
<rss version="2.0">
	<channel>
		<title>English</title>
		<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=73736</link>
		<description></description>
		<language>en</language>
		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Sep 2010 09:43:47 UTC</pubDate>
		
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Types of Visa]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=73768</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
A comprehensive list of the different visa types that are
available, and the documentation required in respect of each, is
available on the INIS website.


The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the
Department of Foreign Affairs or any Irish Embassy or Consulate may
ask for further documentation at any stage.


For ease of reference, separate links for some of the most common
visa types are set out below.


TRAVELLING TO IRELAND AS A
TOURIST


If you are a Visa-required national and you would like to visit
Ireland for a short period (less than 3 months) you will find
useful guidelines and details of requirements for Visit/Holiday
Visa applications here.


For further information on tourism in Ireland please visit the
website of Tourism Ireland.



TRAVELLING TO IRELAND ON
BUSINESS


Business Meeting
If you are a Visa-required national and coming to Ireland for a
business meeting you will find useful guidelines and details of
requirements for Business Visa applications here


ConferenceIf you are a Visa-required
national and coming to Ireland for a conference you will find
useful guidelines and details of requirements for Conference Visa
applications here


Starting a Business in Ireland
If you are a Non-EEA national and you wish to set up a business in
Ireland, you will require Business Permission from the Department
of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. For more information please
click here


STUDYING IN IRELAND


If you require an entry visa for Ireland and would like to study
here, you will find useful guidelines and details of requirements
for Study Visa appplications here.


WORKING IN IRELAND

If you are a national of a country which is not a member of the
European Economic Area (EEA) and you wish to work in Ireland, you
will require authorisation to do so.

For most types of employment, a non-EEA national requires a Work
Permit. For full information on work permits please visit the
website of the Department of Enterprise,Trade and Employment.

A visa-required national who has been issued with a Work
Permit can apply for an Employment visa through their local
Irish Embassy or Consulate. You will find useful
guidelines and details of requirements for Employment Visa
applications here.


For further information on finding work in Ireland, please visit
the F&#193;S website


WORKING HOLIDAYS

Ireland offers young people from Australia, Canada, Hong
Kong, Japan, 
New Zealand and the Republic of Korea
, the chance to work casually to enable them to
spend an extended holiday in Ireland. For further information
on the Working Holiday schemes, please see the Working Holidays in
Ireland page.

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:19:47 UTC</pubDate>
		
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				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Authentication of Documents]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=73774</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
Introduction


The Department of Foreign Affairs can Authenticate\Apostille
documents executed in Ireland that are to be used in other
countries.Irish Diplomatic and
Consular Missions abroad can legalise documents executed
abroad for use in Ireland.

Authenticating a document simply means confirming that a signature,
seal or stamp appearing on the document is genuine.
Legalising a document means authenticating it for the purpose of
making it acceptable to an Irish court.

Authentication and Legalisation do not mean that the content of a
document is accurate or that the Department of Foreign Affairs
approves of the content.


Why do documents need to be Authenticated\Apostilled?


If you are going to use Irish documents overseas, for business or
personal reasons, you may be asked to have your documents
Authenticated\Apostilled by the Department of Foreign Affairs. You
should therefore confirm with the authority to whom you are
presenting the documents what their requirements are with regard to
Authentication\Legalisation.


What is an Apostille?


The 1961 Hague Convention abolished the requirement for Foreign
Public Documents (e.g. birth, death and marriage certificates,
documents issued by a Notary Public) to be legalised for countries
that are parties to the Convention. The Convention entered into
force for Ireland on 9 March 1999. For further information on the
Hague Convention please access their website.

However, countries that are parties to the Convention may request
the bearer of a document issued by a public authority to obtain an
Apostille from the Authorities of the country that issued the
document.

An Apostille involves the addition of a certificate, either stamped
on the document itself or attached to it. It certifies the country
of origin of the document, the identity and capacity in which the
document has been signed and the name of any authority which has
affixed a seal or stamp to the document.


Documents we can Authenticate\Apostille


The Department of Foreign Affairs can Authenticate\Apostille
documents of Irish origin provided that they bear an original
signature, seal or stamp from an Irish practising public official
or organisation. An Irish document means that it originated or has
been executed in Ireland. If a practising Irish solicitor, Notary
Public or Commissioner for Oaths is signing a document they should
state clearly what exactly it is they are certifying in relation to
the document. They must sign their own name and not use a company
signature.


Examples of Documents the Department can Authenticate\Apostille
are:


The Department of Foreign Affairs can Authenticate\Apostille public
documents which have been executed in the territory of One
Contracting State and which have to be produced in the territory of
another Contracting State.


Examples:



Original certificates issued by the General Registers
Office (GRO)


Company documents issued by the Companies Registration Office


Documents signed by the Chambers of Commerce in Ireland


Court documents, Powers of Attorney, and other Notarial Acts can be
Authenticated provided they bear an original signature, seal or
stamp from a practising Irish solicitor\ Notary Public in Ireland


Educational Certificates can be Authenticated provided they fall
within the National Framework of Qualifications established by the
National
Qualifications Authority of Ireland\are recognised
by the Department of Education.


We can also Authenticate\Apostille medical reports signed by a
doctor who is registered with the Medical Council of Ireland.



An appointment is necessary for large numbers of documents and for
full foreign adoption dossiers.


Photocopies of DocumentsWe can
Authenticate\Apostille photocopies of certain types of documents
provided they have been certified by a practising Irish Solicitor
or Notary Public in Ireland. However, you should in the first
instance confirm with the authority to whom you are presenting the
document that a certified copy will be acceptable to them.


How to get your Document Authenticated\Apostilled


Documents that have been executed in Ireland, and which are to be
Authenticated or Apostilled by the Department can be:


Presented to the Department at its Public Office at the following
address:


Consular Section
Department of Foreign Affairs
Hainault House
69 - 71 St. Stephen’s Green
Dublin 2


or sent via post to:


Consular Section
Department of Foreign Affairs
80 St. Stephen's Green
Dublin 2


Documents sent by post must include the
following:
A brief covering letter stating your name, return address,
telephone number, you must state what country the document(s) are
for use in, and you must include the appropriate
fee.


Tel. (01) 408 2174
(01) 408 2322
(01) 408 2061
(01) 408 2576

For the Munster area:


Consular Services,
Department of Foreign Affairs,
1A South Mall,
Cork

Tel: 021 4944765 / 021 4944766


Opening Hours:The opening hours for the
Public Offices in Dublin and Cork are as follows:
Monday - Friday (excluding Bank Holidays)
0930 - 1300
1430 - 1600

FeesA fee of €20 is charged for each
Apostille or Authentication. There is a standard fee of
€50 for a series of Apostilles or Authentications in relation
to inter-country adoptions.


Please note that there may be an additional administration fee if
applying for these services from our officesabroad. Fees will
be notified on request.


Methods of Payment
This section relates to services available at the Department of
Foreign Affairs in Dublin and Cork.


Payment can be made by Cash, Cheque (made payable to 'Department of
Foreign Affairs'), Postal Order, Bank Draft, or by Credit\Debit
card.


It should be noted that all cheques must be drawn on an Irish bank.


Legalisation


Irish Diplomatic and Consular Missions abroad can legalise
documents executed abroad for use in Ireland.


Administering oaths, affirmations and
statutory declarations and certifying copies of documents:


Irish Diplomatic and Consular Officers abroad are empowered under
Irish law to administer oaths, affirmations and statutory
declarations. They can also certify copies of original Irish
documents or translations. 


If you require any of these services, contact your nearest
   Irish Diplomatic or Consular
   Mission.


The fee for these services in local currency and methods of payment
will be notified, on request, by the relevant Mission.

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Wed, 31 Mar 2010 10:23:02 UTC</pubDate>
		
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				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Who needs a Visa?]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=73764</link>
					<description><![CDATA[       

Citizens of certain countries require an entry visa for Ireland.


If you are a citizen of a country that is on schedule 1
below,you do NOT require an entry visa for Ireland.
Citizens of countries which are not on the list must apply for a
visa before they travel to Ireland.


Please note that a Schengen or UK visa or residence
permission is NOT valid for travel to Ireland. If you
area national ofa visa-required country you will need
to apply for an Irish visa in advance of travel to Ireland.


Transit VisasARE required by citizens of the
countries listed in schedule 2 below.

All citizens of non-EU countries, whether they require a
visa or not, are subject to immigration control at the point of
entry to Ireland.


SCHEDULE 1



LIST OF COUNTRIES
WHOSE PASSPORT HOLDERS DO NOT REQUIRE VISAS TO ENTER
IRELAND:


ANDORRA
ANTIGUA and BARBUDA
ARGENTINA
AUSTRALIA
AUSTRIA
BAHAMAS
BARBADOS
BELGIUM
BELIZE
BOLIVIA
BOTSWANA
BRAZIL
BRUNEI
BULGARIA
CANADA
CHILE
COSTA RICA
CROATIA
CYPRUS
CZECH REPUBLIC
DENMARK
DOMINICA
EL SALVADOR
ESTONIA
FIJI
FINLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
GREECE
GRENADA
GUATEMALA
GUYANA
HONDURAS
HONG KONG (Special Administrative Region) (*See further information
below).
HUNGARY
ICELAND
ISRAEL
ITALY
JAPAN
KIRIBATI
LATVIA
LESOTHO
LIECHTENSTEIN
LITHUANIA
LUXEMBOURG
MACAU (Special Administrative Region)
MALAWI
MALAYSIA
MALDIVES
MALTA
MEXICO
MONACO
NAURU
NETHERLANDS
NEW ZEALAND
NICARAGUA
NORWAY
PANAMA
PARAGUAY
POLAND
PORTUGAL
ROMANIA
SAINT KITTS &amp;amp; NEVIS
SAINT LUCIA
SAINT VINCENT &amp;amp; THE GRENADINES
SAMOA
SAN MARINO
SEYCHELLES
SINGAPORE
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
SLOVENIA
SOLOMON ISLANDS
SOUTH AFRICA
SOUTH KOREA
SPAIN
SWAZILAND
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
TAIWAN
TONGA
TRINIDAD &amp;amp; TOBAGO
TUVALU
UNITED KINGDOM&amp;amp; Dependent Territories (noted below)
UNITED STATES of AMERICA
URUGUAY
VANUATU
VATICAN CITY
VENEZUELA


BRITISH DEPENDENT TERRITORIES



ANGUILLA
BERMUDA
BRITISH ANTARCTIC TERRITORY (South Georgia, South Sandwich
Islands)
BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORIES(Chagos Archipelago, Peros
Banos, Diego Garcia, Danger Island)
CAYMAN ISLANDS
FALKLAND ISLANDS and DEPENDICIES
GIBRALTAR
MONTSERRAT
PITCAIRN (Henderson, Ducie and Oneno Islands)
St. HELENA and DEPENDICIES (Ascension Island, Tristan Da
Cunha)
The SOVERIGN BASE AREAS of AKROTIRI and DHEKILA
TURKS and CAICOS ISLAND
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS


*HONG KONG SAR


A person in possession of a Hong Kong certificate of identity
requires an entry visa for the State.


Personswho are holders of aBritish Hong
Kong Passportwho have a right of abode in Great
Britain do not require entry visas.


Personswho are holders of aBritish Hong
Kong Passportwho have a right of abode in Hong Kong
only do not require entry visas but they are subject to full
foreign national controls in respect of registration, permission to
remain,work permits etc.


CONVENTION TRAVEL DOCUMENTS


Visas are not required by persons who are holders
ofConvention travel documents issued by the following
countries:


BELGIUM
CZECH REPUBLIC
DENMARK
FINLAND
GERMANY
ICELAND
ITALY
LIECHTENSTEIN
LUXEMBOURG
MALTA
NETHERLANDS
NORWAY
POLAND
PORTUGAL
ROMANIA
SLOVAKIA
SPAIN
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND.


Applicants who are holders of Convention travel documents issued by
EEA states should refer to Article 3 of the
   
Immigration Act 2004 Order 2009 (PDF
109kb)(Shortvisits
only).
 

SCHEDULE 2


TRANSIT VISAS ARE REQUIRED BY
CITIZENS OF THE FOLLOWING:



AFGHANISTAN
ALBANIA
CUBA
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
ERITREA
ETHIOPIA
GHANA
IRAN
IRAQ
LEBANON
MOLDOVA
MONTENEGRO
NIGERIA
SERBIA
SOMALIA
SRI LANKA
ZIMBABWE

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:16:09 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[About the Embassy]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=73738</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
The Embassy of Ireland in Lusaka, Zambia (which includes Irish Aid)
is open Monday to Thursday from 08.30-12.30 and 14.00 – 16.00 and
Friday from 08.30-12.30.


Address
Embassy of Ireland
6663 Katima Mulilo Road
PO Box 34923
Lusaka
Zambia


Telephone: + 260 211 290650/291124
Fax: + 260 211 290482
Email the
Embassy


Diplomatic Staff:


