Irish Studies in International Affairs

Author’s e-mail: ackeogh@gmail.com Irish Studies in International Affairs, Vol. 29 (2018), 261–277 doi: https://doi.org/10.3318/ISIA.2018.29.19 Ireland’s Adaptation to Membership of the EEC: Early Dealings with the European Regional and Development Fund Aoife Keogh Florida State University International Programs, Italy INTRODUCTION Ireland’s search for membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) was lengthy and arduous; Irish politicians and civil servants had steered the Community toward that goal since 1961 and relations were at a significant juncture when Ireland acceded as a full member state in 1973. Political scientists have demonstrated that the system for administering relations with the EEC after accession was adapted rather than changed; this lay in contrast with other applicants such as the UK. Essentially, Irish officials did not turn a blank page after accession because there were already procedures set for managing relations with the EEC. That backdrop, it will be argued in the first section of this paper, had an important impact on how those structures were adjusted and evolved after accession. But these dynamics also had consequences for Ireland’s initial years within the Community. The fact that the Department of Finance had played a key role in Ireland’s road toward membership throughout the 1960s, and that the Department of External Affairs (DEA) led the negotiations team in Brussels is crucial to this story. One department coordinated policy formulation in relation to accession at home while the other took care of negotiations abroad. However, as accession progressed, the DEA was nominated as gatekeeper for EEC affairs and this change fueled considerable debate among key administrators, including secretaries of Finance, Taoiseach, External Affairs, Agriculture and Fisheries as well as Industry and Commerce. Correspondence shows that some administrators favoured continuing to work through the Department of Finance in relation to the EEC even after accession. Ireland’s decision on how it would strategically seek access to the European Regional and Development Funds (ERDF) provides an important example of several departments coordinating together shortly after accession. Parts of Ireland, Southern Italy and the UK were due to benefit significantly from these European funds; considerable attention and resources were invested in the ERDF by officials and empirical sources are rich and plentiful. These will be 262 Irish Studies in International Affairs used to exemplify and analyse dynamics between various government departments . The Department of Finance took the lead in establishing procedures for administering the ERDF internally and the DFA managed negotiations with the other eight member states and the Commission. While the two ministries tackled the latter on different fronts, this research underlines the varying visions, motivations and approaches that both adopted. The Department of Finance advocated seeking access to the ERDF as one region while the DFA favoured formulating a policy that presented Ireland as multiple regions. In planning Ireland’s application for funding, the Department of Finance focused its attention on national concerns, optimising funding, managing allocation centrally and continuing state grants to industry. At the same time, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Garret FitzGerald, emphasised Ireland’s eligibility for funding for its poorest regions and forcibly rejected the notion of juste retour. Ultimately, the Taoiseach’s Office sided with the Department of Finance’s one-region approach, but the debate surrounding that decision gives a significant insight into policy-making and the varying perspectives regarding Ireland’s membership of the EEC among officials and departments at the time. This episode also highlights the disconnectedness, power struggles and rivalries that existed between key government departments. IRELAND’S ADAPTATION TO MEMBERSHIP OF THE EEC By the time Ireland turned its sights on membership of the EEC, several Irish government departments had already cooperated collectively to nurture links with the Community, going as far back as the early 1960s.1 Some government departments were more heavily involved in this process than others. Important changes occurred for the Department of Finance and the DEA in terms of portfolios .2 Those changes reflected central policy-making which, after having reinforced Anglo-Irish relations through the 1965 Anglo Irish Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA), laid increasing emphasis on bolstering Ireland’s relationship with the EEC.3 Ireland’s economic...