An Poblacht na Oileán Fada (A nice new world...)

Overview
The Republic of Oileán Fada is a conservative minded, legally authoritarian, but still mostly mostly democratic republic lead by a Taoiseach.

It is mostly rural and empty in nature. It has only has a few major cities in which 65% the population live, the rest of the country is sparsely populated farm land, forests, scrublands and open countryside. It is mostly flat in nature apart from a odd few knowles and tors, but the interior gets hillier in the center and south, and mountainous in the north.

The major rivers are the Dorcas and the Shannon. They runs from the Central Hills near Derry to the coast at Wexford. Derry is hilly central region and is the center of the stone quarrying and paper industries.

The highest peaks are the 2750 ft Eagles' Perch, which is set eight miles south west of Dornoch in the northern mountains; and the 2,650 ft Crows' Nest which is set ten miles west of Derry and one mile north of the source of the River Dorcas in the Central Hills. Dornoch is a small coal mining town There is a space tracking station at Fort Dornoch. A major gravel mining pit is one mile south of it and a modest oil shale quarry one mile to the north east of it. The equally small farming towns of Swindon, Bicester, Cork, Tara, Cardiff and Newry are a few miles north east of it.

Mount Barrslieveanroy at 2,600 ft, Mount Carrauntoohil at 2500 ft, Mount Graig Syfyrddin at 2250 ft and Beinn na Gainimh at 2150 ft are all one mile north west of the 2750 ft tall Eagles' Perch.

New Dublin, New Belfast, Waterford and Carickfurgus are all major west coast major ports and centers of the fishing industry. New Dublin, New Belfast and Wexford all have dockyards and ship building facilities. Waterford and Carickfurgus have a steal mill and coking works in them. New Dublin and New Belfast are the principle carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer, paint, mobile phone, wind turbine, smart phone, glass and plastics production center for the nation. The small commuter village of Croydon is 1.5 miles south west of New Dublin. The small commuter village of Wimbeldon is two miles south west of Carickfurgus.

The port of Wexford is comparibal to Waterford, but is on the east coast at the mouth of the River Dorcas.

Kerry, Bay Town and Safe Haven are all major fishing and shipbuilding cites on the south western bay. The 25 mile long and for the most part canalised River Freshwater runs in to the bay at Safe Haven. The Kerry hills lye just north of the bay and Dumfries is in the heart of them.

A major railway train factory, military ordnance, mining equipment, farming equipment and a football factory are in Wexford. New Dublin and New Belfast both have a modest motor vehicle, tram and arms industry.

The rural cities of Sligo are Dundalk are in the upper middle of the nation and major farming centers.

The small village of Flynn is in the far south east of the nation and ten miles south of it, is the small hamlet of Bainbridge. A paper mill and chemical works are located just south of Flynn. A small tin, zinc, copper and lead mine are located just outside Tara, Newry and Cardiff.

The village of Lifford is in the far north eastern coast on the border with Coastal Persia.

Most people live south of the River Dorcas and most of the far north is desert or Savannah, while the south is Mediterranean.

Counties

 * 1) New Dublin city
 * 2) New Belfast city
 * 3) Wexford city
 * 4) Waterford city
 * 5) Sligo city
 * 6) Dundalk city
 * 7) Derry city
 * 8) Carickfurgus city
 * 9) Dornochshire
 * 10) Flynnshire
 * 11) Middlandshire
 * 12) Croydonshire
 * 13) Northern
 * 14) Southern
 * 15) Central Valleys
 * 16) Safe Haven city
 * 17) Kerry city
 * 18) Bay Town city

Transport
The New Dublin-New Belfast conurbation has a tram system, several railway stations, a good park and ride bus service, many taxis and an orbital two lane ring road traffic releaf road system. There is a three-lane motorway and a four-track moderate capacity passenger railway connecting both New Dublin and New Belfast to Carickfurgus, Sligo, Dundalk, Dornoch, Flynn, Waterford, Kerry, Bay Town, Safe Haven Wexford and Derry. Most other places are linked by reasonable roads and have a reasonable bus and/or taxi service. A new railway line was built between Flynn, Dundalk, Cardiff and Dornoch 20 years ago

The railways, rural roads and the New Dublin-New Belfast trams have been upgraded and expanded in recent years.

