Free trade was abandoned, and protective tariffs were installed on nearly every manufactured product. Fianna Fail would remain in power until the year 1948. At that point, Ireland's first coalition government ousted them. Ever since then, two political parties - Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, have dominated Irish political life. The former of these two parties is noted for being less interventionist when it comes to the economy. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Ireland was hit by major economic problems, including two oil crises, a series of bank strikes, poor relations in the industrial sector, and runaway inflation. Then, in the mid-90s, Ireland experienced an economic boom that would come to be known as the Celtic Tiger. By the year 2005, Ireland was voted by Economist Magazine as the best place to live in the world in terms of quality of life. Whereas Ireland was once a point of emigration, today it is a center of immigration, with thousands of people flocking there from across the EU, attracted by the high salaries and high quality of life. Major Social and Economic Problems

Throughout the years, poverty and homelessness have been major problems in Ireland. Even today, despite the growing economy and the vast improvements in quality of life, there are still an estimated five thousand homeless people in Ireland, about half of which reside in Dublin.

Poverty first became a major problem during the Great Potato Famine, which lasted from 1845 to 1849. Then, in the twentieth century, the economic recession of 1980 led to many people losing their homes and going hungry. By 1985, over a quarter of Ireland's children lived in impoverished households. That number had dropped to 6.5% by 2001.

It is believed that Ireland's previous problems with poverty could be traced...

As a strong Catholic country, contraception was banned for many years. At the same time, women were not allowed to work after getting married. For this reason, families grew larger, yet only had one source of income to rely on.
In the 1980s recession, high unemployment meant that families had a tough time providing for their children's basic needs. In the educational system, a lot of students dropped out during this period.

In the 1990s, the poverty level had dropped to 14.5%. By 2001, however, it had risen to twenty-two percent.

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