Category: Background

CAP In Foundation Treaty The Treaty of Rome, the founding document of the European Economic Community, provided that there would be a common policy for agriculture.  It stated that the maintenance of differences in agricultural systems would lead to distortion of competition, would impede trade and produce differences in food costs and hence in the […]

Deasy’s Act The first major land reform passed at Westminster effectively consolidated existing laws in favour of the landlord.  The Landlord and Tenant Amendment Act Ireland, 1860, is known as Deasy’s Act after the Irish Attorney General, who put it through Parliament. It confirmed that the relationship between the landlord and tenant was based on […]

Compulsory Purchase The Land Acts effected an enormous social and economic revolution in Ireland. Over the space of a couple of decades, the ownership of most of the agricultural land in the country passed from landed estate owners to their tenant farmers. Until the 1880s, Irish tenant farmers had very little security of tenure. Their […]

1923 Act By the foundation of the Irish Free State, a significant percentage of tenanted land had been sold.  Up to that point, however, sales were voluntary although generously incentivised. The Irish Free State Land Act 1923 was designed to complete land purchases by making them compulsory.  It was also designed to relieve congestion. The […]

Development of Legislation During the 18th century, the Irish Parliament passed several Acts relating to land drainage. They required the initiative of promoters. The works carried out were largely limited to the construction of canals. The Board of Inland Navigation continued to exist after the Union of 1800. By 1831, the Board of Works evolved […]

Rise of Protectionism The late 1920s and early 1930s saw a rise in protectionism in Europe. One of the key questions in the early years of the Irish Free State was whether, and to what extent to embark on a program of tariff protection.  A fiscal enquiry committee that reported in 1923 came down firmly […]

Start of 20th Century The Department of Agriculture and Technical Instructions was formed in 1900.   By the time the Department was formed,  the Land Commission purchase was underway.  Tenant farmers had security of tenure and rents set by the Land Commission. The Land Commission had provided significant rent reductions in response to the decline in […]

World War II A state of emergency was declared on the outbreak of the Second World War and the government adopted emergency legislation giving itself significantly enhanced powers.  Due to limited supplies, almost total self-sufficiency in agriculture was required. The Emergency Powers Act 1939 enabled the government to make emergency orders on almost any matter […]