Ambassador – Tony Cotter


Second Secretary – Fionnuala Callanan


Head of Development – Gerry Cunningham


Development Specialist – Bronagh Carr

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:06:23 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Travel Advice]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=73813</link>
					<description><![CDATA[A H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu): Latest Information 
For the latest information, please consult the following website http://www.moh.gov.zm/
TRAVEL INSURANCE 
TheDepartment of Foreign Affairs strongly recommends that comprehensive travel insurance, including medical insurance, is obtained before travelling to Zambia.Travellers should note that the Irish government does not provide funds for emergency medical repatriation or for repatriation of remains. 
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS 
For entry requirements for Zambia, please contact the nearest Zambian Embassy, Consulateor the Zambian Department of Immigration website. 
Visitors are usually granted permission to remain in the country for a period of time corresponding to air ticket information,on arrival at the port of entry. Visas may be extendedat the discretion of the immigration department up to a maximum of 90 days. Please note however that the onus is on the visitor to ensure they are granted the correct number of days for their stay. Overstaying a visa can lead to a court appearance/fine and immediate deportation. 
It is advisable to take a number of photocopies of your passport with you.During your stay you should carry a photocopy of your passport at all times. 
SAFETY &amp;amp; SECURITY 
Zambia is generally a safe and pleasant country to travel in once caution is exercised and precautions taken to avoid the risks outlined below. 
Many “adrenaline activities” are undertaken and provided for in Zambia; these activities have inherent risk and a number of tourist injuries/fatalities have been recorded in recent times. Zambian wildlife is an equally serious threat and one must obey all instructions given by guides or rangers and not stray from the indicated paths or roads. 
In National Parks, Wildlife Reserves and in the lakes and rivers, visitors should sensitive themselves to the dangers of local wildlife. It is very important to follow the advice of guides or seek local advice. Hippos and crocodiles are found in all of Zambia’s lakes and rivers and it is not advisable for anyone to swim without first obtaining local advice. 
CRIME 
Most visits to Zambia are trouble free except for occasional pick-pocketing and petty theft, muggers and bag-snatchers. Avoid walking around quiet areas, especially after dark. In the event of an attack, offer no resistance and hand over your possessions without question. 
Car doors and windows should be locked/closed, especially when stopping your vehicle. Be alert to petty theft and pickpockets especially in the city centres where organised gangs operate. 
Take sensible precautions. Safeguard valuables and cash. Deposit them in hotel safes, where practical. Keep copies of important documents, including passports, in a separate place to the documents themselves. 
LOCAL LAWS &amp;amp; CUSTOMS 
All visitors wishing to travel to Zambia with specialist/professional video recording equipment must apply for press accreditation to film in Zambia. In addition temporary clearance must be obtained for camera equipment from the Zambia News and Information Department. It would also be prudent to inform the Embassy of your arrival and departures dates with a minimum of 3 weeks notice prior to the date of arrival. Failure to obtain the requisite accreditation and clearances may result in the confiscation by the Zambian Authorities of such equipment upon arrival. 
Drug taking (including cannabis) and smuggling are considered serious offences and punishment can be severe. 
Homosexual acts are illegal in Zambia. 
The possesion of material of a pornographic nature is a serious offence in Zambia and can result in a jail sentence of several years. 
ROAD SAFETY 
Caution should be exercised at all times when travelling by road. Travelling at night is extremely hazardous and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Potholes, animals, abandoned vehicles and cyclists can often cause serious accidents, as do vehicles travelling at night without lights. Travel between towns by public minibus or pick-up truck is strongly advised against as vehicles are often in poor condition, often overloaded and drivers may be the influence of alcohol. Fatal accidents are frequent and emergency services are basic (Please note, in this regard, the advice above regarding the importance of having adequate travel insurance). 
Occasionally the Police and/or Immigration Department set up road blocks at designated spots around the country. All vehicles MUST stop at any road block and the driver should present passport, drivers licence and vehicle documents should the authorities request any or all of these. 
Police also have radars to monitor speeding vehicles. Drivers suspected of driving over the speed limit will not receive a summons in the mail as is normal in more developed countries. Instead police officers will stand in the middle of the road and gesture your vehicle to pull over. You may be asked to pay a speeding fine and may be given the choice of paying this as a on-the-spot fine or doing so at the nearest police station within a specified time. In either case a receipt should be given to you for the full amount of the fine. 
A large majority of pedestrians in Zambia are not familiar with the rules of the road and drivers should be alert to pedestrians suddenly crossing roads or coming into the path of vehicles. This also applies to cyclists and motor bikes. 
It is against the law to drive without a seatbelt. 
HEALTH 
All visitors should be appropriately vaccinated, and be aware that it is a medium to high risk malaria region. Before travelling you should seek medical advice on suitable anti-malarial medication for the country and after arrival, take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. Avoiding being bitten if at all possible, through use of bednets, repellents, closed shoes, long sleeves and trousers is your best protection against malaria. National healthcare in Zambia is generally of a poor quality due to understaffing and lack of medical equipment and medicines. Private clinics can be costly. Should a serious medical emergency arise, it is advisable for the patient to be to be medically evacuated to South Africa as soon as they are stable. Visitors should therefore ensure they have adequate health/travel insurance. 
Zambia has a high HIV/AIDS infection rate. Visitors should be alert to the dangers of unprotected sex. 
Rabies is endemic in all areas of Zambia, visitors should avoid contact with dogs. Dogs in Zambia are often kept as guard dogs as opposed to pets and can be aggressive.Tap water may not be safe to drink, especially in rural area and should be boiled or treated with purifying tablets as necessary. Bottled water is available in restaurants and shops. 
Bilharzia can be contracted in many lakeshore areas and rivers. Outbreaks of gastric intestinal infections and cholera are common, especially during the rainy season (December to March). 
CASH/BANKING 
Bank services are generally not as developed in Zambia as in Europe and you are advised to travel with some cash that can be changed to the local currency. United States Dollars are the most widely accepted foreign currency in Zambia and can be easily changed to Zambian Kwacha. 
Credit cards are used in Zambia but mainly in Lusaka and large towns and then only in the bigger supermarkets or upmarket lodges and hotels. Most ATMs accept credit cards and an increasing number also will accept Irish debit cards but it would not be advisable to rely solely on a debit card in Zambia. Outside of Lusaka, ATMs are usually only found in the large towns so you are advised to plan any trips to rural areas carefully. 
You should exercise caution and common sense in using ATMs. Particular caution should be applied to undertaking any money related activities in the Cairo Road area of Lusaka due to the risk of robbery. It is safer to use bank branches and bureaux de changes available at the shopping malls to conduct banking transactions. 
When in Lusaka you should use reputable banks and Bureaux de Change to exchange money or use ATMs, especially as counterfeit US$100 and Zambian Kwacha 50,000 notes have been distributed. You should avoid the Cairo Road area, including Chachacha, Freedom Way and Lumumba Roads, which can be dangerous because of robberies, which have led to fatalities. 
DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR MISSIONSIN ZAMBIA 
Contact details for all Irish Missions (including Honorary Consuls) in Zambia are available here. (Opens in new window) ]]></description>
					<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:15:52 UTC</pubDate>
		
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				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Visa Fees]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=73770</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
Non-refundable visa application processing fees apply. Fees
may vary acccording to fluctuations in exchange control. For actual
amount payable, please contact the Embassy.


Zambian nationals, although visa required, are fee exempt.
Namibians are required to pay for visas and payment may be in euros
or SA Rands in the form of a bank draft/transfer.For further
assistance, please call the Embassy.


Other nationals that are not required to pay a fee include spouses
and certain family members of EEA citizens (including Irish
nationals) provided that proof of the relationship is provided with
the application. Applicants of all nationalities are
invited to telephone the visa office in Lusaka to ascertain if they
are visa exemptor not.

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:24:51 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Living & Working in Ireland]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=78594</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
Practicalities of Moving to Ireland
A detailed guide can be found on the Citizens Information website.

Education in IrelandHere you
will find a description of theEducation system in Ireland and
also a series of links to information on Primary, Secondary and
Third Level Education.


Deptartment of
Education and Science

Working
in Ireland
The rights of EU nationals and non-EU nationals for working in
Ireland.


Department of
Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Health Care
in Ireland
An outline of health care services in Ireland, including public and
private health care, and health insurance.


Deptartment of
Education and Science

Useful Links for
Employment Seekers
A useful starting point for job seekers is F&#193;S - Ireland's National
Training and Employment Authority.

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:08:21 UTC</pubDate>
		
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				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[The Economy]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=78566</link>
					<description><![CDATA[


General Information



10 Key Facts on the Irish Economy 




Public Finances



National Development Plan



Population, Labour Force and Employment



EU Membership



Ireland and the Euro



Monetary Policy



Inward Investment



Outward Investment



Education &amp;amp; Training



Innovation and R&amp;amp;D



Corporation Tax



E-commerce and the New Economy



State-sponsored Bodies



Exports



Imports



General Government Balance



Industry



Foreign Direct Investment



Irish Enterprise Sector



Finance



Services



Industrial relations



Agricualture



Fishing



Tourism



Transport



Energy



Mining/Quarrying



Telecommunications



Newspapers



Radio &amp;amp; Television



The Irish economy has
experienced extraordinary growth over the past fifteen years.
Consolidating the progress made during the 1990s - characterised as
the “Celtic Tiger” phenomenon - it is now one of the world’s most
dynamic, open and globalised economies, with extensive external
trade and investment links. Ireland has consistently topped
the economic growth tables of the 30-member OECD (Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development) and has close to full
employment. GDP growth in 2007 was 5.3% and average income
per head was approximately 145% of the EU average. All
indications are that Ireland will continue to perform well in terms
of GDP growth.


Ireland’s economic success is generally attributed to its highly
educated and flexible workforce; its social partnership model,
which involves close cooperation between government, trade unions
and employers; government measures to ensure macroeconomic
stability and government policies to attract foreign investment;
and membership of the EU, which now provides a market of almost 500
million people.


Ireland has a consistent record of prudent fiscal policy with an
average Government budget surplus of 1.6% of GDP over the past ten
years. The fourth seven-year National Development Plan, which
was launched by the Government in January 2007, provides for total
capital investment of €100 billion (5.4% of GDP) and current
expenditure of €84 billion.


Over the past five years, Irish trade has grown three times faster
than total world trade, with over 80% of all manufacturing output
in Ireland sold in international markets. In an Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey from 2006, Ireland is ranked as one
of the top countries in the world in which to do business. It
has developed a strong entrepreneurial culture and has one of the
highest rates of new start-up companies in the world.


Ireland is a leading location for Information Communication
Technology (ICT), pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and Dublin
is one of the fastest growing funds management locations in the
world. Ireland is also the centre for digital media in Europe
with major multinational companies locating their European
headquarters and a range of business support activities here.


Ireland has developed as a knowledge-based economy built on
innovation and technology and shaped by the emergence of strong
technology-led and export-focused companies. The Government’s 2006
– 2013 strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation emphasises
the benefits of international collaboration and places research and
development at the heart of Ireland’s economic development. Science
Foundation Ireland (SFI) contributes to enhancing research
capabilities and skills in Irish Universities, particularly in
biotechnology, and information and communications technology.


Ireland receives the top long-term and short-term credit ratings
from all four major international credit rating agencies. These are
based, in particular, on the strong public finances; the favourable
demographic structure and future pension liabilities; a diversified
and flexible economy that has attracted sustained foreign direct
investment inflows in recent years and achieved the highest growth
rate in the EU since 1995; a low debt burden; a high degree of
fiscal flexibility, the business-friendly regulatory environment;
low taxation levels and a highly educated workforce.



Top of Page


10 Key Facts on the Irish Economy


Please click 
here (PDF 34kb) to access the PDF version of this
document.


Public Finances


There is general agreement among the main political parties on the
broad direction of economic and social policy. National
programmes involving the Government, trade unions, employers,
voluntary organisations and farming representatives acting together
as ‘social partners’ have successfully operated over many years to
bring about economic and social improvement.



Top of Page


National Development Plan


The National Development Plan 2007-2013, entitled Transforming
Ireland - A Better Quality of Life for All, was launched in January
2007. The Plan is the largest and most ambitious investment
programme ever proposed for Ireland. It builds on, and
consolidates, the achievements of the previous National Development
Plan (2000 – 2006) and provides for a total investment of €183.7
billion: €54.7 billion for investment in economic infrastructure;
€49.6 billion for social inclusion measures (children, people with
disabilities, etc.); €33.6 billion for social infrastructure
(housing, health, justice, etc.); €25.8 billion for human capital
(schools, training, higher education, etc.), and €20 billion for
enterprise, science and innovation.


National Development
Plan



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Population, Labour Force, and Employment


Reversing decades of decline, Ireland’s population has been
steadily increasing since the 1970s, and now stands at over 4.23
million (2007). This is the highest population figure since
the census of 1861 when the population is recorded as 4.4
million. Unemployment was 4.6% in June 2007.



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EU Membership


Ireland’s accession to the EEC in 1973 was a decisive milestone in
opening Ireland to the global economy and reducing its economic
dependence on the UK. Since accession, per capita GDP in
Ireland has increased from almost 60% of the EU average in 1973 to
well over 100% today. Since 1973, the proportion of exports
to non-UK destinations has increased from 45% to over 83% today.



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Ireland and the Euro


The ease with which Ireland qualified for membership of the Euro in
1999 underlined the dramatic improvement in the country’s economy
and public finances. Membership of the Euro was embraced by
Ireland’s internationally oriented business community, which viewed
it as a logical step in the further integration of European markets
and as a boost to Ireland’s credibility as a location for
internationally mobile investment.



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Monetary Policy


In May 1998, Ireland, having satisfied entry criteria covering
public finances, the exchange rate, the interest rate and
inflation, qualified as one of the first round of participants to
adopt the new EU currency. Along with 11 other EU Member States,
Ireland now participates in Economic and Monetary Union which
commenced on 1 January 1999. The Euro was introduced as the unit of
currency on 1 Jan 2002.


On 1 January 1999 the Eurosystem,
comprising the European Central Bank (ECB) and National
Central Banks (NCBs) of the EU Member States which adopted the
euro, assumed the task of formulating and implementing the single
monetary policy for the euro area. The objective of the single
monetary policy is price stability. In order to make the
appropriate interest-rate decisions to maintain price stability,
the ECB, along with all other major central banks, has a clear and
coherent conceptual framework for the policy-making process. This
is referred to as the monetary-policy strategy.



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Inward Investment


Inward investment has been critically important to Ireland’s
economic development, providing tens of thousands of jobs,
disseminating technological know-how and expertise within the wider
economy, linking up with indigenous industry, boosting
productivity, and underpinning export growth.



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Outward Investment


Outward investment by Irish companies has increased noticeably in
recent years, albeit from a very low historic base. This emerging
trend is consistent with the pattern observed in other economies as
they move to higher stages of economic development.



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Education and Training


Education and Training is a vital component of Ireland’s
knowledge-based economy, and is a priority investment under the
National Development Plan. Ireland enjoys one of the best
education systems in the world, with approximately 1 million people
in full time education.



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Innovation and R&amp;amp;D


R+D in Ireland has expanded dramatically in recent years reflecting
the Irish government’s massive injection of funding into the
sector. Leading global companies have found Ireland to be an
excellent location for knowledge-based activities. The young Irish
workforce has shown a particular aptitude for the efficient
collection, interpretation and dissemination of research
information.



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Corporation Tax


Since 2003 Ireland’s corporate tax regime has been fixed at a rate
of 12.5%. This applies to all Irish corporate trading
profits. A rate of 25% applies to non-trading (passive)
income. Existing overseas operations, which were eligible for
a 10% rate, will retain entitlement to this rate until the end of
the year 2010.



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E-Commerce and the New Economy


The Irish government has moved decisively to prepare Ireland for
the e-commerce age. Initiatives undertaken include the
liberalisation of the telecommunications market, a substantial
investment programme in broadband infrastructure and introduction
of the most e-commerce friendly regulatory environment in Europe.


Ireland is acknowledged to be one of the most outward looking and
open economies in the EU. It is therefore sensitive to
changes in the global economy.



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State-Sponsored Bodies


There are about 100 State-sponsored bodies in Ireland employing
about 57,000 people. They are engaged in a wide variety of
activities including transport, energy and the promotion of
tourism, trade and industrial development.


During the 1990s the Government privatised certain sectors of the
economy including steel and telecommunications. In addition,
the Government has liberalised such sectors as air transportation
and electricity generation.


There is more information about the State-sponsorded bodies in the
Business in Ireland Section.



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Exports


In 2007 Ireland’s exports amounted to €88.6 billion. In 2006
the principal destinations for Irish exports were: United States
18%, Great Britain 18%, Belgium 14.3%, Germany 7.5% and France 6%.
The top five categories of Irish Exports for 2006 were: medical
&amp;amp; pharmaceutical products, organic chemicals, office machines
&amp;amp; automatic data processing machines, electrical machinery,
apparatus &amp;amp; appliances &amp;amp; parts and miscellaneous
manufactured articles. In 2006, exports of services were valued at
€55 billion.



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Imports


In 2007, Ireland’s imports were valued at €62.1 billion. The
principal sources of imports were Great Britain 30%, United States
11.3%, Germany 9%, China 8% and Netherlands 4.2%. The top
five categories of Irish Imports for 2006 were: office machines
&amp;amp; automatic data processing machines, electrical machinery,
apparatus &amp;amp; appliances &amp;amp; parts, road vehicles (include
air-cushion vehicles), miscellaneous manufactured articles and
petroleum, petroleum products &amp;amp; related materials. Imports of
services were valued at €62 billion, Irelands main services
partners were the US, Great Britain, Germany and Italy.



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General Government Balance


The Exchequer recorded a surplus of 0.5% of GDP in 2007. The
projected budgetary position over the period 2008 - 2009 is for a
General Government budget deficit of 0.9% of GDP in 2008 and a
deficit of 1.1% of GDP in 2009. The debt-to-GDP ratio will be
maintained among the lowest in the euro area – around 28% for the
forecast period – in line with the Government’s long-term
priorities. The market value of the assets of the National
Pensions Reserve Fund is estimated to be €21 billion at end 2007, a
sum equivalent to 13% of GNP.



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Industry


The Industrial sector has a highly skilled technological labour
pool. Within this high technology grouping, the most active sectors
currently are life sciences, medical and information technology
sectors. Many of the world’s leading companies have
subsidiaries in Ireland which perform very successfully in
comparison to those based in other EU countries.


Three agencies deal with industrial development in Ireland. Forf&#225;s
provides overall policy advice and co-ordination for enterprise
development and science, technology and innovation in Ireland.
Enterprise Ireland helps develop Irish-based enterprise with the
potential to trade internationally. IDA Ireland, has responsibility
for securing new investment in manufacturing and internationally
traded services. It also has responsibility to encourage existing
Foreign Direct Investors to expand and develop their businesses in
Ireland.


There are also a number of regional development agencies such as
Shannon Development which was set up in 1959 to promote Shannon
International Airport and &#218;dar&#225;s na Gaeltachta, which is the
regional authority responsible for the economic, social and
cultural development of the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking parts of the
country).



