93 Ireland And The European Union

Participation in the EU has had extraordinary consequences for the Republic of Ireland. It led to the economic boom that the Irish are enjoying today, but those economic changes haven’t made everyone happy. EU membership opens up to Irish businesses the giant market of European consumers, but it also means that the Republic of Ireland’s weaker industries are now exposed to international competition. Traditional dairy farms, for example, simply can’t compete with industrialized factory farms. Europe and the Republic of Ireland have so far supported these farmers with subsidies, but there is substantial pressure for the Irish agricultural industry to modernize itself to compete on the free market.

Another major impact of Europe has been on social issues. Traditionally, the Republic of Ireland has been a very conservative country, with close ties to the Catholic Church. Prevailing attitudes on the Continent have taken a much more liberal direction on issues like women’s rights, abortion, and divorce. Although the Irish government has dragged its heels, international pressure and the will of the Irish people have forced it to liberalize many laws.

One of the more controversial issues for the Republic of Ireland is how its traditional stance of neutrality figures into EU membership. While the EU is not primarily a military organization, it does require a form of military alliance from its members. Concerns over possible future military entanglements led a majority of Irish voters to reject the EU Nice Treaty in 2001 (the Treaty opens EU membership to ten Eastern European countries that are possibly less stable than the current Western European members). After the Republic of Ireland’s politicians spent a year promoting the treaty and wrangled some legal concessions out of EU bureaucrats, voters passed the treaty in a second referendum in 2002.