Since the foundation of the state, the Department of Finance has played a central role in Irish public affairs. For this reason its history is of major significance to all those interested in the evolution of Irish government and the Irish economy. This book provides a description, based on the source documents, of how the policies of the state were evolved. For seven years the author had unrestricted access to the working files of the Department of Finance for the period – consulting the primary sources for the government and administration of modern Ireland.
The book describes, in particular, how the public service was established in 1922; the men who ran the new department and their policies; the traumatic impact of the first Fianna Fáil government in 1932 and the economic war which followed; the changes brought about by World War II and its aftermath. A major theme of the post-war period is the increasing politicisation of social and economic issues which brought the department more and more into the public eye; it provides, for instance, a detailed account of the origins of Economic Development, published in 1958. An epilogue outlines the major developments with which the department has since been concerned.
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Prologue
Abbreviations
Chapter One: The Historical Background 1919–22
i. The Treasury Remembrancer and Treasury (Ireland)
ii. The Department of Finance under the First and Second
Dáil 1919–22 12
Chapter Two: The Department of Finance under the
Provisional Government of 1922
i. The Establishment of the Provisional Government
ii. Problems of Staffing
iii. Early Policies
iv. The Financial Provisions of the 1922 Constitution
v. The Impact of the Civil War
Chapter Three: The Search for Stability 1923–24
i. Reorganisation and Recruitment
ii. The Establishment of National Credit
iii. The Shaping of Policy
iv. The Campaign for Retrenchment
Chapter Four: Anglo–Irish Financial Relations 1922–26
i. Anglo–Irish Financial Relations and the Treaty
ii. The Treasury and the Department of Finance
iii. The Agreement of 12 February 1923
iv. The Compensation (Ireland) Commission
v. The Agreement of 3 December 1925
vi. The Ultimate Financial Settlement of 19 March 1926
Chapter Five: Consolidation 1925–31
i. New Horizons
ii. Some Committees and Commissions
iii. The Crisis of 1931
Chapter Six: New Masters: The Department of
Finance in the Thirties
i. The Change of Government
ii. Civil Service Pay: The “Cuts Committee”
iii. The Brennan Commission
iv. The Impact of the Economic War
v. The Crisis in Agriculture
vi. The 1937 Constitution and the End of the Economic War
Chapter Seven: Anglo–Irish Financial Relations:
The Economic War 1932–38
i. The Crisis of 1932
ii. The Coal–Cattle Pacts
iii. The 1938 Agreement
Chapter Eight: The Department of Finance and the Emergency
i. The Coming of War
ii. The Fear of Invasion
iii. New Directions
Chapter Nine: Towards the Post-War World:
The Department of Finance in the Forties
i. The Central Bank Act 1942
ii. The Link with Sterling
iii. The Aftermath of War
iv. The Dollar Crisis of 1947
Chapter Ten: The Department of Finance and the
First Inter-Party Government
i. The European Recovery Programme
ii. The Anglo–Irish Economic Discussions of June 1948
iii. The Use of European Recovery Programme Funds
iv. The Devaluation Crisis of 1949
v. The First Capital Budget
Chapter Eleven: The Emergence of Planning
i. The Climacteric of 1951–52
ii. 1953 – The Departure of J. J. McElligott
iii. The Second Inter-Party Government
iv. Economic Development
Chapter Twelve: Functions and Organisation:
The Department of Finance from Within and Without
i. The Organisation of the Department of Finance
ii. The “Finance Attitude”
Epilogue: After Economic Development
Conclusion
Notes
Appendix One: Ministers for Finance 1919–77
Appendix Two: Secretaries of the Department of Finance 1922–77
Appendix Three: Functions and Services assigned to the Department of Finance in 1922
Appendix Four: Organisation of the Department of Finance in 1977
Note on Sources
Index