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Foreign Direct Investment


Over 1000 overseas companies have established operations in
Ireland. They are a key driver of the economy employing some
135,000 people directly and many more indirectly. They
account for one quarter of GDP and over 80% of exports. The
focus of IDA Ireland is to attract foreign investment that is of
high value, requiring high skill levels and a sophisticated
business environment.


Key areas of focus are:


-
advanced manufacturing projects in the ICT,pharmaceuticals
and biopharmaceuticals, medical technologies,engineering and
consumer products sectors


- high
value internationally traded services sectors in software,
financial services, shared services and customer support activities


Shannon Development has responsibility for the Shannon Free Zone,
Ireland's largest cluster of North American investments. There are
110 companies in the free zone employing 7,500 people, with total
trade in the zone valued at €2.5 billion.



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Irish Enterprise Sector


Enterprise Ireland client companies employ in excess of 141,091
people in Ireland (2006). Total export sales from Enterprise
Ireland clients were valued at €11,779 billion in 2006. The key
sectors in 2006 for Enterprise Ireland clients in order of exports
were Food and Retail, (€7,849 billion), Industrial and Life
Sciences, (€2,493 billion ), Software and services, (€1,437
billion). The largest export markets for Enterprise Ireland Clients
are Northern Europe (€6,740 billion), Southern Europe (€1,377
billion), America's (€1,299 billion), Germany, Central and Eastern
Europe (€849 million), Asia (€654 million), the Rest of the World
(€ 154 million).


&#218;dar&#225;s na Gaeltachta supports businesses in developing new
markets, technologies, products and strategic alliances through
research and development. Gaeltacht companies span a range of
commercial sectors, including tourism, fish processing and
aquaculture, renewable energy, food, life sciences, ICT, niche
manufacturing, audio visual and digital media, arts and crafts.
Over 12,000 people are employed in &#218;dar&#225;s na Gaeltachta client
companies.


InterTradeIreland is a North/South Implementation Body established
in 1999 pursuant to the Good Friday Agreement, promotes trade and
business on an all-island and cross-border basis, and works to
enhance the global competitiveness of the all-island economy to the
mutual benefit of Ireland and Northern Ireland.





National Development Plan




Foras &#193;iseanna
Saothair (National Training Authority)




Higher Education and
Training Awards Council




Further Education
and Training Awards Council




National Centre for
Partnership and Performance




National
Qualifications Authority of Ireland




National Standards
Authority of Ireland




Economic and Social
Research Institute




Science Foundation
Ireland




Irish Business and
Employers Confederation




Central Bank
of Ireland






Department of
Enterprise, Trade and Employment




Forf&#225;s




IDA
Ireland




Enterprise Ireland




Shannon
Development




&#218;dar&#225;s na
Gaeltachta




Intertrade Ireland






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Finance


Dublin's International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), which was
set up by the Irish Government with EU approval in 1987, is
globally recognised as a leading location for a range of
internationally traded financial services, including banking, asset
financing, fund management, corporate treasury management,
investment management, custody and administration and specialized
insurance operations.


More than 430 international operations are approved to trade in the
IFSC, while a further 700 managed entities are approved to carry on
business under the IFSC programme. The centre is host to half
of the world's top 50 banks and to half of the top 20 insurance
companies. It is expected that the International Financial
Services Centre will continue to make a major contribution to
Ireland and the goal of policy is to ensure that we will continue
to attract new operations and provide a supportive business
environment for this important sector.





Department of
Finance




International
Financial Services Centre




Office of the
Comptroller and Auditor General




National Treasury
Management Agency





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Services


The service sector in Ireland accounts for over half of GDP and for
65 per cent of employment. Throughout the last decade output of
services has grown strongly, largely as a result of growth in
financial services, telecommunications and tourism.



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Industrial Relations


Over 50 per cent of the employee labour force are organised in
trade unions of which there are 50 in Ireland. The Irish Congress
of Trade Unions is the national co-ordinating body for most of
these. The Irish Business and Employers Confederation represents
the interests of employers at national level.


The Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court are the
principal mediation bodies. Their role is to assist in the
settlement of disputes.





Department of
Enterprise, Trade and Employment




Labour Relations
Commission




Labour
Court




Equality
Authority




Irish Congress of
Trade Unions




Irish Business and
Employers Confederation






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Agriculture


The Agri-Food industry makes a significant contribution to the
Irish economy. The combined agri-food and drink sector had
exports of over €8 billion in 2006 and accounts for almost 9% of
GDP and directly employs 166,000 people. In particular, the
industry plays a major role in the indigenous sector, with
approximately 50% of exports from Irish owned companies deriving
from agri-food and drink companies. The linkage of the
agri-food sector to the rest of the economy is exceptionally high
and, given its low import content, the sector currently contributes
in the order of 20% to net foreign earnings from merchandise
exports.


Of the total land area of approximately 7 million hectares (17
million acres), 5 million hectares (12.32 million acres) are
utilised for agricultural purposes (including forestry).
Cattle-raising and dairying are by far the most important sectors
of the agricultural industry, and livestock (mainly cattle) and
livestock products (principally milk), account for 76 per cent of
the value of gross agricultural output. The main crops are
barley, wheat, potatoes and mushrooms.





Department
of Agriculture and Food




Bord Bia




Teagasc
(Agriculture &amp;amp; Food Development Authority)




Food Safety Authority
of Ireland






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Fishing


The Irish seafood industry provides employment for over 15,000
people. It makes a significant contribution to the economic
and social fabric of the many small communities located in mainly
rural areas or small towns and villages around the 7,500 kilometres
of our coastline.


Total Irish sales of
seafood in 2007 on the home and export markets amounted to €803
million which represents an increase of 9% on the previous
year. The main contributor to the growth in revenue was the
ongoing rapid growth of the domestic market with seafood sales to
the retail sector valued at €169 million, up by 7% on 2006 and
sales to food service valued at €213 million, an increase of
5%. The increase in sales was mainly driven by the growing
consumer awareness of the health and nutritional benefits of
seafood.


Approximately half of the increase in domestic seafood sales was
met through increased imports which grew by 16% to reach €144
million in 2006. In contrast, export sales were up by a mere
2% to reach €362.2 million. This was the result of sharply
opposite trends with pelagic fish exports (e.g. mackerel) falling
by 27% (€78.8 million) while increased exports were recorded for
all other categories, the most notable being the increase of 16% in
shellfish exports (€147 million).





Department of
Communications, Energy &amp;amp; Natural Resources




Bord Iascaigh
Mhara






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Tourism


In 2007, overseas tourist visits to the whole island of Ireland
increased by more than 4% to 9.1 million, a new record. These
increases in visitor numbers, and the associated growth in tourist
spending, have provided the foundations on which the tourism
industry’s enhanced contribution to the national economy has been
built. Expenditure by visitors to Ireland, both North and
South, is estimated to be worth €4.5 billion in 2007. It is
estimated that the total number of people employed in the Irish
tourism and catering industry in 2007 was over 230,000. The
industry is Ireland’s biggest indigenous employer and is a major
contributor to the Irish economy. Allowing for indirect and induced
effects, tourism accounted for 3.8% of GNP in 2007.


Tourism Ireland was established under the framework of the Belfast
Agreement of Good Friday 1998 to co-ordinate the work of the two
tourist boards on the island, F&#225;ilte Ireland and the Northern
Ireland Tourist Board, who are responsible for product and
enterprise development and marketing to tourism consumers within
the island of Ireland.


Ireland’s successful tourism industry is built around the three
themes: Irish people; Irish culture and the physical beauty of the
country. The people of Ireland are recognised for being friendly,
charming and witty. They are attentive but relaxed and welcoming.
These characteristics allow our visitors to interact easily with
local people and connect with the island on a human level. Culture
on the island of Ireland reflects the character of its people and
the beauty of its landscape and historic sites. Visitors can vary
the pace of their holiday experience, from a relaxed appreciation
of the historic culture to a more active involvement in the vibrant
living culture. Ireland is also celebrated as a rich tapestry of
breathtaking landscapes and seascapes steeped in history creates a
varied experience for the visitor, all within easy reach. It is an
experience that fills the senses – an energising journey of
discovery and enrichment





Department of Arts, Sport &amp;amp; Tourism




F&#225;ilte
Ireland




Tourism
Ireland




Tourism
Information
(Domestic)






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Transport


Coras Iompair &#201;ireann (CIE) is the national statutory public
transport service in Ireland. The CIE group of companies comprises
a holding company and three subsidiary operating companies which
provide train, bus, coach and ancillary services throughout the
country. Iarnr&#243;d &#201;ireann (Irish Rail) operates the nationwide
mainline rail services, the Dublin Area Rapid Transport (DART) and
other suburban rail services as well as rail freight services. Bus
&#201;ireann (Irish Bus) operates a comprehensive network of bus
services outside Dublin City, including expressway inter-urban
coach services; city buses in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford;
rural bus services; and international services. Bus &#193;tha Cliath
(Dublin Bus) operates urban bus services in the greater Dublin
area. The latest addition to the country’s public transport system
came with the opening of the Luas lines in 2004. Luas is a
Light Rail Transit (LRT) system (a public transport tram system)
that operates in Dublin.


An integrated transport system for Dublin, to include seven new
Luas projects, two Metro lines, an underground station at St.
Stephen's Green integrating all services and the Western Rail
Corridor are among the investments outlined in Transport 21, the
Government's €34.4 billion transport investment plan.


There is a significant investment programme underway upgrading the
national roads system. More than €16 billion is being spent
improving the inter-urban motorway network. This is undertaken by
the National Roads Authority.


The majority of passengers visiting Ireland use one of the main
airports - Dublin, Shannon and Cork. There are also a number of
regional airports throughout the country. Dublin Airport is
Ireland's busiest airport and is also amongst the ten busiest
airports in Europe. Dublin Airport manages an average of
60,000 passengers per day, rising to 80,000 during the peak season,
and more than 600 aircrafts movements every day. The Dublin Airport
Authority is investing €2 billion in new and improved facilities in
the airport.





Department of
Transport




Irish Aviation
Authority




Commission for
Aviation Regulation




Irish
Ferries




Iarnr&#243;d
&#201;ireann




Coras Iompair
&#201;ireann




Bus &#193;tha
Cliath




Bus &#201;ireann




Dublin Airport Authority




Aer Lingus




Ryanair




National Roads
Authority




Transport
21




Dublin
Airport






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Energy


The Government’s Energy Policy Framework for the period 2007-2020
was published in March 2007. The policy aims to deliver a
sustainable energy future for Ireland. Although Ireland faces
similar energy challenges to those being confronted worldwide, the
Irish situation is made more acute by our small energy market,
peripherality and limited indigenous fuel resources.
Sustained economic growth and population growth also add to the
challenges for Irish energy policy. There are however major
opportunities to be realised in harnessing the full potential of
Ireland’s renewable and bioenergy resources.


The National Development Plan 2007-2013 will see some €8.5billion
in investment in energy, funded in part by the Exchequer, by the
Semi-State Energy Bodies and from other non-public sources.


While Ireland is totally dependent on imports for its oil supply,
the proportion of primary energy derived from oil has been reduced
significantly in the last decade in line with EU policy.


Ireland has a largely stand-alone electricity grid. An
electricity interconnector with Northern Ireland was
re-commissioned in 1995 and is used to optimise peak demand
management. Electricity demand has continued to rise,
however, and a major task for the electricity industry is to
increase generation resources in line with electricity demand.


There has been close cooperation with Northern Ireland on energy
issues over the past few years. A key outcome was the joint
publication of the All-island Energy Market Development Framework
in November 2004. The Framework sets out the commitment of
both Governments to achieving a single energy market.


The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is the State-owned generator and
distributor of electricity. From 2000, under an EU Directive,
the electricity market is open to competition. The Commission
for Electricity Regulation, established in 1999, licences the
generation and supply of electricity.


Natural gas from Irish offshore fields is making an important
contribution towards energy requirements. Bord G&#225;is &#201;ireann (the
Gas Supply Board) is a State-owned company responsible for the
supply, transmission and distribution of natural gas. It
operates transmission lines bringing gas from Kinsale Head, off the
coast of Cork, and from the North Sea gas fields through a sub-sea
interconnector pipeline. Among new pipelines being added is a
major east/west gas pipeline to Galway.


Peat development in Ireland is undertaken by a State enterprise,
B&#243;rd na M&#243;na (Peat Development Board), which has been a world
leader in exploitation techniques. Ireland has one of the world’s
highest levels of peat output.



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Mining and Quarrying


Ireland is a leading producer of zinc and lead. There are three
underground mines, Navan, Co. Meath, Lisheen, Co. Tipperary, and
Galmoy, Co. Kilkenny.


The three mines together account for approximately 40% of Western
European zinc metal, and 30% of its lead, all of which is exported
as concentrates. Ireland is also a significant producer of gypsum,
from an open-cast mine at Knocknacran, Co. Monaghan. The gypsum is
used in Ireland’s building industry, with some being exported.


The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is
responsible for policy and regulation of mineral exploration and
mining. The Department is also charged with promotion of
exploration and development of Ireland’s minerals. On a day-to-day
basis, these responsibilities are dealt with by the Department’s
Exploration and Mining Division (EMD). EMD maintain two websites,
one of which is aimed at industry (www.minex.ie) and the other is for the
general public (www.emd.ie).


Ireland also has a significant quarrying industry, producing sand,
gravel and aggregate for the construction sector, and ground
limestone for agriculture. Quarrying is regulated by local
authorities.



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Telecommunications


The Communications Regulator (ComReg) is the statutory body
responsible for the regulation of the electronic communications
sector (telecommunications, radio communications and broadcasting
transmission) and the postal sector.


Electronic communications in Ireland are among the most advanced
and sophisticated in Europe. Major providers of telecommunications
services include Eircom, BT, Vodafone, O2, Meteor and 3 Ireland.
Eircom, the principal provider of fixed line telecommunication
services was formerly a State-owned company, Telecom &#201;ireann. In
line with EU policy the telecommunications market in Ireland was
fully liberalised in 1998 and Telecom &#201;ireann was privatised in
1999. The organisation which manages the roll out of broadband on
behalf of the State in Ireland’s regional towns and cities is
E-Net. There is also a State-run telecommunications network, HEAnet
dedicated to linking the third level
institutions.


The Irish Government, by a combination of imaginative legislation,
high-quality infrastructure and favourable tax treatment, is
promoting Ireland as an e-commerce hub. The Electronic
Commerce Act, which came into force in 2000, signalled a flexible
approach to regulation and created equivalence in law between
electronic documents, contracts, signatures and seals and their
paper-based equivalents.


Ireland has major international fibre-optic connectivity. As
part of its policy of regionalisation, the Government has spent €65
million providing high speed broadband connectivity to 26 principal
towns around the country. A further 90+ towns are currently being
prepared for phase two of this project.


The Government is also supportive of the creation of a North/South
digital corridor and the provision of satellite-based broadband
services aimed at remote areas of the country. There is also a
commitment to ensure that every primary and secondary school
in the country will have broadband connectivity.





Department of
Communications, Energy and Natural Resources




Electricity Supply
Board




Bord G&#225;is




Bord na M&#243;na




Sustainable
Energy Ireland




Commission for Energy
Regulation




Commission for
Communications Regulations




E-Net




HEAnet






Top of Page


Newspapers


Newspapers have been published in Ireland for over 300 years. The
main morning daily broadsheet papers are The Irish Independent, The
Irish Times and The Irish Examiner. There are also two
evening newspapers, The Evening Herald and The Evening Echo and six
Sunday newspapers, The Sunday Tribune, The Sunday Independent, The
Sunday World, The Sunday Business Post, Irish Daily Mail on Sunday
and The Star on Sunday. There are two Irish language weekly
newspapers: L&#225; and Foinse.


There are also about 60 local newspapers usually published weekly
and a wide variety of magazines dealing with current affairs,
economic issues and leisure interests. British newspapers and
magazines circulate widely in Ireland and some titles publish
separate Irish editions.


