Government Economic Gains
Economic Gains
Although inflation and an unfavorable balance of trade continued to trouble the country's economy, Ireland made significant strides toward economic stability through the 1950s and 1960s. In 1964 the government completed a five-year plan of economic development, which exceeded its goals. A feature of the program was the offer of tax incentives to foreign investors.
Partly as a result of such programs, the rate of economic growth increased from about 1 percent per year in the 1950s to more than 4.5 percent in the late 1960s. It was officially reported in 1964 that more than 200 factories had begun production since 1955, most of them with foreign participation. A second plan had a goal of increasing the 1960 gross national product by 50 percent within ten years. The improving economic circumstances were regarded as the main cause of a decline in emigration, ending a population decline that had continued unabated for more than a century.
Political Developments
With economic recovery came a new measure of political stability and a decline in traditional anti-British feeling. As early as 1957 Prime Minister Costello, who regarded terrorist activities as damaging to relations with Britain and tending to prolong the partition of Ireland, had called for forceful action against the IRA. De Valera, who succeeded Costello following the 1957 elections, publicly agreed that unity could not be achieved by force. This plus a decline in active membership led the IRA in February 1962 to announce that it had abandoned violence. Still, Ireland continued to suffer occasional acts of terrorism.
In June 1959 de Valera, at the age of 77, was elected president, a position he would hold for 14 years, and Sean Lemass became prime minister. Lemass and John Mary Lynch, who succeeded him in 1966, both attempted to build up industry in order to reduce unemployment and increase exports. Ireland was being led away from its ideal of conservative self-sufficiency and into closer ties with Britain and Europe. In 1965 Britain abolished virtually all tariffs on Irish goods, and Ireland undertook to do the same for British goods over a period of 15 years.
An increase of violence between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland was followed by IRA terrorist activity both within and outside of the Irish Republic. In 1971 the Dáil banned the purchase or holding of arms for use outside Ireland. In 1972 the government required the surrender of all firearms.
Also in early 1972 Ireland signed a treaty joining the European Community (now called the European Union), effective January 1, 1973—a move favored by 83 percent of the voters; and, by referendum, ended the special constitutional status of the Roman Catholic Church.
A coalition of Fine Gael and the Labour Party gained a slim majority in the (1972) 1973 elections and Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrave became prime minister. In 1977 Fianna Fáil returned to power in a government headed by Lynch; in 1979 he was replaced by Charles Haughey.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s the Irish government faced difficult problems: increased terrorism in the North by extremist Irish nationalists and a weak economy that produced massive government debt and rising unemployment. Elections were held in 1981, and a coalition government was led briefly by Garret FitzGerald, head of Fine Gael. Inconclusive elections in February 1982 returned Haughey to power, but another election, in late 1982, brought FitzGerald back. In 1985 FitzGerald signed a pact with Britain—the Anglo-Irish Agreement—which gave the Irish Republic a consultive role in governing Northern Ireland. FitzGerald remained prime minister until 1987, when he was replaced by Haughey with a single-vote majority in the Dáil.
Government and Economy
In November 1990, without the endorsement of the major parties, Mary Robinson was elected president. A champion of women's rights and civil liberties, Robinson was the first woman to hold so high an office in the Republic of Ireland.
In December 1991 Ireland signed the Treaty on European Union at Maastricht, The Netherlands, after securing a special provision that guaranteed that Ireland's abortion laws would not be affected by future European Union policies.
The treaty was ratified by a national referendum in June 1992. Haughey resigned as prime minister and leader of Fianna Fáil in early 1992, amid allegations that he had known about illegal phone tapping ordered by one of his ministers in a previous administration; Haughey's former finance minister, Albert Reynolds, was chosen to replace him. Reynolds remained prime minister after the elections of November 1992, but at the head of a coalition government made up of Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party. In the elections, Irish voters also approved measures guaranteeing access to information about abortion and legalizing foreign travel to get an abortion, but rejected a constitutional amendment that would have broadened the availability of abortion within the republic. However, these measures were not supported by a July 1993 Irish Supreme Court decision, which upheld a ban on the distribution of overseas abortion information by a Dublin clinic.
In November 1994 the coalition government collapsed over disagreements regarding Reynolds's appointment of a controversial new attorney-general, a move that led the Labour Party to withdraw its support of Fianna Fáil. A new coalition government was formed, headed by Prime Minister John Bruton of the Fine Gael Party. This new coalition was made up of members of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and the Democratic Left.
In February 1997 a law legalizing divorce under certain circumstances went into effect in the Republic of Ireland. Divorce had been banned in Ireland since the country gained independence from Britain, and the new law was vigorously opposed by the Roman Catholic Church.
Shortly thereafter, John Bruton called a national election for June. He was faced with a growing scandal involving large cash donations to members of parliament and criticism regarding his policies on Northern Ireland. In the elections, Bruton's three-party coalition government came away with only 75 seats in the 166-seat lower house of parliament, compared to 81 for the opposition coalition of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. Though neither group was able to secure the 84 seats needed for an overall majority, Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern became the new prime minister.
In September 1997 President Mary Robinson resigned to become the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The popular Robinson was widely credited with raising the profile and influence of the largely ceremonial presidential office during her seven-year term. In elections held in October, Robinson was replaced by Mary McAleese, a law professor from Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Ireland's economy grew dramatically in the 1990s, although Irish per capita income in 1997 was still below the average for members of the European Union. One cause of the growth was government encouragement of foreign investment, which led many large corporations—especially those in the computer and electronics industries—to open facilities in Ireland. Ireland's economy was expected to continue growing well into the 21st century.
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