Resumen de Politics at the Touch of a Button: An Evaluation of the First Ever Oireachtas (Irish Houses of Parliament) E-consultation
Information communication technologies have the potential to transform interactions between citizens and national Parliaments, with certain commentators even suggesting that information technologies have the capacity to reinvigorate democracy. This article examines an evaluation of the first ever e-consultation to be initiated by the Oireachtas from the perspectives of both consulters and participants. While the e-consultation achieved notable successes in terms of Parliamentary reform and enticing members of the public to participate in policy-making processes, this does not constitute a shift towards e-democracy. Instead, it might be more accurately defined in terms of a managerial, e-government approach, where processes such as the e-consultation are perceived by elected representatives and administrators alike as appendages to existing, centralised decision-making power.
