Devolution in Northern Ireland—Grounds for optimism?
IMPACT: Northern Ireland devolution has received lots of negative press given its on–off nature and problems with the main political parties working in a power-sharing executive. Using the twin theoretical lenses of ‘positive public administration’ and ‘positive public policy’ this article considers the performance of devolution. The authors do this at three levels: governance structures (macro level); the functioning of the Northern Ireland Assembly (meso level); and public services and policy outcomes (micro level). Practitioners, particularly elected representatives in the Northern Ireland Assembly, should be given credit for ‘working’ the 1998 Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement despite its operational limitations. The NI Assembly, as a legislative forum, provides evidence of active and ongoing law-making. There are fewer grounds for optimism at the micro level evidenced by limited public confidence that the Northern Ireland Executive can deliver better public services. The extent to which the Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government (PfG) outcomes are achieved will be the touchstone for devolution success.
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