Why social partnership matters: Irish policies for work – life balance

The rise and fall of social partnership: its impact on interest group lobbying in Ireland

“…According to Nye (), Irish social partnership in the 1980s was simply ‘little more than a tripartite wage and tax remedy for the ailing economy’ (Nye, : p. 191). As a result, the first social partnership agreement ‘thus reads like a pact designed around classic austerity measures’ (Nicholls, : p. 519).…”

“…‘The production of policy documents can become an end in itself. Endless research projects by outside experts can result in public officials “sitting on their hands” and avoiding making difficult political decisions’ (Nicholls, : p. 524).…”

“…Despite the increased number of Partners, commentators have noted that the original—the unions and employers—continue to dominate proceedings (Nicholls, : p. 536; Nye, ). At the center of partnership, the original issue remains, that is, the negotiation of wages between the government, the employers and the unions.…”

“…As the policy areas under discussion in partnership expanded and the number of Partners increased in the 1990s, so did ‘the process of negotiating, agreeing on, and monitoring policy [become] time consuming, laborious, and ongoing’ (Nicholls, : p. 529). Nonetheless, despite the institutionalization of lobbying in Ireland, ‘because the same actors remain part of a continuous set of processes, a problem‐solving approach can be adopted over an extended period of time, without the wheel needing to be reinvented every time an agreement is negotiated.…”

“…Nonetheless, despite the institutionalization of lobbying in Ireland, ‘because the same actors remain part of a continuous set of processes, a problem‐solving approach can be adopted over an extended period of time, without the wheel needing to be reinvented every time an agreement is negotiated. By contrast, commissions and other such one‐off, short‐term institutions, tend to start from scratch’ (Nicholls, : p. 529).…”