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Evaluate the policies persued by the two interparty governments in Ireland,
1945-1951 and 1954-1957.

Introduction
1. The Republic of Ireland Act 1948
2. Foreign Affairs successes
3. The eradication of Tuberculosis
4. The economy
5. The Welfare State failures
6. The IRA Campaign
Conclusion

After 1948, Fianna Fáil had been in power for 16 years and was once again returned as the largest single party in the Dáil. However, a consensus formed amongst the opposition parties, that it was time for change. Thus, Robert Mulcahy of Fine Gael called all the parties together to form Ireland’s first coalition government. “It did seem unlikely that parties covering the whole ideological range could reconcile their differences to form a government.” (Joseph Lee) Despite their divergent ideology, the interparty governmenst remained in power for three years each. They were most successful in the area of the foreign affairs; however, it was brought down by the fragile nature of its mosaic structure and its failure to deal with the economy.

Although Bunreacht na hEireann provided for a dictionary republic in the south of Ireland, Costello and Sean MacBride – leader of Clann na Poblachta – felt that it was time for Ireland to become a full republic. While at a Commonwealth meeting in Canada, Costello confirmed a story in the Irish Independent that Ireland was to break all ties with the Commonwealth that De Valera had left in the External Relations Act of 1936. The according legislation was passed through the Oireachtas shortly after. The British reacted by immediately passing the Ireland Act, which recognised the Republic, and allowed for Northern Ireland to remain a part of Britain for as long as Stormont desired. However, Unionists reacted heavily, becoming further entrenched in their opposition to the Republic. Thus, the act successful defined Ireland as a completely independent state, at the expense of the six northeastern counties.

During the tenure of the both interparty governments, Ireland enjoyed a high position in diplomatic circles, mostly due to Sean MacBride’s efforts as Foreign Minister. In 1949, Ireland was invited to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation along with many other Western European countries. MacBride successfully defended Irish neutrality by diplomatically refusing the invitation to join, consolidating Ireland's position as an independent state. Furthermore, by making clear the government’s opposition to the advance of Communism, Ireland's position with the USA greatly improved. Although the Irish offer of an alliance with the US was refused in 1950, the state did benefit hugely from the Marshal Aid plan. Ireland was also among the founding members of both the Organisation of European Economic Co-operation in 1948, and the Council of Europe in 1949. Thus the interparty government achieved a great improvement in Ireland's standing in global affairs. And in 1955, Ireland joined the United Nations, and Liam Cosgrave as Minister for Foreign Affairs laid down guidelines for Irish foreign policy that are still followed today that include loyalty to the UN Charter and support for Human Rights.

The improved provision of health care was the greatest success of the interparty government. Noel Browne’s (Minister for Health) major achievement was the eradication of Tuberculosis during the term of the government, especially considering that it killed between 3 and 4 thousand people every year in the State. Browne spent £30 million to build new hospitals with the money coming from the hospital sweepstakes. A mass screening process was established using e-rays to detect TB. Treatment was given for free for sufferers, and the BCG vaccination was given to those for free to those who did not. This plan was an unmitigated success, as it removed TB from Ireland, as well as significantly improving health infrastructure in Ireland.

The coalitions’ handling of the economy was also – in general – a failure. The 1949 publication of “Ireland's Long-Term Recovery Program” set out a series of economic targets for 1953, and heralded the beginning of Ireland's recovery after the War. The establishment of semi-state bodies such as the Irish Development Authority, Córas Trachtála and the Central Statistics Office by McGilligan as Finance Minister did little to help short-term economic recovery, although they were important in following decades. John Dillon’s Land Rehabilitation Programme failed to succeed and wasted £40 million that should have been spent on infrastructure. The Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement 1948 tied Irish Agricultural prices with those in Britain, which was an economic unsound as it kept prices artificially low, hindering economic development until Ireland's accession to the EEC in 1973. Finally, during the second coalition unemployment and emigration hit new highs, and wages fell behind the other European countries.

Despite this initial success, Noel Browne’s efforts to provided healthcare for mothers and children for free under the Mother and Child Scheme, without any means testing, was a dramatic failure and greatly contributed to the demise of the interparty government. The plan was opposed by many sectors of Irish life: the Catholic Church opposed the plan on the basis that it interfered with family matters, which were protected by the constitution; the Irish Medical Association protested against the lack of means testing, which they feared would make them servants of the state; and the Cabinet was opposed to it. “Once the hierarchy had made it clear the vital questions of faith and morals were involved, the resistance of the government crumbled.” (FSL Lyons)

The IRA became heavily active during the period of the second interparty government (1954-1957). They started a border campaign in 1956 against RUC barracks. In 1957 Sean South from imerick and Fergal O’Hanlon from Monaghan were killed in a raid on Brookeborough Barracks. The subsequent mass funeral was a huge embarrassment to Costello. This was a huge failure on the part of the second coalition government, as Law and Order was a major element of the Fine Gael manifesto, and their failure to deal with the IRA threat clearly demonstrated their inability to control law and order in the state. Thus the second interparty government lost much credibility over their failure to contain IRA violence.

The interparty governments were a success in the areas of foreign affairs, the economy and the eradication of TB. However, its inability to deal with a series of political crises showed its weakness, which was its greatest failure. The Mother and Child Scheme split Clann na Poblachta (due to both Browne and Hartnet’s resignations); the Battle for Baltinglass caused a political scandal and the resignation of another Minister; and the continued high rates of unemployment and emigration (24,000 per annum) eventually tested Costello to his limits. The interparty governments’ greatest achievement was not its policies, but rather the fact that it offered a credible alternative to Fianna Fáil, shaking its complacency. Despite this tremendous success, internal divides and a poor handling of economic matters resulted in two defeats at election.