From Economic Decline to Economic Expansion, 1950–1963
In this chapter you will learn about: • The decline in Ireland’s economy and how the government struggled to solve it • The role T.K. Whitaker played in Ireland’s economic recovery • The formation and impact of the First Programme for Economic Expansion, 1958–1963 • Seán Lemass and his time as Taoiseach
By the end of this chapter you will be able to:
• Understand the reasons for the poor state of Ireland’s economy in the 1950s, allowing you to contextualise the significance of the First Programme for Economic Expansion
• Critique the role played by T.K. Whitaker in forming a strategy to improve the economic situation • Engage with primary and secondary source documents and understand how they relate to the First Programme for Economic Expansion
• Assess the leadership of Seán Lemass and the contribution his government made to economic growth
The Fianna Fáil Government of 1951–1954
Fianna Fáil returned to power under Éamon de Valera following the election of June 1951. They had not won an overall majority and depended on the support of three former Clann na Poblachta TDs, including Noel Browne, to form a minority government.
The Fianna Fáil cabinet included: Taoiseach
Minister for External Affairs Minister for Agriculture
Éamon de Valera
Tánaiste and Minister for Industry and Commerce Seán Lemass Minister for Finance
Minister for Health and Minister for Social Welfare James Ryan
These and other ministers were the same men who had served in the previous Fianna Fáil governments. They and their civil servants failed to understand just how much the world had changed. Europe was undergoing massive reconstruction, and coming to terms with the political divisions that emerged following the rapid consolidation of communist control across Eastern Europe. World economies
