
5
4
3
4
3
Coordination mechanisms between line ministries and the GO/PMO, aimed at enhancing policy coherence, are only somewhat functional.
2
1
1
Coordination mechanisms between line ministries and the GO/PMO, aimed at enhancing policy coherence, are not at all functional.
Interministerial coordination in Ireland falls under the remit of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Department of the Taoiseach (DoT). Established in 1977 with around 30 staff, the office has now grown to more than 240 employees. The Taoiseach’s office deals with both legislative and expenditure proposals, focusing on delivering the program for government. It liaises with the president and both houses of the Oireachtas (parliament) through the Parliamentary Liaison Unit and coordinates legislative and expenditure proposals with other departmental ministries and the Office of the Attorney General. Coordination between various departments is primarily achieved through the cabinet committee structure, managed by the cabinet committee for interministerial coordination.
Parliamentary committees – Standing, Joint, Selectand Special – can be either departmental (shadowing governmental departments) or thematic (e.g., European affairs or public petitions), such as the Committee of Public Accounts or the Committee of Budgetary Oversight. These committees are essential for oversight, providing a point of contact for submissions of proposals and evidence, and facilitating discussions where stakeholders are invited. Despite improvements in oversight and resourcing, significant challenges to policy coherence remain in Irish policymaking for sustainable development and climate action. These challenges involve complexity across adjacent systems, requiring strong thematic integration across policy silos, which is critical for effective policy coherence in Ireland’s horizontal coordination (Torney and O’Mahony, 2023). Irish policy for sustainable development and climate action is widely recognized as being strongly siloed, exacerbated by the problem of “silos within silos” (Torney and O’Mahony 2023; Flynn and Ó hUiginn 2019; Banerjee et al., 2020; EPA 2020; Mullally and Dunphy 2015).
Citations:
House Of the Oireachtas. 2023. “About Committees.” https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/about-committees/
Department of the Taoiseach. 2023. “https://www.gov.ie/civil-service-accountability-consultation-process/”
Banerjee, A. et al. 2020. “Perceptions of Multistakeholder Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals: A Case Study of Irish Non-State Actors.” Sustainability 12 (21): 8872. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218872
EPA. 2020. “Ireland’s Environment: An Integrated Assessment 2020.” https://www.epa.ie/publications/monitoring–assessment/assessment/state-of-the-environment/EPA_Irelands_Environment_2020.pdf
Flynn, B., and Ó hUiginn, P. 2019. Environmental Policy Integration: Innovation and Change. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.ie/publications/research/socio-economics/Research_Report_290.pdf
Torney, D., and O’Mahony, T. 2023. “Transforming Governance and Policy.” Volume 4 of Irish Climate Change Assessment. https://www.epa.ie/publications/monitoring–assessment/climate-change/ICCA_Volume-4.pdf
Mullally, G., and N. Dunphy. 2015. “State of Play Review of Environmental Policy Integration Literature.” NESC Research Series Paper No. 7. National Economic and Social Council. http://files.nesc.ie/nesc_research_series/Research_Series_Paper_7_UCC.pdf
Parliamentary committees – Standing, Joint, Selectand Special – can be either departmental (shadowing governmental departments) or thematic (e.g., European affairs or public petitions), such as the Committee of Public Accounts or the Committee of Budgetary Oversight. These committees are essential for oversight, providing a point of contact for submissions of proposals and evidence, and facilitating discussions where stakeholders are invited. Despite improvements in oversight and resourcing, significant challenges to policy coherence remain in Irish policymaking for sustainable development and climate action. These challenges involve complexity across adjacent systems, requiring strong thematic integration across policy silos, which is critical for effective policy coherence in Ireland’s horizontal coordination (Torney and O’Mahony, 2023). Irish policy for sustainable development and climate action is widely recognized as being strongly siloed, exacerbated by the problem of “silos within silos” (Torney and O’Mahony 2023; Flynn and Ó hUiginn 2019; Banerjee et al., 2020; EPA 2020; Mullally and Dunphy 2015).
