Both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (as part of the
United Kingdom) are stable democratic countries. The head of state
in the Irish Republic is President Mary McAleese and in Northern Ireland
is Queen Elizabeth II. The head of government in the Republic of Ireland,
known as the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) is presently Bertie Aherne
and in Northern Ireland is Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Regarding the Republic of Ireland, the main role of President is as
a figurehead and has no real concrete political implication. There
are three main political parties in the country – Fianna Fail,
Fine Gael and the Labour Party, while other parties include the Progressive
Democrats, Sinn Fein and the Green Party. Fianna Fail is the largest
political party in the country and is presently in power in coalition
with the Progressive Democrats. The leader of the Progressive Democrats,
Mary Harney is Deputy Prime Minister, a role referred to as Tanaiste.
Mary McAleese, President.
While Northern Ireland is governed by Britain and as a result by Prime
Minister Tony Blair, it also has its own recently formed government,
known as the Northern Irish Assembly. This government has its own
ministers in charge of various departments and basically runs the
affairs of Northern Ireland. Joint Nobel Peace Winner, David Trimble
is currently head of government in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein’s
Martin McGuinness is Minister for Education.
The governments of Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
are working together to resolve the outstanding issues and problems
in Northern Ireland. While recent developments such as the Good Friday
Agreement, have seen peace and stability return to the streets of
Northern Ireland, certain problems remain to be ironed out. The future
though is looking more positive for Northern Ireland.
