The Administration Yearbook of the Institute of Public Administration, a hardy annual publication at the turn of the year, has been rebranded as Ireland – a Directory to mark the 50th anniversary of its first appearance.
Whether Ireland – A Directory exists in hard copy format in 50 years time remains to be seen but the Institute is already thinking how best to embrace change in the quickly metamorphosing publishing environment.
"One of the things I'm looking at is do we push this in an online environment?" asked newly appointed pnstitute director general Marian O'Sullivan. " For example, should we develop an app into the future? I am thinking of that but I'm [just] eight weeks in the job."
Noting that 50 years was a long time for any product, Dr O’Sullivan maintained nonetheless that the Yearbook-become-Directory had stood the test of time.
Launching Ireland – A Directory 2016, Tánaiste Joan Burton noted how a 56-page special 50th anniversary supplement with the directory chronicled Ireland changing from a black and white world of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, as represented by photographs, into the technicolor country it is today.
This change, she noted, coincided with the election in 1990 of President Mary Robinson and leading to today when she, a woman, was Tánaiste, and the institute was headed by a woman.
The 600-page directory contains a vast wealth of information about official Ireland – the Government, legislature, and judiciary; the security forces of Army and Garda; Ireland’s diplomatic missions abroad; the civil service; the European Union; education and financial institutions, the health service, semi-state bodies; trade and professional organisations; social, cultural and political organisations; media and religions. It details the key individuals across all, including phone numbers and email addresses.
Essentially, the directory is an inventory of who runs Ireland. A large format diary towards the back end of the volume allows users note their appointments with notables on earlier pages.
The diary is followed by pages of ‘how to’ advice – correct titles for addressing members of the judiciary, for example, a short English-Irish glossary, statistical data on Ireland’s polulation, labout force and public finances.
The final section, before the index, is one detailing the salaries of public representatives and officials, pages likely to be well-thumbed by anyone paying the required €70 for a copy.
Ireland – A Directory 2016 is available from the IPA – ipa.ie – and bookshops. The Institute refusedto say how many copies were being published.
