Agriculture: accounts for 11% of GNP and 14.8% of the labor force; principal crops—turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; livestock—meat and dairy products; 85% self-sufficient in food; food shortages include bread grain, fruits, vegetables
Aid: NA
Currency: Irish pound (plural—pounds); 1 Irish pound (LIr) = 100 pence
Exchange rates: Irish pounds (LIr) per US$1—0.6399 (January 1990), 0.7047 (1989), 0.6553 (1988), 0.6720 (1987), 0.7454 (1986), 0.9384 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
- Communications Railroads: Irish National Railways (CIE) operates 1,947 km 1.602-meter gauge, government owned; 485 km double track; 38 km electrified
Highways: 92,294 km total; 87,422 km surfaced, 4,872 km gravel or crushed stone
Inland waterways: limited for commercial traffic
Pipelines: natural gas, 225 km
Ports: Cork, Dublin, Shannon Estuary, Waterford