Seán Cromien was former Secretary General of the Department of Finance from 1987 until his retirement in 1994. During his career he directly advised eleven Ministers of Finance of different parties and seven Taoisigh. He grew up in Stoneybatter.

Mention Stoneybatter among friends and you quickly arouse attention. It has a ring about it like Knocknagoshell, Montenotte, Puncherstown and many other place names.

In the fifties it was classified as an urban village. It had a typical village atmosphere with great rivalries. Off the playing fields, the quest to excel academically was between two great schools run by the Christian Brothers, North Brunswick CBS and nearby O’Connell Schools.

When I met Seán Cromien recently he was most willing to be interviewed by ‘NewsFour’, his favourite community newspaper.

Where are your roots and where were you educated?
I grew up in the Stoneybatter area of Dublin in the 1930s and 1940s. My father was a cooper in Jameson’s Distillery in Smithfield. I went to primary school in St Paul’s Christian Brothers’ School in North Brunswick Street, a great school in the inner city with very dedicated Christian Brothers and lay teachers.

I was awarded a Corporation scholarship and went to UCD where I studied under the late Professor George O’Brien, Professor of Political Economy, graduating with first-class honours in Economics in 1950.

How did your career begin and progress?
My first job was an executive officer in the Office of Public Works where I stayed for two years. Following the examination for administrative officer, I entered the Department of Finance in 1952.

In 1977 I became Second Secretary General in charge of the Budget and Economic Division. I was appointed Secretary General in 1987.

During the course of my career in the Department of Finance I was involved in 19 budgets. As Secretary General my signature appeared on the currency notes and became known to the general public.

Are there any particular characteristics of the Irish political system that you consider particularly successful?
Yes, the combination of ministers of different political parties, elected for a certain number of years, working with permanent civil servants, who serve successive governments, works extremely well. It allows the experience of permanent officials to be made available to ministers who come in with fresh ideas and policies.

The emergence of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ came about during your time in office?
Yes, I was fortunate that I became Secretary General in May 1987 when Mr Ray McSharry, the Minister for Finance, strongly backed by Mr Charlie Haughey, the Taoiseach, began taking vigorous action to reduce the excessive State spending and borrowing which were seriously undermining the finances of the country.

The Government was a minority one and their actions would have been ineffective without the support of the leader of Fine Gael, Mr Alan Dukes, who under the ‘Tallaght Strategy’, gave cross-party support in the national interest.

The actions taken as a result of this co-operation had a dramatic effect on the economy and contributed to the emergence of the ‘Celtic Tiger’, along with the actions taken by later governments. As a result, the new strength of the Irish economy has had remarkably favourable consequences for employment and living standards for Irish people.

During my period as Secretary General, what worried me most was the continuing high rate of unemployment. I was listening recently to the song which was popular in the difficult days of the 70s and 80s called ‘The Flight of the Earls’. Its words are bitter and bring back those difficult days, with their high unemployment, especially youth unemployment, and high emigration. They now sound so strange and inappropriate:

We’ve nothing left to stay for,
We’ve no more left to say,
And there isn’t any work for us to do.
So farewell, you boys and girls,
Another bloody Flight of Earls,
Our best asset is our best export too.

Are you enjoying your retirement?
Since I retired I have been very fortunate in having been invited to become involved in a number of organisations and have produced many reports on specific matters of national interest. I am currently a member of the Executive Committee of Dublin Zoo, the governing body of St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra and the Council of the Institute of European Affairs.

Do you have time for hobbies?
My main hobby nowadays is birdwatching, mostly in Wexford. In earlier years I was involved with the Half Moon Swimming and Water Polo Club. I was President for five years in the 1980s and was honoured by life membership in 1998. Although I am no longer active on the committee, I still go down on Sunday mornings to look at my energetic friends getting in for a swim, even in the depths of winter.

I have had a close involvement with people and events in Ringsend as a result of my membership of the Half Moon Club. Although I don’t live in the area I know so many people there and remember hearing so many stories about fishing for salmon in the Liffey in the old days and the skills of the hobblers, etc.

I receive a copy of ‘NewsFour’ through a club member, Christy Hogan, who is a regular contributor. I always find something to cut out from it for my files. NewsFour must rank among the best-produced and most informative local newspapers in Dublin.

Right: Seán’s Cromien’s signature can be seen on the last £5 note.