Parliamentary democracy in Ireland

Among the currently significant themes in Irish parliamentary democracy are corporatism, clientelism, corruption and centralisation. Ireland has corporatist institutional arrangements of the type found in several small European countries. They provide consensus and stable policies but challenge the vitality of parliament. Similarly, clientelism is examined in the light of its potential to undermine the role of the legislative function in a political system that promotes high levels of constituency service. The article also addresses the problem of political corruption from the perspective of its impact on the political system and the balance between parliamentary and judicial means of dealing with it. Finally, the recent plan to decentralise the civil service is discussed.