Áine de Róiste, Majella Mulkeen, Susan Flynn, Sandra Conroy
This article provides a timely intervention to debates and scholarship about the professional regulation of social work and social care. In Ireland, the recent commencement of the statutory regulation of social care by CORU – Ireland’s multi-professional health regulator – offers a watershed opportunity for learning. Social work has been separately regulated by CORU for over a decade, while the social care work register opened in November 2023. We conduct a comparative content analysis of the standards of proficiency for social work and for social care work. Albeit with different historical origins, regulation has now provided these professions with distinctive, as well as shared professional ‘benchmarks’, that may shape the trajectories of their future roles and training. We consider the approach CORU takes to regulation, in terms of the standards and how these differentiate or align the two professions. The novel contribution of the paper lies in its key findings. Namely, that: the format of the standards of proficiency framework itself warrants further consideration; insufficient attention is paid to empathy and emotions across standards; there is an absence of a considered approach to the influence of socio-economic factors on practice; there are variations in the emphasis placed on relational versus socio-political dimensions in practice; and finally, there are differences in the importance paid to ‘critical understanding’ across the standards. These areas particularly illuminate how CORU frames and interprets the nature of both professions. It is concluded that the standards of proficiency for both social care work and social work have much shared terrain, interspersed with infrequent but striking differences, indicative of the many commonalities and overlap in occupational spheres for both professions.
{"title":"Social care work and social work in Ireland: a comparative analysis of standards of proficiency","authors":"Áine de Róiste, Majella Mulkeen, Susan Flynn, Sandra Conroy","doi":"10.2478/admin-2024-0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2024-0015","url":null,"abstract":"This article provides a timely intervention to debates and scholarship about the professional regulation of social work and social care. In Ireland, the recent commencement of the statutory regulation of social care by CORU – Ireland’s multi-professional health regulator – offers a watershed opportunity for learning. Social work has been separately regulated by CORU for over a decade, while the social care work register opened in November 2023. We conduct a comparative content analysis of the standards of proficiency for social work and for social care work. Albeit with different historical origins, regulation has now provided these professions with distinctive, as well as shared professional ‘benchmarks’, that may shape the trajectories of their future roles and training. We consider the approach CORU takes to regulation, in terms of the standards and how these differentiate or align the two professions. The novel contribution of the paper lies in its key findings. Namely, that: the format of the standards of proficiency framework itself warrants further consideration; insufficient attention is paid to empathy and emotions across standards; there is an absence of a considered approach to the influence of socio-economic factors on practice; there are variations in the emphasis placed on relational versus socio-political dimensions in practice; and finally, there are differences in the importance paid to ‘critical understanding’ across the standards. These areas particularly illuminate how CORU frames and interprets the nature of both professions. It is concluded that the standards of proficiency for both social care work and social work have much shared terrain, interspersed with infrequent but striking differences, indicative of the many commonalities and overlap in occupational spheres for both professions.","PeriodicalId":41890,"journal":{"name":"Administration","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Over the past century, the methods used to evaluate Finance Ministers have evolved from the close scrutiny of individual biographies to the statistical analysis of aggregated data. This paper explores this evolution within the framework of economic theory and applies the results in an Irish context. It concludes that while statistical methods can provide some support for certain hypotheses, they are not yet advanced enough to entirely replace the traditional political economy approach.
{"title":"‘Shall I compare thee?’ Evaluating Finance Ministers","authors":"Stephen Moore, John Considine","doi":"10.2478/admin-2024-0016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2024-0016","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past century, the methods used to evaluate Finance Ministers have evolved from the close scrutiny of individual biographies to the statistical analysis of aggregated data. This paper explores this evolution within the framework of economic theory and applies the results in an Irish context. It concludes that while statistical methods can provide some support for certain hypotheses, they are not yet advanced enough to entirely replace the traditional political economy approach.","PeriodicalId":41890,"journal":{"name":"Administration","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper compares the amendments introduced by the Regulation of Lobbying and Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) Act 2023 with the original regulations of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. The study was conducted using the Hired Guns Method for assessing the robustness of lobbying legislation, developed by the Centre for Public Integrity (CPI), allowing findings to be compared with lobbying regulations internationally. The 2015 legislation was introduced after years of tribunals, scandals, unfulfilled political promises, and economic crisis, in an effort to increase the public’s trust in politicians, representative institutions, democracy and the wider bureaucracy. The 2023 Amendment came in the wake of a 2020 lobbying scandal. The paper finds that, despite the CPI score remaining unchanged, in-depth examination of the legislation showed that the amendment introduced more rules and sanctions, particularly in relation to designated public officials, and closed off outstanding legislative loopholes.
