Protecting the Most Vulnerable in an Economic Crisis: A Participatory Study of Civil Society Organisations in Ireland,

This paper advances knowledge of roles played by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) when negotiating the shift from boom time public expenditure to a programme of austerity. The study focuses on the Republic of Ireland, where CSOs occupy an important role in providing a voice for vulnerable citizens in corporatism. A cadre of national umbrella organizations formed the Community and Voluntary Pillar (CVP) of the national system of corporatist bargaining, named social partnership, for over a decade. During the economic growth of the Celtic Tiger era (1994-2007), social partners worked together to produce welfare reform mirroring Irelands economic success. However the global financial crisis and subsequent austerity measures meant the countrys model of corporatist-style partnership collapsed. This 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 policy making institutions.   Keywords: participatory, civil society, co-optation, third sector