Ireland since 1949
When it left the Commonwealth on April 18, 1949, the Republic proclaimed in 1937 was recognized by the United Kingdom of Great Britain .
Great Britain accepted Ireland's exit from the Commonwealth and passed the Ireland Bill, a guarantee of existence for Northern Ireland to be part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The Republic of Ireland remained neutral and joined the United Nations in 1955 . The economy was backward and initially little industrialized. After the US Marshall Plan aid ran out, Ireland received funding from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund since 1957.
After two applications to join the EEC (1961), ECSC and EURATOM (1963) and 1967 were rejected by France, Ireland joined the EC on January 1, 1973, together with Great Britain and Denmark. Ireland received a lot of EC funding. During the 1970s and 1980s the Irish economy suffered from the oil crisis and unemployment rose sharply until 1992/93. An economic upswing began in the mid-1990s thanks to EU funding. The Irish economy grew strongly and numerous companies settled in Ireland (so-called Celtic tigers).
The Northern Ireland conflict ended in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Ireland's constitutional claim to Northern Ireland has been abandoned. The euro was introduced in Ireland on January 1, 2002. In 2007 the real estate crisis broke out in Ireland. It led to the financial crisis. The national debt increased sharply and unemployment rose sharply. Ireland has received aid from the EU Stability Fund since the end of 2010. In 2014 Ireland overcame the euro crisis.
Republic of Ireland 1949-1973
With the entry into force of the Republic of Ireland Act on April 18, 1949, Ireland finally became a republic. President of Ireland was Sean O'Kelly , who was elected in 1945. Great Britain accepted Ireland's exit from the Commonwealth on April 18, 1949 with the passage of the Ireland Bill on May 3, 1949, in which the British government declared a guarantee of existence for Northern Ireland. Ireland was still not considered a foreign country. Conversely, British and New Zealand citizens were not considered foreign nationals by Ireland. Ireland remained neutral.
1951-54 ruled a government of Fianna Fáil under Prime Minister Éamon de Valera . On May 20, 1952, the last food rationing was abolished. The price of food rose sharply. 1954-57 the coalition led by the Fine Gael ruled again with the Labor Party under Prime Minister John A. Costello . The Irish Republican Army ( IRA ) first became militant in August 1955 to unite the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland.
On December 14, 1955, Ireland was admitted to the UN by the UN General Assembly. The UN Security Council approved the admission. On December 15, Ireland became a member of the UN with the entry into force of Resolution Ireland. The coalition government fell apart over disagreements over economic policy and the IRA's fight against terrorism. Fianna Fáil emerged victorious from the new elections in 1957 and won an absolute majority of the seats. De Valera re-formed the government as prime minister.
On July 8, 1957, the new government began to intervene against the activities of the IRA on the soil of the Republic of Ireland. On September 15, 1957, Ireland joined the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. In this context it tried to promote the settlement of foreign industrial companies to improve the industrial structure and export. In the presidential elections on June 18, 1959, Prime Minister De Valera won. He was sworn in as Irish President on June 25th. Successor as Prime Minister was Seán Lemass (Fianna Fáil) on May 23, 1959 . On August 1, 1961, Ireland applied for membership of the EEC . After the IRA agreed to cease terrorist activities, 29 captured IRA activists were released on April 20, 1962. On January 21, 1963, Ireland applied to join the ECSC and Euratom . In 1963, Britain and Ireland failed to join the EEC, ECSC and Euratom due to resistance from France under President de Gaulle.
The Prime Ministers of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which belongs to Great Britain, met for talks on January 14, 1965 for the first time since the island was divided in 1921/22. The economic talks were in the foreground. The Government of the Republic of Ireland recognized the Northern Irish Government. On September 14, Ireland extended its fishing limit from three to twelve miles from October 1, 1965. On December 15, 1965, Great Britain and Ireland signed an agreement on a British-Irish free trade area that implies the gradual dismantling of tariff barriers and does not imply Ireland's accession to the EFTA provided. In 1966, Eamon de Valera was re-elected President. On November 10, 1966, John Lynch became the new Prime Minister of a Fianna Fáil government. Ireland applied again on May 12, 1967 to join the EEC, ECSC and Euratom. The French President de Gaulle rejected the accession of Great Britain and Ireland to the EEC, ECSC and Euratom again.