{"title":"Regulating more? Comparing Ireland’s original and amended lobbying legislation","authors":"John Hogan","doi":"10.2478/admin-2024-0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2024-0009","url":null,"abstract":"This paper compares the amendments introduced by the Regulation of Lobbying and Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) (Amendment) Act 2023 with the original regulations of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015. The study was conducted using the Hired Guns Method for assessing the robustness of lobbying legislation, developed by the Centre for Public Integrity (CPI), allowing findings to be compared with lobbying regulations internationally. The 2015 legislation was introduced after years of tribunals, scandals, unfulfilled political promises, and economic crisis, in an effort to increase the public’s trust in politicians, representative institutions, democracy and the wider bureaucracy. The 2023 Amendment came in the wake of a 2020 lobbying scandal. The paper finds that, despite the CPI score remaining unchanged, in-depth examination of the legislation showed that the amendment introduced more rules and sanctions, particularly in relation to designated public officials, and closed off outstanding legislative loopholes.","PeriodicalId":41890,"journal":{"name":"Administration","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140936331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The focus of this paper is social care managers’ views on the impact of the statutory registration of social care workers in Ireland. The findings suggest that registration is welcomed by social care managers who believe that it will impact positively on societal recognition of social care workers as professionals and that it will improve accountability within the sector. However, the findings also suggest that there is confusion regarding information about registration and issues remain in the sector regarding multiplicity of titles, roles, and duties of social care workers. We conclude that the opening of the register is only a further step towards the professionalisation of social care in Ireland and that more action is needed to address inconsistencies within the field of work.
{"title":"Social care managers’ perspectives on statutory registration of social care workers in Ireland","authors":"Audrey Moore, Kevin Lalor","doi":"10.2478/admin-2024-0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2024-0011","url":null,"abstract":"The focus of this paper is social care managers’ views on the impact of the statutory registration of social care workers in Ireland. The findings suggest that registration is welcomed by social care managers who believe that it will impact positively on societal recognition of social care workers as professionals and that it will improve accountability within the sector. However, the findings also suggest that there is confusion regarding information about registration and issues remain in the sector regarding multiplicity of titles, roles, and duties of social care workers. We conclude that the opening of the register is only a further step towards the professionalisation of social care in Ireland and that more action is needed to address inconsistencies within the field of work.","PeriodicalId":41890,"journal":{"name":"Administration","volume":"193 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140936382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article explores the first academic study on the housing crisis on Ireland’s offshore islands through a case study of the experiences and views of islanders on the West Cork islands. The paper covers the risk which the current housing crisis in Ireland represents for the ability of the West Cork islands, already susceptible to depopulation, to retain the next generation of existing inhabitants and attract newcomers. Through a participatory research project conducted between October 2021 and November 2022, the article reveals the challenges facing the West Cork islands in terms of housing affordability, availability and quality, and how these impact on the sustainability of island living. It also documents innovative policies and initiatives that islanders would like policymakers to implement to ensure the housing crisis is addressed and full-time populations on the islands are secured and sustained. The article concludes by reflecting on the recent National Islands Policy 2023–2033 in light of the current study.
{"title":"Housing and the West Cork islands: a national crisis in microcosm","authors":"Elaine Desmond, Siobhan O’Sullivan","doi":"10.2478/admin-2024-0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2024-0010","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores the first academic study on the housing crisis on Ireland’s offshore islands through a case study of the experiences and views of islanders on the West Cork islands. The paper covers the risk which the current housing crisis in Ireland represents for the ability of the West Cork islands, already susceptible to depopulation, to retain the next generation of existing inhabitants and attract newcomers. Through a participatory research project conducted between October 2021 and November 2022, the article reveals the challenges facing the West Cork islands in terms of housing affordability, availability and quality, and how these impact on the sustainability of island living. It also documents innovative policies and initiatives that islanders would like policymakers to implement to ensure the housing crisis is addressed and full-time populations on the islands are secured and sustained. The article concludes by reflecting on the recent <jats:italic>National Islands Policy 2023–2033</jats:italic> in light of the current study.","PeriodicalId":41890,"journal":{"name":"Administration","volume":"133 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140936387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In recent years the role of the internal audit function has gained increasing prominence and is now seen as a cornerstone in the overall governance of public sector bodies. This article explores the experience of 127 public sector bodies and illuminates key insights for public sector bodies seeking to realise more meaningful results from the efforts currently directed towards the internal audit function. Among the most significant research findings is the evidence that the function is not viewed by its most key stakeholders as a primary driver of continuous improvement. This finding identifies a disconnect between the real-world practice of internal audit function and the definition of the function across relevant academic literature, public policy and practitioner guidance. The author concludes that an overemphasis on assurance activities can be to the detriment of the other value-add functions which the internal audit function can deliver. While currently widely viewed as a divorced function, the real value of internal audit will only be realised by integrating it within the organisation. Such integration will allow the sharing of enterprise-wide learning, thus enabling the function to become a primary driver of a permanent culture of continuous improvement.
