Overview:

• There is no formal recognition system in Ireland.

• The state privilege of the Catholic Church remains ambiguous.

• A semblance of recognition is achievable through a religious group’s application for tax-exempt status as a charity although this procedure is available to secular entities also.

• Partial recognition is in effect whereby no belief system or denomination has the opportunity to receive the same privileges as the Catholic Church.

Positive elements:

• The government broadly upholds freedom of religion or belief.

Recommendations:

• Establish a recognition system that can provide both existential recognition and legal registration simultaneously and at different levels of activity.

• To become dynamic, established a recognition agency that is independent of government to manage the newly established recognition system.