Agency Finance Ireland Polish Recruitment Sources of agency finance ireland polish recruitment resources from the Web

Executive authority is exercised by a cabinet known simply as the Government. The Government consists of the Taoiseach (prime minister), the Tánaiste (deputy prime minister) and up to thirteen other ministers. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President, after being designated by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of parliament). The remaining ministers are nominated by the Taoiseach and approved by the Dáil. The Government must enjoy the confidence of Dáil Éireann and, in the event that they cease to enjoy the support of the lower house, the Taoiseach must either resign or persuade the President to dissolve the Dáil, in which case a general election follows.

Chinese and Urdu are also spoken by Northern Ireland's Asian communities. According to the most recent census returns, Chinese is now the second most widely spoken language, though the 8000-strong Chinese community — while often referred to as the "third largest" community in Northern Ireland — is tiny by international standards.

Many Irish urban centres developed as garrison towns during the years of British rule and this fact contributed towards their particular character. Another significant factor was the fact thar the Industrial Revolution had a limited impact in Ireland. Belfast had its shipbuilding and a number of towns in Ulster had mechanised linen industries, but the majority of towns developed primarily as commercial and administrative centres. By the end of the 20th century, over 50% of the population lived in these urban areas.

The parliament of the Republic of Ireland is the Oireachtas. The Oireachtas consists of the President and two houses: Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann (also known as the Senate). The Dáil is by far the dominant tier of the legislature. The President may not veto laws in most circumstances and the Senate may only delay legislation.

The area now known as Northern Ireland has had a diverse history. From serving as the bedrock of Irish resistance in the era of the plantations of Queen Elizabeth and James I in other parts of Ireland, it became itself the subject of major planting of Scottish and English settlers after the Flight of the Earls in 1607 (when the native aristocracy left en masse).

The Constitution of Ireland guarantees the rights of the family and the institution of marriage. However, the reality is that social and economic change in recent years has brought about significant changes in family life in the Republic. According to figures published in September, 2004, 31% of all births in the Republic of Ireland occur outside marriage. This compares with 5% in 1980. The average of mothers having their first child was 30 and the fertility is an average of 1.98 children.

The all-island Kingdom of Ireland (1541-1801) was incorporated into the United Kingdom in 1801 under the terms of the Act of Union, under which the kingdoms of Ireland and Great Britain merged under a central parliament, government and monarchy based in London. In the early 20th century Unionists, led by Sir Edward Carson, opposed the introduction of Home Rule in Ireland. Unionists were in a minority on the island of Ireland as a whole, but formed a majority in the northern province of Ulster. Therefore, after the First World War, Ireland was partitioned in 1921 under the terms of the Government of Ireland Act 1920 between six of the nine Ulster counties in the northeast (forming Northern Ieland) and the remaining twenty-six counties of the south and west (forming Southern Ireland and became the Irish Free State in 1922). When the latter achieved dominion status, the six Northern Ireland counties — under the procedures laid out in the Anglo-Irish Treaty, 1921 — opted out, and so remain as part of the United Kingdom.

Ireland (Éire in Irish) is the third-largest island in Europe. It lies on the west side of the Irish Sea, close to the island of Great Britain. It is composed of the Republic of Ireland which covers five sixths of the island (south, east, west and north-west) and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the northeastern sixth of the island. The population of the island is approximately 5.7 million people, most of whom live on the east coast.

A ring of coastal mountains surrounds low central plains. The highest peak is Carrauntuohill (Irish: Corrán Tuathail), which is 1041 m (3414 feet). The island is bisected by the River Shannon, at 113 km (70 mi) the longest river in Ireland or Britain. The island's lush vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent but soft rainfall, earns it the sobriquet "Emerald Isle".

In a number of areas, the island operates officially as a single entity, for example, in sport. The major religions, the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland and the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, are organised on an all-island basis. 92% of the population of the Republic of Ireland are Roman Catholic, and 40% in Northern Ireland. Some trades unions are also organised on an all-Irish basis and associated with the Irish Congress of Trades Unions (ICTU) in Dublin, while others in Northern Ireland are affiliated with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the United Kingdom. The island also has a shared culture across the divide in many other ways. Traditional Irish music, for example, though showing some variance in all geographical areas, is broadly speaking the same on both sides of the border. Irish and Scottish traditional music are similar.

There are many references to food and drink in early Irish literature. Honey seems to have been widely eaten and used in the making of mead. The old stories also contain many references to banquets, although these may well be greatly exaggerated and provide little insight to every diet. There are also many references to fulacht fiadh. These were sites for cooking deer, and consisted of holes in the ground which were filled with water. The meat was placed in the water and cooked by the introduction of hot stones. Many fulacht fiadh sites have been identified across the island of Ireland, and some of them appear to have been in use up to the 17th century.

In 1800 the Irish Parliament passed the Act of Union which, in 1801, merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The whole island of Ireland would remain within the United Kingdom, rule directly by the UK Parliament in London. The nineteenth century saw considerable economic difficulties for Ireland, including the Great Famine of the 1840s in which about 750,000 people died and another million were forced to emigrate.