Citations:
House Of the Oireachtas. 2023. “About Committees.” https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/about-committees/
Department of the Taoiseach. 2023. “https://www.gov.ie/civil-service-accountability-consultation-process/”
Banerjee, A. et al. 2020. “Perceptions of Multistakeholder Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals: A Case Study of Irish Non-State Actors.” Sustainability 12 (21): 8872. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218872
EPA. 2020. “Ireland’s Environment: An Integrated Assessment 2020.” https://www.epa.ie/publications/monitoring–assessment/assessment/state-of-the-environment/EPA_Irelands_Environment_2020.pdf
Flynn, B., and Ó hUiginn, P. 2019. Environmental Policy Integration: Innovation and Change. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.ie/publications/research/socio-economics/Research_Report_290.pdf
Torney, D., and O’Mahony, T. 2023. “Transforming Governance and Policy.” Volume 4 of Irish Climate Change Assessment. https://www.epa.ie/publications/monitoring–assessment/climate-change/ICCA_Volume-4.pdf
Mullally, G., and N. Dunphy. 2015. “State of Play Review of Environmental Policy Integration Literature.” NESC Research Series Paper No. 7. National Economic and Social Council. http://files.nesc.ie/nesc_research_series/Research_Series_Paper_7_UCC.pdf
To what extent are there positive (formalized) forms of coordination across ministries that aim to enhance policy coherence?
10
9
9
Interministerial coordination mechanisms targeting policy coherence provide incentives for identifying synergies and opportunities.
8
7
6
7
6
Interministerial coordination mechanisms targeting policy coherence sometimes provide incentives for identifying synergies and opportunities.
5
4
3
4
3
Interministerial coordination mechanisms targeting policy coherence rarely provide incentives for identifying synergies and opportunities.
2
1
1
There are no interministerial coordination mechanisms targeting policy coherence that provide incentives for identifying synergies and opportunities.
Constitutionally, the Irish government is expected to work collectively, with each minister responsible for all governmental decisions. This collective doctrine fosters cohesion and encourages close coordination and communication. However, evidence shows that silo mindsets persist within ministries, and communication between departments and the national government is often weak. This is particularly evident in the lack of integration between policy areas such as food, agriculture and environmental policy, as well as spatial planning, transport planning and emissions reduction (O’Mahony and Torney 2023). The same issues are noted in priority policy areas like housing and health.
The Government Legislation Committee (GLC) includes the government chief whip, the attorney general, the program managers of the main parties in government, the leader of Seanad Éireann, the chief parliamentary counsel, and representatives of the Department of the Taoiseach (DoT) and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC). The process for discussing policy proposals is outlined in the Cabinet Handbook and the Programme for Government document. However, no definitive committee structure is prescribed, and many practices are ad hoc. The current 10 committees have an average of 6 to 13 members, while the coordination committee includes the leaders of each party in government, the secretary-general of the government and nominated advisers to the party leaders. Other ministers, advisers and officials may be invited to attend.
Informal conversations with senior civil servants suggest that digital technologies are commonly used for sharing documents, especially in policy development. IT systems are employed by the Cabinet Secretariat at the DoT to send memos for government comments. Civil servant mobility is encouraged at all levels, and the Senior Public Service has a scheme for senior staff. Secondments in public service reforms are also available. However, insularity in the public service may hinder the evolution of practices and knowledge. Over 80% of top-level public service appointments have been filled by internal applicants in recent years, with 85% of those recommended for employment coming from the civil service, 15% from the wider public service, and almost none from the private sector, despite 50% of applications coming from outside the civil service and 30% from the private sector.
Despite initiatives to enhance coordination, O’Riordan and Boyle (2023) conclude that significant institutional development is necessary for the public sector to facilitate cross-departmental and cross-institutional information exchange. Senior civil servants confirm that achieving policy coherence is challenging due to the lack of incentives for interministerial coordination, while individual actions are rewarded. The Bioeconomy Implementation Group Review of 2021 found inconsistencies in governmental thinking about integrating the bioeconomy into different policies. Efforts at policy coherence, particularly in climate action and sustainability, often focus on negative trade-offs. Knowledge of options for systemic change, significant positive synergies and the opportunities they present is typically absent from national policymaking processes in Ireland and from supporting analysis (O’Mahony and Torney 2023).
Citations:
Irish Government. 2023. “Bioeconomy Policy.” https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a1bb6-bioeconomy-policy/#
O’Riordan, J., and R. Boyle. 2023. “Governance of Reform in the Irish Public Service.” Administration 71 (3): 11-33. https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2023-0015
Boyle, Richard, F. O’Leary, and J. O’Neill. 2022. Public Sector Trends. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration.
