IRELAND
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The
A New Ireland Looking to Europe Industrial Development Authority The Confirmation Suit Irish Television Makes Its Bow Ireland's Visitors Witness • SEAN LEMASS • PATRICK LYNCH • DONAL O'DON OVAN • BRENDAN BEHAN " NIALL SHERIDAN • DESMOND FENNELL • JOHN MONTAGUE
Looking to Europe
By PATRICK LYNCH CONTRARY to what one might expect from the country of Wilde, Shaw and Gogarty, Ireland's national humorous journal, Dublin Opinion, is better known for whimsy than bite. This month, however, it has a topical cartoon that Swift would have recognised as capturing a prevailing Irish mood. The scene is a public dinner; in resigned dejection eyes are turned on the principal speaker, who is seizing the microphone with practised self-assurance: '1 forget what 1 was supposed to talk about, so I'll talk about the Common Market.' A multitude of such speakers have so submerged this sub- ject under ponderous platitudes that, where politeness permits, the Common Market has been banished from civilised Irish conver- sation. To the glib bore it lends itself ad- mirably to endless repetition of what others have said; and few have anything new to say about it. There is, at least, one exception, however— the man who might well have invented the Common Market, Mr. Garret FitzGerald, the best-informed econo- mic commentator and publicist in Ireland.
Mr. FitzGerald's principal forum is a weekly column in the Irish Times. Here, for what seems like years, he has been holding forth relentlessly on the character, aims and objectives of the European Economic Community. At first, he had the field almost to himself, but soon he was arousing in- terest, even enthusi- asm, in a land of long-suffering apathy. New ideas are com- monplace in Ireland, but rarely is anything done about them. Mr. FitzGerald, however, is an intellectual entre- preneur. He has been extraordinarily successful in educating public opinion about the Common Market, because he really believes in it, and he could claim to be responsible single-handed for creating a situation in which there is now almost unanimous support for Ireland's application for full membership. More recently he has been conducting his crusade on radio and television and in lectures to businessmen and trade unions. The Government and the Opposition political parties alike are in favour of Irish participation.
Because of the Republic's close trading rela- tions with Britain, the Government had no alternative to seeking membership of the Com- munity once Britain decided to apply. This the head of the Government, Mr. Sean Lemass, did with characteristic firmness and authority. He applied for full membership unconditionally and has since let it be known that, even if Ireland had to be satisfied with some form of asso- ciation short of full membership,' this stage should be regarded only as a prelude to full participation.
Irish enthusiasm for the Common Market represents an extraordinary change in political attitudes. The Irish economy is a highly pro- tected one, largely the creation of Mr. Lemass himself, when he was Minister for In- dustry and Commerce. Now, in changed cir- cumstances, Mr. Le- mass is successfully persuading the busi- nessmen, who bene- fited most from his own tariff barriers, that it is in their in- terest to have protec- tion swept away. No doubt all available safeguards will be sought for new indus- tries in process of development, but the principle of abolishing protection is accepted, if not always under- stood in its implica- tions by some of the more eloquent rheto- ricians on the subject. The Government's de- cision is, of course, a reflection of the real- ism of Mr. Lemass. However desirable continued protection might be if he had any choice in the matter, the economic future would be bleak if Ireland remained outside a united Europe, including Britain, from whose markets Irish goods were excluded by the external tariff of the European Economic Community.
Because the economic interests of the Republic are so closely linked with those of Britain, the logic of facts leads the Republic to follow Britain towards the Common Market. Most Irish ex- ports have unrestricted entry to Britain at present and that right compels the Republic to do whatever Britain does in regard to the Common Market. If, however, for any reason Britain does not become a member, what, then, should Ireland do? Common sense suggests a course which has long been advocated—com- plete economic integration between Ireland and Britain. Both countries are more nearly a natural economic unit together than separately. If they are prepared to be full partners in the Euro- pean Economic Community, there is hardly any good reason against their forming together a common economic alliance if membership of the wider group is not available to them. Antiquated nationalism in Ireland, of course, rejects an economic re-enactment of the Union with the United Kingdom, though its exponents are pre- pared to accept the more extreme surrender of sovereignty implied in the Rome Treaty.
One of the benefits of the present enthusiasm for the Common Market is the revision of the old attitude that took economic protection for granted. Whether Ireland joins the European Economic Community or not, it will never again have the same devotion to tariffs, quotas and other trade restrictions. While sensible people recognise that the Republic wants to join the Common Market at this stage mainly because she has little choice in the matter, there are others who appear to assume that membership would immediately bring an economic millen- nium previously unimagined. The truth is that membership will create serious problems during a long, period of adjustment and that strong political leadership will be required to solve them. Part of the legacy of protection is that many of the Irish businessmen and trade union- ists are not cost-conscious. Small firms created behind protective barriers cannot hope to pro- duce competitively unless they improve their efficiency by integration with other firms, Irish or British. Some of the larger firms, however, can readily compete on equal terms with rivals in Britain and elsewhere. This is also true of small firms capably managed and producing high-quality goods. It may be the firms of inter- mediate size that will face the severest tests.
The Government has taken a practical atti- tude towards the political implications of European unity and has been strongly supported by the principal opposition party, Fine Gael. In short, the country will accept the political responsibilities of membership of the Community. As those obligations have been only vaguely defined, and as there is incomplete agreement about them among the existing Six, this is ob- viously all that can usefully be said on the subject at present. It is true that the leader of the Fine Gad Party, Mr. James Dillon, does say something more. He has long been a per- sistent advocate of an Atlantic Community that includes the United States of America and Britain, an idea that derives probably from the advocacy nearly seventy years ago of an Anglo- American Commonwealth by the late Sir Horace Plunkett, the founder of the co-operative move- ment. But, however inspiring Mr. Dillon's vision may be, it is remote from practical politics.
There is a justified mood of optimism in the Republic about existing economic conditions, and this is probably why there is also a ten- dency to minimise the challenge of the Common Market. Some years ago, the Secretary of the Department of Finance, Mr. T. K. Whitaker, was permitted to take the novel step for a civil servant of publishing a survey of Irish economic conditions and potential. His document, which was remarkably far-sighted and constructive, has had a profound influence on Irish economic thought and policy, and was largely responsible for the greatly improved economic climate of Ireland today. Public investment has been shifted towards more 'productive purposes. Eco- nomic growth of over 41 per cent. a year is being achieved and balance of payments troubles avoided. Saving is increasing. There has been a remarkable stability in financial policy which has created among businessmen a mood of con- fidence that is a striking contrast to the general loss of confidence of British businessmen as a result of the vacillations of Treasury policy. The Irish public have a conviction that those respon- sible for the making of public policy are at least fully aware of the problems to be solved, even if solutions are not always readily available.
For nearly a year a Committee for Industrial Organisation, consisting of representatives of the employers, the administration, trade unions and economists, has been carrying out a survey of Irish industry with a view to making recom- mendations to the Government on the steps necessary to adapt the economy to the situation created by unification with Europe. The financial stability of the country is attracting foreign capital from Britain. France, Germany and the United States, and the new industrial estate at the Shannon Free Airport has become a focus of widespread attention. An unsolved problem is industrial relations, but here the Republic is not alone. Nothing in the nature of a national wages policy exists, though agreements between employers and trade unions have led in practice to national wage agreements every Second year which, however satisfactory they may be to the interests directly involved, have shown little evi- dence of being consciously related to the pro- motion of long-term economic development generally. But there is now a greater awareness of the necessity for more rational industrial rela- tions and for an accepted policy for wages and incomes. There are signs that the challenge of the Common Market may intensify the urgency of this awareness.
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