In 2007 the Press Council of Ireland was established by the
Industry itself and in the same year the Government established the
Office of Press Ombudsman. Their main objectives are:


- to provide the public with an independent forum for resolving
complaints against the press;


- to resolve all complaints quickly, amicably and free of charge;


- to maintain the high standards of Irish journalism and
journalistic ethics;


- to defend the freedom of the press and the freedom of the public
to be informed.





The Irish
Times




Irish
Independent




Irish
Examiner




Sunday Business
Post




The Sunday
Times




Sunday
Independent




The Sunday
Tribune




Evening Echo




Foinse




Press Council
of Ireland (and Press Ombudsman)






Top of Page


Radio and Television


The National radio and television service is operated by Radio
Telef&#237;s &#201;ireann (RT&#201;), the public broadcasting company which
transmits on two television and five radio channels. RT&#201; derives
its revenue from licence fees and the sale of advertising time. In
addition to the wide availability of British radio and television
programming, satellite broadcasts are achieving an increasing
audience.


Irish speakers are served by a dedicated radio channel, Radio na
Gaeltachta (operated by RT&#201;) and by TG4, an independent Irish
language television channel.


The Radio and Television Act 1988 established the Broadcasting
Commission of Ireland (formally the Independent Radio and
Television Commission), which has responsibility for licensing and
overseeing the operation of independent radio and television
broadcasting. In recent years, quite a number of independent
regional radio stations and community radio initiatives have
emerged all over the country and have gained a substantial
audience. There are two national independent radio stations,
Today FM and Newstalk, and a national independent commercial
television station, TV3. Both Today FM and TV3 were launched in
1998. Newstalk was launched nationally in September 2006.





Radio Teilif&#237;s
&#201;ireann




TG4




TV3




Today FM




2 FM




Radio 1




Newstalk




Broadcasting
Commission of Ireland (BCI)






Top of Page

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:09:47 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Irish Citizens Travelling to USA]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=73754</link>
					<description><![CDATA[


Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)



Passport Requirements




Changes to Visa Waiver Program (VWP) - Emergency/Temporary
Passports




Electronic System for Travel
Authorization (ESTA)


ESTA is an electronic registration system requiring travellers who
are part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to register in advance of
travelling to the USA. Mandatory registrationhas come into
force since 12 January 2009.


Visa Waiver travellers should register through the Department of
Homeland Security website at the following address: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov.


Registration is free and may be done by third
parties e.g. travel agencies. Sites requesting payment for
registration should not be used.


ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel, and
once approved, generally will be valid for up to two years or until
the applicant's passport expires, whichever comes first.
Authorisations will be valid for multiple entries into the U.S. The
Department of Homeland Security recommends that ESTA applications
be submitted at least 72 hours in advance of travel.


An applicant who does not receive authorisation to travel will need
to go to their nearest U.S. Diplomatic or Consular Mission and
apply for a visa.


An ESTA approval does not determine admissibility into the United
States. The final decision for entry to the United States rests
with US immigration authorities at the port of entry.


The ESTA programme does not apply to Irish citizens who are holders
of a visa for the United States.


For more information on ESTA, please visit http://www.cbp.gov/ESTA


Passport Requirements
 

Since 16 June 2005 persons traveling to the United States have been
required to present a machine readable passport to avail of the
U.S. Visa Waiver Programme. Otherwise they must obtain a visa, in
advance, from their nearest U.S. Diplomatic or Consular Mission.


Ireland is one of the countries that can avail of visa waiver
status and has been issuing machine readable passports since 1993.





A machine readable passport has two lines of text in the form
of letters, numbers and chevrons (&amp;lt;&amp;lt;&amp;lt;) at the bottom of
the personal information page.


New passports issued by Visa Waiver Program countries after 25
October 2006 must be ePassports, which include an integrated
computer chip capable of storing biographic information from the
data page, as well as other biometric information, such as the
required digital photograph of the holder. Ireland commenced
issuing ePassports on 16 October, 2006.





You can identify an ePassport by the logo at the bottom
of the cover





Machine readable passports issued before 16 October 2006 are
still valid for travel to the US until their date of expiry.


Changes to Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Travel for Bearers of
Emergency/Temporary Passports


Ending the E-Passport Exemption


Passports issued by the Passport Office or by our Missions abroad
in emergency situations are not ePassports. Since the introduction
of the ePassport in 2006 requirement it has been possible for Irish
citizens to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Program
using one of these Passports. However, From July 1, 2009 the US
authorities will only permit entry to their territory on an
emergency passport if the traveller has been issued with a
Visa.


Irish Emergency Passport






You can recognise an Irish emergency Passport as it has a green
cover and contains only 8 pages. It is machine readable and has a
digital photograph.


Further information on entry requirements for the US can be found
at http://dublin.usembassy.gov/emergency_temp_ppts.html

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:17:25 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Ireland in Brief]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=78552</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
The attached booklet, entitled 
Ireland in Brief, provides a general overview of Ireland's
political, economic and cultural life. While it is not
possible to include every aspect of life in Ireland in this short
publication, we hope that you will discover a little about Ireland
and its people.

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:49:05 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Ireland in Brief]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=78601</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
The attached booklet, entitled 
Ireland in Brief, provides a general overview of Ireland's
political, economic and cultural life. While it is not
possible to include every aspect of life in Ireland in this short
publication, we hope that you will discover a little about Ireland
and its people.

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Wed, 05 Aug 2009 02:49:05 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Studying in Ireland]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=82397</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
Ireland’s traditional reputation for educational excellence is
recognised the world over. Dating back to the Middle Ages, Ireland
– known as the Island of Saints and Scholars -provided education to
much of the western world: more recently, Irish writers such as
James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, WB Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and
Oscar Wilde, are studied around the world, while ongoing investment
in research and development has placed modern Ireland at the
cutting edge of science and technology.


Successive modern governments in Ireland have regarded education as
a key priority and today Ireland has one of the highest education
participation rates in the world, with almost half of young people
entering third-level education. Irish Universities, Colleges and
Institutes of Technology are acclaimed internationally for their
high academic standards, while the many established English
language schools have a well-founded reputation for quality.


Ireland is also a uniquely attractive place to live, with friendly
people and a wide range of cultural and sporting activities. In
2007, students from 142 countries pursued courses in Higher
Education in Ireland, with another 140,000 studying English here.
This international experience, together with its cultural links to
the English-speaking world, its intensive investment in research
and development, and its strong connections to industry, has been
central to Ireland’s development as a knowledge society in the new
global economy.




Education Ireland



The Irish Education System



Third Level Education



Irish Universities



Institutes of Technology in Ireland



Private Higher Education Colleges



Fourth Level Education



English Language Sector



Useful Links






Education Ireland


Education Ireland was formally established to provide information
about Ireland as a centre for international education. Its website
(www.educationireland.ie) acts
as a central contact point for information about programmes
available in Irish Universities, Institutes of Technology and
private Colleges, and provides comprehensive links to other Irish
education websites.


Back


The Irish Education System


Education in Ireland is compulsory from age 6 to 16, or until
students have completed three years of secondary education.
However, most children start in primary education at the age of 4.
There are over 3,200 primary schools in Ireland, most of which
receive capital funding from the State, supplemented by local
contributions. The second-level sector comprises over 750
secondary, vocational, community and comprehensive schools.
Almost 60% of students attend secondary schools; 26% attend
vocational schools; and 14% attend community and comprehensive
schools. Second-level education consists of a three-year Junior
Cycle followed by a two or three-year Senior Cycle. In the Senior
Cycle, there is an optional Transition Year Programme. During the
final two years of Senior Cycle, students take either the
established Leaving Certificate; the Leaving Certificate Vocational
Programme or the Leaving Certificate Applied.


Back


Third Level Education


The higher education system in Ireland is broad in scope and
encompasses the university sector, the technological sector, the
colleges of education and private independent colleges. The
institutions within the first three groupings are autonomous and
self-governing, but are substantially state funded.


Back


Irish Universities


The seven Universities in the Republic of Ireland offer
state-of-the-art training through a broad range of Bachelors,
Masters and PhD programmes. These Universities are attractive
destinations for Irish, European and international students,
reflecting the unique combination of a quality education and an
exciting cultural experience. Irish Universities are fully
integrated into the life of their cities and regions, with vibrant
student communities and social life.


Significant government investment in research and development makes
the Irish Universities an especially attractive destination for
young researchers and scholars. The Universities play a central
role in ensuring that Ireland continues to advance and becomes a
fully-fledged knowledge society. The receipt of significant funding
through the Government's Strategic Innovation Fund underpins their
performance in research and the output of highly-skilled graduates
with doctoral qualifications and post-doctoral experience. The
Universities have rigorous quality assurance procedures which
adhere to the highest international standards.



Back


Institutes of Technology in Ireland


The 14 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) in the Republic of Ireland
offer programmes at levels 6 to 10 of the National Framework of
Qualifications.These include undergraduate programmes
leading to higher certificate awards, Ordinary Bachelors degrees,
Honours Bachelors degrees and post-graduate awards, both taught and
by research, leading to Masters and Doctoral degrees, in a wide
variety of subjects. Most have schools of Science, Engineering
&amp;amp; Technology, and Business. In addition, many of the Institutes
have developed special programmes in areas such as Humanities &amp;amp;
Languages; Paramedical Studies and Healthcare; Art &amp;amp; Design;
and Tourism. The quality assurance procedures of each Institute are
approved by the Higher Education and Training Award Council (HETAC).
The qualifications awarded byHETAC are internationally
recognised by academic; professional; trade; and craft bodies.



Back


Private Higher Education Colleges


The various private independent colleges are mainly involved in
providing business and professional educational training. Courses
on offer include: Accountancy and Business Studies; Law;
Humanities; Hotel and Catering; Tourism Studies; and Art. Many of
the programmes offered by these colleges are validated by the
Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) and some have
links with Universities and/or professional associations through
which the offered courses are accredited.



Back


Fourth Level Education


Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have a critical role to play
in ‘Fourth Level' or post-graduate education in Ireland.
Significant funding is provided for research being carried out in
the HEIs, much of it coming through the Higher Education
Authority’s Programme for Research in Third Level
Institutions (PRTLI), and major research initiatives funded by
Science Foundation
Ireland. The Government’s 2006 Strategy for Science, Technology
and Innovation sets out a vision and roadmap for the coherent
development of research, technological development and innovation.
Government research support continues to increase under the
National Development Plan, 2007-2013.



Back


English Language Sector


Ireland has a well-founded reputation for the excellent quality of
its English language services. The quality assurance body for the
sector in Ireland is the Advisory Council for English Language
Schools (ACELS) which administers an inspection scheme, leading to
recognition by the Department of Education and Science . A full list of
the over 110 quality-assured and recognised schools and
organisations (ELTOS) is available on the ACELS website.
These offer a wide variety of courses, and generally provide a full
package of tuition, accommodation and extra-curricular activities.
English language training can also be combined with sporting
activities such as angling, golf or tennis. The English language
sector is supported in its promotional activities by F&#225;ilte Ireland.



Back


Useful Links


The Education Ireland website acts as a central point of
contact for information on Irish education and on programmes
available in Irish Universities and colleges. It provides
up-to-date comprehensive information on courses;scholarships;
coming to Ireland; and learning English in Ireland (www.educationireland.ie).


The National
Qualifications of Ireland (NQAI) is the Irish centre for the
recognition of international qualifications. If you have completed
a qualification outside Ireland, you may wish to have it assessed
in order to gain employment or undertake further studies in Ireland
(www.qualificationsrecognition.ie).


Qualifax is
Ireland's National Learners' Database. It is the &quot;one stop shop&quot;
for learners. Qualifax provides the most comprehensive information
on further and higher education and training courses in Ireland
(www.qualifax.ie).


The National Framework
of Qualifications (NFQ) provides a way to compare
qualifications, and to ensure that they are quality-assured and
recognised at home and abroad. Students are encouraged to use the
NFQ to identify the qualification they will achieve before making
decisions. Qualifications recognised through the NFQ are
quality-assured: this means that your course, and the institution
at which you study, are reviewed on an ongoing basis www.nfq.ie).


The Higher Education
and Training Awards Council (HETAC) develops, promotes and
maintains higher education and training awards to the highest
international standards and quality (www.hetac.ie).


The Irish
Council for International Students (ICOS) promotes the general
welfare of international students (www.icosirl.ie).


The Irish Universities
Assocation (IUA) is the representative body for the seven Irish
Universities (www.iua.ie).


The Institutes of
Technology of Ireland (IOTI) is the representative body for the
thirteen Irish institutes of technology (www.ioti.ie).


The Higher Education Colleges Association (HECA) is a
self-regulating association of independent third level colleges
formed in 1991 to represent the interests of its member colleges
and their students (www.heca.ie).


The Advisory Council
for English Language Schools (ACELS) is the quality assurance
body for English language teaching in Ireland. ACELS administers an
inspection/recognition scheme leading to recognition by the
Department of Education and Science (www.acels.ie).


F&#225;ilte Ireland promotes the English language
   schools (www.failteireland.ie).


The Student
Finance website is a convenient and user-friendly source of
information on financial support for further and higher education
in Ireland (www.studentfinance.ie).



Back

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:37:23 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Application Form]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=75018</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
COMPLETING YOUR APPLICATION FORM ON-LINE


A new visa system is now operating at this Mission. The new system
includes the facility for applicants to complete their application
form on-line.


To launch an on-line application please click here.


Applicants are reminded that completing the on-line application
form is only the first step in the visa application process. An
application can only be processed when the on-line form is
completed AND the required backing documentation, passport
photograph and appropriate fee are received by the relevant
office as indicated by the on-line system.


It is no longer possible to apply using a downloaded/paper
application form.


INFORMATION NOTE TO ASSIST APPLICANTS


An information note has been prepared to assist applicants. This is
available in English, and also in Arabic,Chinese, French, Russian,Turkishand Urdu.