Kerry, Bay Town, Safe Haven, Carickfurgus, New Dublin and New Belfast have international airports. All major settlements and remote Lifford have a hellyport.

Frequent and bussy ferries run to the outlying southern islands, who are mostly used by tourists and fruit platations.

Economy
The modest economy is a bit poor in the industrial sector, but technological stuff is mostly coming up to date. Things are now steady improving and long obsolete stuff is being removed.

The fiscal union with Yorkshire and Vermont was successfully dissolved 100 years ago and the Oileán Fada Punt is a stable and strong currency now.

Power stations

 * Coal- three closed and one open.
 * Oil- one closed and three open.
 * Hydro-electric- four open.
 * Nuclear- one
 * Biofuel- two open
 * Solar array- three open
 * Wind turbine- two open
 * Geo-thermal- one

Overseas territories
A few small polar islands and a small peninsula totaling 4000 square miles in area.

Education
Compulsory school age is six to 18.

The national college is the 1500 student Flynn/Briggs College in New Belfast. The national university is the 1500 student O'Higgins University in New Dublin.

Tax

 * 1) Income tax- rich 21.5%, middle earners 18.5% and poor people 10%.
 * 2) Stamp duty on selling houses- 2%.
 * 3) VAT- 13.25%.
 * 4) Alcohol duty- 7%.
 * 5) National insurance- 7%.
 * 6) Car sales tax- 2%.
 * 7) Corporation tax- 0.25%.
 * 8) Capital gains tax-0.5%
 * 9) Tobacco duty- 2%.
 * 10) Fuel duty (petrol, diesel and paraffin)- 2%.
 * 11) Local government tax 170 Punt a year.
 * 12) 1% Inheritance tax on all inherited wealth over 100,000 Punts in value.
 * 13) 1% excise duty.
 * 14) 2% customs duties.

Armed forces
Armed forces were created in 75, making them the first standing army on El Mundo. They currently number 234,545 (almost all are armed with either a pistol, sub-machine guns and/or a rifle) and are largely only meant to act as a domestic peacekeeping/civil defense force in time of crisis or invasion. There was a major ten-year materiel upgrade and personnel retaining program that ended in 2417, so it could be able to take on any overseas assault on the homeland and is ready to do so. The elite forces are the 2,500 man An Oileán Fada Fórsa Ionsaí Náisiúnta Ceilte (The Oileán Fada Covert National Attack Force (or the: OCNAF)).

Navy

 * 1) 40 anti-shipping missiles (akin to the OTL Exocet).
 * 2) 10 coastal patrol vessels.
 * 3) 6 patrol boats
 * 4) 5.corvettes.
 * 5) 5 mine hunters.
 * 6) 5 mine layers.
 * 7) 5 Maritime patrol aircraft
 * 8) 5 ASW helicopters
 * 9) 3 offshore patrol vessel.
 * 10) 3 coastal patrol submarines.
 * 11) 2 fishery protection vessels.
 * 12) 2 Destroyers
 * 13) 2 ocean-going patrol submarines
 * 14) 1 Otealth multi-role frigate (akin to the INS Shivalik)
 * 15) 1 guided missile frigate
 * 16) 1 Cruiser
 * 17) 1 Patrol Frigate
 * 18) 1 Escort frigate
 * 19) 1 Vittler supply ships
 * 20) 1 Oiler supply ships
 * 21) 1 ammunition supply ship
 * 22) 1 Amphibious assault ship
 * 23) 2 troop carrying helicopter
 * 24) 2 troops only landing craft
 * 25) 1 ASW helicopter
 * 26) 1 utility helicopter
 * 27) 1 tank only landing craft
 * 28) 1 light assault ship.
 * 29) 1 ASW helicopter
 * 30) 1 utility helicopter
 * 31) 1 troop carrying helicopter
 * 32) 1 troops only landing craft
 * 33) 1 tank only landing craft
 * 34) 1 radar picket ship.
 * 35) Carickfegus Navy Communications Station.
 * 36) Carickfegus Radar Posts I and II.
 * 37) Carickfurgus Navel Base.
 * 38) Lifford navy base.
 * 39) New Dublin Navel Base.
 * 40) New Belfast Navel Base.

