The following is a summary of relevant features of the Republic of Ireland as an international offshore financial centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(a) Location:<\/strong> The Republic of Ireland is situated in Europe, 30 miles west of Great Britain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (b) Political factors:<\/strong> \nThe Republic of Ireland is an independent republic. The form of \ngovernment is a parliamentary democracy based on free elections. The \nelected government is normally drawn from predominantly conservative \nparties. Dublin is the capital of the Republic of Ireland, accommodating\n the Government, Parliament and ministries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Republic of Ireland has been a member of the European Union (EU) since 1973.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (c) Legal system:<\/strong> The Republic of Ireland has a common law jurisdiction. The legal system is derived from and based on the British system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (d) Language:<\/strong> The \nofficial languages of the Republic of Ireland are English and Irish. \nEnglish is the language used predominantly in all aspects of day-to-day \nlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (e) Currency:<\/strong> Ireland is part of the Euro-zone. The Euro is the only official currency as from 1 January 2002.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (f) Foreign investment:<\/strong>\n The Government of the Republic of Ireland has an active policy of \nencouraging foreign investment. There is normally no restriction imposed\n on foreign ownership of enterprises operating in the Republic of \nIreland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (g) Business climate:<\/strong> The Republic of Ireland is a committed member of the European<\/p>\n\n\n\n Union and OECD and, accordingly, the business climate is internationally orientated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Government agencies, equipped with \nsophisticated grant aid systems for capital investment and employment \ncreation, actively seek foreign investment. Tax and investment \nincentives are actively marketed by state agencies which will provide \nconsiderable support to prospective investors in Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a highly skilled and educated \npool of personnel available to new ventures locating in Ireland, with a \nstrong emphasis at third-level institutions on business related \ndisciplines and computer technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commercial relations with the United \nStates, United Kingdom and other EU countries are strong. Major Irish \ninvestments have been made in manufacturing, distribution and financial \nservices by companies headquartered in these countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The financial infrastructure is highly \nsophisticated, having been developed along British lines. Professional \nadvice in all banking, financial, legal, corporate, tax and general \ninternational areas is readily available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BANKING AND EXCHANGE CONTROLS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There are no exchange control regulations in the Republic of Ireland. (a) Incorporation:<\/strong> All \nRepublic of Ireland companies are incorporated by registration with the \nCompanies Office. Companies may be limited or unlimited. In the former \ncase shareholders\u2019 liability for company debts is limited to the amount \nof capital contributed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Registration is only possible once the company name has been approved by the Registrar of Companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The register of companies will contain \ndetails of the directors of the company and its registered shareholders \n(who may be different from the beneficial owners of the shares).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The incorporation procedure usually takes from 10 to 15 working days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Non-Irish incorporated company must \nregister as a foreign company doing business in Ireland if it operates \nthrough a permanent establishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (b) Capital structure (c) Shares and shareholders:<\/strong>\n Shares are normally registered and may be issued partly paid. Rights \nattaching to shares of Irish companies (eg ordinary, preference, etc) \nare determined by the articles of association. Non-voting shares are \npermitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (d) Management:<\/strong> A \nRepublic of Ireland company is normally managed by a board of directors \nconsisting of at least two directors who are appointed by the \nshareholders. One of these may act as company secretary and has \nresponsibility for making returns to the Companies Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The powers of the board of directors are defined by the articles of association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (e) Local presence:<\/strong> \nNormally, a company must have at least one director resident in a member\n state of the EEA, unless the company has a \u20ac25,395 bond from an \ninsurance company that guarantees against any fine or penalty imposed on\n the company. A company can claim exemption from paying this bond if \nthey receive a statement from the Revenue Commissioners stating that the\n company has a real or continuous link with one or more economic \nactivities that are being carried on in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (f) Accounting and auditing requirements:<\/strong>\n Accounts of most companies incorporated in Ireland must be audited by \nan independent firm of public accountants. Auditors are required to \nreport on the existence of proper books of account and whether the \nfinancial statements give a true and fair view of the company\u2019s results \nand financial position. Limited companies must file audited accounts \nwith the Registrar of Companies for public inspection. Companies below a\n certain size need only file extracts from the accounts. The above \ndisclosure requirement also applies to unlimited companies in certain \ncircumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Certain small private companies are \nexempt from the audit requirements. In order to qualify, for accounting \nyears ending on or after 24 February 2007, companies must have a \nturnover of less than \u20ac7.3m and total assets not exceeding \u20ac3.65m. and \nemploy fewer than 50 people. There are a number of other requirements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The following is a summary of relevant features of the Republic of Ireland as an international offshore financial centre. (a) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":119,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-158","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nBanking facilities are excellent, with prime connections to all financial centers worldwide.
\nRepublic of Ireland Companies<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/strong>Capitalisation: There are no legal requirements in Ireland as \nto debt\/equity ratios. From 1994 (following an EU directive), it is \npossible to incorporate a single-member private limited company (SMC) \nwith only one shareholder, but it must have two directors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n