John Devitt, 24 February 2016 The RTÉ Investigations Unit story on corruption in local government shocked the nation when it was broadcast way back in December 2015. It led Stephen Collins, political editor of the Irish Times to suggest that corruption would likely be an election issue. He couldn’t have been more wrong. With the…
By Nuala Haughey Almost fifteen years after the idea was first proposed in a Labour Party private members’ Bill, Ireland is due to get a mandatory lobbying register. The online database will capture information about the efforts of interest groups and professional lobbyists alike to influence policy and legislation. The database is provided for in…
Want to work out the outcome of the referendum before all of the results are in? Dr. Chris Hanretty from the University of East Anglia, shows how the outcome will be predictable from the early declarations. This handy guide first appeared on uea.politics.org It’s 10pm on Thursday 18th September. The polls in the Scottish independence…
As the Government renegotiates its priorities and reshuffles the Cabinet, it is an appropriate time to look back and assess the Government’s achievements under its political reform programme. There has been a good deal of criticism at the slow pace of change and at the apparent absence of an appetite for reform among the Government…
posted on behalf of DPER The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Brendan Howlin T.D., will host the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Europe Regional Meeting in Dublin Castle on 8 & 9 May. The agenda comprises both working group and plenary sessions addressed by a range of invited experts from across Europe and will…
Posted on behalf of Senator Fidelma Healy Eames The Reform Alliance is looking for ideas on reform in advance of the conference Saturday. http://www.reformalliance.ie/your-reform/ The reforms will be tweeted on a big screen live throughout the sessions and we will also provide space for attendees to tweet their own ideas live on the day with…
By Claire McGing, NUI Maynooth Parliaments, of which the Dáil and Seanad are no exception, are highly gendered institutions. Since the rules were written by men at a time in which women were not expected to participate in politics, the very norms, rules and culture of parliament conform to a male lifestyle. This is why the idea of…
By Michael Marsh Another weekend of referendums is now over and the debate is well under way as to what the result means: what did the people say when they spoke? We have various evidence to go on: the polls, anecdotal evidence, and the nature of the campaign itself, but all these are flawed. The…
On Friday October 4th voters decided not to abolish Seanad Éireann. Voters Parties and Elections are delighted to invite you to an open debate on the campaign and result. It was a colourful campaign with allegations of populism and power grabbing levelled at the government by political parties and campaign groups on the No side.…
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has today outline his plans for to allow Oireachtas Inquires within the limits of the rejection of the constitutional referendum last year. the RTE report is here. The official announcement is here The Bill will now be drafted so much is still to be played for,…
Irish Politics Forum 