{"title":"Making internal audit count","authors":"Kevin De Barra","doi":"10.2478/admin-2023-0024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2023-0024","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years the role of the internal audit function has gained increasing prominence and is now seen as a cornerstone in the overall governance of public sector bodies. This article explores the experience of 127 public sector bodies and illuminates key insights for public sector bodies seeking to realise more meaningful results from the efforts currently directed towards the internal audit function. Among the most significant research findings is the evidence that the function is not viewed by its most key stakeholders as a primary driver of continuous improvement. This finding identifies a disconnect between the real-world practice of internal audit function and the definition of the function across relevant academic literature, public policy and practitioner guidance. The author concludes that an overemphasis on assurance activities can be to the detriment of the other value-add functions which the internal audit function can deliver. While currently widely viewed as a divorced function, the real value of internal audit will only be realised by integrating it within the organisation. Such integration will allow the sharing of enterprise-wide learning, thus enabling the function to become a primary driver of a permanent culture of continuous improvement.","PeriodicalId":41890,"journal":{"name":"Administration","volume":"309 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139022334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Strong parliaments hold the government, its departments and the wider public administration to account. Such parliaments are built on strong and active committee systems. For a long time, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was the only oversight committee consistently in place in the Houses of the Oireachtas. This article explains how the committee system has been gradually expanded and strengthened, and how its remit to oversee the actions of the government is wide. It explains the institutional factors that lead to the continued prominence of the PAC, including how it draws on the expert, independent reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General to conduct its oversight work, while noting that the PAC still faces the same challenges as other committees concerning a wide remit, finite resources and the multiple motivations of its membership. The work of the PAC is described and placed in the context of the financial scrutiny cycle which is being developed in the Houses of the Oireachtas. This is followed by a discussion of how the PAC manages its potentially wide remit to conduct ex post financial scrutiny of public expenditure, and the balance between what is referred to as ‘police-patrol’, rather than ‘fire-alarm’, scrutiny and the procedural changes which are designed to ensure that the PAC (with the authority of the Dáil) can examine and hold actors to account for the expenditure of any public money.
{"title":"Parliamentary oversight: Oireachtas committees and the Dáil Committee on Public Accounts in the twenty-first century","authors":"Catherine Lynch","doi":"10.2478/admin-2023-0026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2023-0026","url":null,"abstract":"Strong parliaments hold the government, its departments and the wider public administration to account. Such parliaments are built on strong and active committee systems. For a long time, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was the only oversight committee consistently in place in the Houses of the Oireachtas. This article explains how the committee system has been gradually expanded and strengthened, and how its remit to oversee the actions of the government is wide. It explains the institutional factors that lead to the continued prominence of the PAC, including how it draws on the expert, independent reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General to conduct its oversight work, while noting that the PAC still faces the same challenges as other committees concerning a wide remit, finite resources and the multiple motivations of its membership. The work of the PAC is described and placed in the context of the financial scrutiny cycle which is being developed in the Houses of the Oireachtas. This is followed by a discussion of how the PAC manages its potentially wide remit to conduct <jats:italic>ex post</jats:italic> financial scrutiny of public expenditure, and the balance between what is referred to as ‘police-patrol’, rather than ‘fire-alarm’, scrutiny and the procedural changes which are designed to ensure that the PAC (with the authority of the Dáil) can examine and hold actors to account for the expenditure of any public money.","PeriodicalId":41890,"journal":{"name":"Administration","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139023939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"One hundred years of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General in the newspapers","authors":"Richard Boyle","doi":"10.2478/admin-2023-0025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2023-0025","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41890,"journal":{"name":"Administration","volume":"42 7","pages":"45 - 72"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139016930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract A search of the Irish State Administration Database (ISAD, www.isad.ie), which records the origins, life cycle, policy domain and functions of all central public organisations since the foundation of the Irish state over a century ago, reveals that, following the formative and turbulent year of 1922, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General was the first new agency formally established in 1923. The primacy given to what we might now refer to as a supreme audit institution (SAI) for the public sector reflects the importance of financial control to the effective functioning and legitimacy of the executive organs of the nascent state. In this paper we analyse the changing range and scope of functions undertaken by the Comptroller and Auditor General in its first century. We examine first the sustained growth in the number and type of public bodies subject to Comptroller and Auditor General scrutiny. Second, we look at the broadening in scope of audit functions beyond the traditional concerns of regularity, ensuring the money was spent for the purposes for which it was given (financial and compliance audit), to encompass wider values such as efficiency, economy and effectiveness and even performance, more broadly conceived. Finally, as well as the instrumental perspective on the role of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s Office, we reflect on the key relationships and cultural and symbolic dimensions of the Office’s work across time. From this analysis we draw some conclusions about the nature of financial control in the contemporary state, as compared with the early Irish state.
