We are a low tax economy.
Our income taxes and especially our social insurance rates are low. Take our employees PRSI rate of 4.5%, with allowances and exemptions. That compares to rates of 20-40% on the continent.
Yes, our excise rates tend to be higher, especially on tobacco and alcohol. But our excise duty on petrol and diesel is below average.
Also, our 21% VAT rate is not very much out of line:
Sweden/Denamark = 25%
France = 19.6%
UK = 17.5%
Germany = 16%
The overall amount of tax collected is under 30% of our GDP income, compared to the average of 40% of GDP across the EU.
I am not saying that this is a bad or good thing, nor the reasons why, I am just stating that we collect less tax overall than most other countries.