The chapters set out here constitute the Irish contribution to the International Library of Policy Analysis series, edited by Michael Howlett and Iris Geva-May, and published by Policy Press. The volume is thus one star in the vast constellation being developed by the series editors to enable the comparison of policy analysis across countries. This book presents the evolution of policy analysis in Ireland and the cutting edge of policy analysis research in the country at the beginning of the third decade of the 21st century. The contributors to this volume are the leading scholars and practitioners of policy analysis in Ireland. The Irish state and academia came late to policy analysis, but this volume highlights that there has been significant catch-up, and innovation, over the past four decades.

The template for the volume was established in 2007 by Laurent Dobuzinskis, Michael Howlett and David Laycock with Policy Analysis in Canada (published by the University of Toronto Press) and built on by each subsequent volume in the International Library of Policy Analysis series published by Policy Press. As such, this volume is structured similarly to its predecessors, and although it is a country-specific study, the basic data presented here are comparable with those from other volumes, thus contributing to future comparative policy analysis. It is our hope that this book will be of interest to practitioners, scholars and anyone else concerned with the policy-making process in Ireland and its analysis.

Introduction

Policy Analysis in Ireland constitutes the Irish element in the ever-expanding International Library of Policy Analysis series, edited by Michael Howlett and Iris Geva-May, and published by Policy Press. The volume provides unique insights into the state of policy analysis in Ireland, a topic that has only recently received significant attention in this country. It draws together contributions from some of the leading policy analysis experts, both academics and practitioners, to provide a multidimensional set of perspectives on how policy analysis has developed to its current state, almost exactly a century after the country gained independence. Our aim is to ensure that this volume constitutes a window into the research frontier of Irish policy analysis.

The chapters examine the range of institutions and actors involved in policy analysis from across government, the private sector and broader civil society. The intention is not to critique specific policy outcomes or policy developments; rather, the book focuses on the organisational processes, institutions and locations that contribute to the construction and supply of policy ideas as well as methods of policy analysis and evaluation. The chapters examine the policy capabilities of the institutions wherein policy development and evaluation is conducted. Overlap between the chapters allows readers to reflect on how different approaches to policy analysis share similar key features, including an underlying informality related to a relatively pragmatic political culture. However, not all of the chapters agree with each other's analysis.

In this introductory chapter, as editors, we offer an overview of concepts and set the scene with a brief summary of the Irish political and economic context. We then sketch the kinds of policy analysis the volume encompasses, providing readers with a guide to the wide-ranging and diverse contributions. Our practitioner authors provide a number of case studies and other examples of policy analysis from their own experiences, and the academic authors provide insights into a variety of approaches to the study of policy analysis applied in Ireland since independence from the British Empire. The chapters are grouped in four parts as follows:

• • the history, styles and methods of policy analysis;

• • the variety of policy analysis conducted at various levels of government;

• • the expanding range of policy analysis advice coming from think tanks, interest groups, political parties and groups concerned with gender equality;

• • policy analysis emanating from the wider policy analysis environment, encompassing citizens, the scientific community and the media.