Resources and resourcefulness: Ireland and EU regional policy

Over almost forty years, the objectives, content, operation and outcomes of the EU s regional policy have constantly evolved. The policy has served as an inspiration for new ideas in Irish policy-making and implementation but it has also circumscribed domestic policies and practices. This contribution presents a study of the way in which Ireland has responded to the obligations and opportunities created by EU regional policy. It highlights the manner in which national and European adaptation reflected the changing rationale and priorities of this influential policy. It demonstrates that a creative pragmatism enabled Ireland to use the available resources to good effect but that the country s regional disparities have not been overcome. Both top-down and bottom-up variants of Europeanisation have emerged with  the EU s resources shaping Ireland s development and Ireland s resourcefulness contributing to   the on-going development of EU regional policy.