Ireland’s third action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... renewed Ireland’s engagement in OGP. The action plan established legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r... to improve the enforcement of “cooling-off period” for public officials switching to the private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More. Most of the other commitments were implemented as planned, but did not lead to policy reforms during the action plan period. Although the action plan saw the formation of a new OGP multi-stakeholder forumRegular dialogue between government and civil society is a core element of OGP participation. It builds trust, promotes joint problem-solving, and empowers civil society to influence the design, imple..., momentum for government and civil society collaboration slowed down during the implementation period.

Early ResultsEarly results refer to concrete changes in government practice related to transparency, citizen participation, and/or public accountability as a result of a commitment’s implementation. OGP’s Inde... More

Only one of the action plan’s five commitments produced early results in opening government. CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... 3 made moderate improvements to lobbyingLobbying transparency allows the public to ensure that there is diversity of participation and contribution to public decision-making. Technical specifications: Policies and actions affecting lobbying... transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More by passing an amendment to the RegulationGovernment reformers are developing regulations that enshrine values of transparency, participation, and accountability in government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or reforming ... of Lobbying Act. The amendment includes provisions to improve the Lobbying Register and strengthen the enforcement of “cooling-off” period for public officials switching to the private sector. The IRM identified this commitment as having the potential to realise promising results at the design phase. Other commitments did not produce notable early results. While Commitment 4 had promising milestones, it did not establish a mechanism for government and civil society dialogue to directly influence government decision-making. Commitments that conducted reviews of the Statutory Framework for Ethics in Public Life (Commitment 1), freedom of information regime (Commitment 2), and structures for local authorities to collaborate with their communities (Commitment 5) were not designed to implement the reviews’ recommendations—and so did not lead to policy reforms during the action plan period.

CompletionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... More

The action plan had a high level of completion, with four of the five commitments fully or substantially completed during the August 2021 – August 2023 implementation period. Only Commitment 5 saw limited implementation, as the review of Strategic Planning Committees fell behind schedule. Overall, feasibility consideration in the design of commitments enabled strong implementation. Government agencies’ use of the commitments to support components of their ongoing work programmes provided a wider framework for the action plan’s completion. The OGP action plan was seen as a tool to reinforce the implementation of government priorities and, as such, ensured that the undertaking was prioritised and backed with responsibilities being assigned to specific departments. However, this also limited the added value of the OGP action plan to the government’s ongoing work.

Participation and co-creation

Ireland met the OGP threshold for participation during co-creation and implementation phases, unlike the previous two action plan cycles which led to Ireland being found acting contrary to the OGP process. Co-creation took place over an expedited period and continued after the action plan was published, with two commitments on civic participation added to the action plan in July 2022 (Commitments 4 and 5). The Open Government Round Table, a new multi-stakeholder forum, was formed during the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive... and met regularly over the action plan period. It was co-chaired by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (OGP point of contact) and civil society, with members from six government departments and six civil society organisations. Civil society stakeholders reported lower participation during the implementation period, while participants began to miss meetings towards the end of the cycle. Slowing civil society momentum stemmed from a lack of clarity on the remit of the Round Table, financial and time constraints, and the unclear roles for civil society in commitment implementation. Civil society stakeholders also noted insufficient opportunities for involvement in decision-making. This highlights the need for a more collaborative and participatory approach.

Implementation in context

This action plan renewed Ireland’s engagement in OGP following a challenging process during the previous action plan cycles. The action plan aligned with priorities of the Programme for Government, which supported government investment in implementation. However, insufficient buy-in from key political stakeholders hindered the commitments’ ambitionAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should “stretch government practice beyond its current baseline with respect to key areas of open government.” Ambition captures the po... and ability to produce early results. Lack of high-level political support led to delays in some cases, whereas administrative departments in charge of the commitments faced staffing and capacity constraints. This was also impacted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. For instance, a government member of the Round Table who was responsible for housing had to shift their priorities towards providing services for Ukrainian refugees during the implementation period.

Key Observations

This section highlights three key observations on Ireland’s third action plan cycle. Together, these observations suggest that Ireland can take targeted steps to achieve more ambitious open government results.

Observation 1: Beyond preliminary activities, concrete policy reforms are instrumental to successful open government results. This action plan’s high level of implementation was not accompanied by strong early results in opening government, highlighting the need for greater ambition in commitments’ design. As feasibility was a key consideration during co-creation, government agencies designed commitments to undertake elements of their ongoing work programmes. This was seen to reinforce implementation of components of government priorities – OGP commitments ensured that the priority was backed by responsibilities assigned to specific departments. However, the commitments’ milestones primarily centred on preliminary activities, such as conducting reviews (Commitments 1, 2, and 5). For the most part, they did not build on these activities to implement the reviews’ recommendations and generate substantial policy reform—a gap in the commitment-to-action continuum. In future action plans, strong commitments which build on existing government priorities can translate recommendations into tangible policy changes and demonstrate clear added value from the OGP process, for instance by ensuring greater civic participation in implementation.

Observation 2: High-level political engagement can strengthen the ambition of open government reforms. This action plan took initial steps towards renewing government engagement with civil society on OGP. Indeed, reinvigoration of the open government process was included in the Programme for Government. However, ongoing open government efforts would benefit from more high-level political engagement. Although formation of the new Open Government Round Table fostered diverse perspectives during the co-creation process, government stakeholders were not able to fully reflect the ambition of civil society suggestions in the action plan’s final commitments. This underscored the need for greater political prioritisation of Ireland’s OGP process. Building from the Minister of State’s attendance of an Open Government Round Table meeting in 2021, more representation from high-level officials and politicians at some meetings could reaffirm commitment to the OGP process, serve as a reminder of the overarching objectives of political parties, and further align political systems with civil society goals. This can help Ireland’s open government process realise the potential of government and civil society collaboration.

Observation 3: Participatory mechanisms to oversee commitment progress can improve implementation. During implementation, government agencies reported on commitments’ progress at the Open Government Round Table meetings. While there was some discussion of the updates, the Round Table’s focus was often diverted to the design of the next action plan. According to civil society members, the process lacked a formal monitoring mechanism that granted oversight of implementation to the Round Table, which left them unsure of their designated role and how they could effectively contribute to monitoring commitment implementation.[1] Strengthening civil society’s role in monitoring progress can help ensure that commitments stay on track, support course correction, and ultimately strengthen open government results. In addition to formalising the Round Table’s mandate during implementation, some stakeholders have suggested exploring more in-person meetings and facilitating direct interaction between civil society and government commitment holders.[2]

[1] Shana Cohen (Think Tank for Action on Social Change), interview by IRM, 6 December 2023.

[2] Philip McGrath (Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform), interview by IRM, 2 February 2024; Kieran Moylan (Department of Rural and Community Development), interview by IRM, 26 January 2024; Antóin Ó Lachtnáin (Open Government Association Ireland), interview by IRM, 23 November 2023; Kathryn McCabe (The Change Agency), interview by IRM, 7 December 2023.