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The Irish Government

The Economy

The Irish economy is an open, mostly export based economy, that has experienced an unprecedented level of growth since the late 1990's. It is expected this growth will continue at least for the first decade of this century, subject to the availability of a skilled labour force.

The Irish economy is heavily dependant on trade, with export goods and services accounting for 96.8% of GDP. Membership of the European Union and access to the Single Market has allowed Ireland to diversify its trade patterns. Although Britain has always been Ireland's largest single trading partner, almost half of all Irish exports now go to other member states.
The roots of this property lie in a number of contributing factors, including a young skilled workforce, co-operation between Government, Industry, and Unions, as well as the work of industrial promotional agencies.

Culture

Throughout the centuries Ireland has produced many great authors, playwrights and poets, Irish Literature has become recognised for its quality all over the world. Among our most famous contributors are James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, W B Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Brendan Behan, and in more recent times Brian Friel, John Banville and Roddy Doyle. Four Irish writers received the Nobel Prize for Literature in the 20th century.

There is a rich tradition of music in Ireland, both traditional and current. Comhaltas Ceoltori Eireann [Fellowship of Irish musicians] has done much to preserve and promote traditional Irish music, both at home and abroad, the Chieftans, one of our best know traditional groups have done much to bring this heritage to international audiences.

Today the likes of U2, Van Morrision, Sinead O Connor, and Westlife, very much keep Ireland on the musical map. Riverdance, which has become an international phenomenon, played a major role in 'exporting' the rich culture of traditional Irish music song and dance to a world-wide audience.

Sport

Gaelic Football and Hurling are our native sports and both very popular in Ireland. The All Ireland Finals are held in Croke Park in Dublin,a magnificent 86,000 capacity modern stadium. Soccer is also widely played in Ireland, many of our most talented players play in leagues abroad, particularly in England's Premiership. Rugby Football is becoming increasingly popular and is played at club and school level. The Irish International Team has become increasingly successful in recent years and all major homes games are a sell-out.

Police

In the Republic of Ireland the law enforcement entity is called Garda Siochana, with both male and female officers known as Garda. Northern Ireland’s police force is called the PSNI – Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Passport & Visas

You need a valid passport to enter any European country. Visas are not required for everyone depending on the length and purpose of your visit. All citizens of non-EU countries, whether they require a visa or not, are subject to immigration control at point of entry to Ireland. Passports are not required by British citizens born in the United Kingdom and traveling from Britain, however identification may be needed. Citizens of European Union States and Switzerland may use a passport or national identity card. All other nationalities must have a passport. . More visa information is available from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs web site http://www.dfa.ie/.