tillergirl

Hi i'm hoping you people in the know will be able to help me out.

My family and i (three boys and OH) are currently in the process of returning to the UK from New Zealand.

We visited Kilarney in Southern Island just before we emigrated and commentated on how we wished we'd have been before.

Really we are just toying with the idea of maybe trying Southern Ireland. At some time in our lives.

I read in a thread that Ireland doesn't have council tax. Is this true?
If not what do they have?

Also it said they don't have water rates. Is this true?

I've also been reading about their stealth taxes. Could anyone extend on this. (Stamp duty on second hand houses)

Any info would be great.
Cheers

irishlinks

Council Tax - yes there is none (but you do have to pay to have your bins emptied - about 400 euro a year).
No Water rates at the moment for private houses - businesses pay though. But the water quality is not good in places (Galway - undrinkable for 3 months now).
Stamp Duty on houses is fairly high (bit more than UK I think)
under 12k - none
127,001 euro - 190,500 euro 3%
190,501 euro - 254,000 euro 4%
254,001 euro - 317,500 euro 5%
317,501 euro - 381,000 euro 6%
381,001 euro - 635,000 euro 7.5%
Over 635,000 euro 9%

Mitzyboy

Irishlinks, I am having to ban you as you are in contrevention of site rules in using your site name as a user name.

You can re register as another name if you so wish

tillergirl

Thanks for the the info irishlinks. It's very kind of you to help.

What a beautiful part of the world you live in. Do you originate from Ireland?

Sounds like that water problem is dragging out, i hope it's rectified soon. What a pain it must be.

If you are able, could you give me your opinion on weather you think it is expensive to live in Ireland, compared to the UK.

Have a good one
Tillergirl

JAJ

No such country as "Southern Ireland". That was the name of a short-lived Home Rule state between 1920-22.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ireland

The least-ambiguous and legally correct name for the state, as I understand it, is "Republic of Ireland".

Regarding taxes, my understanding is that stamp duty, vehicle registration tax and VAT are all substantially higher than in the United Kingdom. There is also no comprehensive National Health Service (coverage is provided only for those on low incomes). On the other hand some other taxes may be lower and university education is cheaper. So its probably swings and roundabouts.

Don't assume it's just another part of the United Kingdom. If that's what you want, then look at Northern Ireland instead. The Republic of Ireland is now very much a different country from the United Kingdom.

Other things to bear in mind if you do choose to settle there

- most schools and hospitals are controlled by the Roman Catholic church; and
- take the time to research the laws they have on the Irish language (including impact on schooling, access to some professions etc) and be sure you are comfortable with that for yourselves + your children's futures.

tillergirl

Thank you for your info JAJ.

My father is Irish and he still referred to it as 'Southern Island', it has just stuck with me. I had better use The Republic of Ireland, or people may not know where I'm talking about. L.O.L

We are only toying with the idea and we certainly wouldn't move there with out our children visiting, many times! to see if they liked it. As well as ourselves. I've learned a lot from this experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would definitely look into and talk to my OH about the religious issue, as I'm a Catholic but my children and husband aren't.

Thanks
Tillergirl

JAJ

If your father was born in Ireland then you are an Irish citizen (by descent) and you can register your children as Irish citizens if you like.

There are some non-Roman Catholic schools, but not many. It's probably easier to get into many of them (they are apparently quite popular) if children or parents belong to one of the Protestant denominations.

jenna m

The term Island of Ireland is also now used.

All my mail is sent with Ireland on it - no problems with delivery.

Miss Eck

Quite a lot of us do call it Southern Ireland. Living in the UK I was commonly asked was I from the North or South - it seemed that was the only way some people differentiated between RoI and NI.

Nowadays there are plenty of mixed marriages (Catholic and Protestant) so I don't think you will have a problem.

tillergirl

Thanks for the i information guys.

I'm glad that i can still call it Southern Ireland and most will know where i'm talking about. Old habits die hard.

JAJ. Due to my mother being 15 when she had me, i was nanny raised. They decided that they didn't want my fathers name on my birth certificate. Will this cause a problem for me, if i do go ahead and try to became and Irish citizen.

Concerning the school issue, my OH is not a Protestant he is Church of England. Would this be a problem. I ask because when we married my Catholic church wouldn't marry us, because of it. However , another local church would. They catered for both religions.

Cheers.
Tillergirl

Miss Eck

I think it will prove difficult without your father's name on your birth cert. See the attached for the requirements for claiming citizenship by descent http://genealogy.about.com/library/weekly/aa030802b.htm

Hopefully there are ways around it - you could contact the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin to ascertain where you stand.

My husband is Church of England and we had no problems getting married in my hometown Catholic Church a few years ago. But I imagine the Church has relaxed its views on mixed marriages in recent years.

Whilst going to school in Ireland a few families were from Church of England and had no problems and nowadays I am sure with so many Brits etc residing in Ireland they are quite accustomed to various religions.

I am not sure how quickly foreign children pick up Gaelic but to assist there are a number of Gaeltacht (Gaelic speaking) areas when your children can spend time with Irish families to practice the language once they have a grasp of it and also there are Gaelic schools in each county. I believe students have to take Gaelic as an exam up to and including the Leaving Certificate. There were talks of making Gaelic an optional subject in the last two years of school but I don't think it has been implemented yet. Hopefully some residents of Ireland on here can advise you further on this.

It would be prudent for you to decide which county you would like to settle in and then start your research from there.

shears

Hi Tillergirl

I wouldn't worry about the children getting into school; the Catholic schools all have a multi-denominational approach. Your children wouldn't have to participate in any religious preparation e.g. communion, confirmation, if you don't want them to. We have a lot of foreign nationals in Ireland now so the schools have had to keep up with the times!

Doctors can be expensive (approx €50 per visit even for the kids!) and you'd have to pay for prescription medicines. There's plenty of info on this site about all the different entitlements etc

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories

Good luck with the decision!

shears

tillergirl

Cheers guys i appreciate all your advice.

Let the research begin.............

scrum

Legally the country is officially called Ireland not Republic of Ireland and not Southern Ireland.

There are plenty of non catholic schools and the education system is good. If your children are under the age of 10 when you enrol them then they will have to learn Irish. Over the age of 10 and it's optional.

My Doctor charges 35 euro a visit but the out of hours doctor charges 50 euro.

A visit to A&E was 60 euro the last time we had to take a trip.

The rules on stamp duty vary. Some people are exempt. It depends on whether your a first time buyer or not and on the actual size of the property.

There is a national health service in Irealnd it's called the HSE (Health Service Executive) and is the equivalent to that in the UK. Obviously if you want private then that's not a problem either.

I am Irish and returned here from the UK 4 years ago. As regards the cost of living - things balance out.

Stamp duty - higher
Veh Reg Tax - higer
Council tax - none
Water rates - none
Car tax - higher
Uni costs - lower
Doctor - higher
Prescriptions - higher (you can get a card that limits the amount you pay (per family) for prescriptions in any one month)
Cars - specs not as good as the UK
Food/clothes - generally on a par

Any other questions - just contact me.

Trish

Miss Eck

I know, I am Irish too

I guess some of the doctors quotes are not too bad. I paid nearly 100 euro to see a doctor in Dubai recently.

Good to know the Gaelic is optional for kids over 10 ... I'm still haunted by those Gaelic novels from the Leaving Cert