{"title":"Ireland’s first state agency: A century of change in the range and scope of functions of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General","authors":"Colin Scott, Muiris MacCarthaigh","doi":"10.2478/admin-2023-0023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2023-0023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract A search of the Irish State Administration Database (ISAD, www.isad.ie), which records the origins, life cycle, policy domain and functions of all central public organisations since the foundation of the Irish state over a century ago, reveals that, following the formative and turbulent year of 1922, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General was the first new agency formally established in 1923. The primacy given to what we might now refer to as a supreme audit institution (SAI) for the public sector reflects the importance of financial control to the effective functioning and legitimacy of the executive organs of the nascent state. In this paper we analyse the changing range and scope of functions undertaken by the Comptroller and Auditor General in its first century. We examine first the sustained growth in the number and type of public bodies subject to Comptroller and Auditor General scrutiny. Second, we look at the broadening in scope of audit functions beyond the traditional concerns of regularity, ensuring the money was spent for the purposes for which it was given (financial and compliance audit), to encompass wider values such as efficiency, economy and effectiveness and even performance, more broadly conceived. Finally, as well as the instrumental perspective on the role of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s Office, we reflect on the key relationships and cultural and symbolic dimensions of the Office’s work across time. From this analysis we draw some conclusions about the nature of financial control in the contemporary state, as compared with the early Irish state.","PeriodicalId":41890,"journal":{"name":"Administration","volume":"58 4","pages":"5 - 23"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138993876","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract In recent years the role of the internal audit function has gained increasing prominence and is now seen as a cornerstone in the overall governance of public sector bodies. This article explores the experience of 127 public sector bodies and illuminates key insights for public sector bodies seeking to realise more meaningful results from the efforts currently directed towards the internal audit function. Among the most significant research findings is the evidence that the function is not viewed by its most key stakeholders as a primary driver of continuous improvement. This finding identifies a disconnect between the real-world practice of internal audit function and the definition of the function across relevant academic literature, public policy and practitioner guidance. The author concludes that an overemphasis on assurance activities can be to the detriment of the other value-add functions which the internal audit function can deliver. While currently widely viewed as a divorced function, the real value of internal audit will only be realised by integrating it within the organisation. Such integration will allow the sharing of enterprise-wide learning, thus enabling the function to become a primary driver of a permanent culture of continuous improvement.
{"title":"Making internal audit count","authors":"Kevin De Barra","doi":"10.2478/admin-2023-0024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/admin-2023-0024","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In recent years the role of the internal audit function has gained increasing prominence and is now seen as a cornerstone in the overall governance of public sector bodies. This article explores the experience of 127 public sector bodies and illuminates key insights for public sector bodies seeking to realise more meaningful results from the efforts currently directed towards the internal audit function. Among the most significant research findings is the evidence that the function is not viewed by its most key stakeholders as a primary driver of continuous improvement. This finding identifies a disconnect between the real-world practice of internal audit function and the definition of the function across relevant academic literature, public policy and practitioner guidance. The author concludes that an overemphasis on assurance activities can be to the detriment of the other value-add functions which the internal audit function can deliver. While currently widely viewed as a divorced function, the real value of internal audit will only be realised by integrating it within the organisation. Such integration will allow the sharing of enterprise-wide learning, thus enabling the function to become a primary driver of a permanent culture of continuous improvement.","PeriodicalId":41890,"journal":{"name":"Administration","volume":"522 ","pages":"25 - 44"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139022077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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