This section of the site gives an insight into Government Departments in Ireland during the years after independence. It lists the Ministers in charge and the expenditure of each department. The brief of these departments have changed considerably in the past 80 years or so. Many have been renamed or re-branded. The Department Of Finance page lists the revenue coming in and expenditure for the year 1929.

Department Of Finance In Ireland 1929
Revenue Coming Into Department

Customs £7,159,000
 Estate Duties
 £1,044,000
 Stamps including property and income tax and mineral rights.
 £4,307,000
  Corporation Tax
 £239,000
  Excess profits tax
 £133,000
  Post Office
 £1,780,000
 Miscellaneous including fee, etc, stamps
 £1,561,064
Total £24,221,046

 
Expenditure In The Irish Free State For 1929

 Service of debt
 £1,594,478
 Road Fund
 £878,442
  Payment to local taxation account
 £1,071,798
  Miscellaneous central fund service
 £433,410
 Supply services -Army
 £1,737,201
 Revenue Department
 £631,160
 Post Office
 £2,231,566
 Other civil service departments
 £16,816,578
 
 Total expenditure
 £25,394,633

Assets Of The Irish Free State For 1929
Exchequre  assets as of 31st March 1929, totalled approximately, £9,500,000, of which the following were the principal items-
Unemployment Fund  £881,000
Shannon Electricity Fund £4,075,650
Electricity Supply Board £275,000
Road Funded projects £640,000
Local Loans Fund £1,081,237
National City Bank £300,000
Purchase Of Creameries £564,000
Exchequre Balance £748,567

The sum of £9,500,000 referred to above includes only cash assets and does not include anything in respect of lands, buildings or other property owned by the Irish state.

The total estimated expenditure and receipts for the financial year 1929/30 were as follows -
Estimated expenditure -
Central fund service £4,234,220
Supply services £21,241,430
Capital issue £2,099,350
Repayment of temporary borrowings £2,000,000
Total £29,575,000

Estimated receipts -
Tax revenue £20,471,000
Non tax revenue £3,528,000
Repayment of capital issue £4000,000
Capital raised under the telephone capital act 1927 £165,000
Additional amount to be found by borrowing £5,011,000
Total £29,575,000

A substantial portion of the estimated expenditure is of a capital and productive character, while a number of items representing heave charges are abnormal and non recurrent.
Some of the items of expenditure are -
£165,000 issued to meet capital expenditure under the telephone act of 1927.
£800,000 advance under the Electricity Supply Act of 1927
£272,700 Property Losses Compensation
The aggregate amount of the items which fall into these categories is approximately, £5,500,000
 

Exchequer And Audit Department In Ireland In 1929
The function of the Exchequer and Audit Department, with the controller and Auditor General at it's head, include the control and statutory duties imposed by the comptroller and Auditor General Act 1923, and the other powers and duties of the office are laid down and defined in the Exchequer And Audit Act 1866 and 1921 as adopted to the circumstances of Saorstat Eireann by the adoption of Enactments Act 1922. All vouchers dealing with the expenditure and voted monies pass through the exchequer and Audit Department, where they are scrutinised and examined as to their accuracy, authority and conformity with the requirements of the law. The yearly appropriation accounts report the criticisms and observations of the Comptroller and audit General arising out of that examination.

 

Department Of Defence In 1929 In Ireland
Minister For Defence was Desmond Fitzgerald T.D. Parliamentary Secretary To The Minister Edmond J. Duggan T.D.  Secretary To Department Of Defense - Lieut. General P. MacMahon- Chief Of Staff Major General Seosaamh MacSuibhne

Article 46 of the Constitution Of The Irish Free State lays it down that The Oireachtas has the exclusive right to regulate the rising and maintaining of the Armed Forces Of The Irish Free State and has control over every such force. The Executive Council is authorised by the Defence Forces temporary provisions act 1923 to 1929 to raise train equip arm pay and maintain an armed force consisting of such number of officers and men as may from time to time be provided by the Oireachtas.

The Command-In-Chief of all executive and administrative powers in relation to the forces  is by the acts mentioned vested in the Executive Council and exercised through and in the name of The Minister For Defence. A council of defence is constituted by the ministers and secretaries act 1924 to assist the minister for defence in the administration  of the business of the department. It consists of the minister who is chairman, a civil member of Dail Eireann and three military members, being the Chief Of Staff, the Adjutant General and the Quartermaster General.

The Irish Free State is divided into four military districts, Infantry is organised in eight battalions . The other services are- Air, Artillery, Armoured Car, Engineer, Signal, Military Police, Medical Services, Transport, A School Of Music and a Military Collage. The strength for 1929 is 519 commissioned officers and 8,000 non commissioned officers and men. The estimated total expenditure on the army for the financial year ending March 1929 is £1,481,261
 

Department Of Posts And Telegraphs 1929 - The Real Ireland
The Department Of Posts And Telegraphs - How It Was In 1928 And 1929 In Ireland                   
The minister for posts and telegraphs was Ernest Blythe T.D.
Parliamentary Secretary -P.S. Heffernan T.D.
Assistant Secretary - B. De Brit.
The Department Of Posts And Telegraphs administers the mail and general postal services along with telegraphs and telephone services, the savings bank, the broadcasting service. In addition it carries on agency services on a considerable scale for other departments, eg. the collection of duties payable to the revenue commissioners, also the sale of National Health And Unemployment Insurance stamps, the sale of National Saving Certifcates. It also pays Old Age Pensions and Army and Navy Pensions.

On the transfer from the British in April 1922  the Post Office was carried on a loss of £1,108,260 a year. By a special re-organisation of the whole department, improved co-ordination of services , the reduction or elimination of unimportant  facilities  the loss has being reduced and now stands at £262,774 . This reduction has been accompanied by a considerable improvement in the services generally , with in many instances a decrease of charges.

