'Protecting the most vulnerable' in an economic crisis: a participatory study of civil society organisations in Ireland
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2012Author
Carney, Gemma M.
Dundon, Tony
Ní Léime, Áine
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Carney, Gemma M. and Dundon, Tony and Ní Léime, Áine (2012) ''Protecting the most vulnerable' in an economic crisis: a participatory study of civil society organisations in Ireland'. Voluntary Sector Review, 3 (3):329-346.
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Abstract
This paper advances knowledge of how civil society organisations (CSOs) negotiate the shift from boom-time public expenditure to governmental austerity. The study focuses on the Republic of Ireland, where CSOs occupied an important role in providing a voice for 'vulnerable' citizens in corporatism for over a decade. The global financial crisis and subsequent austerity measures caused the country's model of corporatist-style 'social partnership' to collapse. The article connects CSOs' adaptation to austerity measures when protecting the 'people behind the cuts' to broader questions about co-optation of civil society through state-led policymaking institutions.