Security In Ireland Research Articles

Enter the Troika: The Politics of Social Security during Ireland's Bailout

AbstractThis paper examines the influence of the Troika on the retrenchment and reform of social security in Ireland during its bailout between 2010 and 2013. To do this, it draws on data from in-depth interviews with senior civil servants and civil society organisation staff who met with the Troika as part of their quarterly missions to Ireland during this period. The key themes which emerged from these interviews include the largely domestic origins of social security retrenchment and reform; the surprising, and distinctive, positions adopted by the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund (IMF); the extent of the Irish government's room for manoeuvre in this area, and the ways in which the Irish government defended social security against proposals for additional cuts put forward by the Troika. The paper concludes by arguing that the scope for domestic decision-making was heavily constrained, yet non-trivial, and that the Troika's influence comprised not only ‘powering’ but also ‘persuasion’.

The Flexicurity System in Ireland

This article discusses the implementation of the flexicurity system in Ireland. As the percentage of dependent employees in temporary employment in Ireland grew from 5.3% in 2002 to 10.2% in 2012, it is clear that flexible working relationships are on the increase. This development in flexibility should be balanced by the creation of modern forms of security for workers. Therefore the paper examines the provisions for developing employment security, i.e. active labour market policies and income security in Ireland. In highlighting the deficiencies of the Irish provisions, the paper exposes some of the difficulties of achieving worker security under the flexicurity system

From Celtic Tiger to Crisis: Progress, Problems and Prospects for Social Security in Ireland

AbstractThis article provides an assessment of the impact of changes to social security in Ireland during both the Celtic Tiger and crisis periods, comparing change in social security rates relative to prices and to median equivalized net income. It is argued that, contrary to some commentary, there was progress in terms of social welfare generosity during the Celtic Tiger years, despite Ireland adopting a low‐tax economic model. However, in the latter years of the Celtic Tiger period, this progress was increasingly leveraged against precarious property‐related taxes. Following the collapse of the housing bubble, the bank guarantee and the bailout, there has been substantial retrenchment of social security, both in terms of cuts to some of the primary social welfare payments, tightening of scheme rules as well as more direct cuts to less visible schemes. The article provides an assessment of these changes, ending on a cautionary note in arguing that the prospects for the future do not augur well given Ireland's continued commitment to a low‐tax economic model.

Social security expenditures in Ireland, 1981–2007: an analysis of welfare state change

The analysis of welfare state change is bedevilled by controversy about how to define and measure change, and about the role of expenditure data in quantifying change. Using social security in Ireland as an illustration, this article shows that national-level expenditure data, properly decomposed and disaggregated, can identify patterns of change that are masked in highly aggregated, comparative data. Social security in Ireland, when examined through the lens of detailed, national data, has experienced quite varied patterns of change that combine expansion, retrenchment and extension, substantiating the emerging findings that small states are not necessarily prone to general retrenchment.

Social Security in Ireland 1939–1952: The Limits to Solidarity ‐ by Sophia Carey

<i>Social Security in Ireland 1939–1952: The Limits to Solidarity</i> ‐ by Sophia Carey

Social Security in Ireland, 1922–52

Social Security in Ireland, 1922–52

Intelligence and security in Ireland, 1922–45

(1990). Intelligence and security in Ireland, 1922–45. Intelligence and National Security: Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 50-83.