Health Manager. 2023. “Government to Establish Interdepartmental Working Groups to Examine the Rising Cost of Health-Related Claims.” https://healthmanager.ie/2023/03/government-to-establish-interdepartmental-working-group-to-examine-the-rising-cost-of-health-related-claims/
O’Mahony and Torney. 2023. Transforming Development: Economy, Innovation and Finance, Chapter 6. Volume 4 of Irish Climate Change Assessment. https://www.epa.ie/publications/monitoring–assessment/climate-change/ICCA_Volume-4.pdf
The Government Legislation Committee (GLC) includes the government chief whip, the attorney general, the program managers of the main parties in government, the leader of Seanad Éireann, the chief parliamentary counsel, and representatives of the Department of the Taoiseach (DoT) and the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC). The process for discussing policy proposals is outlined in the Cabinet Handbook and the Programme for Government document. However, no definitive committee structure is prescribed, and many practices are ad hoc. The current 10 committees have an average of 6 to 13 members, while the coordination committee includes the leaders of each party in government, the secretary-general of the government and nominated advisers to the party leaders. Other ministers, advisers and officials may be invited to attend.
Informal conversations with senior civil servants suggest that digital technologies are commonly used for sharing documents, especially in policy development. IT systems are employed by the Cabinet Secretariat at the DoT to send memos for government comments. Civil servant mobility is encouraged at all levels, and the Senior Public Service has a scheme for senior staff. Secondments in public service reforms are also available. However, insularity in the public service may hinder the evolution of practices and knowledge. Over 80% of top-level public service appointments have been filled by internal applicants in recent years, with 85% of those recommended for employment coming from the civil service, 15% from the wider public service, and almost none from the private sector, despite 50% of applications coming from outside the civil service and 30% from the private sector.
Despite initiatives to enhance coordination, O’Riordan and Boyle (2023) conclude that significant institutional development is necessary for the public sector to facilitate cross-departmental and cross-institutional information exchange. Senior civil servants confirm that achieving policy coherence is challenging due to the lack of incentives for interministerial coordination, while individual actions are rewarded. The Bioeconomy Implementation Group Review of 2021 found inconsistencies in governmental thinking about integrating the bioeconomy into different policies. Efforts at policy coherence, particularly in climate action and sustainability, often focus on negative trade-offs. Knowledge of options for systemic change, significant positive synergies and the opportunities they present is typically absent from national policymaking processes in Ireland and from supporting analysis (O’Mahony and Torney 2023).
Citations:
Irish Government. 2023. “Bioeconomy Policy.” https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/a1bb6-bioeconomy-policy/#
O’Riordan, J., and R. Boyle. 2023. “Governance of Reform in the Irish Public Service.” Administration 71 (3): 11-33. https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2023-0015
Boyle, Richard, F. O’Leary, and J. O’Neill. 2022. Public Sector Trends. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration.
Health Manager. 2023. “Government to Establish Interdepartmental Working Groups to Examine the Rising Cost of Health-Related Claims.” https://healthmanager.ie/2023/03/government-to-establish-interdepartmental-working-group-to-examine-the-rising-cost-of-health-related-claims/
O’Mahony and Torney. 2023. Transforming Development: Economy, Innovation and Finance, Chapter 6. Volume 4 of Irish Climate Change Assessment. https://www.epa.ie/publications/monitoring–assessment/climate-change/ICCA_Volume-4.pdf
How effectively do informal coordination mechanisms complement formal mechanisms of interministerial coordination?
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9
9
Informal coordination mechanisms complement formal mechanisms of interministerial coordination.
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6
7
6
In most cases, informal coordination mechanisms complement formal mechanisms of interministerial coordination.
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3
4
3
In some cases, informal coordination mechanisms undermine formal mechanisms of interministerial coordination.
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1
Informal coordination mechanisms undermine formal mechanisms of interministerial coordination.
McCarthy (2021) suggests that the scope for discretion in Irish policymaking is limited by external opportunities. For example, innovation in Ireland has been closely linked to international opportunities, with successful foreign direct investment becoming the de facto national system of innovation. This reliance on external investment has resulted in a persistently weak national system of innovation, rather than fostering a self-sustaining one. Path dependency further limits innovation and foresight, as previous decisions on the same topic often significantly influence current policy decisions. This dependency can also constrain implementation capacity, as the available institutions and instruments shape policy choices. For instance, confidence in the capacity of the Revenue Commissioners, and a lack of confidence in other potential channels, may determine whether a tax or social welfare mechanism is used, leading to specific (mal)distribution outcomes.
The necessary combination of capacity and opportunity for foresight should be the particular responsibility of the civil service, which serves as the locus of independent policy advice to the government. The civil service needs to foster a diverse and flourishing network of policy analysis. This role requires technical proficiency, creativity, and cultural openness. It also means engaging with officials, analysts and activists who have direct access to the lived experiences of those affected by policy and are fluent in the language of formal policy development.
There is no published data about informal high-level meetings. However, Irish social and political culture is known for a certain level of informality. Government and civil service officials often find it useful to be able to reach out informally to contacts who can help them or refer them to the appropriate person (as noted by Richard Boyle and L. Shannon in public administration and government studies). While no data is available on the extent and nature of informal meetings, this culture of being able to “pick up the phone” is positively viewed among government and civil service staff.
Citations:
McCarthy, D. 2021. “Foreword.” In J. Hogan and M. P. Murphy, eds., Policy Analysis in Ireland, xix-xxii. Bristol: Policy Press.
NESC. September 2023. Is Ireland Thriving? Answers from International Assessments. Report number 32.
The necessary combination of capacity and opportunity for foresight should be the particular responsibility of the civil service, which serves as the locus of independent policy advice to the government. The civil service needs to foster a diverse and flourishing network of policy analysis. This role requires technical proficiency, creativity, and cultural openness. It also means engaging with officials, analysts and activists who have direct access to the lived experiences of those affected by policy and are fluent in the language of formal policy development.
There is no published data about informal high-level meetings. However, Irish social and political culture is known for a certain level of informality. Government and civil service officials often find it useful to be able to reach out informally to contacts who can help them or refer them to the appropriate person (as noted by Richard Boyle and L. Shannon in public administration and government studies). While no data is available on the extent and nature of informal meetings, this culture of being able to “pick up the phone” is positively viewed among government and civil service staff.
Citations:
McCarthy, D. 2021. “Foreword.” In J. Hogan and M. P. Murphy, eds., Policy Analysis in Ireland, xix-xxii. Bristol: Policy Press.
NESC. September 2023. Is Ireland Thriving? Answers from International Assessments. Report number 32.
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To what extent does central government ensure that subnational self-governments meet national (minimum) standards in delivering public services?
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The central government effectively ensures that subnational self-governments successfully meet national standards for public service delivery.
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7
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Most of the time, the central government ensures that subnational self-governments successfully meet national standards for public service delivery.
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The central government rarely ensures that subnational self-governments successfully meet national minimum standards for public service delivery.
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The central government does nothing to ensure that subnational self-governments successfully meet national standards for public service delivery.
Ireland operates a highly centralized parliamentary executive and legislative system, supported by a generalist, apolitical civil service layer dominated by the Department of Finance and the DoT. National government collaborates with regional bodies, but local government is politically, administratively, functionally and financially controlled centrally. This centralization leaves local governments weak, with limited autonomy for a few functions and lacking constitutional protection (Quinlivan 2021). Central government sets standards and monitors their implementation through subnational levels. Critical policies, such as those related to healthcare, social welfare, water services, public transport and housing, are drafted at the national level, with minimal influence from local or regional levels. The Health Services Executive (HSE) is the largest semi-autonomous office in Ireland, responsible for public healthcare services. It operates under the HSE Code of Governance, established by the Ministry for Health and Children in 2007 and last updated in 2015. The HSE was formed by amalgamating local health boards in 2005. Due to cost overruns and service delivery issues, the ministry began reorganizing the HSE into six new health regions in late 2022, aiming for implementation in 2024. This reorganization is intended to allow some level of autonomy and proactivity at regional and local levels.
The Better Public Services strategy is overseen by the Public Services Transformation Division in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPENDR), with arrangements to support its delivery currently being developed.
In environmental services, local governments play a greater role in achieving standards set at both national and EU levels. The Office of Environmental Enforcement works at the local level to guide, advise and audit local authorities’ performance, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces standards nationally.
Coordination mechanisms exist to facilitate interministerial policy interaction, but they do not always effectively support implementation across private sector actors. Policy implementation is sometimes delegated to private actors, such as those procuring waste disposal contracts, with central monitoring by the EPA. Although the EPA has some regional offices, it remains a central bureaucracy and executive agency. Subnational ministries do not monitor these activities to ensure effective policy implementation. Central government ministries can intervene at lower political levels if effective implementation is threatened but have limited capacity to direct private actors.
The HSE, EPA and their respective offices oversee the implementation of strategies and ensure compliance with minimum standards. The Climate Change Advisory Council also assists the EPA in monitoring Ireland’s climate action performance. However, in areas such as social housing provision, a lack of transparency and difficulties in accessing necessary resources at the national level have consistently prevented local authorities from meeting nationally set standards.
