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In the context of the publication of Agenda 2000 and the accelerated progress of the Irish economy from 1993, the Republic of Ireland's¹ position in relation to Structural Fund transfers generally, and qualification for Objective 1 status specifically, has undergone substantial revision since 1997. Against this backdrop, Ireland lodged a formal application with Eurostat in November 1998 to divide the country into two regions, one which would continue to qualify for Objective 1 funds, the other qualifying only for “Objective 1 in transition” status. This “regionalisation” strategy proved to generate substantial controversy both within and between the European Union (EU), the Irish government, and existing regional and local authorities and development agencies. These controversies were rooted in the need to transform the highly centralist scale division of the Irish state. At one level, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the …