Editing Ireland (section)

==Politics==
[[File:British–European Union frontier in Ireland.svg|thumb|upright|Political entities on the island of Ireland]]
The island is divided between the Republic of Ireland, an independent [[Sovereign state|state]], and Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. They share an [[Irish border|open border]] and both are part of the [[Common Travel Area]] and as a consequence, there is [[Single market|free movement of people, goods, services and capital]] across the border.

The Republic of Ireland is a member state of the European Union while the United Kingdom is a former member state, having both acceded to its precursor entity, the European Economic Community (EEC), in 1973 but the UK [[Brexit|left the European Union in 2020]] after a [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|referendum on EU membership was held in 2016]] which resulted in 51.9% of UK voters choosing to leave the bloc.

===Republic of Ireland===
{{main|Republic of Ireland}}
[[File:Áras an Uachtaráin-2011.jpg|thumb|{{lang|ga|[[Áras an Uachtaráin]]}}, the official residence of the [[President of Ireland]]]]
The Republic of Ireland is a [[parliamentary democracy]] based on the [[Westminster system]], with a [[Constitution of Ireland|written constitution]] and a popularly elected [[President of Ireland|president]] whose role is mostly ceremonial. The [[Oireachtas]] is a [[bicameral]] parliament, composed of {{lang|ga|[[Dáil Éireann]]|italic=no}} (the Dáil), a house of representatives, and {{lang|ga|[[Seanad Éireann]]|italic=no}} (the Seanad), an [[upper house]]. The [[Government of Ireland|government]] is headed by a prime minister, the {{lang|ga|[[Taoiseach]]|italic=no}}, who is appointed by the president on the nomination of the {{lang|ga|Dáil|italic=no}}. Its capital is Dublin.

The Republic of Ireland today ranks among the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of [[GDP per capita]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Country Comparison: GDP&nbsp;– per capita (PPP) |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html?countryName=Ireland&countryCode=ei&regionCode=eur&rank=27#ei |website=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=29 August 2011 |archive-date=19 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119060620/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html?countryName=Ireland&countryCode=ei&regionCode=eur&rank=27#ei |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in 2015 was ranked the sixth most developed nation in the world by the United Nations' [[Human Development Index]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/hdi2015.pdf |page=47 |title=Human Development Report 2015: Table A1.1 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] (UNDP) |date=2015 |website=Human Development Index and its components |via=[[Jewish Virtual Library]] |access-date=30 November 2016 |archive-date=1 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301091348/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/hdi2015.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> A period of rapid economic expansion from 1995 onwards became known as the [[Celtic Tiger]] period, was brought to an end in 2008 with an unprecedented [[Post-2008 Irish economic downturn|financial crisis]] and an economic depression in 2009. According to the 2024 [[Global Peace Index]], Ireland is the second most peaceful country in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Global Peace Index |url=https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf}}</ref>

===Northern Ireland===
{{main|Northern Ireland}}
[[File:StormontCarson.jpg|thumb|[[Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)|Parliament Buildings]], in [[Stormont Estate]], seat of the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]]]]
Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom with a local [[Northern Ireland Executive|executive]] and [[Northern Ireland Assembly|assembly]] which exercise devolved powers. The executive is jointly headed by the first and deputy first minister, with the ministries being allocated in proportion to each party's representation in the assembly. Its capital is [[Belfast]].

Ultimately political power is held by the [[UK government]], from which Northern Ireland has gone through intermittent periods of direct rule during which devolved powers have been suspended. Northern Ireland elects 18 of the UK [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]' 650 MPs. The [[Northern Ireland Secretary]] is a cabinet-level post in the British government.

Along with [[England and Wales]] and with Scotland, Northern Ireland forms one of the three separate legal jurisdictions of the UK, all of which share the [[Supreme Court of the United Kingdom]] as their court of final appeal.

===All-island institutions===
As part of the Good Friday Agreement, the British and Irish governments agreed on the creation of all-island institutions and areas of cooperation. The [[North/South Ministerial Council]] is an institution through which ministers from the Government of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Executive agree all-island policies. At least six of these policy areas must have an associated all-island "implementation body", and at least six others must be implemented separately in each jurisdiction. The implementation bodies are: [[Waterways Ireland]], the [[Food Safety Promotion Board]], [[InterTradeIreland]], the [[Special European Union Programmes Body]], [[the North/South Language Body]] and the [[Commissioners of Irish Lights|Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission]].

The [[British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference]] provides for co-operation between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom on all matters of mutual interest, especially Northern Ireland. In light of the Republic's particular interest in the governance of Northern Ireland, "regular and frequent" meetings co-chaired by the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, dealing with non-devolved matters to do with Northern Ireland and non-devolved [[all-Ireland]] issues, are required to take place under the establishing treaty.

The [[North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association]] is a joint parliamentary forum for the island of Ireland. It has no formal powers but operates as a forum for discussing matters of common concern between the respective legislatures.