Air force

 * 1) 50 cruse missiles equivalent to the Kh-59
 * 2) 50 air to air missiles like the OTL K-13 (missile),
 * 3) 20 missile AIM-9 Sidewinder missile are built.
 * 4) 20 interceptors.
 * 5) 15 VSTOL fighters (akin to the British Aerospace Sea Harrier).
 * 6) 11 cargo aircraft.
 * 7) 10 fighters akin to the OTL Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17.
 * 8) 10 short range bombers.
 * 9) 10 fighters akin to the OTL McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet.
 * 10) 10 troop transports.
 * 11) 10 trainers akin to the OTL Mikoyan MiG-AT
 * 12) 5 reconnaissance jets
 * 13) 5 fighter bombers akin to the OTL Sukhoi Su-17
 * 14) 5 maritime patrol aircraft.
 * 15) 7 ground attack aircraft.
 * 16) 3 spy plains like the IRL Boeing E-3 Sentry
 * 17) 2 attack helicopters akin to the OTL Apache
 * 18) 2 stealth fighters akin to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
 * 19) Derry Air Base
 * 20) Cardiff Air Base
 * 21) New Dublin Air Base.
 * 22) Carickfurgus Air Base.

Army

 * 3,250 field mortars.
 * 1) 110 FGM-148 Javelin like anti-tank missiles.
 * 2) 65 cargo trucks.
 * 3) 50 Jeeps.
 * 4) 40 non-amphibious APCs.
 * 5) 25 troop trucks.
 * 6) 25 non-amphibious armored cars.
 * 7) 25 anti-tank missiles (akin to the the M47 Dragon).
 * 8) 25 anti-tank missiles (comparable to the FGM-148 Javelin)
 * 9) 25 anti-tank missiles (comparable to the Type 01 LMAT.)
 * 10) 33 light tanks light tanks like the OTL M41 Walker Bulldog
 * 11) 20 shoulder launched SAM (akin to the AGM-176 Griffin)
 * 12) 10 SAM units equivalent to the Vityaz missile system
 * 13) 10 amphibious armored cars.
 * 14) 10 light artillery cannons.
 * 15) 10 O'Brian Class amphibious APCs. (akin to the BTR-80)
 * 16) 10 anti-tank artillery guns.
 * 17) 10 heavy tanks (akin to the T-54/55).
 * 18) 10 medium tanks.
 * 19) 10 armored recovery vehicles.
 * 20) 10 air defense units akin to the MIM-72 Chaparral air defense system.
 * 21) 5 main battle tanks like the OTL Leopard 1,
 * 22) 5 stealth light tanks akin to the OTL PL-01.
 * 23) 2 utility helicopters.
 * 24) 2 reconnaissance helicopters.
 * 25) 2 troop carrying helicopters.
 * 26) 2 Cargo carrying helicopters.
 * 27) New Belfast Army Camp.
 * 28) Fort Dornoch Army Camp.
 * 29) New Dublin Army Camp.
 * 30) Flynn Army Camp.
 * 31) Flynn training camp.
 * 32) Dornoch training camp.
 * 33) Dornoch ordinance depot.

