cy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% (1981 est.)
male: NA
female: NA

Government Ireland

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ireland

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Dublin

Administrative divisions:
26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway,
Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth,
Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary,
Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow
note: Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan are part of Ulster Province

Independence:
6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty)

National holiday:
Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March

Constitution:
29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite

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

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mary MCALEESE (since 11 November 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Bertie AHERN (since 26 June 1997)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with previous nomination
by the prime minister and approval of the House of Representatives
election results: Mary MCALEESE elected president; percent of vote -
Mary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6%
note: government coalition - Fianna Fail and the Progressive
Democrats
elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term;
election last held 31 October 1997 (next scheduled for 22 October
2004); note - Mary MCALEESE appointed to a second term when no other
candidate qualified for the 2004 presidential election; prime
minister nominated by the House of Representatives and appointed by
the president

Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consists of the Senate or Seanad
Eireann (60 seats - 49 elected by the universities and from
candidates put forward by five vocational panels, 11 are nominated
by the prime minister; members serve five-year terms) and the House
of Representatives or Dail Eireann (166 seats; members are elected
by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve
five-year terms)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - Fianna Fail 30, Fine Gael 15, Labor Party 5, Progres