On October 5, 1968, clashes broke out in Northern Ireland between the socially and politically disadvantaged Catholic minority and the Protestant majority. The Irish Catholic Civil Rights Movement was supported in the Republic of Ireland. Since 1968, the IRA's radical terrorist appearance in the Republic of Ireland has increasingly lost its influence. After serious unrest in Northern Ireland in Belfast and Londonderry on August 12, 1969, civil war broke out in Northern Ireland. The IRA stepped up its fight with terrorist attacks. Radical Protestants carried out attacks on the IRA. Great Britain deployed the British Army on August 19, 1969. The Northern Irish government with the self-government remained in office for the time being. Ireland advocated a peaceful solution to the Northern Ireland conflict .
The membership negotiations between the European Communities and the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and Norway, which began in 1970, were concluded on January 22, 1972 with the agreement on the admission of the candidate countries to the EC. In a referendum on 10/11. May 1972, 85% voted to join the EC. On May 10, a law to effectively combat the IRA was passed. On December 2nd, the majority of the population voted in a referendum to abolish the special constitutional status of the Catholic Church. This is to facilitate reunification for the Protestants of Northern Ireland. On December 8, 1972, Parliament decided to abolish the special status of the Catholic Church. At the same time, the age of majority and the right to vote were reduced. In the referendum on December 2, the majority voted in favor of lowering the age of majority.
Ireland in the EC (Ireland since 1973)
On January 1, 1973 Ireland joined the EC together with Great Britain and Denmark. Ireland received a lot of subsidies for structurally weak areas. In a referendum on March 8 in Northern Ireland, the majority voted to remain with Great Britain, while the Catholic minority largely boycotted the referendum. The Irish government recognized that they would remain with Great Britain. After parliamentary elections, Liam Cosgrave (Fine Gael) formed a coalition government of Fine Gael and the Labor Party on March 14, 1973. In the presidential elections on May 30, the Protestant Erskine Childers (Fianna Fáil) won. He became the first Protestant President of Ireland.
After the outbreak of the oil crisis in October 1973, Ireland fell into an economic crisis. Unemployment and national debt rose sharply. Economic output decreased. On June 28, 1973 the Northern Ireland Assembly was elected by the people. The radical parties boycotted the elections. In November, former Northern Ireland Prime Minister Brian Faulkner was appointed Executive President of Northern Ireland. On December 9, 1973, the British government and the Northern Irish parties agreed on the Sunningdale Agreement : the people of Northern Ireland should elect the Northern Ireland Assembly as parliament. A non-partisan government with representatives from Protestants and Catholics of Irish descent should be formed. The Council of Ireland, made up of representatives from Ireland and Northern Ireland, should be formed. It had already been agreed in 1920/21. After rejection by the Protestant unionists and the trade unions, the Sunningdale Agreement failed in May 1974. The planned formation of a government did not materialize. The British direct administration that had existed since March 24, 1972, without a government or parliament, remained in place. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) carried out terrorist attacks. To succeed the late President Childers on November 29, 1974, Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh was elected as the new President, who took office on December 19, 1974. Ireland received a $ 300 million loan from the EC on February 16, 1976. On May 1, 1975, the Northern Ireland Assembly was elected. After the failure of the constitutional conference in Northern Ireland on March 4, 1976, the British administration took over direct government in Northern Ireland for an unlimited period and dissolved the Northern Ireland Assembly.
After the armistice between January 1975 and March 1976, the PIRA resumed the terrorist attacks. The Irish Parliament passed a law that also allows the conviction of terrorists who have carried out attacks outside the Republic of Ireland, especially Northern Ireland. On September 10, the parliament approved the law on the declaration of a national emergency to intensify the fight against terrorism and, on September 15, 1976, tightened the penalties for acts of terrorism. Irish President O'Dalaigh resigned on October 22nd. On November 9, 1976, Patrick Hillery was elected as the new President of Ireland. In the parliamentary elections on June 16, 1977, the Fianna Fáil won. Prime Minister was again Lynch. On January 1, 1978 Ireland became a full member of the EC after a 5-year transition period.
In December 1978 the EWS was decided. The Irish pound participated in the EMS. The second oil crisis in 1979 worsened Ireland's economic crisis. After Lynch's resignation on December 5, 1979, Charles James Haughey became the new Prime Minister of the Fianna Fáil government. After the general election, Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald Fine Gael formed a coalition government led by Fine Gael with the Labor Party on June 30, 1981. After coalition disputes, new elections were held on February 18, 1982. The Fianna Fáil became the strongest faction, but failed to gain an absolute majority. On March 9, Charles James Haughey formed a Fianna Fáil minority government. After a motion of no confidence in the Haughey minority government, the Fine Gael won the early elections on November 24th. The new Prime Minister was Garret FitzGerald on December 14, 1982, with a coalition of Fine Gael and Labor with mostly Fine Gael ministers.