Air Defenses

 * 1) 55 O'Higgins SAM missiles. (analogues to Starstreak)
 * 2) 50 Helix Class SAM (analogous to S-75 Dvina)
 * 3) 25 Teeth Class SAM (analogous to Bloodhound)
 * 4) 25 Grey Class SAM (analogous to Thunderbird)
 * 5) Five SAM units equivalent to the MIM-72 Chaparral air defece system
 * 6) 2 utility helicopters.
 * 7) 2 Cargo carrying helicopters.
 * 8) Derry SAM missile battery
 * 9) Fort Dornoch SAM missile battery
 * 10) Carickfergus SAM missile battery
 * 11) New Dublin SAM missile battery

Coastguard

 * 1) 4 utility helicopters.
 * 2) 2 Cargo carrying helicopters
 * 3) 2 Maratime patrole helicopters
 * 4) 2 coastal patrol vessel.
 * 5) 2 offshore patrol vessel.
 * 6) 2 maritime patrol aircraft.
 * 7) Carickfurgus Navy Base.
 * 8) Wexford Coastguard Base.
 * 9) Waterford Coastguard Base.
 * 10) Lifford Costguard base.
 * 11) Lifford training camp.

Law and order
Garda Síochána (meaning "the Guardian of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (or Garda or Gardi) number 160,000 full time and 25,000 part time officers.


 * 1) Crime rates are low out side of the drunken inner cities.
 * 2) Bail does not exist.
 * 3) Probation does not exist.
 * 4) Parole does not exist.
 * 5) Jails are harsh places and very difficult to get out of.
 * 6) Murderers are hung (they do have the right to a retrial to overturn the conviction if they can).
 * 7) Kids are corporeally punished at school (cane, belt, slipper, slapping with a open hand and/or a ruler)
 * 8) Waring hoodies is banned.
 * 9) Swearing and spiting at cops, judges, magistrates, priests and politicians are banned.
 * 10) Abortion is illegal unless the mother's life is at risk (we don't want to upset the Church).
 * 11) Homosexuality, bestiality, porn, buggery, pedos, bank/corporate fraud, drugs and gay/lesbian sex are all banned.
 * 12) Drinking alcohol or being publicly drunk outside of a car is banned between 01.00:00 and 09.00:00. Drunk driving is banned at any time.
 * 13) Torture of convicts is not officially sanctioned, since a size 11 Doc Martin type shoe can always slam them in the blocks before they are questioned (the classics always work on a stubborn suspect).
 * 14) There is a general freedom of faith, but Christians always get the best out of it and devil worship/black magic is banned.
 * 15) Anyone under 21 can't drink alcohol, can't vote, can't marry and can't get a driving licence.
 * 16) If any one kicks off in any of New Dublin's many pubs and off-licences, they are expected to calm down once the Gardi arrive or have a size 11 Doc Martin type shoe slam them in the blocks before they are nicked (the classics always work on a rowdy night).
 * 17) Drop-out teen culture, hippies, spoiled little brats, punks, kid'dults and misbehavior at school are vehemently juvanile delinqency discouraged.
 * 18) Bicker gangs are banned.
 * 19) parental neglect and  is vehemently discouraged.

Last five election results
All appropriate nationals over 18.

Media
Each major town and city has a analogue FM and a local digital FM radio service by law. Two digital FM station are in New Dublin and New Belfast. There are four national digital AM radio and four digital VHF colour TV channels.

Many family have video recorders, CD players and land line phones. 70% have mobile phones and 27.5% have smart phones. Fiber optic phone lines, 4G phones and broadband internet are commonplace throughout the land. 95% have the internet, of which 75% have Broadband internet.

Wifi Internet is mostly confined to the major coastal urban centers (principally the New Belfast-New Dublin conurbation, Carrickfurgus, Bay Town, Safe Haven and Kerry), libraries, colleges, university and schools. The Government, police (the Gardi/Garda), military, big business, etc, also use it for official information transfer such as tax returns and ordering supplies).

The national newspapers are the Oileán Fada National Journal and Oileán Fada Chronicle. All major urban settlements also have a local news paper.