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:32:05 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Useful Links]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=78599</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
I J 
K 
L 
M 
N 
O 
P 
Q 
R 
S 
T 
U 
V 
W 
X 
Y 
Z


A


An
Chomhairle Leabharlanna



Top of Page


B


Bord Bia


Bord Iascaigh
Mhara


Bord Scann&#225;n na
h&#201;ireann


British Irish Council


Broadcasting
Commission of Ireland (BCI)



Top of Page


C


Central Bank
of Ireland


Central Statistics
Office


Chester Beatty
Library


Council of
the European Union


Court of
Justice of the European Communities


Crafts Council of
Ireland


Culture
Ireland



Top of Page


D


Government Departments


Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food


Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism


Department of
Communications, Energy and Natural Resources


Department of
Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs


Department of
Defence


Department of
Education and Science


Department of
Enterprise Trade and Employment


Department of the
Environment &amp;amp; Local Government


Department of
Finance


Department of Foreign
Affairs


Department of Health
and Children


Department of
Justice, Equality and Law Reform


Department of
Social and Family Affairs


Department
of the Taoiseach


Department of
Transport


Director of
Public Prosecutions


Documents in Irish
Foreign Policy


Drug
Treatment Board


Dublin Dental Hospital Board


Dublin Port
Company


Dublin
Docklands Development Authority



Top of Page


E


Economic and Social
Research Institute


Enterprise Ireland


Environmental
Protection Agency


Equality
Commission for Northern Ireland


EU Common Foreign and Security Policy


EU Gateway


European Central
Bank


European
Commission - in Ireland


EU Common Foreign and Security Policy


European
Ombudsman


European Parliament - in Ireland


Evening Echo



Top of Page


F


F&#225;ilte
Ireland


Fianna F&#225;il


Fine Gael


Foinse


Food Safety Authority
of Ireland


Football Association
of Ireland


Foras &#193;iseanna
Saothair


Forf&#225;s


Further Education
and Training Awards Council



Top of Page


G


Gaelic Athletic
Association


Garda
Ombudsman


Garda S&#237;och&#225;na
(Irish Police)


Golfing Union of
Ireland


Government of
Ireland


Green Party



Top of Page


H


Health &amp;amp; Safety
Authority


Health Insurance
Authority


Health Research
Board


Health Service
Executive (HSE)


Heritage
Council of Ireland


Higher Education and
Training Council


Higher Education
Authority


History
Ireland


Horse Racing
Ireland


Housing Finance
Agency



Top of Page


I


Iarnr&#243;d
&#201;ireann


IDA Ireland


International
Financial Services Centre


International Fund for Ireland


Intertrade Ireland


Irish Aid


Irish Aviation
Authority


Irish Blood
Transfusion Service


Irish Business and
Employers Confederation


Irish Congress of
Trade Unions


Irish Courts
Service


Irish Defence
Forces


Irish
Examiner


Irish Greyhound
Board


Irish
Independent


Irish Museum of
Modern Art


Irish
National Stud Company Limited


Irish Research
Council for the Humanities&amp;amp; Social Studies


Irish Rugby
Football Union


Irish
Sports Council


Irish Times


Irish Water Safety



Top of Page


J



Top of Page


K


 
Top of Page


L


Labour


Labour Relations
Commission


Law Reform
Commission



Top of Page


M


Met &#201;ireann



Top of Page


N


National
Archives


National Building Agency


National Cancer
Registry Board


National Centre for
Partnership and Performance


National Concert
Hall


National Council on
Ageing and Older People


National
Crime Council


National Development
Plan


National Disability
Authority


National Economic and
Social Council


National Economic and
Social Forum


National
Gallery of Ireland


National Library of
Ireland


National Lottery


National
Microelectronics Applications Centre


National Museum of
Ireland


National
Qualifications Authority of Ireland


National Roads
Authority


National Social Work
Qualifications Board


National Standards
Authority of Ireland


National Treasury
Management Agency


North South Ministerial Council


Northern Ireland
Human Rights Commission


Northern Ireland
Office


Northern Ireland Policing Board



Top of Page


O


Office of Civil
Service &amp;amp; Local Appointments Commissioner


Office of
the Attorney General


Office of the
Comptroller and Auditor General


Office of the
Data Protection Commissioner


Office of the
Director of Corporate Enforcement


Office of the
First Minister and Deputy First Minister


Office of the
Information Commissioner


Office of the
Ombudsman


Office of
the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland


Office of Public
Works


Office of the
Revenue Commissioners


Office of Tobacco
Control


Olympic
Council of Ireland


Ordnance Survey
Ireland



Top of Page


P


Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland


Police Service
of Northern Ireland


An Post


The Postgraduate
Medical and Dental Board


President of
Ireland


Press Council
of Ireland (and Press Ombudsman)


Progressive Democrats



Top of Page


Q



Top of Page


R


Radiological
Protection Institute of Ireland


Radio One


Radio Teilif&#237;s
&#201;ireann


Railway Procurement
Agency


Referendum
Commission


Reach Unit


Top of Page


S


Science Foundation
Ireland


Shannon
Development


Shannon Free
Airport Development


Sinn F&#233;in


Special
Olympics Ireland


Standards in Public
Office Commission


Sunday Business
Post


Sunday
Independent


Sunday
Times


The Sunday
Tribune


Sustainable Energy
Ireland



Top of Page


T


Teagasc


TG4


The Arts
Council


The Environmental
Information Service


The
European Ombudsman


The National
Theatre Society


The
Northern Ireland Assembly


The
Northern Ireland Executive


The Sunday
Times


The Sunday
Tribune


Tourism
Ireland



Top of Page


U


&#218;daras na
Gaeltachta


United Nations



Top of Page


V


Veterinary Council


Visit
Dublin



Top of Page


W


Western Development
Commission


The
Workers' Party


Top of Page


X


Top of Page


Y


Top of Page


Z


Top of Page

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:31:41 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Useful Links Relating to Ireland]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=80931</link>
					<description><![CDATA[
A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
I J 
K 
L 
M 
N 
O 
P 
Q 
R 
S 
T 
U 
V 
W 
X 
Y 
Z


A


An
Chomhairle Leabharlanna



Top of Page


B


Bord Bia


Bord Iascaigh
Mhara


Bord Scann&#225;n na
h&#201;ireann


British Irish Council


Broadcasting
Commission of Ireland (BCI)



Top of Page


C


Central Bank
of Ireland


Central Statistics
Office


Chester Beatty
Library


Council of
the European Union


Court of
Justice of the European Communities


Crafts Council of
Ireland


Culture
Ireland



Top of Page


D


Government Departments


Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food


Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism


Department of
Communications, Energy and Natural Resources


Department of
Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs


Department of
Defence


Department of
Education and Science


Department of
Enterprise Trade and Employment


Department of the
Environment &amp;amp; Local Government


Department of
Finance


Department of Foreign
Affairs


Department of Health
and Children


Department of
Justice, Equality and Law Reform


Department of
Social and Family Affairs


Department
of the Taoiseach


Department of
Transport


Director of
Public Prosecutions


Documents in Irish
Foreign Policy


Drug
Treatment Board


Dublin Dental Hospital Board


Dublin Port
Company


Dublin
Docklands Development Authority



Top of Page


E


Economic and Social
Research Institute


Enterprise Ireland


Environmental
Protection Agency


Equality
Commission for Northern Ireland


EU Common Foreign and Security Policy


EU Gateway


European Central
Bank


European
Commission - in Ireland


EU Common Foreign and Security Policy


European
Ombudsman


European Parliament - in Ireland


Evening Echo



Top of Page


F


F&#225;ilte
Ireland


Fianna F&#225;il


Fine Gael


Foinse


Food Safety Authority
of Ireland


Football Association
of Ireland


Foras &#193;iseanna
Saothair


Forf&#225;s


Further Education
and Training Awards Council



Top of Page


G


Gaelic Athletic
Association


Garda
Ombudsman


Garda S&#237;och&#225;na
(Irish Police)


Golfing Union of
Ireland


Government of
Ireland


Green Party



Top of Page


H


Health &amp;amp; Safety
Authority


Health Insurance
Authority


Health Research
Board


Health Service
Executive (HSE)


Heritage
Council of Ireland


Higher Education and
Training Council


Higher Education
Authority


History
Ireland


Horse Racing
Ireland


Housing Finance
Agency



Top of Page


I


Iarnr&#243;d
&#201;ireann


IDA Ireland


International
Financial Services Centre


International Fund for Ireland


Intertrade Ireland


Irish Aid


Irish Aviation
Authority


Irish Blood
Transfusion Service


Irish Business and
Employers Confederation


Irish Congress of
Trade Unions


Irish Courts
Service


Irish Defence
Forces


Irish
Examiner


Irish Greyhound
Board


Irish
Independent


Irish Museum of
Modern Art


Irish
National Stud Company Limited


Irish Research
Council for the Humanities&amp;amp; Social Studies


Irish Rugby
Football Union


Irish
Sports Council


Irish Times


Irish Water Safety



Top of Page


J



Top of Page


K


 
Top of Page


L


Labour


Labour Relations
Commission


Law Reform
Commission



Top of Page


M


Met &#201;ireann



Top of Page


N


National
Archives


National Building Agency


National Cancer
Registry Board


National Centre for
Partnership and Performance


National Concert
Hall


National Council on
Ageing and Older People


National
Crime Council


National Development
Plan


National Disability
Authority


National Economic and
Social Council


National Economic and
Social Forum


National
Gallery of Ireland


National Library of
Ireland


National Lottery


National
Microelectronics Applications Centre


National Museum of
Ireland


National
Qualifications Authority of Ireland


National Roads
Authority


National Social Work
Qualifications Board


National Standards
Authority of Ireland


National Treasury
Management Agency


North South Ministerial Council


Northern Ireland
Human Rights Commission


Northern Ireland
Office


Northern Ireland Policing Board



Top of Page


O


Office of Civil
Service &amp;amp; Local Appointments Commissioner


Office of
the Attorney General


Office of the
Comptroller and Auditor General


Office of the
Data Protection Commissioner


Office of the
Director of Corporate Enforcement


Office of the
First Minister and Deputy First Minister


Office of the
Information Commissioner


Office of the
Ombudsman


Office of
the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland


Office of Public
Works


Office of the
Revenue Commissioners


Office of Tobacco
Control


Olympic
Council of Ireland


Ordnance Survey
Ireland



Top of Page


P


Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland


Police Service
of Northern Ireland


An Post


The Postgraduate
Medical and Dental Board


President of
Ireland


Press Council
of Ireland (and Press Ombudsman)


Progressive Democrats



Top of Page


Q



Top of Page


R


Radiological
Protection Institute of Ireland


Radio One


Radio Teilif&#237;s
&#201;ireann


Railway Procurement
Agency


Referendum
Commission


Reach Unit


Top of Page


S


Science Foundation
Ireland


Shannon
Development


Shannon Free
Airport Development


Sinn F&#233;in


Special
Olympics Ireland


Standards in Public
Office Commission


Sunday Business
Post


Sunday
Independent


Sunday
Times


The Sunday
Tribune


Sustainable Energy
Ireland



Top of Page


T


Teagasc


TG4


The Arts
Council


The Environmental
Information Service


The
European Ombudsman


The National
Theatre Society


The
Northern Ireland Assembly


The
Northern Ireland Executive


The Sunday
Times


The Sunday
Tribune


Tourism
Ireland



Top of Page


U


&#218;daras na
Gaeltachta


United Nations



Top of Page


V


Veterinary Council


Visit
Dublin



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					<pubDate>Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:31:41 UTC</pubDate>
		
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					<title><![CDATA[About Ireland]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=78531</link>
					<description><![CDATA[]]></description>
					<pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2009 15:02:41 UTC</pubDate>
		
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				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[Arts & Culture]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=78574</link>
					<description><![CDATA[


Irelands Culture 



The Irish Language



Literature in Irish



Literature in English



Art



Architecture



Music



Film



Sport



Ireland’s Culture


In today’s increasingly homogenous world contemporary Irish culture
is reflective of a progressively pluralist, multicultural society.
Generated by the slow, complex fusion of the traditions of the
coloniser and the colonised, of British and Gaelic peoples, it is a
rich weave of foreign and native influences, in which modern and
traditional energies are in vibrant tension.


The traditional lore preserved by the early Irish poets has left a
colourful heritage of mythical and historical stories. Modern
writers in turn have drawn on these stories to enrich their own
work. Irish folklore also draws on international motifs and forms
such as wonder tales and the love songs of the troubadours.


Among the better known stories are those of the legendary heroes
such as Fionn Mac Cumhaill who gained wisdom as a boy by tasting
the ‘salmon of knowledge’, Balor, who killed his grandfather and
whose horrific eye destroyed all on which it gazed, and C&#250;
Chulainn, hero of the epic poem the T&#225;in B&#243; C&#250;ailgne (The Cattle
Raid of Cooley).


Much lore also centres on the patron saints of various localities.
These saints appear in legend as miracle workers who used their
sacred powers to banish monsters, cure illnesses and provide food
for the people in time of need. The most celebrated of these are
the national saint, Patrick, Colm Cille and Saint Brigid, who as
protectress of farming and livestock, preserves many of the
attributes of an earth goddess.


Ireland is famous for its fairy-lore which is connected to early
Celtic beliefs of the dead living on as a dazzling community in
their burial chambers. Many stories are told of humans being
brought into fairy raths (ancient earthwork structures). The
wailing of a special female spirit, the bean s&#237;, heralds a death.


A wide range of beliefs and practices are associated with death and
burial. The ‘waking’ of the dead was an important social ritual
which involved praying, singing, storytelling and games to pay
tribute to the one who had died.


The indigenous festivals of the Irish calendar such as L&#225; Fh&#233;ile
Br&#237;de (Saint Brigid’s feast - 1 February), L&#250;nasa (August) and
O&#237;che Shamhna (Hallowe’en) all had their own special forms of
amusements and preserved vestiges of earlier rituals.



Top of Page


The Irish Language


Irish is the State’s first official language. It is one of the
Celtic family of languages and is closely related to Scots Gaelic,
Welsh and Breton. Most people spoke Irish until the early
nineteenth century but by 1891 over 85 per cent spoke English only.
The latest figures available show that 43 per cent of adults say
they have a knowledge of Irish.


The State actively encourages the use of Irish. Today it is widely
spoken in areas known as the Gaeltacht, situated mainly along the
western seaboard. The


Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has
responsibility for promoting the cultural, social and economic
welfare of the Gaeltacht through &#218;dar&#225;s na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht
Authority), a statutory board under its aegis, which serves as a
development authority for Gaeltacht areas with some of its members
being elected by the people of the Gaeltacht. The Irish Language
Agency (Foras na Gaeilge) of the Language Body (An Foras Teanga),
one of the six all-island bodies established following the Good
Friday Agreement, has responsibility for the promotion and
encouragement of the use of Irish as a vernacular throughout the
island of Ireland. Irish is a core subject in primary and secondary
schools and a growing number of schools offer tuition exclusively
through Irish (Gaelscoileanna). There is a national radio service
(Raidio na Gaeltachta) and an Irish language television service
(TG4). In addition, there are two Irish Language weekly newspapers:
L&#225; and Foinse. On 1 January 2007, the Irish language became the
23rd official language of the European Union.



Top of Page


Literature in Irish


Written literature in Old Irish dates from the sixth century. Work
surviving from that period includes prose sagas, historical and
legal material, commentaries on biblical texts and lyrical and
devotional poetry. During the early modern period (1250-1650)
secular schools trained poets (filidh) to compose elaborate verse
often in praise of their patrons. Fenian (Ossianic) literature was
popular at this time and continued to influence writers in English
through to the nineteenth century. The works centre on the
legendary hero Fionn Mac Cumhaill, his son Ois&#237;n and their
followers, the Fianna. When the Gaelic order ended in the
seventeenth century these poets lost their patrons and were
displaced. At this point, Irish prose writers began to preserve a
record of Gaelic civilisation. Through the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, members of the clergy, schoolteachers,
artisans and some colourful poets continued to write in Irish. One
of the best known poets of this time is Brian Merriman (1747-1805)
author of the frequently translated C&#250;irt an Mhe&#225;n O&#237;che (Midnight
Court).


In the twentieth century writers such as Patrick Pearse (1879-1916)
and P&#225;draic &#211; Conaire (1883-1928) opened Irish literature to
European influences. Distinguished writers and poets of the modern
era include Liam &#211; Flaithearta (1896-1984), M&#225;irt&#237;n &#211; Cadhain
(1906-70), Seosamh Mac Grianna (1901-90), M&#225;irt&#237;n &#211; Dire&#225;in
(1910-1988), Se&#225;n &#211; R&#237;ord&#225;in (1916-77), M&#225;ire Mhac an tSaoi (b.
1922), Se&#225;n &#211; Tuama (b. 1926) and Michael Hartnett (1941-99). Some
wrote in English and Irish often translating the work of their
peers as well as early texts. Although few wrote for the stage,
among those who did were Douglas Hyde (1860-1949), the first
president of Ireland, Brendan Behan (1923-64), M&#225;ir&#233;ad N&#237; Ghr&#225;da
(1899-1971) and Crist&#243;ir &#211; Floinn (b. 1927).


Over a hundred new titles in Irish are published every year,
including books for children. Foremost among these contemporary
writers are Liam &#211; Muirthile (b. 1950), Nuala N&#237; Dh&#243;mhnaill (b.
1952), &#193;ine N&#237; Ghlinn (b. 1955), Cathal &#211; Searcaigh (b. 1956),
Biddy Jenkinson (b. 1949) and Colm Breathnach (b. 1961).



Top of Page


Literature in English


Writing in English has flourished in Ireland since the eighteenth
century. Among the first generation of these writers were the
satirist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), author of Gulliver’s Travels
(1726), the political essayist Edmund Burke (1729-97) and the
dramatists Oliver Goldsmith (1728-74) and Richard Brinsley Sheridan
(1751-1816).


Building on that tradition of brilliant wit, Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900) and George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) wrote major works
for the London stage. Shaw won the Nobel Prize for literature in
1925. Through the nineteenth century a growing interest in
Ireland’s ancient Celtic culture influenced Irish writers, most
significantly William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) whose work inspired
the modern renaissance in Irish writing. He was awarded the Nobel
Prize for literature in 1923. With his friends Lady Gregory
(1852-1932) and Edward Martyn (1859-1924) he established an Irish
National Theatre (the Abbey Theatre) to create an identifiably
Irish literature in English. Some of the theatre’s early works
created a storm of controversy but are now firm favourites in the
repertoire, for example John Millington Synge’s (1871-1909) work,
The Playboy of the Western World (1907) and Se&#225;n O’Casey’s
(1880-1964) The Plough and the Stars (1926).


