Country Info:
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Ireland Location:
53° N 07° W
Ireland Geography:
A ring of coastal mountains surrounds low central plains. The highest peak is Carrauntoohill (Irish: Corrán Tuathail) in County Kerry, which is 1,041 m (3,414 feet).[14] The River Shannon, at 386 km (240 miles) is the longest river in Ireland.[15] The island's lush vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent but soft rainfall, earns it the sobriquet "Emerald Isle". The island's area is 84,412 km2[16] (32,591 square miles).
Ireland's least arable land lies in the south-western and western counties. These areas are largely mountainous and rocky, with dramatic green vistas.
Ireland Economy:
In the 1920s and early 1930s, the Republic of Ireland pursued a low-tax, low-spending policy under the government of W.T. Cosgrave and Cumann na nGaedheal, focused mainly on agriculture, livestock farming being of primary importance. The only notable expense the government went to during this time was for the rural electrification scheme, which saw £5,000,000 being spent constructing the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric power station on the river Shannon. During this period, 97% of trade was done with Britain.
Construction plays an important role in the Irish economyIn 1932, Eamonn De Valera's Fianna Fáil party defeated Cosgrave's party with a solid majority. De Valera focused on agriculture again. Fianna Fáil abandoned free trade and put up protective tariffs on almost all industries, spurring a long economic war with the United Kingdom, who taxed imports from Ireland in retaliation. The economic war resulted in widespread hardship for Irish farming. It ended in 1938, when control of several naval ports in the country was transferred to the free state.
Fianna Fáil remained in power until 1948, when the first coalition government ousted them from power. To the present day, the two largest parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, have dominated the scene, Fine Gael traditionally being pro-business, low tax and low spending, although with Fianna Fáil's alliance with the Progressive Democrats, it has modified its standpoint to be more pro-business.
Northern Ireland experienced a boom during World War II and received British support thereafter. In comparison, the Republic did not experience a WWII boom and its situation declined relative to Northern Ireland. Overall, until the early 1960s, population and economic decline plagued Ireland. In the early 1960s, Sean Lemass became Taioseach and embarked on a programme of economic reform. For the first time in Ireland, second level education was made free and compulsory. The Republic abandoned protectionism and applied to join the European Economic Community, along with Britain, gaining entry in 1973.
Though the 1960s and early 1970s saw a boom and, for the first time since 1842, a rise in population, the late 1970s and the 1980s saw a long recession. There was mass unemployment, with many people with tertiary education working minimum wage jobs or being out of work. Emigration returned to 50,000 per year.
This situation changed dramatically in the early 1990s as the result of a second, more prodigious, economic boom, known as "The Celtic Tiger" (as in "tiger economy"). In July 2006, a survey undertaken by Bank of Ireland Private Banking showed that, of the top 8 leading OECD nations, Ireland was ranked the second wealthiest per capita country in the world, showing an average wealth per head of nearly €150,000 (~ $190,000)[50]. This is behind Japan, and ahead of other countries such as the UK, U.S., Italy, France, Germany and Spain.
Ireland More Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland |
