Revenue Over the Years 1950 - 1958

A major step towards a united Europe was the setting up of the European Coal & Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951. Its objective was a free market in coal and steel between the founding countries of France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Daniel McAleese became Revenue Commissioner when Seán Mac Cormaic retired in 1950. A native of Lurgan, Co. Armagh, McAleese was also working in the Custom House on the day it was burned. A noted member of Clonliffe Harriers and the Central Council of the National Athletic & Cycling Association (NACA), he was chief organiser of the public reception for Tisdall and Callaghan's victorious return from the 1932 Olympic Games. When Commissioner Donnelly retired in 1951, he was succeeded by Edward P. Haslam, an expert in C&E legislation who had served for eight years as private secretary to the first Chairman, William O'Brien.

In 1952, Customs examination of imported goods was reduced to one in every three consignments. A shadow of things to come was the new Taxes Central Collection Office. Responsible for the Dublin area only, this was a forerunner to the Office of the Collector General. In this pre-PAYE era, it was not unknown for Collectors of Taxes to visit small employers on pay-days to collect something on account from employees.

The following year, the Government set up a committee to examine the effects of taxation on industry. With due regard to the interests of taxpayers, this committee was charged to recommend amendment to the law where considered necessary and practicable. Another precedent was set with the Committee's composition. Chaired by An Breitheamh Cearbhaill O'Dálaigh (later Uachtarán na h-éireann), its members included professional representatives from diverse areas and backgrounds. The Secretary was A.T. McMahon, Higher Grade Inspector of Taxes, later to become an Appeal Commissioner.

In 1953 as Elizabeth was crowned Queen of England, Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing conquered Mount Everest. Earlier, on January 26th, the inaugural meeting of the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC) took place in Brussels. Set up to promote Customs co-operation and harmonisation among member countries, the CCC concept was born from the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Irish Revenue, represented by Commissioner Haslam, was among the seventeen founder members. When Commissioner Haslam took his place at this historic meeting he was not only following the footsteps of Commissioner Flynn to Geneva in 1923 but he was blazing a European trail that would be widened to include many Revenue people over the next three decades.

Travel was the theme of the following year when the first passenger jet plane, a Boeing 707, made its maiden voyage in the USA. áras Mhic Dhiarmada, Dublin's central omnibus station, was opened as the country hosted An Tostal to attract more tourists. During these years, An Bord Fáilte (now the Irish Tourist Board) was founded. Technology was discovering new methods of communication, some of which were finding their way into Irish Revenue.

When Commissioner McAleese retired in 1955, Seán Ríamonn became the first post-1923 entrant on the Revenue Board. He was to break more new ground later when he published the first history of the Revenue Commissioners. That year in Prague, world history was made with the signing of the Warsaw Pact. Uniting the Eastern bloc countries, the Pact's objectives were disarmament and peace.

In 1956 as Ireland's international payments worsened, special Customs import levies were imposed on a wide range of goods. To encourage exports and generate jobs in manufacturing, Export Sales Relief (ESR) was introduced. This provided relief from Income Tax and Corporation Profits Tax on the profits from the export of certain manufactured goods. The definition of manufactured gave much food for thought. Whether day-old chicks, whiskey blending, mink pelts or ships' repairs came within the scope of ESR were among the brain teasers for Inspectors of Taxes. Our most successful export in that year was Ronnie Delaney who achieved an Olympic Gold for his 1,500 metre win at Melbourne. Ronnie, son of P.A. Delaney, C&E, won Ireland's first Gold since the successes of Pat O'Callaghan and Bob Tisdall.

The glittering wedding of Irish/American Grace Kelly to Monaco's Prince Rainier was widely covered in the Irish media. But many of the Bridies and the Madges, avidly reading the fairy tale romance of the Prince and the film star, would have to settle for Bowser Egans with hill farms and ailing mothers because too many young men of twenty had sailed away. This Ballroom of Romance era saw emigration reach epic proportions. The year also saw the Suez crisis and the Hungarian uprising. Irish Revenue achieved high honour in Europe when Commissioner Haslam was elected Vice-Chairman of the Customs Co-Operation Council.

A Commission on Income Taxation was set up in February 1957, again under the Chairmanship of An Breitheamh, Cearbhaill O'Dálaigh. The Secretary, L. de Barra, was a Higher Grade Inspector of Taxes. That year saw the beginnings of radical changes that would alter Ireland and Irish Revenue. From the recommendations of the Income Tax Committee emerged the concept of Pay As You Earn (PAYE), introduced three years later. The Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC), was signed by the original six ECSC members. This was a giant leap towards unifying European economies. A separate agreement established EURATOM to develop peaceful uses for atomic energy.

The Customs Free Airport (Amendment) Act, 1958 allowed special tax and duty concessions to industries and services operating within the Shannon Free Airport. These included exemption from Income Tax and Corporation Profits Tax for profits derived from trading operations within the area. Under Customs control, raw materials could be imported, without payment of duty and taxes, manufactured and then exported. Duty became payable only if the goods entered home consumption. Shannon was the first Free Zone in the world to have manufacturing operations. New Revenue controls were drawn up and more staff allocated to Shannon.

To stem the tide of emigration, more than a Free Zone was needed. Economic Development, published in November 1958, largely reflected the visionary input of T.K. Whitaker, then Secretary, Department of Finance. This plan to revitalise the country included:

In that year, Revenue boldly ventured towards the new, exciting world of computers. Beginning with a mechanised accounting system into which data-coded cards were punched, it was located in áras Bhrugha, Dublin. Requiring thirteen operators, it was used for some tax work and cut the time spent on manual files.

1958 also saw the charismatic John XXIII become Pope, the Bridge on the River Kwai sweep the Oscars and the long tradition of Revenue poets and novelists still productive. Playwright, Donal Giltinan, C&E, was creating the intrepid Dan Dare. J.B. Kelly, recalls: "Between examinations of goods in Dublin's British Rail, Giltinan drafted episodes of Dan Dare. We wondered if the infamous Mekon was based on a real character around the docks." Another character created by a Revenue person was Reics Carlo, the brainchild of Cathal ó Sandair, a prolific writer in the Irish language. Other Revenue scribes of this time include Pádraic Fallon whose poetry ranks with the best in modern literature and Frank Carney whose play "The Righteous are Bold" ran for months in the Abbey.

Meanwhile other Revenue talent was harnessed to provide a more efficient, forward looking civil and public service. The concept of professional training was mooted earlier by Revenue's Patrick J. O'Reilly and S.C. King of the Civics Institute. O'Reilly, former Inspector-General, Customs Preventive Service, who initiated professional training in Customs, was the father of A.J.F. O'Reilly, Chairman, Independent Newspapers. The desire for such professional training was taken up later by Revenue's James Waldron and Patrick Doolan, supported by other senior civil servants. A series of formal discussions was launched, under the aegis of the Association of Higher Civil Servants (AHCS), which also helped with funding. The inaugural meeting of the discussion group, chaired by Patrick Doolan, took place in the Custom House, Dublin, in October 1953. After Doolan's untimely death, Tom Barrington, Department of Local Government took over. All of this led to the birth of the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) which became fully operational in 1957 with Barrington as its first Director. The published proceedings of the discussion groups would later become Administration, the journal of the IPA. The Revenue/IPA connection is stronger than ever as the current editor of Administration and head of IPA Publications is Tony McNamara, son of Aidan McNamara, former Collector, C&E.

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