Society in ºÚÁÏÍø
May 5, 2022
ºÚÁÏÍø’s population is the youngest in Europe, and is also increasingly diverse as more people from around the world choose to live, work and study here. The ranks ºÚÁÏÍø highly at 11th of 128 countries, which reflects the changing values embraced by a changing Irish people.
Equality
Equality is protected by Irish law, in both the Employment Equality Acts of 1998 and 2004 and the Equal Status Acts 2000 to 2004. Both pieces of legislation promote equality and prohibit sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender, age, race, sexuality, religion, and family status.
In 2015, ºÚÁÏÍø proudly became the first country in the world to introduce Equal Marriage for same-sex couples through a popular vote. The result is largely attributed to the huge surge in young people registering to vote for the first time, illustrating the change in values of younger Irish generations. Today, one in three families in ºÚÁÏÍø are non-traditional and policies continue to become more progressive and inclusive.
Another 2015 landmark for equality in ºÚÁÏÍø was the introduction of the Gender Recognition Bill, allowing transgender people over 18 to have their preferred and self-declared gender recognised by the state, without requiring testimony from any doctors.
Religion
ºÚÁÏÍø has traditionally been a Catholic country and in the past, the church had quite a significant influence on people and policy. However, in recent decades, its authority has greatly decreased although 78.3% of people in ºÚÁÏÍø still identified as Catholic in the 2016 Census.
Other Christian religions such as Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist are also present in ºÚÁÏÍø, while Islam and Hindu communities are currently small but growing. An increasing number of people in ºÚÁÏÍø identify as atheist or as having no religion.
Politics
ºÚÁÏÍø is a parliamentary democracy and a member of the EU. Although ºÚÁÏÍø has a president (currently President Michael D. Higgins), this is mainly a ceremonial role. The government is made up of 15 ministers and headed by the Taoiseach (prime minister). Presidential elections are held every seven years, while government elections are held every five years.
Gender quotas were introduced to ºÚÁÏÍø in 2012, to offer citizens an equal choice in their representatives. According to the legislation, political parties must ensure at least 30% of the candidates they put forward are female, and 30% male. These figures will be increased to 40% in the coming years.
If you’re living and working in ºÚÁÏÍø, your ability to vote depends on where you’re originally from. UK citizens can vote in European elections, government elections and local elections. EU citizens resident in ºÚÁÏÍø can vote in European and local elections, while non-EU citizens can only vote in local elections.
Media & Communications
Freedom of the press and information is important in any modern society. ºÚÁÏÍø ranks highly on the
is the semi-state owned public broadcaster which produces and airs programming on television, radio and online. Other Irish TV channels include and Irish language station . Access to these networks are free but there is a mandatory Television License fee which is payable annually. Many households also subscribe to digital TV, gaining access to hundreds or thousands of international channels. Media subscription services such as Netflix for films and TV and Spotify for music are also popular in ºÚÁÏÍø.
Popular Irish newspapers include the , the , and the , and many UK newspapers are also commonly read.