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Profile
 Liberal
Westminster governments prior to World War I debated and were in
the processes of allowing Ireland the right to devolve when hostilities
commenced postponing such consideration until after the war when
after several years of stepped up hostilities toward their English
colonizers, and two years of guerrilla warfare, in 1921, the Anglo-Irish
Treaty was signed granting independence dominion status within the
British Commonwealth to the 26 counties of Southern Ireland. The
six Ulster counties remain with the United Kingdom and this partition
prompted civil war, which continued into 1923. And end of the partition
continues to be high on the political agenda, but in recent years
the Irish government has opposed terrorism more actively. This is
partly in recognition of the potentially destructive nature of the
Irish Republican Army (IRA) within a unified Ireland.
Ireland had remained one of the poorer countries within the EC until
the heavy structural investments from the European Investment Fund
started to produce dividends. Today, Ireland is an active and bustling
economy with new pockets of wealth being admirably distributed through
out the economy. Government incentive schemes have encouraged growth
in high-tech industries and increased Dublin's importance as a financial
centre. However Ireland still remains more reliant than most of
its other European neighbours on agriculture with perhaps as much
as 12% to overall GDP.
The North of Ireland maintains close economic links with UK, which
accounts for over a third of its trade. The two countries are also
bound by the problem of North Ireland, a solution to which despite
numerous initiatives over the years, seems as distant as ever. Fundamentally,
the Irish nationalists in Northern Ireland compose the minority
albeit a large minority of the population and the protestant English
Irish the majority. This Nationalist English group feel as if their
contribution to the overall wealth of the UK is not actually appreciated
and consequently have a tendency to support rather rightist ideas
and positions.
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