Branches:
Army and Republican Guard, Navy, Air Force, Border Guard Force, Internal
Security Forces
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 4,042,374; 2,272,578 fit for military service; 213,788 reach
military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GNP
:Ireland Geography
Total area:
70,280 km2
Land area:
68,890 km2
Comparative area:
slightly larger than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
360 km; UK 360 km
Coastline:
1,448 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf:
no precise definition
Exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
Northern Ireland question with the UK; Rockall continental shelf dispute
involving Denmark, Iceland, and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a
boundary agreement in the Rockall area)
Climate:
temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool
summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time
Terrain:
mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low
mountains; sea cliffs on west coast
Natural resources:
zinc, lead, natural gas, crude oil, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone,
dolomite, peat, silver
Land use:
arable land 14%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 71%; forest and
woodland 5%; other 10%
Environment:
deforestation
:Ireland People
Population:
3,521,207 (July 1992), growth rate 0.2% (1992)
Birth rate:
15 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-4 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
8 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
72 years male, 78 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
2.0 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Irishman(men), Irish (collective pl.); adjective - Irish
Ethnic divisions:
Celtic, with English minority
Religions:
Roman Catholic 93%, Anglican 3%, none 1%, unknown 2%, other 1% (1981)
Languages:
Irish (Gaelic) and English; English is the language generally used, with
Gaelic spoken in a few areas, mostly along the western seaboard
Literacy:
98% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1981)
Labor force:
1,333,000; services 57.0%, manufacturing and construction 26.1%,
agriculture, forestry, and fishing 15.0%, energy and mining 1.9% (1991)
Organized labor:
58% of labor force (1991)
:Ireland Government
Long-form name:
none
Type:
republic
Capital:
Dublin
Administrative divisions:
26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry,
Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath,
Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath,
Wexford, Wicklow
Independence:
6 December 1921 (from UK)
Constitution:
29 December 1937; adopted 1937
Legal system:
based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts;
judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament (Oireachtas) consists of an upper house or Senate
(Seanad Eireann) and a lower house or House of Representatives (Dail
Eireann)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Mary Bourke ROBINSON (since 9 November 1990)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Albert REYNOLDS (since 11 February 1992)
Political parties and leaders:
Fianna Fail, Albert REYNOLDS; Labor Party, Richard SPRING; Fine Gael, John
BRUTON; Communist Party of Ireland, Michael O'RIORDAN; Workers' Party
(vacant); Sinn Fein, Gerry ADAMS; Progressive Democrats, Desmond O'MALLEY;
note - Prime Minister REYNOLDS heads a coalition consisting of the Fianna
Fail and the Progressive Democrats
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
President:
last held 9 November 1990 (next to be held November 1997); results - Mary
Bourke ROBINSON 52.8%, Brian LENIHAN 47.2%
Senate:
last held on 17 February 1987 (next to be held February 1992); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total, 49 elected) Fianna Fail 30,
Fine Gael 16, Labor 3, independents 11
House of Representatives:
last held on 12 July 1989 (next to be held June 1994); results - Fianna Fail
44.0%, Fine Gael 29.4%, Labor Party 9.3%, Progressive Democrats 5.4%,
Workers' Party 4.9%, Sinn Fein 1.1%, independents 5.9%; seats - (166 total)
Fianna Fail 77, Fine Gael 55, Labor Party 15, Workers' Party 7, Progressive
Democrats 6, independents 6
Communists:
under 500
:Ireland Government
Member of:
AG, BIS, CCC, CE, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO,
ITU, LORCS, NEA, NSG, OECD, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL,
UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Dermot GALLAGHER; Chancery at 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 462-3939; there are Irish Consulates
General in Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
US:
Ambassador Richard A. MOORE; Embassy at 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin;
telephone [353] (1) 688777; FAX [353] (1) 689-946
Flag:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; similar
to the flag of the Ivory Coast, which is shorter and has the colors reversed
- orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag of Italy,
which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red
:Ireland Economy