Irish Economy Essay

The 1950s was a calamitous decade in Ireland. Unemployment, economic depression and intense emigration plagued the island. After such a period of despair it was imperative that the Irish be reassured that change was on its way. Sean Lemass, elected Taoiseach in 1959, heralded this change. Through working with his cabinet and some of Ireland’s most eminent intellectuals he got Ireland ‘back on its feet’. Consequently, the 1960s became a decade of massive reform in the economic, political, social and cultural sectors of society.

The Irish economy in the 1950’s had stagnated. One of the more prominent economists of the decade was T.K Whitaker. He believed that the Irish economy could be improved if foreign investors were given incentives to make them more confident in investing in Ireland, if there were increased participation by the state in investment in successful industries, and if more central bank power were applied to direct investment by commercial banks. Reforms such as these would be necessary to stabilize the economy.

Lemass, acting on the advice of Whitaker, introduced the First Program for Economic Expansion. The program, lasting from 1959 to 1963, was integral in getting Ireland’s economy back on track. It included a detailed plan for the economy with the ultimate goal of getting the growth rate up to 2 percent. The main points of the plan, according to Tony White, in his book Investing in People: Higher Education in Ireland from 1960 to 2000, were “i.Attraction of foreign investment ii. Lifting of controls on foreign ownership of firms and profit repatriation, iii. Introduction of capital and other grants to new and expanding firms, and iv. Corporation profits tax concessions to exporting firms.” As a result ...

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... the design problems of Ireland by dividing industry into distinct sections such as textiles, engineering, and fashion. Furthermore, young Irish designers were given the chance to work overseas with the Design Advisory Committee set up by the CTT in 1969. As a result of the CTT’s initiatives, business and manufacturing circles were exposed to a greater degree of design awareness than ever before.

The 1960s can definitely be considered a ‘Golden Age’ in Ireland. The economic, political, social, and cultural reforms introduced were vital in bringing the country out of its depression. The massive decrease in emigration evidenced this change of times. The rate of emigration in the 1960s was only 15,000 per annum, nothing compared to the 500,000 that left the country in the previous decade. Evidently, the Irish began to believe in their country once again.