Member of:
Australian Group, BIS, CCC, CE, COCOM (cooperating country), CSCE, EBRD, EC,
ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, MTCR, NEA, NSG,
OECD, ONUSAL, UN, UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM,
UNPROFRO, UNTAC, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Dermot A. GALLAGHER chancery:
2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 462-3939
consulates general:
Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador William Henry G. FITZGERALD; Ambassador Designate Jean Kennedy
SMITH (17 March 1993)
embassy:
42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[353] (1) 687122
FAX:
[353] (1) 689946
Flag:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; similar
to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which is shorter and has the colors
reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag
of Italy, which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and
red

*Ireland, Economy

Overview:
The economy is small and trade dependent. Agriculture, once the most
important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 37% of GDP,
about 80% of exports, and employs 28% of the labor force. Since 1987, real
GDP growth, led by exports, has averaged 4% annually. Over the same period,
inflation has fallen sharply and chronic trade deficits have been
transformed into annual surpluses. Unemployment, at 22.7% remains a serious
problem, however, and job creation is the main focus of government policy.
To ease unemployment, Dublin aggressively courts foreign investors and
recently created a new industrial development agency to aid small indigenous
firms. Government assistance is constrained by Dublin's continuing deficit
reduction measures. After five years of fiscal restraint, total government
debt still exceeds GDP. Growth probably will moderate in 1993 as the heavily
indebted and trade-dependent economy is highly sensitive to changes in
exchange rates and world interest rates. Exports to the UK, Ireland's major
export market, probably will be hurt by the recent appreciation of the Irish
currency against sterling - for the