Europe / Caspian / CIS
Country profile: Ireland
| Location: | Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain |
| Climate: | temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time |
| Terrain: | mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast |
| Size: | 70280 sq. km total (Land area: 68890 sq. km Water area: 1390 sq.km) |
| Population: | 4,156,119 (July 2008 est.) |
| Languages: | English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard |
| Government: | republic, parliamentary democracy |
| Capital city: | Dublin |
| Legal system: | based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Currency: | euro (EUR) |
| Licensing: |
Country profile
Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the UK.
In 1949, Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland is being implemented with some difficulties. In 2006, the Irish and British governments developed and began to implement the St. Andrews Agreement, building on the Good Friday Agreement approved in 1998.
Energy production and consumption
| Oil | Gas | |
| Production: | 546 million cu m (2005 est.) | |
| Consumption: | 192,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 3 billion cu m (2005 est.) |
| Exports: | 23,360 bbl/day (2005 est.) | |
| Imports: | 204,400 bbl/day (2005 est.) | 3 million cu m (2005 est.) |
| Reserves: | 9 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.) | |
| Major fields: |
Ireland - recent news
| 10 Sep 26 |
Ireland: Solar energy generation increases nearly 60% over summer months as August sets new records New provisional data from EirGrid, the operator and developer of Ireland’s electricity grid, shows that almost one third (29%) of electricity came from renewable sources in August. Solar power made up 7.7% of the month’s fuel mix and follows records being set for the contribution of solar power this summer with a high of 9.4% in July and 8.2% in June. |
| 07 Sep 26 |
Ireland: Minister O'Brien welcomes plans for Dublin Seismic Survey at major European Geothermal District Heating Event in Dublin Geological Survey Ireland, a part of the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, has announced a new initiative to collect geothermal information from deep beneath Dublin city. The Dublin Seismic Survey project will use non-invasive geophysical technology to create an image of the subsurface up to three kilometres beneath our feet. The data from the survey will provide valuable information for assessing the potential of clean, secure and renewable geothermal heat beneath the capital. |
| 12 Aug 26 |
Ireland: Wind energy planning approvals at highest level since early 2025 Five new wind energy projects were approved in the second quarter of this year, marking the highest level of approvals since Q1 2025, while one project was refused planning permission. The projects will add a combined generation capacity of 311 MW, enough to power just over 180,000 homes each year. |
| 06 Aug 26 |
Ireland: SSE submitting planning application for 102MW Crumhach Wind Farm SSE is submitting a planning application to An Coimisiún Pleanála for the proposed Crumhach Wind Farm, a new onshore wind development to replace the existing Kingsmountain and Dunneill wind farms near Dromore West in County Sligo, Ireland. |
| 15 Jun 26 |
Ireland: Wind farms deliver €75 million rates boost to County Councils Wind farms across Ireland will contribute almost €75 million in commercial rates to local authorities in 2026, according to new analysis compiled by Halpin's on behalf of Wind Energy Ireland (WEI). |
Ireland - more news
Other countries in this region
- Afghanistan,
- Albania,
- Armenia,
- Austria,
- Azerbaijan,
- Belarus,
- Belgium,
- Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- Bulgaria,
- Croatia,
- Cyprus,
- Czech Republic,
- Denmark,
- Estonia,
- Faroe Islands,
- Finland,
- France,
- Georgia,
- Germany,
- Greece,
- Greenland,
- Hungary,
- Iceland,
- Italy,
- Kazakhstan,
- Kyrgyzstan,
- Latvia,
- Lithuania,
- Luxembourg,
- Malta,
- Moldova,
- Montenegro,
- Netherlands,
- Norway,
- Poland,
- Portugal,
- Romania,
- Russia,
- Serbia,
- Slovakia,
- Slovenia,
- Spain,
- Sweden,
- Switzerland,
- Tajikistan,
- Tatarstan,
- Turkey,
- Turkmenistan,
- Ukraine,
- United Kingdom,
- Uzbekistan
