Government and power in Ireland
Who leads Ireland, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary parliamentary republic.
Who leads Ireland?
- Head of state: Catherine Connolly (President of Ireland)
- Head of government: Micheál Martin T.D. (Taoiseach of Ireland)
- Foreign minister: Helen McEntee T.D. (Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence of Ireland)
Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.
Governance scores
The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.
- Voice and accountability
- Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.
- Political stability and absence of violence
- Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.
- Government effectiveness
- Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.
- Regulatory quality
- Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.
- Rule of law
- Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.
- Control of corruption
- Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.
How does Ireland score on voice and accountability?
Voice and accountability: 87.1 out of 100 in 2025, 6th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 74.2). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 83.2.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Ireland score on political stability?
Political stability and absence of violence: 78.7 out of 100 in 2025, 53rd highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 73.5). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 82.5.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Ireland score on government effectiveness?
Government effectiveness: 85.7 out of 100 in 2025, 15th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 69.4). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 81.9.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Ireland score on regulatory quality?
Regulatory quality: 83.3 out of 100 in 2025, 8th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 66.2). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 84.7.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Ireland score on the rule of law?
Rule of law: 84.2 out of 100 in 2025, 15th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 70.8). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 84.6.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow does Ireland score on control of corruption?
Control of corruption: 78.5 out of 100 in 2025, 18th highest of 193 UN member states with a score (regional median 60.7). Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was 81.1.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many women are in Ireland's parliament?
Women held 25.3% of seats in the national parliament (single or lower chamber) in 2025, 97th highest of 184 countries with data. Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union, via the World Bank.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many of Ireland's ministers are women?
Women held 28.6% of ministerial posts in 2025, 59th highest of 190.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much does the government of Ireland spend?
Central government spending (expense) was 19.2% of GDP in 2022.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much tax does the government of Ireland collect?
Central government tax revenue was 17.9% of GDP in 2024, 47th highest of 92.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow much does Ireland spend on the military?
Military spending was 0.2% of GDP in 2025, 144th highest of 149 (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, via the World Bank).
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow big are the armed forces of Ireland?
Armed forces personnel numbered 9,000 in 2020.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow good are Ireland's official statistics?
The World Bank's Statistical Performance Indicator, which scores how well a country's official statistics system works, was 88.3 out of 100 in 2024, 29th highest of 187.
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many births are registered in Ireland?
100.0% of births of children under 5 were registered with a civil authority (2022).
Source: World Bank · saved copyHow many people in Ireland use the internet?
97.2% of people used the internet in 2024.
Source: World Bank · saved copyOfficial bodies that hold power in Ireland
Government
- Gov.iePublications, press releases and services from government departments, including the Department of the Taoiseach.
Parliament
- Houses of the OireachtasDebates, votes, bills and committee records for Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann.
Elections
- An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Electoral Commission)Constituency reviews, electoral register information, referendum explanations and research on elections.
Courts
- Courts Service of Ireland (Supreme Court)Judgments of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court, court lists and annual reports.
Public audit
- Office of the Comptroller and Auditor GeneralAnnual reports on the accounts of the public services and special reports on public bodies.
Ombudsman
- Office of the OmbudsmanInvestigation reports, case studies and annual reports on complaints about public bodies.
Access to information
- Office of the Information CommissionerDecisions on freedom of information reviews, annual reports and guidance on the FOI Act and access to environmental information.
Lobbying register
- Register of Lobbying (lobbying.ie)Registered lobbyists and their returns of lobbying activity with designated public officials, run by the Standards in Public Office Commission.
Public contracts
- eTendersPublic sector tender notices and contract award notices.
Laws and the official gazette
- Irish Statute BookActs of the Oireachtas and statutory instruments, published by the Office of the Attorney General.
- Iris OifigiúilThe official State gazette, publishing statutory notices and government announcements.
Government below the national level
- Regional assemblies (3): Members nominated by the councils in each region (not directly elected)
- County, city, and city-and-county councils (31): 949 councillors elected by STV every five years; a chief executive is appointed
- Municipal districts (95) and metropolitan districts: The councillors elected for that area
- Mayor of Limerick (from 2024): Directly elected by Limerick voters for five years
How local power works in Ireland
Places in Ireland
Sources
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
- World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
- World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.