Ireland

A
- Andorra
- Anguilla
B
C
D
- Delaware USA
G
- Gibraltar
- Guernsey
H
- Hong Kong
I
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Israel
- Italy
J
- Jersey
L
M
N
P
- Panama
S
T
- Turks and Caicos
U
V
- Vanuatu

Geography, Population, Languages

Ireland is situated to the west of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea. Ireland is 70,280 square kilometres in area. It is renowned for its magnificent scenery, unique fauna and flora and unpolluted fishing lakes and rivers. The lakes and bogs of the interior lowlands are surrounded by mountains, from the bleak granite of the north and east to the jagged fingers of sandstone stretching out into the Atlantic in the south-west.

The population of Ireland is over 4 millions, approximately 3 millions live in the Republic of Ireland (Eire). Roughly one third of the population (over 1.2 million) resides in the capital, Dublin and its surrounding suburbs. English is the official language of business and commerce. However, there are many areas referred to as "An Gaeltacht" such as the Aran Islands, Connemara, Galway and Cork where Irish Gaelic is spoken.

History, Political Structure and Law

Until 1922 Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. Indeed, Dublin was officially the second city of the British Empire after London. Following a war of independence that lasted 3 years, the United Kingdom entered into a treaty with Ireland. The effect was to partition the island into Northern Ireland (13,900 sq. km) and the Irish Free State (69,700 sq. km). In 1949 the Irish Free State became a Republic and left the British Commonwealth. Northern Ireland remains an integral part of the United Kingdom.

The Republic of Ireland (Eire) has a parliamentary democracy with a constitution. The head of state is the President, who is elected for a maximum of two seven-year terms. The Parliament (Oireachtas) consists of two houses, a Lower House and Upper House that is the Senate. The Lower House, Dail Eireann, consists of 166 members. They are elected in multi-seat constituencies by the single transferable vote system of proportional representation. The members of the Dail elect a Prime Minister (Taoiseach). The Prime Minister proposes 15 ministers to the President, who then appoints them on his advice. The Senate (Seanad Eireann) functions in a similar manner to the House of Lords in the United Kingdom. Vocational panels such as farming, employer, trade union, educational, and commercial groups elect all its members.

The Republic of Ireland is a member of the European Community. Accordingly Irish citizens have the automatic right to live and work in any EC member state.

The system of law is Common Law based on English Common Law.

Economy and Infrastructure

The economy is trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 37% of GDP and about 80% of exports and employs 28% of the labour force. Although exports remain the primary engine of Ireland's robust growth, the economy is also benefiting from a rise in consumer spending and a recovery in both construction and business investment. Ireland has substantially reduced its external debt since 1987, to 60% of GDP (1998 figure). Over the same period, inflation has fallen sharply and chronic trade deficits have been transformed into annual surpluses. Unemployment remains a serious problem, however, and job creation is the focus of government policy. To ease unemployment, Dublin aggressively courts foreign investors and recently created a new industrial development agency to aid small indigenous firms.

There are extensive flight connections to the United Kingdom, Europe and North America. Dublin Airport is an important European Airport. There are roll-on, roll-off freight and ferry services available to Great Britain and France.

Ireland has modern all-digital telecommunication facilities with direct dialling to 160 countries world-wide including all major financial centres. There are regular international courier services operated by numerous companies and the National Postal Service.

The currency is the Irish Pound, or Punt, which forms part of the European monetary system. There are no exchange controls.

Company Incorporation

The principal Corporate Legislation is the Companies Acts 1963 - 1990. In particular the Companies (amendaed) (No.2) Act 1999. A Company incorporated in the Republic of Ireland has the same powers as a natural person. The language of legislation and corporate documentation is English. Generally shelf companies are not available due to the requirement to be specific about a company's intended objects.

The types of Company used for International Trade and Investment are as follows:

Public Companies;
Private Limited Companies;
Private Unlimited Companies.

Incorporation procedure involves submission of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, together with Form A1 detailing the first directors, secretary and location of the Registered Office. The Registered Office must be in the Republic of Ireland.

Restrictions on trading and business activities: the Company cannot solicit funds from or sell its shares to the public.

Company names are subject to the following requirements and restrictions:

A name can be in any language that uses the Latin alphabet. The Registrar may request an English translation if a company name is in a foreign language.
A name that is identical or similar to an existing name is not acceptable.
A name that implies illegal activities is prohibited.
A name that implies state patronage is prohibited.
The following names or derivatives thereof, or their foreign language equivalent, require consent or a licence: Bank, Building Society, Savings, Insurance, Assurance, Reinsurance, Fund Management, Asset Management, Co-operative, Chamber of Commerce, Society, Municipal, Group, Holding, Irish.
Limited or Teoranta (the Irish Gaelic for Limited) or abbreviations thereof are required as suffixes to denote limited liability.

The minimum number of directors is two. They must be natural persons of any nationality (Corporate Directors are not allowed). However, with the passing of the Companies Amendment Act, 1999 one Director must be resident (i.e. at least 183 days per annum) in the Republic of Ireland. If a company has no Irish resident Directors, then it may enter a Bond for €25,395.

A Company secretary is required, who can be a natural person or body corporate. The company secretary need not be resident in the Republic of Ireland. The minimum number of shareholders is one, although the standard Memorandum and Articles of Association provides for two shareholders.

There is no capital duty payable on authorised share capital. There is a 1% capital duty on issued share capital. There is no maximum amount of authorised capital. The minimum issued capital is two shares with par value. The following classes of shares are permitted: registered shares, preference shares, redeemable shares and shares with or without voting rights. The concept of bearer shares does exist, but they are very rare because Central Bank consent is required before they can be issued, and such consent is likely to be refused. It is also believed that issuing bearer shares could affect a company's status as a private company.

Annual Taxation and Fees

Companies are subject to taxation on profits of 12,5%. Ireland has a very extensive network of double tax agreements, with Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, the United Kingdom and Zambia.

There are no licence fees.

Audited accounts must be filed with the annual return, and annual accounts must be presented to the tax authorities.