An Irish solution to an Irish problem


In Irish political discourse, "an Irish solution to an Irish problem" is any official response to a controversial issue which is timid, half-baked, or expedient, which is an unsatisfactory compromise, or sidesteps the fundamental issue.

Earlier usage

The idea had been commonly held that Ireland's problems should be addressed by solutions developed in Ireland, rather than based on foreign models; this was sometimes expressed using some variant of the anaphora "an Irish solution to an Irish problem". Examples of the rhetorical device include:
The same device has been used in other countries. Sargent Shriver called the Opportunities Industrialization Center "an American solution to an American problem" in 1967; Hillary Clinton described her 1993 health care plan as "an American solution for an American problem by creating an American health care system that works for America." In 1977, Hector Laing of United Biscuits cautioned against applying its work practices at its American subsidiary Keebler Company by calling them "a British solution to a British problem."

Health (Family Planning) Act, 1979

had been prohibited in the Republic of Ireland since 1935. However, the Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that married couples had a constitutional right to privacy which encompassed family planning. In 1974, Minister for Justice Patrick Cooney introduced a bill to accommodate this, but it was defeated on a free vote in which Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave was among those opposing it. Fianna Fáil came to power after the 1977 election, and Charles Haughey became Minister for Health. He introduced a bill —subsequently the Health Act, 1979— to allow contraceptives to be available, only by medical prescription, "for the purpose, bona fide, of family planning or for adequate medical reasons". Physicians and pharmacists who had moral objections would not be obliged to write or fill such prescriptions.
Introducing the second reading of the bill in Dáil Éireann on 28 February 1979, Haughey concluded:
Haughey was using the phrase "an Irish solution to an Irish problem" in the same approbatory sense as before. In the ensuing Dáil debate, Fianna Fáil TDs Kit Ahern and Niall Andrews quoted Haughey's description approvingly in supporting the Bill. However, liberal opponents of the 1979 Act quoted Haughey's words ironically and derisively in subsequent criticism, bringing a permanent change to the meaning of the phrase.
Noël Browne said:
Barry Desmond said:
Jim O'Keeffe said:
John Kelly said: