Ireland's Economy
Free Secondary Schooling and Skills
How Ireland's 1967 introduction of free secondary education raised skills that later attracted multinationals, and the role of universities and English.
In 1967, Ireland introduced free secondary education.
The reform
- Education minister Donogh O’Malley announced free secondary schooling.
- School buses were provided in rural areas.
Effects
- Secondary school enrolment rose sharply.
- A generation gained higher skills.
Link to growth
- When multinationals came in the 1990s, they found an educated, English-speaking workforce.
- Economists credit education as a key foundation of the Celtic Tiger.
Third-level education
Expansion of universities and Institutes of Technology trained engineers and scientists.
Lesson
Education investments pay off over decades, often much later.
Comparison with India
India’s IT boom also drew on decades of investment in engineering education.
The first-generation student
A farmer's daughter in Kerry attends free secondary school in 1970, goes on to university and later becomes an engineer for a multinational.
Thinking education pays off immediately
Ireland's 1967 reform paid off decades later.
Key takeaways
- Ireland introduced free secondary education in 1967.
- Enrolment rose sharply.
- An educated workforce attracted multinationals later.
- Education investments pay off over decades.
No recording for this one yet - EconReader can read it aloud for you.