                                                               Motor Services
The conveyance of mails has been accelerated by the use of motor transport on a substantial scale. Motor Cycles are also used in Dublin for telegram delivery.

                                                                Telephones
The Telephone Service has been widely extended throughout the country and is being equipped with the most modern apparatus . Between 1922 and 1929 nearly 500 new exchanges have been opened. Call offices have increased by 600 and subscribers by nearly 7000. Two automatic exchanges have been  provided in Dublin where the automatic system has been extended.

                                                                  Telephone Kiosks
Street Telephone Kiosks have been provided , and a considerable  extension of this useful facility is contemplated. Telephones have also been provided in the vicinity of taxi and cab ranks in Dublin to facilitate the public in summoning vehicles.

                                                                  Foreign Mail
Direct letters and parcel mail services are in operation with the principal foreign countries and British Dominions.

                                                                   Cash On Delivery
An internal Cash On Delivery system has been introduced for the benefit of traders and their customers within the Irish Free State

                                                                   Wireless Stations
There are two government wireless stations, one in Valentia Co. Kerry and the other at Malin Head Co. Donegal which were opened for the treatment of public radio telegrams exchanged with ships at sea.

                                                                  International Unions
Saorstat Eireann was admitted to membership of the international Postal Union at the congress of Stockholm in 1924, of the international telegraph union at the congress of Paris in 1925 and of the International Radion Telegram Union of the congress of Washington in 1927

                                                                  Savings Bank
The Irish Free State Post Office Savings Bank was established on the 1st of January 1923  under government gauarantee. The rate of interest paid is the same as Great Britain at two and a half per year, on the 31 December 1928 the balance due to depositors stood at £3,103,772 the number of depositors being 174,406. The balance of of credit of Irish Free State depositors to the British Savings Bank which was £9,540,000 on the 31st. There has being a steady process of withdrawn and it is believed that a good proportion of the amounts withdrawn is re-invested in the Irish Free State Savings Bank.

                                                                      Postage Stamp
A new issue of postage stamp has being introduced of denomination from half penny to one shilling. The first of which was on sale on 6th December 1922. The stamps are of designs drawn by Irish artists and are printed and produced by the Government Stamping Department.

                                                                     Postal Orders
Postal Orders of distinctive Irish Free State design and printed bi-lingually are now on sale, and these orders are payable in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Canada as well as in the Irish Free State.

New Post Office Buildings  - The New Upgraded G.P.O. O'Connell Street
Since the destruction of The General Post Office Dublin  in 1916 the administration has being housed in various parts of the city pending the reconstruction of the old headquarters, now nearing completion. The new structure has a frontage of 222 feet, a central courtyard and wings measuring 350 feet in length. The old handsome frontage has been retained but the acquisition of additional ground at the rear of the old site and the removal of the sorting office to a position adjoining Westland Row Railway Station have enabled the entire internal arrangements to be re-modelled.
Shops occupy the ground floor of the Henry Street Wing and at a point 50 feet from the rear of the site a shopping arcade 20 feet wide has been formed, joining Henry Street with Prince's St.
The large public office situated on the ground floor of the front block is designed in appearance and will be furnished with the most modern fittings . The Central Telegraph office will be housed in the Prince's Street wing, and the remainder of the building will be occupied by the administrative staff.
The completion of the new General Post Office Dublin restores one of Dublin's finest public buildings.

Statistics For The Department Of Posts And Telegrams Year Ending 31st March 1929
Letters Posted 120,790,505
Printed Papers Posted 41,052,715
Newspapers Posted 8,079,940
Postcards Posted 8,426,275
Parcels Posted 4,870,800
Letters Delivered 124,947,185
Printed Papers Delivered 55,263,780
Newspapers Delivered 10,935,485
Postcards Delivered 10,503,625
Parcels Delivered 5,326,587
Telegrams Delivered 2,483,164
Telephone Conversations 21,300,000
Value of money orders issued fr all places £5,273,609
Sent to the United States £28,401
Received from the United States £1,609,588
Value of postal orders issued £1,437,188

Department Of External Affairs In Ireland In 1929
Minister in charge Patrick McGilligan T.D. -Secretary Joseph P.Walsh - Legal Adviser John J.Hearne
Passport Office was on 23 St. Stephens Green Dublin 2
The High Commissioner for Saorstat Eireann  in Great Britain , York House, 15 Regent Street, London
The Commissioner was  T.A. Smiddy and the Commissioner for trade was John W.Dulanty.

The Representatives of The Irish Free State abroad  were.
United States Of America His Excellency M MacWhite, Envoy Avenue Washington, D.C.
Vatican State  - His Excellency Charles Bewley
France  - His Excellency Count Gerald O'Kelly de Gallagh
Germany - His Excellency D. A. Binchy 34A Tirgartenstrasse, Berlin
League Of Nations - Sean Lester 43 Quai Wilson, Geneva.
Trade And Passport Offices In The United States  - New York Mr. Matthew Murphy
Boston Passport Control Officer Mr. P. Galway Foley, 84 State Street.

The Department Of External Affairs comprises the administration and business of public service in connection with communications and transactions between the Government of Saorstat Eireann and the government of any other state or nation. The work of the department includes the following - Communications between Saorstat Eireann and Great Britain and other states of the Commonwealth and all other countries.
Diplomatic and consular representation of The Irish Free State  in foreign countries, international amenities, granting of visa and passports. Questions relating to diplomatic  and consular representation of foreign countries in Saorstat Eireann.

This department is now known as The Department Of Foreign Affairs