Negotiated Governance And Public Policy In Ireland

Over the past ten years the Irish polity has experienced profound change. This text provides a theoretical examination of this startling turnaround in the fortunes of the Irish polity and details the developments that have taken place in key areas of public policy over the last decade.

This book examines in-depth what is perhaps the test case for globalization: the Irish Republic. Not only is Ireland hailed as the most globalized economy in the world, but its transformation into the Celtic Tiger in the 1990s is seen to demonstrate how nations can flourish in the new global economy. By implication, if other countries are to emulate Ireland's success they too must submit to the exogenous forces of globalization.

By examining a range of experiences from both the north and south of Ireland, this book asks what the ideal of sustainable development might mean to specific rural groups and how sustainable development goals have been pursued across the policy spectrum. It assesses the extent of commitment to a living countryside in Ireland and compares various opportunities and obstacles to the actual achievement of sustainable rural development. How different sectors of rural society will be challenged in terms of future survival provides an overarching theme throughout.

A collection of stimulating essays exploring the wide-ranging debates surrounding the relationship between business and society in 21st century Ireland. Wide-ranging, diverse and thought-provoking contributions from leading business researchers, economists, sociologists and political scientists from Ireland and abroad probe five central themes: the making and unmaking of the Celtic Tiger; governance, regulation and justice; partnership and participation; the nature of Irish borders in Ireland, Europe and the wider world; and interests and concerns in contemporary Ireland. Irish Business and Society takes a critical look at Ireland as one of the most open and globally integrated economies in the world, with the activities of Irish and Irish-based foreign business impacting on both national and international societies and businesses; discusses the relationships between business and society within the context of the wider Irish and European, political economy; presents the Irish economic decisions and conditions that precipitated the current recession in Ireland and the resultant lessons to be learned; and examines the relationship between Irish business and society today, contemplating how it might develop into the future. Essential reading for students of Irish Business, Economics, Sociology and Politics, those taking Irish Studies courses and anyone interested in contemporary Ireland. The contributors are: Nicola Timoney, Frank Barry, Mary P. Murphy, William Kingston, Niamh M. Brennan, Rebecca Maughan, Roderick Maguire, Gillian Smith, Conor McGrath, Connie Harris Ostwald, Kevin O'Leary, Jesse J. Norris, Olice McCarthy, Robert Briscoe, Michael Ward, Helen Chen, Patrick Phillips, Mary Faulkner, John O'Brennan, Mary C. Murphy, Breda McCarthy, Marian Crowley-Henry, John McHale, Kate Nicholls, Gary Murphy, Geoff Weller, Jennifer K. DeWan, Patrick Kenny, Gerard Hastings, Margaret-Anner Lawlor, Karlin Lillington, John Cullen

In a groundbreaking longitudinal study, researches studied seven similar social housing neighbourhoods in Ireland to determine what factors affected their liveability. In this collection of essays, the same researchers return to these neighbourhoods ten years later to see what’s changed. Are these neighbourhoods now more liveable or leaveable? Social Housing, Disadvantage and Neighbourhood Liveability examines the major national and local developments that externally affected these neighbourhoods: the Celtic tiger boom, area-based interventions, and reforms in social housing management. Additionally, the book examines changes in the culture of social housing through studies of crime within social housing, changes in public service delivery, and media reporting on social housing. Social Housing, Disadvantage and Neighbourhood Liveability offers a new body of data valuable to researchers in Ireland and abroad on how to create more equitable and liveable social housing.

Recent times have witnessed a dramatic turn around in Ireland's fortunes. From being a poor and peripheral state, it has emerged as a prosperous, dynamic and self-assured player among the nations of Europe. For many, the Irish experience provides a model of the potential rewards of European integration. But, just how far are changes in Irish society the result of EU membership? What difference has the EU made to Ireland and, for that matter, Ireland to the EU? This major new study of Irish-European relations provides a rich account of Ireland's membership of the EU and the impact of the EU on the institutions, policy and economy of Ireland It will be read with benefit by all who want to further understand what Europe means for Ireland and those wanting to learn from Ireland's experience in a comparative context.

This book, together with a complementary volume 'Religion in Consumer Society', focuses on religion, neoliberalism and consumer society; offering an overview of an emerging field of research in the study of contemporary religion. Claiming that we are entering a new phase of state-religion relations, the editors examine how this is historically anchored in modernity but affected by neoliberalization and globalization of society and social life. Seemingly distant developments, such as marketization and commoditization of religion as well as legalization and securitization of social conflicts, are transforming historical expressions of 'religion' and 'religiosity' yet these changes are seldom if ever understood as forming a coherent, structured and systemic ensemble. 'Religion in the Neoliberal Age' includes an extensive introduction framing the research area, and linking it to existing scholarship, before looking at four key issues: 1. How changes in state structures have empowered new modes of religious activity in welfare production and the delivery of a range of state services; 2. How are religion-state relations transforming under the pressures of globalization and neoliberalism; 3. How historical churches and their administrations are undergoing change due to structural changes in society, and what new forms of religious body are emerging; 4. How have law and security become new areas for solving religious conflicts. Outlining changes in both the political-institutional and cultural spheres, the contributors offer an international overview of developments in different countries and state of the art representation of religion in the new global political economy.