ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Ireland is a particularly useful case in which to examine the effects of active labour market programmes because it has suffered from mass unemployment over a prolonged period. Ireland is a comparatively big spender on active labour market policies. Numerous commentators have argued that Ireland is a poor trainer and that the incidence of in-company training falls behind that in other countries in which Irish companies compete. G. Schmid, J. O’Reilly and K. Schomann argue for a move from a narrow programme-oriented evaluation approach to a more broadly conceived target- oriented approach to policy evaluation which allows the analyst to take account of unintended consequences. The Forum is constituted to draw from three broad strands, comprising Government, the social partners, and representatives of groups traditionally excluded from the policy making process – principally women, the unemployed, the disadvantaged, people with a disability, youth, the elderly, and environmental interests.
