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Browsing Articles by Author "Carmichael, Paul"

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    Bureau Shuffling? The Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland
    (Public Administration, 2006) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
    The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998 resulted in the return of devolved government to Northern Ireland and, with it, a decision by the Executive and Assembly to conduct a radical review of public administration. As the review reaches its final stages this paper considers the likely outcomes. It argues that the parameters of the review will limit its impact and describes the reform proposals as structural changes or administrative rationalisation, devoid of a wider modernising approach to improving public services. The on/off nature of devolution could result in ‘one of the major tasks for devolved government’ (according to the Northern Ireland Executive) being implemented by Direct Rule ministers
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    Devolution - the Northern Ireland Way: An Exercise in 'Creative Ambiguity'
    (Environment and Planning Series C, 2005) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
    Devolution in Northern Ireland followed directly from the 1998 Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement which provided, inter alia, for a democratically elected Assembly ‘inclusive in its membership, capable of exercising executive and legislative authority, and subject to safeguards to protect the rights and interests of all sides of the community’. More than six years on, the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly are in suspension for the fourth time (the latest since October 2002). The conjunction of devolution and the implementation of the Agreement mean that the former is wholly dependent on the vagaries of the latter and, as a consequence, has devalued the potential of devolution to improve the governance of Northern Ireland.
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    Devolution in Northern Ireland
    (Public Money and Management: Debate Piece, 2010) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
    Northern Ireland should not have received an invitation to the ‘10 years of devolution’ celebration party! Power was devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly and its Executive Committee of Ministers on Thursday 2nd December 1999 following the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement on 10th April 1998. Things went downhill quickly thereafter! The Blair Government saw devolution as a mechanism to advance the peace process by encouraging republicans and loyalists into an elected assembly and weaning them away from violence. The (then) Ulster Unionist Party leader agreed to share power with Sinn Féin on the condition that they decommissioned their weaponry. When this didn’t happen, suspension of the devolved Assembly followed on 11th February 2000. This fitful process was to continue and devolution was suspended indefinitely for the fourth time by the (then) Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, John Reid, in October 2002 due to ‘a lack of trust and loss of confidence on both sides of the community’ precipitated, in part, by accusations made against Sinn Féin of intelligence gathering in Stormont - a charge vehemently denied by republicans.
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    Improving Public Services: Public Administration Reform in Northern Ireland
    (Journal of Social Policy, 2004) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
    The devolved government in Northern Ireland set about the task of putting in place ‘a modern and effective system of public administration that can deliver high quality public services to our citizens’. It did so through a review of public administration launched in June 2002. This paper offers a formative evaluation of the quest to improve the quality of public services, now being taken forward by a British minister since the suspension of devolution. It argues that the review is being driven by institutional concerns and is devoid of a public service modernising agenda. Additionally, it contends that how people in Northern Ireland perceive public services is contingent on their views on its constitutional status (Direct Rule or devolved government) which, in turn, is linked to their support for the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, rather than the performance of public bodies. As a consequence, the reforms may result in little more than institutional tinkering with doubtful impact on the quality of public services
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    Special Issue on Northern Ireland “Devolution, Governance and the Peace Process”
    (Terrorism and Political Violence, 2004) Carmichael, Paul; Knox, Colin
    Devolution and the associated mechanisms of governance - a power-sharing Executive, elected Assembly, cross-border bodies, a reformed system of public administration and civic engagement, are part of the wider mosaic of peace building. Their implementation is an attempt to institutionalise stability and copper-fasten a political settlement. This paper outlines the changing governmental arrangements obtaining within Northern Ireland, as it has shifted tentatively away from Direct Rule. It maps the wider public sector in Northern Ireland, including civil administration (chiefly the Northern Ireland Civil Service), an extended mosaic of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and other public agencies that, together with local government, form a complex multi-layered sub-regional governance. Our contention is that the manner in which the administration of Northern Ireland has been conducted yields fruitful insights into issues of territorial management in other areas afflicted by intractable constitutional wrangles and attendant violence. In short, an agreed system of governance is integral to the transition from conflict to peace (or at least stability) and, in the case of Northern Ireland, was central to the substance of the Belfast Agreement, characterised by a power-sharing Executive
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    The Reform of Public Administration in Northern Ireland: From Principles to Practice
    (Political Studies, 2005) Carmichael, Paul; Knox, Colin
    The system of public administration in Northern Ireland has, perhaps inevitably, been of secondary concern amid over 30 years of inter-communal sectarian strife. Faced with combating terrorism, successive UK governments wouldn’t consider reform of the Province’s local public administration, pending a resolution of the wider constitutional imbroglio. Consequently, much of the system atrophied, becoming progressively more cumbersome and ill-equipped to deal with the requirements of modern government. Moreover, to help minimize charges of sectarian discrimination, quangos provided many public services, compounding the ‘democratic deficit’ of Direct Rule. In 1998, the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, offered a breakthrough in the search for a durable settlement that could command cross community support. As part of subsequent devolved Executive’s ‘Programme for Government’, a Review of Public Administration (RPA) was launched to consider sub-regional governance arrangements with a view to enhancing democratic accountability and improving efficiency through streamlining the current arrangements. To that end, the Review has been committed to adhering to clear principles on which any credible reform should be based. While devolution itself has proved fitful, the work of the RPA has continued apace. Although embarking on reforms within functioning devolution is ministers’ preferred option, there is a determination to continue the reform process irrespective of the present impasse. This paper outlines the issues, values and concepts that might shape the principles for conducting a Review before considering the particular context within Northern Ireland and the impediments to overhauling the present arrangements and speculating on the likely outcome (ENDS). The structure and operation of Northern Ireland’s wider system of public administration were accorded a lowly priority by successive British Governments throughout ‘the Troubles’. With murder and mayhem threatening to engulf them, Northern Ireland Office ministers were preoccupied with managing the most intractable and wearisome corner of the UK’s territorial estate. As the temporary expedient of Direct Rule matured into ‘permanent impermanence’, any meaningful overhaul was effectively embargoed. Consequently, while recognition of the need for reform enjoyed rare universal consent of the key protagonists, ministers felt little inclination to immerse themselves in thankless upheaval, the inevitable outcome of which would be controversial, divisive and problematic. However, the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement (1998) lifted this extended moratorium and, in their ‘Programme for Government’, Northern Ireland’s new political masters launched a ‘Review of Public Administration’ in 2002. Moreover, despite the subsequently fitful experience of devolution, their resolve has survived the re-imposition of Direct Rule. Thus, in the medium term, there is every prospect of substantial reform notably sub-regional governance in Northern Ireland. This paper seeks to accomplish two key objectives. First, it outlines the key issues, values and concepts that inform the development of principles for reappraising the continuing viability of any system of public administration. Second, it considers the particular context obtaining within Northern Ireland and the associated impediments to overhauling the present arrangements, speculating on the revised configuration likely to emerge