The Central Bank of Ireland regulates financial institutions and protects consumers of financial services.
Job Creation and Tax Collection
By creating employment, the government is able to collect tax from the wages paid to public sector employees. The government is the largest employer in the state.
Protection of Natural Resources
The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is responsible for regulating, protecting and developing Ireland’s natural resources. For example, it ensures that the production of oil and gas is carried out safely and with due regard for the environment.
Support of Enterprise
It is in the interest of the government to encourage businesses to set up and develop in Ireland. Enterprise creates jobs, which results in more taxes being raised.
As we learned in chapter 13, the government has put a number of agencies in place to support enterprise in Ireland, including Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Office (LEO).