Citations:
Health Service Executive. 2023. “Health Regions.” https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/health-regions/
A. Quinlan. 2021. “Ireland’s ‘Unique Blend’ – Local Government and Policy Analysis.” In J. Hogan and M. P. Murphy, eds., Policy Analysis in Ireland, 79-92. Bristol: Policy Press.
The Better Public Services strategy is overseen by the Public Services Transformation Division in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPENDR), with arrangements to support its delivery currently being developed.
In environmental services, local governments play a greater role in achieving standards set at both national and EU levels. The Office of Environmental Enforcement works at the local level to guide, advise and audit local authorities’ performance, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces standards nationally.
Coordination mechanisms exist to facilitate interministerial policy interaction, but they do not always effectively support implementation across private sector actors. Policy implementation is sometimes delegated to private actors, such as those procuring waste disposal contracts, with central monitoring by the EPA. Although the EPA has some regional offices, it remains a central bureaucracy and executive agency. Subnational ministries do not monitor these activities to ensure effective policy implementation. Central government ministries can intervene at lower political levels if effective implementation is threatened but have limited capacity to direct private actors.
The HSE, EPA and their respective offices oversee the implementation of strategies and ensure compliance with minimum standards. The Climate Change Advisory Council also assists the EPA in monitoring Ireland’s climate action performance. However, in areas such as social housing provision, a lack of transparency and difficulties in accessing necessary resources at the national level have consistently prevented local authorities from meeting nationally set standards.
Citations:
Health Service Executive. 2023. “Health Regions.” https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/health-regions/
A. Quinlan. 2021. “Ireland’s ‘Unique Blend’ – Local Government and Policy Analysis.” In J. Hogan and M. P. Murphy, eds., Policy Analysis in Ireland, 79-92. Bristol: Policy Press.
To what extent do national policymakers effectively collaborate with regional and local governments to improve the delivery of public services?
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National policymakers work effectively with regional and local governments to improve the delivery of public services.
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7
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In general, national policymakers work effectively with regional and local governments to improve the delivery of public services.
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National policymakers rarely work effectively with regional and local governments to improve the delivery of public services.
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There is no effective multilevel cooperation between the central and subnational governments.
According to Callanan (2018, 370) “there is not much point taking part in local decision-making if local government operates in a straitjacket and all the key decisions have already been taken at the national level.” Power in Ireland’s unitary state is highly centralized, with minimal regional governance and local institutions functioning more as local administrations than local governments. This weak subnational governance, one of the weakest among the EU 27, has had a lasting impact on local policy analysis capacity. Size plays an important role in the welfare of countries. As a relatively small state, Ireland may have underdeveloped innovation, administrative, and policy analysis capacities, and has been slow to recognize the benefits of learning from other small states. Quinlivan (2021) suggests that local governments are inadvertently playing innovative roles in the policy process, economic development and democratic reforms.
Although the general governance landscape remains unchanged, new governance structures targeting coordination across all levels of government, including the local level, are emerging in sustainable development. These arrangements are being examined through an EPA-funded research project undertaken by the IPA. By the end of 2023, there have been no substantial changes or redistribution of powers/functions within the Irish government’s administrative-territorial landscape. However, in January 2023, The Citizens’ Assembly published a report recommending the devolution of some 15 service areas (including housing, healthcare, transport and emergency services) to the local mayoral level, with another six areas (such as education, police, and water provision) to be devolved after 5-10 years. The report initiated discussions with experts on local government powers and the constitution in Ireland, but the adoption of its recommendations at the policy level remains to be seen.
The Public Service Leadership Group (PSLG), the Civil Service Management Board (CSMB), and interministerial governance groups – such as the Climate Action Advisory Board and the Senior Official Groups supporting Cabinet Committees at a high level and the Bioeconomy Implementation Group and Water Policy Advisory Committee at a junior level – are crucial parts of the coordination landscape. PSLG meets quarterly, while CSMB meets monthly.
Ireland is increasingly demonstrating the capacity to govern with foresight by investing in internal government instruments, processes and structures that enable anticipatory governance. The country has established several commissions (on housing, tax and welfare, pensions) to facilitate long-term thinking. Despite this progress, Ireland is still known for “implementation deficit disorder” (Molloy, 2010), with communication and implementation gaps in national and local delivery, particularly in housing, asylum policy, health, procurement and skills shortages. Horizontal coordination remains problematic, with ineffective mechanisms between central government and specialized ministries. Although there are many effective but informal processes improving policy coherence, they are vulnerable to personnel changes. Formal cross-ministerial coordination often focuses on blame avoidance rather than emphasizing incentives, synergies and opportunities. National decision-makers collaborate through regional bodies with weak local government/administration.