On January 5, 1983, the INLA Irish National Liberation Army was banned as a terrorist organization in Ireland. Great Britain and Ireland signed a Northern Ireland Agreement on November 15, 1985, in which the formation of a British-Irish government commission with a permanent secretariat in Belfast was agreed. There were strong protests in Northern Ireland by the radical Protestant Unionists and the PIRA and supporters of the Catholic Sinn Féin , which was close to the PIRA. The British-Irish Commission met. In February 1986 the 12 EC states agreed the Single European Act to complete the EC internal market by January 1, 1993. After the ruling coalition broke up, early elections to the House of Commons were held on February 17, 1987. Charles Haughey (Fianna Fáil) became prime minister again and formed a minority government. After the new elections in 1989 he formed a coalition government with the Progressive Democrats . Prime Minister Haughey survived a vote of no confidence in parliament on November 1, 1990, after he had dismissed Defense Minister Lenihan over a political scandal. On November 9, 1990, Mary Robinson was elected Ireland's first female president. In the local elections in Ireland on June 27, 1991, the ruling Fianna Fáil suffered a heavy defeat.
The peace talks between the Protestant parties of British origin, the Catholic parties of Irish descent and representatives of Ireland in Belfast, which began on June 17, were broken off on July 3, 1991 due to differences of opinion. On November 14, 1991, a revolt against Prime Minister and party leader Haughey broke out within the ruling Fianna Fáil party. Haughey is said to be involved in a corruption affair. On February 3, 1992, Charles Haughey was overthrown by his own party. Successor was the former Treasury Secretary Albert Reynolds . The 12 EC states signed the Maastricht Treaty on February 7, 1992, establishing the European Union EU. The EC was transformed into the European Union when it came into force, a common foreign and security policy and the establishment of an economic and monetary union were agreed. On June 20, 1992, the Irish people voted in favor of the Maastricht Treaties by a clear majority of 69%.
In the parliamentary elections on November 25, 1992 Fianna Fáil lost, remained the strongest faction and the largest opposition party, Fine Gael, Labor won seats and received more than twice as many seats as before. in addition, the Progressive Democrats also won seats. In the referendum on abortion, abortion was approved in certain cases. On January 1, 1993, the EC internal market came into force. Thus within the EC there was the free movement of goods, services and freedom of establishment for EC citizens within the EC. On January 12, 1993 Albert Reynolds (Fianna Fáil) formed a coalition government of Fianna Fáil and Labor Party with 9 Fianna Fáil and 6 Labor ministers. On February 1, 1993, a new realignment was agreed in the EMS: the Irish pound was devalued by 10% against the other currencies in the system. A private visit by the Irish President to Belfast on June 20, during which she also met the chairman of the Sinn Féin party, Gerry Adams , which was close to the PIRA, sparked unrest in Britain. In 1993 Ireland was one of the few EC countries to achieve economic growth. The unemployment rate rose from 16% in 1991/92 to 20% in 1993 and was one of the highest in the EC. Due to the high level of national debt, Ireland had little scope for targeted measures to combat high unemployment. On November 1st, 1993 the Maastricht Treaty came into force and the EU was founded.
On August 31, 1994, the chairman of the Sinn Féin party, Gerry Adams, announced a unilateral PIRA ceasefire. The pro-British unionists also announced an armistice. At the end of 1994, British government representatives met for the first time with Sinn Féin representatives for negotiations. After the resignation of Prime Minister Albert Reynolds on December 15, 1994, Fine Gael chairman John Bruton formed a coalition government with the Labor Party. Low corporate taxes have attracted many foreign companies to invest in Ireland since the mid-1990s. They set up branches and created jobs. The economic boom began. Ireland's economic output increased sharply, the country was called the Celtic Tiger. Economic growth was 6% annually. The high national debt and unemployment fell.
In February 1996 the PIRA terminated the armistice and bombed the Docklands in London. It again carried out numerous bombings against British facilities. Fianna Fáil won the parliamentary elections in June 1997. As the new Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern formed a coalition government on June 26, led by Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrates. On October 30, 1997, the conservative Mary Patricia McAleese won the presidential election. In 1997 the British government, representatives of Ireland and the Northern Irish politicians David Trimble from the pro-British Unionists and John Hume from the Catholic Irish Social Democratic and Labor Party in Northern Ireland negotiated . On July 20, 1997, the PIRA announced a new armistice.
On April 10, 1998, Great Britain, the representatives of the Unionists and Irish Catholics of Northern Ireland and Ireland signed the Good Friday Agreement : it ended the civil war in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland should regain self-government and a regional parliament. Ireland renounced its right to reunification with Northern Ireland, the Irish and Northern Irish authorities agreed to work together, the PIRA and the radical Protestant militias should be disarmed. An amnesty should be issued for underground fighters of the PIRA and the Protestants. The majority of the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland voted in the referendums on May 20, 1998 for the Good Friday Agreement.