James Joyce (1882-1941), no admirer of the Yeatsian literary
revival, left Ireland in the early years of the twentieth century
settling ultimately in Paris. His pioneering modernist novel,
Ulysses (1922) grafts the street life of his native Dublin onto the
plot of Homer’s Odyssey to chronicle a single day in the lives of
its protagonists Leopold and Molly Bloom and Stephen Dedalus.
Joyce’s parodic playfulness inspired the work of Brian O’Nolan
(Flann O’Brien) (1911-1966), who also wrote in Irish. Another
Dublin exile in Paris, Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) wrote in a
minimalist vein, often in French. His play, Waiting for Godot
(1953) has become a twentieth century classic of absurdism. He
received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1969.


French authors provided a model for short story writers Frank
O’Connor (1903-66) and Se&#225;n &#211; Faol&#225;in (1900-91) who blended
continental realism with the native oral tradition to create the
modern Irish short story. The form expanded in Illustration showing
some of Ireland’s best known writers: James Joyce, Flann O’Brien,
Brendan Behan, Samuel Beckett, W.B. Yeats &amp;amp; Oscar
Wildethe hands of Liam O’Flaherty (1896-1984), Mary Lavin
(1912-96), John McGahern (1934-2006), William Trevor (b. 1928) and
Bernard MacLaverty (b. 1942).


The generation of poets after Yeats included very different talents
in Patrick Kavanagh (1904-67) and Louis MacNeice (1907-1963).
Kavanagh’s example as a poet of rural realism inspired Seamus
Heaney (b. 1939) whose vision of the redemptive power of poetry
earned him a Nobel Prize for literature in 1995. Among his
contemporaries, Thomas Kinsella (b. 1928), John Montague (b. 1929),
Michael Longley (b. 1939) and Derek Mahon (b. 1941) have explored
the complexities of modern Ireland in work covering historical,
political and existential themes. Women poets, Eavan Boland (b.
1945), Eil&#233;an N&#237; Chuillean&#225;in (b. 1942), Medbh McGuckian (b. 1950)
and Paula Meehan (b. 1955) challenge the traditional male
domination of Irish literature.


Likewise, in fiction, women have been to the fore. Writers such as
Somerville (1858-1949) and Ross (1862-1915), Elizabeth Bowen
(1899-1973) and Molly Keane (1905-1996) were born into and
chronicled the fading world of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy. This
world provides the setting too for many of the novels of Jennifer
Johnston (b. 1930) and John Banville (b. 1945).


The establishment of the new state gave writers a new focus on the
Catholic bourgeoisie, including Kate O’Brien (1897-1974), Edna O
Brien (b.1930) and Colm T&#243;ib&#237;n (b. 1955). The novels of John
McGahern focus on the difficulties and beauty of life in rural
Ireland and the writing of small-town life by Pat McCabe (b. 1955)
sustains the familiar note of black comedy in Irish writing. The
relative darkness of these novelists’ work is absent from the
romances of Maeve Binchy, Deirdre Purcell and Marian Keyes.


In recent years, several internationally renowned Irish writers
have won the prestigious Booker prize. Recent winners include Anne
Enright (b. 1962) in 2007, John Banville (b. 1945) in 2005 and
Roddy Doyle (b. 1958) in 1993, join Iris Murdoch (1919 – 1999) who
won the prize in 1978.


For all its experimental beginnings, Irish drama is resolutely
realist. Its major exponents today are Brian Friel (b. 1929),
author of Dancing at Lughnasa, Tom Kilroy (b. 1934), Tom Murphy (b.
1935), Frank McGuinness (b.1953), Sebastian Barry (b. 1955), Marina
Carr (b. 1965), Martin McDonagh (b. 1971) and Conor McPherson (b.
1971). In their work, lines of satire and dark comedy cross with a
lyrical sensibility to produce a disturbing vision of contemporary
Ireland.


Irish theatre companies such as the Abbey, the Druid and the Gate
regularly tour their productions to international venues and host
the work of visiting theatre companies to Ireland.



Top of Page


Art


The earliest Irish art consists of carvings on megalithic monuments
dating from 3500 B.C. Celtic art reached its apogee in the
manuscripts of the gospels such as the books of Durrow and Kells.
These feature interlaced animal and geometric forms in bright
primary colours. After the ninth century Irish art absorbed Viking,
Romanesque and Gothic influences producing, for example, richly
carved stone High Crosses.


From the mid-seventeenth century decorative arts such as
goldsmithery, plasterwork and glass flourished in conjunction with
the large-scale public buildings of the time. After the Act of
Union (1801) many artists moved to London but those who remained in
Ireland established organisations which today continue to support
artists such as The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) (founded in 1823)
which presents an annual exhibition of contemporary Irish painters
and sculptors. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, Irish painters looked to the French Impressionists for a
new idiom. These include William Leech (1881-1968), Walter Osborne
(1859-1903), John Lavery (1856-1941) and Roderic O’Conor
(1860-1940). Crossing from Impressionism to Expressionism, Jack B.
Yeats (1871-1957) towers over his contemporaries much as his
brother, the poet W.B. Yeats was pre-eminent among his peers.


Younger artists who trained under modernists in Paris include Evie
Hone (1894-1955), Mainie Jellett (1897-1944) and Mary Swanzy
(1882-1978). In 1943 a group of younger artists founded the Irish
Exhibition of Living Art as a reaction to the conventionality of
the RHA. These artists, working in an abstract expressionist mode,
include Louis le Brocquy (b. 1916), Norah McGuinness (1901-80) and
Patrick Scott (b. 1921). Close to them too are Tony O’Malley
(1913-2003), Camille Souter (b. 1929) and Barrie Cooke (b. 1931)
who experiment within the tradition of landscape painting and often
use tropical and desert settings for their work. A strong new
expressionist movement emerged in the late twentieth century
including Brian Maguire (b. 1951), Eithne Jordan (b. 1954), Michael
Mulcahy (b. 1952), Michael Cullen (b. 1946), Dorothy Cross (b.
1956) and Alice Maher (b. 1956).


Sculpture in the nineteenth century was heroic and monumental as
exemplified by the statues of Oliver Goldsmith and Edmund Burke by
John Henry Foley (1819-1974) outside Trinity College, Dublin. This
tradition continued into the twentieth century with the works of
Oisin Kelly (1915-1981), Seamus Murphy (1907-74) and Hilary Heron
(1923-77) pioneering the use of new casting techniques and
promoting the concept of an Irish vernacular sculpture.
Contemporary sculpture is more abstract and witty as can be seen in
the diverse work of John Behan (b. 1932), Michael Warren (b. 1950),
Edward Delaney (b. 1930), Eilis O’Connell (b. 1953), and Kathy
Prendergast (b. 1958).





Department of Arts,
Sport and Tourism




Department of
Community, Rural &amp;amp; Gaeltacht Affairs




Culture
Ireland




&#218;dar&#225;s na
Gaeltachta




The Arts
Council




Crafts Council of
Ireland






Top of Page


Architecture


The earliest examples of architecture visible in Ireland today are
megalithic tombs (3500-2000 B.C.). These include dolmens (three or
more standing stones supporting one or two capstones) and passage
graves such as Newgrange. Stone Age techniques survived into the
twelfth century and are still visible in the beehive structure of
early churches and monasteries such as those on Skellig Michael and
Gallarus Oratory in County Kerry. During the Iron Age (after 500
B.C.) large circular stone forts were built, usually on hilltops
such as Dun Aengus on the Aran Islands.


The Round Tower is almost exclusive to Ireland and is found in many
parts of the country. Built from the tenth to the twelfth centuries
on monastic sites, the most notable being at Clonmacnoise in County
Offaly, round towers were frequently more than 30 metres high.
Their primary purpose seems to have been to serve as bell towers
although the raised level of the doorway would suggest they may
also have had defensive uses. After this period, Romanesque
architecture with its intricate and ornate carved stonework
influenced the shape of Irish churches, the finest examples being
Cormac’s Chapel on the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary and
Clonfert Cathedral in County Galway. The arrival of the
Anglo-Normans heralded the introduction of the early Gothic style
of architecture, with the two Dublin cathedrals, Christ Church and
Saint Patrick’s, being the most notable. The Normans built
substantial castles with large rectangular keeps, many of which,
like Trim in County Meath and Carrickfergus in County Antrim, still
figure on the landscape. The fifteenth century castle at Cahir in
County Tipperary is the most impressive of the surviving feudal
strongholds.


Classical buildings date from the late seventeenth century. At the
turn of the eighteenth century Palladian mansions were emulating
Italian palazzos, but by the end of the century, this style had
given way to neo-classicism and Dublin became an outstanding
example of Georgian architecture. Key buildings from this period
include the Custom House and the Four Courts in Dublin, with their
distinctive copper domes, designed by James Gandon (1743-1823). By
the nineteenth century Gothic revivalism was in vogue influencing
the design of churches such as Saint Finn Barre’s Cathedral (1867)
in Cork and adapted to domestic architecture in the construction of
Ashford Castle (c.1870), County Mayo.


Preservation and revival of old buildings became increasingly
important towards the end of the last century with major projects
such as the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, now the home of the Irish
Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), the The Custom House, Dublin Castle
and the Casino at Marino, Dublin, being fine examples of
architectural restoration. Temple Bar, the Historic Area
Restoration Project (HARP) around Smithfield and the docklands
where the Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC) is located, are
three notable urban development initiatives in Dublin. Over the
twentieth century Irish cities have expanded rapidly and the
emphasis today is on innovative high density housing.



Topof Page


Music


Music has always been an important part of Irish culture, from the
traditional accompaniment to festivals and funerals in the form of
playing and ballad singing, to Irish dancing which is very much
alive in Irish communities around the world. The harp was the
dominant instrument in early historical times. One of the earliest
Irish composers whose work survives is Turlough O’Carolan
(1670-1738), the blind harpist and one of the last of the ancient
bardic tradition.


There is also a classical tradition in the forms pioneered by other
European composers. Eighteenth century Dublin was an important
musical centre and Handel chose to premiere his Messiah there in
1742. John Field (1782-1837), creator of the nocturne, influenced
composers such as Chopin and Glinka, and himself taught music in
Moscow, where he is buried. Around the turn of the twentieth
century two composers, Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) and
Hamilton Harty (1879-1941), created Irish symphonies drawing on
native songs. In the twentieth century traditional Irish music
inspired modern composers such as Se&#225;n &#211; Riada (1931-71), A.J.
Potter (1918-80), Seoirse Bodley (b. 1933) and the crossover
artists Shaun Davey (b. 1948), Ronan Guilfoyle (b. 1958) and
M&#237;che&#225;l &#211; S&#250;illeabh&#225;in (b. 1950).


In the 1930s and 1940s Brian Boydell (1917-2000), Frederick May
(1911-1985) and Aloys Fleischmann (1910-1992) brought a progressive
continental European dimension to Irish art music. This continues
in the work of Raymond Deane (b. 1953) who studied in Germany, and
Gerald Barry (b. 1952) whose operas include The Intelligence Park,
and John Buckley (b. 1951). Young classical composers include
Grainne Mulvey (b. 1966), Ian Wilson (b. 1964), Benjamin Dwyer (b.
1965) and Elaine Agnew (b. 1967).


Traditional Irish music is now popular in many countries through
the influence of groups as diverse as Clannad, the Chieftains,
Altan, Dervish, Lunasa and Anuna, all of whom perform in a modern
context without compromising the integrity of the original sound.
Reflecting this versatility is the phenomenon of Riverdance, with
music composed by Bill Whelan, combining the best of Irish song,
music and dance. Siamsa T&#237;re, based in Tralee, County Kerry, is a
world-renowned folk dance company while Comhaltas Ceolt&#243;ir&#237; &#201;ireann
play a prominent part in the development and preservation of Irish
traditional music and dance. On the jazz scene guitarist Louis
Stewart has played with leading international musicians. Popular
bands such as U2, Ash, Snow Patrol and Westlife top the charts at
home and abroad, as do individual singers Van Morrison, Sin&#233;ad
O’Connor, Damien Rice and Enya.


There are three full-time professional orchestras and three main
opera companies performing in Ireland. There is also a wealth of
individual classical musical talent such as the well known pianists
John O’Conor, and the up and coming Finghin Collins. Well
established on the international concert circuit are Bernadette
Greevy, Ann Murray and Suzanne Murphy.



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Film


Films have been made in and about Ireland since the Lumi&#233;re
Brothers filmed in Sackville (now O’Connell) Street in 1897. In
1910 the American, Sidney Olcott, filmed The Lad from Old Ireland
in New York and Kerry, the first film ever made on two continents.
Ireland has since played host to many international directors -
Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Francis Ford Coppola, John Huston and
Stephen Spielberg.


Throughout the last century Irish film makers were prolific in
their production of amateur films, newsreels, documentaries and
informational films. It was not until the 1970s however that a new
wave of indigenously produced fiction films began to provide a
striking alternative to foreign produced representations of
Ireland.


Irish film makers Bob Quinn, Joe Comerford, Cathal Black, Pat
Murphy and Thaddeus O’Sullivan produced work that dealt with
previously unexplored issues of culture, class, gender and
nationality. Their work and that of subsequent producers, directors
and screen writers is facilitated by the Irish Film Board who fund
production and distribution of feature films, shorts, animated
films and Irish language productions.


Irish films have enjoyed international acclaim such as Michael
Collins (Neil Jordan 1996), I Went Down (Paddy Breathnach 1997),
The General (John Boorman 1998), Nora (Pat Murphy 2000), About Adam
(Gerry Stembridge 2001), When Brendan met Trudy (Kieron J. Walsh
2001) and Disco Pigs (Kirsten Sheridan 2001).


Annual film festivals in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast showcase
Irish and international films while a year-round venue for art
house cinema is provided at the Irish Film Centre in Dublin, the
Kino in Cork and the Town Hall in Galway.





The National
Theatre Society




National Concert
Hall




National
Archives




Irish Museum of
Modern Art




National
Gallery of Ireland




National Library of
Ireland




National Museum of
Ireland




Chester Beatty
Library




Irish Research
Council for the Humanities &amp;amp; Social Studies




An
Chomhairle Leabharlanna




Bord Scann&#225;n na
h&#201;ireann






Top of Page


Sport


Among the most popular sports are Ireland’s traditional games,
Gaelic football, hurling and camogie, which are played almost
exclusively in Ireland and in Irish communities abroad. Games
in the All-Ireland hurling and football championships attract large
attendances throughout the summer months culminating in the finals,
the highlight of Ireland’s sporting year, which are held in Croke
Park in Dublin.


The Irish bloodstock industry is considered one of the finest in
the world.


Soccer is popular at all ages from school to senior level in
domestic competitions with many players performing with distinction
in clubs in Britain. The Irish International team, which
plays as the Republic of Ireland, has over the past number of years
enjoyed some success and is well supported by enthusiastic and
friendly fans.


Rugby football is popular at club and schools level with the Irish
Rugby Football Union (IRFU) fielding teams in the annual Six
Nations championship. Irish rugby players have participated
in the British and Irish Lions tours as players, coaches and
managers.


Ireland has a strong reputation for field sports such as shooting,
fishing and also for equestrian events, show jumping and horse
racing. The Irish bloodstock industry is considered one of the
finest in the world. As Ireland has over 3,000 kilometres of
coastline and numerous inland waterways, sailing and boating are
long-established sports. A wide range of marine leisure activities
such as fishing, water-skiing, canoeing, wind-surfing, diving and
swimming are also pursued.


Over 400 golf courses offer facilities through the country.
All-Ireland teams compete in international amateur golfing
competitions with the major Irish tournaments on the international
professional circuit being the Irish Open and the Smurfit European
Open.


