ABSTRACT
Central planning in Ireland has been closely connected with economic policies and other societal needs have tended to be considered only in relation to their economic significance. A major report on regional physical planning, published in 1969, was shelved. The main reform proposed was to separate the functions of policy-making and execution, concentrating the attention of Ministers and higher civil servants on policy-formulation and overall direction and control, with executive units under civil servants responsible for carrying out settled policy. ‘Open government’ has become a respectable policy aim of leading political parties, though its realisation, partly because of current difficulties, is still somewhat elusive.
