Parliamentarians and the covid-19 pandemic: insights from an executive-dominated, constituency-oriented legislature

• David M. Farrell ^[1] ; Luke Field ^[2] ; Shane Martin ^[3]
  1. [1] University College Dublin

     University College Dublin

     Irlanda

     
  2. [2] University of Iceland

     University of Iceland

     Islandia

     
  3. [3] University of Essex

     University of Essex

     Colchester District, Reino Unido

     

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• Localización: The Journal of legislative studies, ISSN 1357-2334, Vol. 31, Nº. 4, 2025, págs. 1161-1187
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1080/13572334.2024.2400844
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Because parliaments are the cornerstone of representative democracy, weknow a significant amount about how they operate in ordinary times. Covid-19 presented extraordinary challenges to the functioning and operation ofnational parliaments. This article explores the impact of Covid-19 onparliament from the point of view of its members. We report results from asurvey of Irish parliamentarians, exploring members’ perceptions of theirengagement in law-making, government oversight, and constituencyrepresentation. The results suggest an interesting paradox: Parliamentariansfelt less able to perform their legislative and oversight functions but – withthe aid of new technologies – felt better able to perform their representativeand constituency roles. The wider implication is that Covid-19 intensifiedexisting patterns of executive legislative relation: in the Irish case at least, the(electoral) incentives to undertake constituency work motivated continuedconstituency service, while the weakness of parliamentary oversight of theexecutive intensified.

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