The Marketisation of Welfare-To-Work in Ireland

Abstract

His main interests are in street-level bureaucracy and public service governance, with a particular focus on activation and employment services. His previous books include the coauthored Buying and Selling the Poor: Inside Australia's Privatised Welfare-to-Work Market (Sydney University Press, 2021). Although now based in Australia, Michael grew up in Dublin and continues to actively research social policy in Ireland. vII AcknowledgementsThis book is the culmination of a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellowship, supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme, and hosted by Maynooth University. I am indebted to the tremendous support I received from colleagues at Maynooth, particularly Mary P. Murphy who helped guide the project from inception through to conclusion. As anyone who has ever worked with Mary knows so well, Mary is an outstanding colleague and extremely generous collaborator. Her passion for transformative change is both inspiring and infectious, and it was a privilege to work with her on this and related projects. I am also grateful for the friendship and support of Nuala Whelan, who collaborated on parallel initiatives that did much to progress this project. Rhona Bradshaw, Orla Dunne, and Anne Hamilton also provided vital administrative support, along with Patrick Boyle and Edward Holden.The book has also benefitted extensively from the periodic guidance of an advisory panel. It is not often that someone gets to deeply discuss their work with such an 'all-star' cast as