Key Policy management gaps need to be Addressed Before Enlargement — Trinity College Commissioned Study

July 02, 2001

The Government's European Policy needs to be addressed before enlargement of the Union, according to the author of a study commissioned by Trinity College Dublin's Policy Institute.

Presenting the study to the Policy Institute today (Monday 2 July), author Professor Brigid Laffan, Director of the Dublin European Institute, UCD said there were "gaps in the management of Ireland's European policy" with the Irish system less formal, more ad hoc and less deliberative than in other small states.

The study, which is the 7th Blue Paper in the series ‘Studies in Public Policy’, is called Organising for a Changing Europe: Irish Central Government and the European Union and found that fewer human resources are devoted to managing the relationship with Brussels than in any other small States apart from Luxembourg — leading to a distinctive Irish policy style.

The Irish approach is to concentrate on the four or five key issues of interest to Ireland in any set of negotiations rather than on the overall framing of policy. The Irish system is also driven by the immediate agenda rather than by a short, medium and long-term perspective.

The study also found a discernible shift in perceptions of Ireland with Europe now taking closer scrutiny of the Irish file — and Ireland finding it more difficult to get ‘sweetners’ in negotiations.

Professor Laffan said the study's findings address key issues for the post-Nice management of EU policy. "Addressing these issues is even more urgent in the aftermath of the Nice ‘no’ which has left the Government’s European policy in shreds. The study highlights a danger of complacency and taking the EU system for granted. Given the EU’s strategic, economic and political importance to Ireland, the Government needs to address these issues."

The recommendations of the study highlight the need for:

• ensuring an adequate prioritisation of EU business and the development of a new strategic post-cohesion perspective on the EU;
• identifying who is responsible for the functioning of the Irish system in relation to the EU;
• ensuring that each individual department has in place mechanisms to co-ordinate and review their management of EU business;
• overcoming the ad hoc nature of the Irish system.

The series 'Studies in Public Policy' published by Trinity’s Policy Institute aims to bridge the gap between the academic and professional policy communities and make a real difference to public policy debate in Ireland.