Ireland is a small European country with a population of 4.7 million people – 2.2 million of which are currently in the workforce. Ireland is divided into 26 counties in the South and six counties in the North. Ireland was accepted as a member of the European Union (EU) in 1972 – the EU currently consists of 26 European countries. One of the EU institutions, the European Commission, exerts considerable influence on employment legislation, which impacts employee health and well-being in all EU nations.