The full force of the sovereign debt crisis has been affecting Ireland for almost three years now, although it took most of that period for it to become starkly evident that it was the sovereign’s own credit which was impaired, and not merely that of the national banking system or even of certain banks within it. The budgetary adjustments required by the collapse in government revenues as a result of the spectacular contraction of the economy (which were merely confirmed by the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Ireland, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund of November 2010) have required a far-reaching assessment of the structure of the public service, the services which it will provide in future and the terms and conditions of public servants. However, it is not merely budgetary constraints that are in play here. The failures in the policy-making and regulatory systems, which made a substantial contribution to property bubble and the ensuing collapse of the Irish banking system, have caused many to cast a critical eye on traditional ways of doing business in the political system and the public service [...]