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.