The Ryder Cup was held in Ireland in 2006, with top Irish golfers
P&#225;draig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley contributing to
the European team’s victory over the United States.
Harrington later went on to win the British Open Championship, one
of golf’s four “Majors”, in Carnoustie, Scotland in July 2007.


Ireland has a history of successfully hosting prestigious sporting
events and hosted the Special Olympics in June 2003. This was
the largest sporting event ever to take place in Ireland.
Over 7,000 special athletes from 160 countries came to Ireland to
participate in this unique sporting achievement.





Irish
Sports Council




Football Association
of Ireland




Irish Rugby Football
Union




Gaelic Association of
Ireland




Horse
Racing Ireland




Golfing Union of
Ireland




Special
Olympics Ireland




Olympic
Council of Ireland






Top of Page

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Wed, 18 Feb 2009 14:01:49 UTC</pubDate>
		
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				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[International Relations]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=78572</link>
					<description><![CDATA[


Foreign Policy 



United Nations



European Union Membership



EU Common Foreign &amp;amp; Security Policy



Irish Aid



The Irish Abraod



Useful Links



Foreign Policy


The Constitution of Ireland affirms Ireland’s strong commitment to
the ideal of peace and friendly cooperation amongst nations founded
on international justice and morality. Ireland’s foreign policy is
based on this conviction.


As a small country in a changing world, Ireland remains firmly
committed to collective approaches to international relations and
security based on the primacy of the Charter of the United Nations.
Key principles underlying this commitment are respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law.
Ireland seeks to pursue these core objectives in cooperation with
regional and bilateral partners and through its membership of
international organisations, in particular its membership of the
United Nations and of the European Union.



Top of Page


United Nations


Ireland joined the United Nations (UN) on 14 December 1955. Within
the UN, Ireland has sought to promote effective international
action on global issues such as disarmament, peace-keeping, human
rights and development. Ireland's membership of the UN Security
Council in 2001-2002 reinforced its commitment to working with the
wider UN membership for international peace and security. This
commitment is reflected in the continuous participation in UN peace
keeping operations by Irish Defence and Police Forces since 1958.
Irish personnel are currently serving in a number of UN peace
support operations in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Our
commitment to the UN is also reflected in the increasing
contributions Ireland is making to UN Funds and Programmes. The
then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern TD was asked by the
UN Secretary General to be one of his Envoys for UN reform in the
lead up to the UN World Summit in


September 2005, which reaffirmed the Millennium Development Goals
and helped to ensure that the UN is better equipped to meet today's
threats and challenges. Ireland is also a strong supporter of the
International Criminal Court, established by the international
community through the adoptionof the Rome Statutein
1998.



Topof Page


European Union Membership


Ireland joined the European Economic Community (EEC) on 1 January
1973 and has participated actively in the evolution of what is now
the European Union (EU). EU membership is pivotal to Government
policy. It is a central framework within which the Government
pursues its foreign policy objectives. Ireland’s membership of the
European Union is rooted in an understanding that the Union is the
cornerstone of political and economic stability in Europe.


Membership gives Irish exporters full access to the European single
market, and this has contributed to Ireland’s economic success. EU
involvement enables Ireland’s views and interests to be reflected
in the policies of the Union which exercises considerable influence
in world affairs. Ireland’s participation in world affairs enhances
its capacity to pursue its traditional policy of promoting a
stable, peaceful and prosperous international environment with
structures based on the rule of law, respect for human rights and
representative government.


Ireland has held the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council
of the European Union on six occasions, in 1975, 1979, 1984, 1990,
1996 and 2004. Ireland’s sixth EU Presidency ran from 1 January to
30 June 2004. This presidency was widely praised internationally
and saw the accession of ten new Member States to the European
Union: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.


On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania became the latest States to
accede to the EU, increasing the total number of Member States to
27.



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EU Common Foreign and Security Policy


Ireland’s voice in the world and the pursuit of Ireland’s foreign
policy is greatly enhanced through its participation in the
formulation and implementation of theEuropean Union’s common
foreign and security policy (CFSP). As a community of shared
values, the EU is uniquely placed to play a role in support of
international peace and stability.


In today’s globalised and increasingly interdependent world,
Ireland and its EU partners work together to promote international
peace and security and co-operative and mutually beneficial
relations with neighbouring states and regions. Core principles
that have always inspired Ireland’s foreign policy, respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of
law, are also central to the pursuit of the CFSP. Another important
element of the CFSP is the Union’s developing capabilities in the
areas of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and crisis management
under the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) in accordance
with the principles of the UN Charter. Ireland has played an active
role in the development of the ESDP and will continue to contribute
constructively to this process in accordance with our own foreign
policy priorities and traditions.


The EU has played a special role in support of peace,
reconstruction and reconciliation in the Western Balkans and this
is a continuing priority for Ireland and the Union as a whole.
Following the 2004 enlargement, relations with Russia and with the
Union’s new neighbours – Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova – have become
more important for the European Union, which is also developing
closer relations with the Caucasus and the countries of the
southern Mediterranean. In tandem with these developments,
Ireland’s links to these areas are growing.


Cooperation between Ireland and its EU partners is also very
important in key international fora such as the UN, the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the
Council of Europe.


In its bilateral relations, Ireland has sought to build mutually
beneficial relationships with a broad range of countries,
reflecting the varied and deep connections which have been built up
over many years with different parts of the world. These
relationships have, in part, contributed to our recent economic
progress. However, economic considerations are only one aspect of
Ireland’s relations with other countries.


A particular focus has been relations with the countries of Africa,
reflecting a longstanding tradition and commitment to development
cooperation and to the pursuit of peace and stability, good
governance and respect for human rights in Africa. We seek to
achieve these goals through working with African partners, and
through membership of international organisations, particularly the
EU and the UN. Ireland has also sought to deepen its relations with
the countries of Asia and Latin America through the developing
trade, business and cultural links, and through cooperation with
regional organisations and at the UN.


The search for a peaceful resolution to the conflict between
Israelis and Palestinians and for stability in the wider Middle
East is also a key concern for Ireland, mindful of our experience
of our own peace process in Northern Ireland. In this regard we
value the role played by the European Union as a member of the
Quartet alongside the United States, the UN and Russia. Ireland has
also traditionally attached considerable importance to disarmament
and non-proliferation, including of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
This is a concern which continues to motivate our approach to
broader questions of international security including the threat
posed by international terrorism and other non-State actors. A more
recent concern is to reach agreement on a global approach to
environmental protection and sustainable development, a challenge
which faces the wider international community.


Ireland enjoys close links with the United States based on ties of
friendship and cooperation developed through a shared history of
emigration and an increasingly strong economic relationship. In the
context of the wider transatlantic relationship, Ireland is
committed to improving cooperation between the EU and the US and
between the EU and Canada with a focus on enhancing international
peace and stability.



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Irish Aid


Irish Aid is the Government of Ireland’s official programme of
assistance to developing countries. The Irish Aid programme is
administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Ireland has had
an official development assistance programme since 1974. It has
grown steadily over the years from modest beginnings to an
estimated budget of €914 million for total official development
assistance (ODA) in 2008. The Government is committed to reaching
the United Nations target of spending 0.7% of GNP on ODA in 2012.


Ireland’s development cooperation policy is an integral part of
Ireland’s wider foreign policy. The Irish Aid programme reflects
our longstanding commitment to human rights and fairness in
international relations.

Responsibility for Irish foreign policy, including assistance to
developing countries lies in the first instance with the Minister
for Foreign Affairs. However, particular responsibility for policy
on Overseas Development is assigned to a Minister of State at the
Department of Foreign Affairs.


White Paper on Irish Aid


On 18th September 2006 the Government published Ireland’s first
ever White Paper on Irish Aid. A statement of Government
policy, the White Paper places the cause of development at the
heart of Ireland’s foreign policy.


The White Paper reflects the views of many people who contributed
to a consultation process around Ireland. It will guide the work of
the Irish Aid programme as it grows over the coming years. The
White Paper is available on the Department’s and Irish Aid’s
   websites.


Poverty Focus


Irish Aid has as its absolute priority the reduction of poverty,
inequality and exclusion in developing countries. All of Irish
Aid’s policies and activities are gauged against their contribution
in this respect and against the progress they achieve towards the
Millennium Development Goals.


The Declaration which was adopted at the UN Millennium Summit in
2000 included eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Goals
are specific time-bound measurable targets, to be achieved by 2015.
The MDGs commit the international community to:


* Eradicate
extreme poverty and hunger;


* Achieve
universal primary education;


* Promote
gender equality and empower women;


* Reduce
child mortality;


* Improve
maternal health;


* Combat
HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;


* Ensure
environmental sustainability;


* Develop a
global partnership for development.


Geographic Focus


Since its inception in 1974, Ireland’s development assistance
programme has had a strong geographic focus on Sub-Saharan Africa.
Under the bilateral part of its programme, Irish Aid operates
intensive and wide-ranging country programmes in seven countries in
Africa, namely; Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia,
Malawi and Uganda. These are termed “Programme Countries”.
There are two programme countries in Asia, Timor Leste and Vietnam.


Beyond our Programme Countries, Irish Aid supports development
programmes with different multilateral and NGO partners in over
thirty of the world’s poorest countries each year.


Untied Aid


Ireland’s development assistance has always been completely untied,
that is to say, it is not conditional in any way on the use of
Irish goods or services. It is Government policy that funding
should remain untied, as tied aid is less effective in its impact,
can lead to a proliferation of different standards and technologies
in developing countries and can be abused to provide hidden export
subsidies.


Partnership


Partnership is a fundamental principle guiding Irish Aid’s
approach. Irish Aid works in close partnership with recipient
countries, with other donors and multilateral organisations and
with non-governmental organisations and missionaries. Partnership
with the recipient countries is vital if the beneficiaries of Irish
Aid are to have ownership of their own development.


Coordination with other donors, international organisations and
NGOs and missionaries, is an increasingly important part of the
international development effort and offers the benefits of shared
information, analysis and experience, and the opportunity to
maximise the impact of our collective efforts.


Effectiveness


Irish Aid is strongly committed to ensuring aid effectiveness,
based on the principles of partnership, support for locally owned
strategies, better coordination and policy coherence. Irish Aid
makes continuous efforts to improve reporting and monitoring and to
promote a results-based culture. The formulation of Programme
Country Strategies, the implementation and delivery of programmes,
the various grant schemes, the evaluation and audit function and
internal organisation are all informed by the need to maximise
effectiveness.


Accountability


The management and expenditure of an expanding budget is a
significant responsibility for Irish Aid. Like most public
expenditure, the programme’s budget is voted expenditure,
authorised by a vote of the D&#225;il each year, and must be managed in
accordance with the public financial procedures governing the use
of State resources. In addition to the requirements of public
financial procedures, rigorous systems are required to ensure full
accountability and value for money for activities under all
headings of the programme. An Annual Report on Irish Aid, including
detailed accounts of expenditure, has been published since 1978.
The Annual Report is laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas on
publication.


For more information on Irish Aid please go to: www.irishaid.gov.ie



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The Irish Abroad


The global spread of our Diaspora is very considerable. For a small
nation, it is practically unparalleled. More than one million Irish
citizens are currently living abroad, and it is estimated that as
many as 70 million people worldwide can claim Irish descent. Our
largest emigrant communities have consistently lived in Britain and
the United States; Irish citizens have also been an influential
presence in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Southern
Africa for very many decades. While the precise number of Irish
citizens resident around the world is not known, the enormous
contribution they have made to their host countries and to Ireland
is well documented.


The Irish abroad have integrated well into their adopted
communities, but have never cut their links with home. Many have
retained a strong sense of their Irish heritage, which they
continue to assert through involvement in Irish community
associations and participation in Irish sporting and cultural
activities. Increasingly, people born abroad of Irish descent are
also seeking to express the Irish dimension of their identity, a
factor which has contributed to the global renaissance in Irish
language studies, history, music and dance in recent years.


Although emigration from Ireland has reduced substantially over the
past decade, the Irish abroad continue to be vibrant and active
communities. Through the contributions they make to the countries
in which they have settled, and through their continuing links with
Ireland, they act as an important channel for promoting a positive
image of Ireland abroad.


The high priority and value that the Government attaches to the
Diaspora is reflected in the substantial funding it provides to
support Irish community, cultural and heritage projects across the
world. This year, more than €15 million has been set aside for the
support of projects in Britain, the United States, Australia,
Argentina, Canada, Southern Africa, New Zealand and elsewhere.
Supporting a wider range of initiatives across a greater geographic
range than ever before, the Government is strengthening the
connection between our Diaspora and home, and actively recognizing
the tremendous contributions the Irish abroad continue to make,
both to Ireland and to their adopted countries.



Top of Page


Useful Links





Department of Foreign
Affairs




Irish Aid




European
Commission




European
Commission - in Ireland




European
Parliament




European
Parliament - in Ireland




EU Gateway




Council of
the European Union




Court of
Justice of the European Communities




The
European Ombudsman




European Central
Bank




EU Common Foreign and Security Policy






Top of Page

]]></description>
					<pubDate>Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:58:37 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[History of Ireland]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=78561</link>
					<description><![CDATA[


General History



Gaelic Ireland



18th Century



Towards Independence



General History


Ireland’s location as an island to the west of continental Europe
and close to Britain has, in large measure, shaped her history.


Ireland, which has been inhabited for about 7,000 years, has
experienced many incursions and invasions, resulting in a rich
mixture of ancestry and traditions. The first settlers, mostly
hunters from Britain, brought with them a Mesolithic culture. They
were followed around 3000 B.C. by farmers who raised animals and
cultivated the soil. After these Neolithic settlers, around 2000
B.C., came prospectors and metalworkers.


By the Sixth Century B.C. waves of Celtic invaders from Europe
began to reach the country. While Ireland was never unified
politically by the Celts, they did generate a cultural and
linguistic unity.


The introduction of Christianity in the fifth century A.D. is
traditionally credited to Saint Patrick, though there is evidence
that there were Christians on the island before his arrival. Unlike
most of western Europe, Ireland never experienced the barbarian
invasions of the early medieval period and, partly as a result, the
sixth and seventh centuries saw a flowering of Irish art, learning
and culture centering on the monasteries. Irish monks brought
Christianity to many parts of Europe in the period before 800 A.D.


During the ninth and tenth centuries, Ireland was regularly raided
by the Vikings. They were also traders and did much to develop life
in Dublin, Cork and Waterford. Following the defeat of the Vikings
by Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland, at Clontarf in 1014, the
Viking influence faded.


In the twelfth century, the arrival of the Normans, who had earlier
settled in England and Wales, shattered such progress as had been
made towards the creation of a centralised State under a single
High King. They quickly gained control over large parts of Ireland,
which then came under the political authority of the King of
England.


For the next 400 years the Normans and their descendants were an
influential presence in Ireland. However, many areas of the country
remained in Irish hands and, by the early sixteenth century there
were widespread fears in England that English influence was in
danger of collapse, both as a result of Gaelic incursions and of
the progressive Gaelicisation of the Norman settlers.



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Gaelic Ireland


Religious change in England at this time had a major impact on
Ireland. The descendants of the Norman settlers in Ireland, who
came to be called the Old English, were, by and large, hostile to
the Protestant reformation which had led to the establishment of
the (Anglican) Church of Ireland. In addition, the central
strategic importance of Ireland, as an island close to both Britain
and continental Europe, and hence a possible base for English
malcontents or foreign enemies, gave Irish affairs an urgency that
they had not had for centuries.


Following a series of revolts in Ireland - which arose in response
to religious differences and to the English Crown’s policy of
introducing new settlers from Britain, Gaelic resistance was worn
down and in 1603, the last Gaelic stronghold, Ulster, was brought
under Crown control. The Ulster plantation which followed brought
many English and Scots settlers to Ulster and had a lasting impact
on the religious and political complexion of the province.


