PUBLIC MONEY & MANAGEMENT JANUARY 2015 1 © 2015 CIPFA Northern Ireland has moved from a conflict society to one where there is a devolved power- sharing legislative Assembly and the absence of large-scale violence. There are, of course, ongoing challenges to the political institutions but as the governmental structures settle into place, politicians are seeking new ways of addressing systemic social and economic problems. Issues which need to be tackled include multi-generational poverty, high levels of unemployment, public sector dependency, and lack of basic skills, particularly among young people. There are also sporadic community tensions associated with legacy issues of the conflict such as flags, parades and dealing with the past. One of the key features of the political settlement emerging from the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998 and the St Andrew’s Agreement 2006 was the establishment of a power-sharing executive, rooted in consociational theory, between the five largest political parties (Lijphart, 1968; 1975). ‘Consociation’ is a system where ‘political power is shared by rival cultures on a proportional basis—in the Northern Ireland Executive, the legislature and public employment. Each cultural community enjoys rights of veto and autonomy’ (McGarry and O’Leary, 1995, p. 509). The outworking of the consociational model in Northern Ireland led to an increase in the number of government departments from six to 12 to ensure that pro-Agreement parties obtained ministerial office, rather than for reasons of administrative efficiency. While this model promotes the inclusion of various political views in the structures, one consequence has been a diffusion of power across different parts of government. This paper attempts to do three things. First, it describes the complexity of the devolved administration in Northern Ireland, accentuated by the power- sharing arrangements which are in place. Second, it provides an example of the limitations, so far, of tackling cross- departmental ‘wicked’ issues. Third, it presents an alternative approach in which the Northern Ireland Executive is attempting to hard-wire political and managerial inputs into a new initiative entitled Delivering Social Change (DSC) aimed at delivering integrated public services. Background The fragmentation of government is not unique to Northern Ireland and has been the subject of scholarly research for some time (Challis et al., 1988; Peters, 1998; Clark, 2002; James, 2002; Pollitt, 2003; Sullivan and Skelcher, 2002; 6, 2002; 2004; Bogdanor, 2005). Exworthy and Hunter (2011, p. 202), for example, trace the origins of ways to address fragmentation in the UK back to 1975 in an initiative entitled a Joint Approach to Social Policy (CPRS, 1975), which recognized ‘complex, wicked issues that transcended organizational and departmental Colin Knox is Professor of Comparative Public Policy, University of Ulster, UK. Sharing power and fragmenting public services: complex government in Northern Ireland Colin Knox There are obvious complexities in the governance of Northern Ireland. Long- awaited political stability, power-sharing and settled devolution come with a highly-fragmented structure of public services. In addition, because of its pre- occupation with constitutional and security matters, Northern Ireland is playing catch-up in public sector reform. There are greater expectations that local politicians can tackle endemic issues of poverty and social deprivation than their British ‘direct rule’ predecessors. This paper looks at a new initiative, which aims to address the complexities of power-sharing and its attendant fragmented governance arrangements. Keywords: Consociational theory; joined-up government; joined-up politics; power- sharing.