Georgios Grigorakis , 1342201300059
IRELAND, REPUBLIC OF
 Eleven Members in the European Parliament
 Commissioner Phil Hogan on Agriculture and Rural Development
Geography
 Europe’s largest Island Republic with a population of almost 5
million
 Situated between the island of Britain to the East, continental
Europe to the South and the Atlantic Ocean to the West.
 Sharing the island or Ireland along a 440km border with the
Northern Irish province of the UK.
History
 Very fragmented between local Gaelic, Norman and English
warlords and aristocrats until total conquest by England in 1603
 Plagued by two (1740, 1845-52) devastating potato blights, which
reduced the Island’s population through death and immigration,
to an accumulative 50%.
 Independence after a long and bloody rebellion in 1922, followed
by a civil war.
Georgios Grigorakis , 1342201300059
Economy
 Mostly Agricultural and one of the poorest in Europe until the
Industrial Revolution
 Early Industrialization during the 18th Century- intensive
development
 Since the 1990s, mostly a tertiary sector economy, with 25% of
GDP still stemming from industry.
 Now 11th worldwide in HDI (Human Development Index, 2013)
Political System
 The Republic’s legislative branch is comprised by the Senate and
the Dáil (parliament).
 The supreme figurehead of the state is the President, while the
Taoiseach (Prime Minister) is the head of Government.
Reasons for entry in 1973
 The country made two previous attempts, in 1961 and in 1967,
but it was not eager to enter after French rejection of UK’s entry
 Simultaneous entrance of the UK shatters any doubts, being the
leading trade and investment partner of the country until then
 Lessening of Cold War tensions leading to lower risk of voiding the
policy of neutrality by entering the Union
Benefits from entry
 Single Market allows Irish economy to be less dependent to the
UK, opens it to foreign investment, especially in the technology
and industry sector, mainly from North America and Western
Europe.
 The European Common Agricultural Policy boosts the already
significant primary sector production
 Celtic Tiger: Outstanding GDP growth for 12 consecutive years
(1995-2007), to a total of over 70%. The Tiger’s Heart: A
flourishing Banking, Financial and High Technology Sector.
Georgios Grigorakis , 1342201300059
Financial Crisis (2008-2014)
 Bank meltdown after the Lehmann Brothers collapse in 2008 due
to property bubble which created enormous bank deficits and
made a state-funded bail in imperative, thus surging national debt
 16th December 2010: Memorandum of Understanding between
the country, the European Commission, the European Central
Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Total amount: 85
billion Euros of whom 17.5 from the Irish Treasury and the
National Pension Reserve Fund.
 The “Celtic Tiger” booming economy of the ‘00s succumbs to an
accumulative 15% depression between 2008 and 2013 and back to
a growth of up to 4.6% by 2015.
 The “Europe’s Silicon Valley”, now home to various technological
multinational companies HQ’s in Europe, namely Facebook and
Microsoft, among others.
Attitude towards the EU
 Not a member of Schengen Area due to obligatory passport
controls in crossings with Northern Ireland.
 Mostly pro-European public Opinion, 57% were ‘’positive’’ opinion
considering the EU, while “negative” stood for 12%
(Eurobarometer 2015)
 Euro-sceptic parties include, but are not limited to, the moderate
right-wing Fianna Fáil and the increasingly influential leftistpopulist Sinn Féin, former political wing of the Provisional IRA.
 NOT a pro-federalist state
Refugees and Migrants
 Ethnically Homogenous until 1990, 10% was foreign-born by 2007.
Most were from Poland and the Baltics
 No significant anti-immigration parties, with “Identity Ireland”
being the only such one, formed in early 2015
Georgios Grigorakis , 1342201300059
 The country is due to accept up to 4020 refugees as mentioned in
the EU quotas
British-Irish Relations
 Significant Approaches after both entered the EU, stemming from the
fact that the relation between a Major Power and a former colony
was now a relation of two equal member states in it.
 The approach mentioned above, played a vital role in achieving the
Good Friday peace deal in 1998, after a thirty year long, low-scale
conflict in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles”
 Ireland’s Constitution Amended via referendum, excluding any
territorial claims of the Republic at the expense of the North
 2011: First visit from a British Monarch since 1911. 2014: First formal
Irish Presidential visit to the UK.
Policy of Neutrality
 Neutral since the 1922 Proclamation of the Republic due to no
intention of interfering with European matters after the enormous
Irish casualties as UK troops in World War 1.
 Means that Ireland should not join any military alliances (e.g. NATO)
or deploy its forces offensively.
 Thus, the country only provided 120 trainers for the post-Taliban
Afghan Army in 2001.
Difficult Partner




Irish constitution requires referenda for major EU-proposed reforms.
Nine of them actualized since entry in the EU (see Appendix).
Strict abortion laws due to prevalent Catholic tradition.
Regular disagreements with the Commission regarding agricultural
policy and very low corporate taxes (12.5% in 2014).
 Fiscal difficulties in the past, resulting in a multibillion bail out.
Georgios Grigorakis , 1342201300059
APPENDIX
Irish Referenda related to the EU
TOPIC
YES
NO
RESULT
Enlargement 1973
83.1%
69.9%
16.91%
30.1%
EU Entrance
Ratification
31.3%
Ratification
38.3%
Ratification
53.9%
34.8% turnout,
inconclusive
Ratification, low
turnout (49.5%)
Rejection
Single European
Act 1987
Maastricht Treaty 68.7%
1992
Amsterdam Treaty 61.7%
1998
Treaty of Nice
46.1%
2001
Treaty of Nice
62.9%
2002
Treaty of Lisbon
46.8%
2008
Treaty of Lisbon
67.1%
2009
European Fiscal
60.3%
Compact 2012
37.1%
53.2%
32.9%
29.7%
Ratification, low
turnout (50%)
Ratification
Seats Allocation in European Parliament
Fine Gael (centreright)
Fianna Fáil (centre)
4
Labour Party (centreleft)
3
Socialist Party (antiausterity, radical left)
1
Independents
1
3
European People’s
Party (EPP)
Alliance of Liberals and
Democrats for Europe
(ALDE)
Progressive Alliance of
Socialists and
Democrats (S&D)
European United Left–
Nordic Green Left
(GUE-NGL)
ALDE
Georgios Grigorakis , 1342201300059