Suchergebnisse

Intro -- Title Page -- SECTION ONE: A TERRIBLE BEAUTY IS BORN -- SECTION TWO: BURN THE WORLD -- SECTION THREE: WITHOUT HISTORICAL PRECEDENT -- SECTION FOUR: SOLDIERS OF GOD -- SECTION FIVE: THE PONDING OF IGNORANCE -- SECTION SIX: THE END OF DAYS -- Footnotes.

There is a long-standing argument that in Westminster-style systems parliaments are in decline. The frequency with which the head of government intervenes in parliament is one indicator of this supposed decline. Studies conducted in Britain and Canada show that the frequency of prime ministerial interventions has declined over time, suggesting that the decline of parliament thesis holds true in this regard at least. This article examines the Irish case and shows that the situation is different. As in Britain and Canada, there has been a decline in particular forms of activity. However, the overall level has increased over time. These findings suggest that in the Irish case at least and on the basis of this one indicator the decline of parliament thesis does not hold true. Moreover, when we contextualise the findings, particularly on the basis of a qualitative analysis of the changing nature of the presentation of the Order of Business over the last 30 years, we find that the decline of parliament thesis is weakened further. Thus, this article suggests that the decline of parliament thesis is not applicable to all examples of Westminster-style parliamentary systems.

This article examines the parliamentary activity of the head of government in Ireland in selected years from 1923 to 2000 & compares the findings with previous studies of the British & Canadian systems. The results show that, similar to the UK & Canada, there is variation in the level of parliamentary activity in Ireland from one head of government to another. However, contrary to the British & Canadian experience, in the Irish case the data show that the head of government's overall level of parliamentary activity has generally increased over time. In short, Irish heads of government are not necessarily more active than their contemporary British & Canadian counterparts. However, in a number of respects they are certainly more active than their Irish predecessors used to be. These findings suggest that there is now a greater degree of indirect accountability in the Irish system than was previously the case. 3 Tables. Adapted from the source document.

There is a long-standing, though contested, argument that in Westminster-style systems parliaments are in decline. The frequency with which the head of government intervenes in parliament is one indicator of this supposed decline. Studies conducted in Britain and Canada show that the frequency of prime ministerial interventions has declined over time, suggesting that the decline of parliament thesis holds true in this regard at least. This article examines the Irish case and shows that the situation is different. As in Britain and Canada, there has been a decline in particular forms of activity (giving speeches and making minor interventions). However, the overall level of prime ministerial activity in Ireland has increased over time. These findings suggest that in the Irish case at least and on the basis of this one indicator the decline of parliament thesis does not hold true. Moreover, when we contextualise the findings, particularly on the basis of a qualitative analysis of the changing nature of the presentation of the Order of Business over the last 30 years, we find that the decline of parliament thesis is weakened further. Thus, this paper suggests that the decline of parliament thesis is not applicable to all examples of Westminster-like parliamentary systems. It also indicates that further research on this topic needs to contextualise the changing nature of the relationship between the head of government and the legislature very carefully.