In the context of climate action, McGloughlin and Sweeney (2012) found that higher-level objectives from national government were not incorporated into local policy documents. To address this, vertical coordination is now supported by four Climate Action Regional Offices and central Guidelines for Local Authority Climate Action Plans published in 2023. However, the absence of data on the actual extent of coordination across levels, including consultation mechanisms and satisfaction levels, effectively limits the assessment of these collaborations.
Citations:
Dublin Citizens’ Assembly. 2023. “https://citizensassembly.ie/dublin-citizens-assembly/”
Callanan, M. 2018. Local Government in the Republic of Ireland. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration.
Quinlan, A. 2021. “Ireland’s ‘unique blend’ – local government and policy analysis.” In Policy Analysis in Ireland, eds. J. Hogan and M. P. Murphy, 79-92. Bristol: Policy Press.
McGloughlin, J. S., and J. Sweeney. 2011. “Multi-level Climate Policies in Ireland.” Irish Geographer 44 (1): 137-50.
Torney, D., and O’Mahony, T. 2023. “Transforming Governance and Policy.” Irish Climate Change Assessment Volume 4 (Chapter 7). https://www.epa.ie/publications/monitoring–assessment/climate-change/ICCA_Volume-4.pdf
Although the general governance landscape remains unchanged, new governance structures targeting coordination across all levels of government, including the local level, are emerging in sustainable development. These arrangements are being examined through an EPA-funded research project undertaken by the IPA. By the end of 2023, there have been no substantial changes or redistribution of powers/functions within the Irish government’s administrative-territorial landscape. However, in January 2023, The Citizens’ Assembly published a report recommending the devolution of some 15 service areas (including housing, healthcare, transport and emergency services) to the local mayoral level, with another six areas (such as education, police, and water provision) to be devolved after 5-10 years. The report initiated discussions with experts on local government powers and the constitution in Ireland, but the adoption of its recommendations at the policy level remains to be seen.
The Public Service Leadership Group (PSLG), the Civil Service Management Board (CSMB), and interministerial governance groups – such as the Climate Action Advisory Board and the Senior Official Groups supporting Cabinet Committees at a high level and the Bioeconomy Implementation Group and Water Policy Advisory Committee at a junior level – are crucial parts of the coordination landscape. PSLG meets quarterly, while CSMB meets monthly.
Ireland is increasingly demonstrating the capacity to govern with foresight by investing in internal government instruments, processes and structures that enable anticipatory governance. The country has established several commissions (on housing, tax and welfare, pensions) to facilitate long-term thinking. Despite this progress, Ireland is still known for “implementation deficit disorder” (Molloy, 2010), with communication and implementation gaps in national and local delivery, particularly in housing, asylum policy, health, procurement and skills shortages. Horizontal coordination remains problematic, with ineffective mechanisms between central government and specialized ministries. Although there are many effective but informal processes improving policy coherence, they are vulnerable to personnel changes. Formal cross-ministerial coordination often focuses on blame avoidance rather than emphasizing incentives, synergies and opportunities. National decision-makers collaborate through regional bodies with weak local government/administration.
In the context of climate action, McGloughlin and Sweeney (2012) found that higher-level objectives from national government were not incorporated into local policy documents. To address this, vertical coordination is now supported by four Climate Action Regional Offices and central Guidelines for Local Authority Climate Action Plans published in 2023. However, the absence of data on the actual extent of coordination across levels, including consultation mechanisms and satisfaction levels, effectively limits the assessment of these collaborations.
Citations:
Dublin Citizens’ Assembly. 2023. “https://citizensassembly.ie/dublin-citizens-assembly/”
Callanan, M. 2018. Local Government in the Republic of Ireland. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration.
Quinlan, A. 2021. “Ireland’s ‘unique blend’ – local government and policy analysis.” In Policy Analysis in Ireland, eds. J. Hogan and M. P. Murphy, 79-92. Bristol: Policy Press.
McGloughlin, J. S., and J. Sweeney. 2011. “Multi-level Climate Policies in Ireland.” Irish Geographer 44 (1): 137-50.
Torney, D., and O’Mahony, T. 2023. “Transforming Governance and Policy.” Irish Climate Change Assessment Volume 4 (Chapter 7). https://www.epa.ie/publications/monitoring–assessment/climate-change/ICCA_Volume-4.pdf