Tallaght Strategy
Political policy followed by Fine Gael political party in Ireland (1987–89)
The Tallaght Strategy was a policy followed by the Fine Gael opposition party in Ireland after the 1987 general election . Under this policy, Fine Gael would not oppose economic reforms proposed by the Fianna Fáil minority government in the national interest. This strategy was a major departure from the conventional normalities of Irish political behaviour, with a bitter division between the two main parties Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael dating back to the Irish Civil War of the 1920s.
The strategy was named after a speech given by Fine Gael party leader Alan Dukes to the Tallaght Chamber of commerce on 2 September 1987: [1]
When the Government is moving in the right direction, I will not oppose the central thrust of its policy. If it is going in the right direction, I do not believe that it should be deviated from its course, or tripped up on macro-economic issues.
Although it did not benefit the party directly – Fine Gael gained only four seats in the 1989 general election , and did not form part of the subsequent government – Fine Gael maintain that this policy of cooperation between the opposition and the government laid the foundations for the Celtic Tiger economic boom of the 1990s – "A decision by the Fine Gael opposition to support all moves towards fiscal reform...allowed the fierce spending and tax cuts that began to transform Ireland from a banana republic into a 'Celtic Tiger'." [2]
During an RTÉ interview on 7 September 2008, the Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny , commenting on the worsening economic situation in Ireland said that Fine Gael "would work in the interest of the economy and the people" but ruled out a return to the Tallaght Strategy. [3]
In October 2010, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan of the Green Party , called for a 'Tallaght Strategy Mark Two' in order to pass the 2011 government budget. [4] Fine Gael rejected calls for a new Tallaght Strategy. [5]
See also
References
- ↑ "The Tallaght Strategy – From Dukes to Bruton" . Fine Gael website . Retrieved 10 August 2008 . [ permanent dead link ]
- ↑ "Charles Haughey obituary" . The Economist . 22 June 2006.
- ↑ "Kenny rules out return to Tallaght Strategy" . RTÉ News . 7 September 2008 . Retrieved 8 September 2008 .
- ↑ "Minister calls for 'Tallaght Strategy Mark Two' " . BreakingNews.ie . 4 October 2010.
- ↑ "FG rules out prospect of second 'Tallaght strategy' " . The Irish Times . 5 October 2010.
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