By 1948, Fianna Fáil had been in power for 16 years. The economy remained stagnant, and the time was right for a change of Government.

In that year, a five-party Government was formed. Fine Gael allied with Labour, Clann na Poblachta, Clan na Talmhan and various Independents to form the Irish Free State' s first Coalition Government.

The new Taoiseach, John A Costello, oversaw a period of renewed social and economic progress.

John A Costello

Given the multiplicity of parties and outlooks within cabinet, the new Government was extremely united on how to attain a better Ireland. Its achievements included:

• The establishment of the Irish Republic in 1949
• The building of a record number of new houses
• The setting-up of the IDA
• A radical reduction of the numbers suffering from tuberculosis

This Government fell after internal difficulties over the famous 'Mother and Child Scheme' which sought to give free health care and health education to mothers and their children.

While the 'Mother and Child' Schemeincident did destabilise the government to some extent, it did not lead to its collapse as is generally thought.

Fianna Fáil returned to power in 1951, but the Inter-Party Government was again returned to power in 1954.

This time, the Government had a much larger Fine Gael representation because the Party had increased its total number of TDs to 50. This Government achieved the following:

• The successful negotiation of Ireland' s entry to the United Nations
• The abandonment of the failed policy of economic self-sufficiency - a move that lead to the Whitaker Report, which transformed the Irish economy
• The continuation of the fight against the increased militancy of the IRA that again threatened to destabilise the State

The Inter-Party Government went out of office in 1957, and Fine Gael suffered an electoral reverse. It was time for fresh thinking and a new era.