-Almost all the people speak English and about 1/4th also speak Irish

-Irish or Gaelge is the official language of the country. It is spoken on a daily basis in some parts of the west of Ireland. The latter areas are known as the Gaeltacht. In Ireland, the road signs are in both Irish and English. English, however, is the language spoken by the vast majority of the people. Both Irish and English are taught in most schools.

Population Statistics and distribution of population:

- 0-14 Years: 21.2% (Male – 427, 017) (Female – 404,191)

- 15-64 Years: 67.4% (Male -1,322,98

(ii) Public Voluntary Hospitals: The management authorities for this group of hospitals vary widely. Some are owned and operated by religious orders, others are incorporated by charter or statute and work under lay boards of governors. These are financed to a large extent by State funds. The publicly funded acute hospitals have approximately 12,000 beds with an average length of stay of approximately 6.5 days.

Second-level schools cater for students from 12 years of age upwards. There are various types of second-level schools. Secondary Schools are privately owned, many by religious communities, but most of their expenditure is funded by the State. There were 424 Secondary Schools in 1998/99 with a total enrolment of 211,369 pupils and a staff of 13,223 full-time teachers paid by the State. There are two courses of study. The junior cycle is a three year course leading to the award of the Junior Certificate. Students may spend up to three years in the senior cycle. They may follow a two-year Leaving Certificate program immediately after the Junior Certificate, choosing either the Leaving Certificate, the Leaving Certificate Applied or the Leaving Certificate Vocational or they may opt to follow a transition year program before embarking on their chosen Leaving Certificate program. In the transition year students follow a curriculum designed by the school in accordance with departmental guidelines. The aims of the program are to give them space to mature, to develop self-reliance in their approach to study and to introduce them to the world of work. The curriculum for both junior and senior cycles covers a wide range of subjects including Mathematics, English, Irish, Modern Languages, History, Geography, Science subjects, Business subjects, Art, Music and Physical Education. The Leaving Certificate is the basic qualification for admission to third-level education.

• an extensive and still-growing manufacturing sector featuring leading edge technologies as well as traditional and new consumer requirements; and

Some topics in this essay:
Transport Equipment, Healthier Future, Health Services, Foreign Investment, Kingdom Germany, Imports UK, Leaving Certificate, Protection Agency, Vocational Schools, Arts Respect, leaving certificate, health services, private health, schools 1998/99 total, health care, 1998/99 total, stock exchange, voluntary hospitals, full-time teachers, schools 1998/99, pupils staff, environmental protection agency, irish stock exchange, department health children, private health insurance,