By the late 1990s, Ireland was near full employment. The marriage and birth rate rose again significantly and immigration exceeded emigration. Ireland received less EU funding due to economic growth, but remained a recipient of EU funding. On December 2, 1999, the Republic of Ireland's right to Northern Ireland was removed from the constitution. In May 2001, the majority rejected the Nice Treaty in a referendum . As agreed in the Maastricht Treaty, Ireland joined the European Central Bank (ECB) on January 1, 1999 and introduced the euro as its currency on January 1, 2002. Fianna Fáil won the parliamentary elections in 2002. The left Sinn Féin and the Greens also won. Ahern's coalition government with the Progressive Democrates continued. In a second referendum on October 19, 2002, the majority of the Irish approved the Nice Treaty. From 2002 to 2004 Ireland was the most globalized country. At the end of 2003, unemployment fell to 4.5% and inflation rose to 4.8%. There was a real estate boom. In 2005 Ireland was replaced by Singapore in the globalization ranking. On December 12, 2005, more than 150,000 people demonstrated in the capital Dublin and eight other Irish cities against dumping wages and slave labor.
In 2007 a real estate crisis broke out in Ireland. After the parliamentary elections in 2007, Prime Minister Ahern formed a coalition of Fianna Fáil, Progressive Democrates and the Greens. In 2008, Brian Cowen replaced Ahern as Prime Minister. The Progressive Democrates disbanded in 2008. The government was continued from Fianna Fáil and the Greens. In May 2008 unemployment rose to 5.4%. In a referendum in June 2008, the majority with 53.4% rejected the EU Reform Treaty ( Lisbon Treaty ) from 2007. In 2008 Ireland fell into a severe recession during the banking crisis, and the international financial and economic crisis in September 2008 spread to Ireland. The Irish Parliament voted in favor of the state guarantee for bank deposits in October 2008. Sales on the real estate market fell massively. Consumer spending has fallen and investment has collapsed. Unemployment in Ireland rose to 10.4% in February 2009 and 12.5% in October 2009. The national debt through aid programs to stimulate the economy rose rapidly. The ECB lowered the key interest rate.
In the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on October 2, 2009, the majority voted for the treaty. Ireland was threatened with national bankruptcy since 2010. The euro crisis spread to Ireland from Greece. In 2010 Ireland applied for funds from the euro bailout fund , which was created after the outbreak of the Greek sovereign debt crisis in 2010. On January 23, 2011, the Greens terminated the government coalition with the Fianna Fáil party. Thereupon new elections took place on February 25th, from which the conservative Fine Gael emerged as the winner with 36.1% and the Labor Party with 19.4%. the Fianna Fáil received only 17.4% of the vote. Enda Kenny (Fine Gael) became the new Prime Minister of a coalition of Fine Gael and Labor Party on March 9, 2011 . Savings were decided. In the presidential elections on October 27, 2011, the Irish Labor Party candidate Michael D. Higgins won . He was sworn in as the new President on November 11, 2011. On December 15, 2013, Ireland became the first euro crisis country to leave the euro rescue fund. The budget deficit should be reduced through further savings in social spending. In 2014 Ireland repaid a loan to the IMF early. In March 2015 the unemployment rate fell to 10%.
See also
literature
- Cornelia Witz: Great Britain-Ploetz: History of Great Britain and Ireland for reference , Verlag Ploetz, 3rd updated, revised and expanded edition 1993, ISBN 3-87640-452-5
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Great Britain Ploetz, Ireland, From Gaelic Renewal to Independence, pp. 194–196
- ↑ Great Britain Ploetz, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, World War II to the present, p. 168
- ↑ Great Britain Ploetz, Ireland, From Gaelic Renewal to Independence, p. 196
- ↑ Great Britain Ploetz, Ireland, From Gaelic Renewal to Independence, p. 196
- ↑ Great Britain Ploetz, Great Britain and Northern Ireland - World War II to the present, p. 170
- ↑ Great Britain Ploetz, Great Britain and Northern Ireland - World War II to the present, p. 170
- ↑ Great Britain Ploetz, Ireland, From Gaelic Renewal to Independence, p. 196
- ↑ Great Britain Ploetz, Great Britain and Northern Ireland - World War II to the present, p. 171
- ↑ Great Britain Ploetz, Ireland, From Gaelic Renewal to Independence, pp. 196–197
- ↑ Great Britain Ploetz, Ireland, From Gaelic Renewal to Independence, pp. 197/198