Irish political history in the seventeenth century was intimately
linked to events in England and Scotland, including the Civil War,
the rise of Oliver Cromwell, the Red Hugh O’Neill restoration of
Charles II and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 which placed William
and Mary on the English throne. A struggle for supremacy between
the Catholic Old English and Gaelic Irish on the one hand, and the
Protestant New English (who included further new settlers) on the
other, was, after numerous ebbs and flows throughout the period,
finally settled at the Battles of the Boyne (1690) and Aughrim
(1691). The Old English and the Gaelic Irish were crushed and many
of their leaders and followers (‘The Wild Geese’) left Ireland to
pursue military, religious or commercial careers abroad. The
Protestants of the Established Church monopolised political power
and ownership of the land, and penal laws discriminated against
Catholics.



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Eighteenth Century


In the eighteenth century, there was much economic development. The
linen industry flourished, particularly in Ulster, and Irish wool,
beef, butter and pork were important exports. The Protestant
Ascendancy came to see itself as the Irish nation and developed a
vigorous and distinctive parliamentary tradition. Sustained Irish
emigration began in the eighteenth century, as many thousands of
Ulster Presbyterians and a lesser number of Catholics departed for
the New World.


The developing dispute between Britain and her colonies in North
America from the 1760s helped create a tradition of radical
patriotism that was ultimately, under the impact of the French
Revolution, to produce the Society of United Irishmen.


In 1798 the United Irishmen staged an insurrection in Ireland, with
the objective of establishing an independent Irish republic in
which all religions would be equal, though the rebellion was marked
by some episodes of sectarian violence. This rebellion was crushed
and the Act of Union of 1800 created a full parliamentary Union
between Britain and Ireland.


By this time however, Britain and Ireland were moving apart,
especially in economic and demographic terms. As Britain
industrialised and urbanised, Ireland, outside Ulster, in effect
de-industrialised, with the bulk of its rapidly growing population
becoming ever more dependent on the potato for sustenance. In the
late 1840s, as a result of the wholesale failure of the potato crop
in successive years, a terrible famine occurred: one million people
died of starvation and epidemic disease and some two million
emigrated in the ten year period 1845-1855. The population had
fallen by more than a quarter from 8 million to less than 6 million
by 1856, and would fall further as emigration became a dominant
feature of Irish society. Comparison with other modern and
contemporary famines establishes beyond any doubt that the Irish
famine of the late 1840s, which killed nearly one-eighth of the
entire population, was proportionally much more destructive of
human life than the vast majority of famines in modern times.


In politics, the nineteenth century was dominated, initially, by
the pursuit of Catholic emancipation. The penal laws were gradually
loosened from the late eighteenth century on, and in 1829
Catholics, led by Daniel O’Connell, won the right to sit in
parliament. Thereafter, there was a succession of efforts to reform
or undo the Union between Great Britain and Ireland. The Great
Famine (1845-1848) was not just an immense human tragedy and a
socio-economic watershed, but had far reaching political
repercussions. The British Government stood indicted in the popular
mind and the desire of a majority of Irish voters for some form of
self-government was strengthened. Irish landlords, too, came under
political and economic pressure in the post-Famine decades. By the
early twentieth century, after sustained agrarian unrest,
legislation was in place inducing the great landlords to sell land
to their tenants. The tenants were offered loans to enable them to
purchase their holdings.


The question of self-government, or ‘Home Rule’ had not, however,
been settled: attempts by Daniel O’Connell and Isaac Butt in the
1840s and 1870s came to little, but under the leadership of Charles
Stewart Parnell in the 1880s, the Irish Parliamentary Party placed
the Irish question at the centre of British politics. In 1886, the
Liberal party under W.E. Gladstone came to support a limited form
of self-government for Ireland.


The prospects of Home Rule galvanised the Unionists in Ireland, who
were predominantly Protestant, and were a majority in the province
of Ulster. Along with their allies in England who feared that Home
Rule for Ireland would lead to the break-up of the Empire,
Unionists set out to prevent the granting of Home Rule.
Nonetheless, a Home Rule Bill was finally enacted in 1914.



Top ofPage


Towards Independence


In an increasingly militarised atmosphere, private paramilitary
armies (the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Irish Volunteers)
marched and drilled, and hostilities between the two were only
averted by the outbreak of the First World War and the consequent
postponement of Home Rule. The war changed everything: in 1916 a
republic was declared in Dublin and an armed insurrection took
place. This rising, which initially enjoyed little public support,
was suppressed but its supporters, capitalising on public revulsion
at the execution of its leaders, and on opposition to the
introduction of military conscription to Ireland in the First
WorldWar, were successful in the General Election of 1918,
when they swept aside the Irish Parliamentary Party who had
campaigned for Home Rule.


Sinn F&#233;in (‘Ourselves’), the election victors, set up the first
D&#225;il (Parliament) and a war of national independence ensued. By the
time an Anglo-Irish Treaty was concluded in 1921, six counties in
North-East Ulster, with a roughly two-thirds Unionist majority at
that time, had already been constituted as Northern Ireland. As a
result of the Treaty, the remaining twenty-six counties formed the
Irish Free State, which had dominion status within the British
Empire. The establishment of the Free State was followed by a short
civil war between those who accepted the Treaty as offering
effective self-government and those who held out for a full
republic. Despite its brevity (from June 1922 – May 1923), the
Civil War was to colour attitudes and determine political
allegiances for decades.


The first government of the new State was headed by W.T. Cosgrave
of Cumann na nGaedheal, later the Fine Gael party. From the 1930s
onwards the Fianna F&#225;il party, founded by Eamon de Valera,
dominated Irish politics.


In the first two decades after Ireland achieved independence in
1922, the institutions of the State were consolidated and a
tradition of political stability was established. The Constitution
of 1937 and the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 severed Ireland’s last
formal links with Britain. Ireland remained neutral during the
Second World War.


Ireland was admitted to the United Nations (UN) in 1955, and joined
what is now the European Union (EU) in 1973. New economic
development policies led to substantial and rapid growth. As
elsewhere in Europe coalition governments have become quite common
and have normally involved one of the two larger political parties.


National
Archives
Documents in Irish
Foreign Policy



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]]></description>
					<pubDate>Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:10:35 UTC</pubDate>
		
				</item>			
			
				<item>
					<title><![CDATA[The Irish State]]></title>
					<link>http://192.168.99.95/home/index.aspx?id=78554</link>
					<description><![CDATA[


Name of State



Island of Ireland



Language



Flag



Emblem



Anthem



The National Day



Government



Political Parties



Local Government



The Courts



Police &amp;amp; Defence Forces



Name of State


The Irish Constitution provides that the name of the State is &#201;ire
or in the English language, Ireland. The Republic of Ireland Act of
1948 provides for the description of the State as the Republic of
Ireland but this provision has not changed the use of ‘Ireland’ as
the name of the State in the English language.


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Island of Ireland


The geographical island of Ireland contains two separate legal
jurisdictions comprising the sovereign independent state of Ireland
comprising 26 counties located to the south, east, west and
north-west of the island, while Northern Ireland comprises the
remaining six counties to the north-east of the island, under the
jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.



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Language


Article 8 of the Irish Constitution makes the following
affirmation:



The Irish language as the national language is the first official
language.


The English language is recognised as a second official language.



More information about the Irish Language, is availablein the
Schools Project Corner .



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Flag


The national flag is a tricolour of green, white and orange. The
flag is rectangular in shape, the width being twice the depth. The
three colours are of equal size with the green next to the
staff.More information about the Irish Flag, is
availablein the Schools Project Corner .



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Emblem


The harp has been regarded as the official symbol or coat of arms
of Ireland since medieval times. The heraldic harp is used by the
Government, its agencies and its representatives at home and
abroad. It is engraved on the seal matrix of the Office of the
President as well as on the obverse of all coinage. It features on
the Irish euro coins. More information about the Irish Emblem, is
availablein the Schools Project Corner .



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Anthem


The text of Amhr&#225;n na bhFiann (Soldiers Song), consisting of three
stanzas and a chorus, was written by Peadar Kearney who also
composed the music together with Patrick Heeney. The chorus was
formally adopted as the National Anthem in


1926. A section of the National Anthem (consisting of the first
four bars followed by the last five) is also the Presidential
Salute. More information about the National Anthem, is
availablein the Schools Project Corner .



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The National Day


Saint Patrick’s Day, (17 March) is the National Day.Tradition
holds that it was the use of the shamrock (a green trefoil) by
Saint Patrick when preaching in Ireland, which led to its adoption
as an Irish symbol. More information about the National Day, is
availablein the Schools Project Corner .


St Patricks
Day Festival



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Government


Ireland is a parliamentary democracy. Its law is based on common
law and legislation enacted by the Irish Parliament under the
Constitution. In addition, regulations and directives enacted by
the European Union have the force of law in Ireland. EU
regulations become part of national law and are enforceable in
national courts immediately once they come into force. They do not
need to be brought in by any national legislation.

EU Directives require Member States to implement national
legislation to achieve a specific result and must, therefore be
transposed into Irish legislation.

The Constitution of Ireland sets out the form of government and
defines the powers and functions of the President, both Houses of
the Oireachtas (National Parliament) and the Government. It also
defines the structure and powers of the Courts and outlines the
fundamental rights of citizens. The definition of rights covers
five broad headings: Personal Rights, The Family, Education,
Private Property and Religion.


The President is the Head of State. Where there is more than one
candidate for the office, the people elect the President by direct
vote. A President may only serve for two terms. President Mary
McAleese was elected in November 1997 and began her second
seven-year term in November 2004. More information about the
President, is availablein the Schools Project Corner .

There are fifteen Government Departments each headed by a Minister
who collectively form the Government. Executive power is exercised
by or on the authority of the Government, which is responsible to
the D&#225;il (House of Representatives). The Head of the Government is
the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) while the T&#225;naiste is the Deputy
Prime Minister. More information about the Taoiseach, is
availablein the Schools Project Corner .

There are two Houses of Parliament, known as D&#225;il &#201;ireann (House of
Representatives) and Seanad &#201;ireann (Senate). The D&#225;il has 166
members known as Teacht&#237; D&#225;la (TD). They are elected on a
system of proportional representation by universal suffrage.
Elections take place at least once every five years. The most
recent General Election was held in 2007. The political parties
represented in the D&#225;il are Fianna F&#225;il, Fine Gael, the Labour
Party, the Green Party, Sinn F&#233;in and the Progressive Democrats.
(The present government, formed in June 2007, is made up of a
coalition between Fianna F&#225;il, the Green Party, the Progressive
Democrats, supported by a number of independent members of the
D&#225;il.)

The Seanad has 60 members, eleven of whom are nominated by the
Taoiseach (Prime Minister) while the rest are elected from a number
of vocational panels and by graduates of universities. The Seanad
may initiate or revise legislation, but the D&#225;il has the power to
reject any such amendments or proposed legislation.



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Political Parties


Fianna F&#225;il, the Republican Party has 79 elected
members in the D&#225;il (elected in June 2007) and 4 elected Members of
the European Parliament. It operates as part of the ‘Union for
Europe’ group in the European Parliament. It describes itself as a
broadly centrist party whose aims include securing, in peace and
agreement, the unity and independence of Ireland, and the
development of a distinct national life in accordance with the
diverse traditions of the Irish people.


It has been the largest party in D&#225;il &#201;ireann since 1932, and has
formed the government seven times since Ireland gained independence
in 1921.


Fine Gael, the second largest party, has 51
elected members in the D&#225;il (elected in June 2007) and 5 elected
Members of the European Parliament. It describes itself as the
party of the &quot;progressive centre&quot;, with core values focused on
fiscal rectitude, free enterprise and reward, individual rights and
responsibilities. They are strongly pro-EU integration and operate
as part of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament.


The Labour Party is affiliated to the Socialist
International Party and is a member of the Party of European
Socialists (PES) in the European Parliament. It seeks to build a
society free from deprivation and based on the principles of
democracy, equity, participation and co-operation.


The Green Party is a political party associated
with Green Parties in over 30 other countries. It stands for
protection of the environment, community decision-making, freedom
of information, open government and peace through disarmament. The
Green Party motto is ‘Think Globally, Act Locally’. The Party is
represented at local, national and European Parliament level.


Sinn F&#233;in is an Irish republican party. Its
objectives are the reunification of Ireland, political independence
and national sovereignty.


The Progressive Democrats was established with the
aim of providing Ireland with a modern, forward-looking liberal
party in the European mould and is working to develop the role of
the State in the economic and social life of the country.





Government of
Ireland




President of
Ireland




Fianna F&#225;il




Fine Gael




Labour




Green Party




Sinn F&#233;in




Progressive Democrats






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Local Government


The local government system is administered by 114 local
authorities and is undergoing a process of renewal and reform.


The services provided by the local authorities can be described
under eight main headings:



housing and building;


road transportation and safety;


water supply and sewerage;


development incentives and controls;


environmental protection and waste management;


recreation and amenity;


education, health and welfare, and


miscellaneous services.



Education, health and welfare services are however primarily
delivered at local level by other public agencies. The local
government reform programme has seen local government expand its
community development role and widen its sphere of influence in
locally delivered public services. Local government is funded
partly by central government and partly by local sources including
motor tax proceeds, rates (on commercial property) and local
charges such as refuse, rents and so on.


There are eight regional authorities and two regional assemblies
whose members are nominated by local authorities. Their main
tasks are to promote public service co-ordination and to monitor
and advise on EU structural and cohesion funding programmes.


The regional assemblies in addition are the managing authorities
for the Regional Operational Programme under the National
Development Plan.


Department of the
Environment and Local Government



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The Courts


Irish law is based on Common Law as modified by subsequent
legislation and by the Constitution of 1937. In accordance with the
Constitution, justice is administered in public by courts
established by law. The President appoints judges on the advice of
the Government. Judges are usually senior practising lawyers.
Summary offences and minor civil cases are dealt with by the
District Court presided over by a District Judge. More serious
cases are heard by the Circuit Court, presided over by a judge who
sits with a jury of twelve citizens in criminal cases. The most
serious cases are heard by the High Court, presided over by a
judge; when trying criminal cases it sits with a jury and is known
as the Central Criminal Court. The court of final appeal is the
Supreme Court which is also the final arbiter on the interpretation
of the Constitution.





Department of
Justice, Equality and Law Reform




Irish Courts
Service




Director of
Public Prosecutions




Office of
the Attorney General





Top of Page 


Police and Defence Forces


The national police force, An Garda S&#237;och&#225;na, was established in
1922. The general direction, management and control of the
service is, subject to regulations made by the Minister of Justice,
Equality, Law and Reform, vested in a Commissioner appointed by the
Government.


The Garda S&#237;och&#225;na Ombudsman Commission, which opened its public
offices on May 9th 2007, is responsible for receiving and dealing
with all complaints made by members of the public concerning the
conduct of members of the Garda S&#237;och&#225;na. The Garda
Ombudsman’s mission is to provide the public with an independent
and effective oversight of policing, and to deal with the public’s
complaints concerning Garda&#237; fairly and efficiently so that
everyone can have confidence in the complaints system.


An Garda S&#237;och&#225;na is unarmed with the exception of some specialized
units. The crime detection rate is comparable to that of
other European countries. Since 1989, An Garda S&#237;och&#225;na have
served in numerous United Nations (UN) missions around the
world. They have also served under the EU flag in the former
Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Eastern Slavonia and have provided
monitors for the South African and Palestine elections.


The Permanent Defence Forces, which include the regular Army, Naval
Service and Air Corps, operate under the auspices of the Department
of Defence. The Department is also responsible for the general
planning, organisation and co-ordination of Civil Defence
measures. Recruitment to the Permanent Defence Forces is
voluntary. The Defence Forces have extensive peacekeeping
experience and have served with the UN all over the world since
1958.


The longest-running mission is with UNIFIL in Lebanon where the
Army committed in excess of 30,000 tours of duty since 1978.
Defence Forces personnel have served, and continue to serve, in a
number of other UN and UN led missions in areas such as Cyprus, the
Middle East, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Democratic Republic of
the Congo, East Timor, Afghanistan and, most recently, Chad.





Department of
Justice, Equality and Law Reform




Garda S&#237;och&#225;na
(Irish Police)




Garda
Ombudsman




Department of
Defence




Irish Defence
Forces





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