Editing Seán Lemass (section)

===Economic programmes===
Lemass summed up his economic philosophy by copying an often-quoted phrase: "A rising tide lifts all boats". By this, he meant that an upsurge in the Irish economy would benefit both the richest and the poorest.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

====First Programme for Economic Expansion====
[[File:Seán Lemass at Schiphol Airport (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Lemass in 1947]]
Although the White Paper entitled "Economic Development" was first introduced in 1958 in de Valera's last government, its main recommendations formed the basis for the First Programme for Economic Expansion, which was adopted by Lemass as [[Government of Ireland|government]] policy upon his ascension in 1959.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hanna|first=Erika|title= Modern Dublin Urban Change and the Irish Past, 1957–1973|location=Oxford|year=2013|pages=95–105|isbn=978-0-19-968045-0}}</ref>

The programme, which was the brainchild of [[T. K. Whitaker]], involved a move away from the [[protectionist]] policies that had been in place since the 1930s. Tax breaks and grants were also to be provided to foreign firms wishing to set up a company in Ireland. The programme also allowed for the spending of P£220&nbsp;million of state capital in investing in an integrated system of national development.<ref>The Irish currency was the [[Irish pound]] (IEP). It was abolished when Ireland adopted the [[Euro]] on 1 January 1999.</ref>

Following the introduction of this programme the policy of protection was eventually ended and the Control of Manufacturers Act, which had been in place since 1932 and had been introduced by Lemass himself, was also abolished. The implementation of the programme coincided with favourable trading conditions, which contributed to the initiative's popularity. However, the government's introduction of a 2.5% [[turnover tax]] in 1963, badly damaged the political position, with a by-election of that year reducing the government's majority to one seat. But by the beginning of 1964, another round of by-elections saw a rebound in the government's popularity: in the preceding five years, unemployment had fallen by a third; emigration had reduced considerably and the population grew for the first time since the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|famine]]. Agriculture was the only sector which failed to respond to the programme.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

Professor [[Tom Garvin]] has found that the protectionist policies were first suggested to de Valera by Lemass in a paper written in 1929–30, and then adopted following the change of government in 1932. He considers the proposition that Lemass moved the economy away from free trade in the 1930s, and back into it in the 1960s; a costly mistake that affected many thousands of (non-voting) emigrants.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garvin|first=Tom|title=Preventing the Future|location=Dublin|year=2004|pages=45–46|isbn=0-7171-3771-6}}</ref>

The programme paved the way for [[free trade]]. In 1960, Ireland signed the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (GATT), a worldwide agreement to reduce tariffs. In 1961, Ireland applied unsuccessfully for membership in the [[European Community|European Economic Community]]. Ireland's failure to join was said to be Lemass's biggest regret and disappointment as Taoiseach. Ireland eventually joined in 1973, two years after Lemass's death. The 1965 Merger Treaties paved the way for the signing of the Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement between Lemass's government and [[Harold Wilson]]'s Labour government.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

====Second Programme for Economic Expansion====
A Second Programme was launched in 1963, with even more ambitious targets. In particular, the policy focused on expenditures for education, with a doubling of expenditures planned, and high production goals for the dairy industry. Agriculture, which had disappointing results in the First Programme, was understated in the second – a clear break in the Lemass policies from de Valera's longstanding courting of rural voters.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

The Second Programme was discontinued in 1967 after Lemass had left office and the programme's goals proved far from completion.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}