This article examines the use of public consultation by the Northern Ireland central government between the years of 2000 and 2004. Key findings suggest a general enthusiasm for its use by government and citizens, despite the identification of challenges including lack of resources as well as ‘consultation fatigue’. In addition, divergences exist between the aims and expectations of administrators and those of citizens and the community and voluntary sector on the contentious issue of what should constitute ‘participation’. Reflecting a key debate in the literature on whether the use of mechanisms such as public consultation signals the emergence of autonomous, horizontal networks of governance, it is argued here that instead, the way in which public consultation was used indicates a continuance of centralised, hierarchical government.