ABSTRACT
The Civil Serviced had, in fact, already prepared for the change, for under the abortive Government of Ireland Act, 1920, provision had been made for dividing the personnel of the various Irish offices between Dublin and Belfast, the capital of the new Northern Ireland. Although the Civil Service retained many of the structural features that it inherited, it was not to be expected that so Irish an organization would remain unaltered in character and mores for long. Perhaps the most significant change involving a considerable department from traditional Civil Service procedures has been the introduction of delegated 'administrative budgets'. The basic statute governing Irish public administration is the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924. Where political iniatives and sensitive political decisions were concerned this is true. For example, the legislation promised to make possible the most far-reaching reform, involving some ministers divesting themselves of their powers and responsibilities for the administration of services, never materialized.
