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Investment in Quality● Catholicism and the role of the Catholic Church;● Ireland’s colonial and post-colonial status (Cousins);● The underdevelopment of class based politics;● The traditional importance of agriculture; and● The role of the state.Ó Riain and O’Connell (2000) contrast the Irish welfare stateexpansion to the Scandinavian pattern, with its emphasis onuniversalistic entitlements creating solidarity between social classesand a commitment to reducing inequalities. The Irish pattern hasbeen to achieve solidarity through expansion of the social insurancesystem and the provision of basic levels of services, with only aslight commitment to reducing inequalities. In this system, a basiclevel of services is provided to all, ensuring that those classesdisadvantaged in the market are taken care of at a basic level ofprovision, while at the same time ensuring that middle and higherincome groups can supplement that basic level of provision byrelying on their own resources and drawing on tax expenditures(Callan and Nolan, 2000: 181). This ‘pay-related’ two-tiered and insome instances three-tiered system is particularly evident inpensions, health and education. The pension system, for example, iscomprised of a non-contributory means-tested tier, a contributorypublic tier and a third tier combining contributory state pensionswith occupational pensions and other private pensions. Pension andhealth insurance contributions are both subsidised through taxexpenditures.Combining these facts with the emphasis on means-testing andtargeting of benefits and the limited services facilitating theparticipation of women in employment (i.e. limited childcare andfamily friendly policies) illustrates well the liberal character of theIrish welfare state (Ó Riain and O’Connell, 2000). However, theypoint out, labour market policy points to a different orientation, asdoes the management of schools and hospitals (see below).McLaughlin (1993) identifies Ireland as a Catholic corporatist typewelfare regime. The principle of subsidiarity and especially the106