Editing Seán MacEntee (section)

==In the first Fianna Fáil government (1932–1948)==
In 1932, Fianna Fáil came to power for the very first time, with MacEntee becoming Minister for Finance. In keeping with the party's [[protectionist]] economic policies, his first budget in March of that year saw the introduction of new duties on forty-three imports, many of them coming from [[UK|Britain]]. This saw retaliation from the [[British government]], which in turn provoked a response from the [[Irish government]]. This was the beginning of the ''[[Economic War]]'' between the two nations, however, a treaty in 1938, signed by MacEntee and other senior members brought an end to the issue.

During the Dáil debates on the [[Constitution of Ireland]] in 1937, MacEntee described it as 'the Constitution of a Catholic State'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1937-05-11/29|title=Bunreacht na hEireann (Dréacht)—Dara Céim. – Dáil Éireann (8th Dáil) – Tuesday, 11 May 1937 – Houses of the Oireachtas|first=Houses of the|last=Oireachtas|date=11 May 1937|website=www.oireachtas.ie|access-date=22 June 2021|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517064207/https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1937-05-11/29/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1939, [[World War II]] broke out and a cabinet reshuffle resulted in MacEntee being appointed as Minister for Industry and Commerce, taking over from his rival [[Seán Lemass]]. During his tenure at this department, MacEntee introduced the important Trade Union Act (1941). In 1941, another reshuffle of ministers took place, with MacEntee becoming Minister for Local Government and Public Health. The Health portfolio was transferred to a new [[Department of Health (Ireland)|Department of Health]] in 1947. Following the [[1948 Irish general election|1948 general election]], Fianna Fáil returned to the opposition benches for the first time in sixteen years.