Ireland

ESSENTIAL FACTS

LOCATION: 53 00 N, 8 00 W
Ireland is in Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland (the rest being Northern Ireland, part of the UK) in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain.

POPULATION: 4,109,086
Twenty-five percent live in Dublin; another 15 percent live within 100 km of Dublin.

CURRENCY: euro (EUR)

LANGUAGE: English (official), Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official) is spoken most commonly on the western end of the island

CLIMATE: Ireland has a temperate maritime climate, with mild winters and cool summers and is almost always humid.

EDUCATION: Almost 100 percent of Irish age 15 and over can read and write.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS: Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March

HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT

HISTORY
Ireland’s history dates back to the settlements of Celtic tribes in 600 BC. England’s aggression toward the island beginning in the 1100s has defined the history of Ireland since then. In 1921, 26 counties seceded from the UK, forming what is known as Ireland as we know it today. The remaining six counties in the North belong to the UK.

POLITICAL SYSTEM
Ireland is a republic with a parliamentary democracy. It has a President, a Prime Minister and a Cabinet. The legislative branch is a bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consisting of the Senate or Seanad Eireann and the House of Representatives or Dail Eireann

JUDICIAL SYSTEM
Ireland’s legal system is based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts.

COMMERCE AND TRADE

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY
Agriculture: Turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products
Industry: Steel, lead, zinc, silver, aluminum, barite, and gypsum mining processing; food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals; machinery, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, ship construction and refurbishment; glass and crystal; software, tourism

TRADE PRACTICES
Exports: Machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products to the US, UK, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy
Imports: Data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing from the UK, US, Germany and Netherlands

FREE TRADE ZONES
Ireland’s free trade zone is called the Shannon Free Zone, and includes VAT exemption, customs duty exemption and a flat 12.5 percent corporate tax rate. The Shannon Free Airport Development Company, Ltd. is the authority on the Shannon Free Zone.

BANKING, FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

FINANCIAL FACTS
Fiscal year: Calendar year

BANKING
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority oversees the banking industry. Significant tax advantages - such as a flat 10 percent tax rate - can be had once an international offshore bank receives their bank license from the Ministry of Finance and conducts business from the International Financial Services Centre.

STOCK MARKET
The Irish Stock Exchange is over 210 years old, although it broke away from the London Stock Exchange in 1995. It is now a limited guarantee company with an independent chairman, three market-based directors and seven firm-based directors. Market value of publicly traded shares: $114.1 billion (2005)

MEMBERSHIPS
ADB (nonregional members), Australia Group, BIS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

FOREIGN INVESTMENT
The Industrial Development Agency, founded in 1949, has been the main authority in granting incentives to foreign investors. Depending on the type of industry and the amount of investment proposed, Ireland offers such incentives as subsidies for rents and interest, loan guarantees, and government grants for training, research, development and non-repayable capital grants.

IMMIGRATION

VISAS
EU nationals have freedom of movement and employment in Ireland, as it is part of the EU.

EMPLOYMENT
Non-EU nationals receive work permits from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in four categories: Green Card, Work Permit, Intra Company Transfer Permit and Spousal and Dependant Permits. The positioning question should be proved not to be able to be filled by any EU national; there are also labour market needs tests that may be requested before a permit is granted.

BUSINESS

BUSINESS ENTITIES
Irish business entities are as follows: A Private Company Limited by Shares can only have 50 members and cannot have share subscriptions; a Public Company Limited by Shares must have at least seven shareholders; a Company Limited by Guarantee, which can be used for non-profit organizations; Overseas Branch Company, which must file annually with the Companies Registrar; a General Partnership, which is exempt from audits; and the Investment Limited Partnership, which has a requirement that at least two directors must be from Ireland.

TAXATION

PERSONAL TAXATION
Individuals are taxed on income, capital gains, inheritance and property. Depending on one’s residency status, these taxes might be levied on income and other assets worldwide. The rate is on a sliding scale from 20 percent to a max of 42 percent.

CORPORATE TAXATION
Non-resident companies are taxed on Irish income only.

OTHER TAXATION/DUTIES
VAT is 21 percent.

DOUBLE TAXATION
Ireland has entered into double tax treaty agreements with 44 countries worldwide.