Free import
• From another EU country: goods bought with duty and VAT paid there can be brought in without quantity limits, except for alcohol, tobacco and fuel. Alcohol and tobacco must be for your own use, carried by you, and you must be 17 or older and keep the receipts. These amounts are generally treated as personal use: 800 cigarettes, 400 cigarillos, 200 cigars, 1 kg of smoking tobacco, 10 L of spirits, 20 L of other drinks up to 22% alcohol (such as port or sherry), 90 L of wine (no more than 60 L sparkling) and 110 L of beer. If you bring in more tobacco than these amounts, the whole quantity can be seized and you may be prosecuted.
• Travelers arriving by road or rail from Northern Ireland are treated as travelers from within the EU.
• From a non-EU country (including Great Britain) or the Canary Islands: other goods for your own use or as gifts up to a combined value of EUR 430 per traveler aged 15 or older and EUR 215 per traveler under 15. If a single item is worth more than the allowance, duty and tax are charged on its full value. Duty-free goods bought when leaving Ireland count toward the allowance.
• From a non-EU country, for travelers aged 17 or older: 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250 g of smoking tobacco. The allowance can be split, for example 100 cigarettes and 50 cigarillos.
• From a non-EU country, for travelers aged 17 or older: 1 L of spirits or 2 L of other drinks up to 22% alcohol (such as port, sherry or sparkling wine), or a proportional mix, plus 4 L of still wine and 16 L of beer.
• Allowances apply only to goods you carry yourself for your own use or as gifts. They are personal and cannot be pooled with other members of your group. Travelers under 17 have no alcohol or tobacco allowance.
Currency
• Ireland's currency is the euro (EUR).
• Travelers entering or leaving the EU at an Irish airport or port with cash of EUR 10,000 or more (or the equivalent in other currencies) must declare it to Irish Customs. This applies to travel to and from Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, but not to Northern Ireland. Cash includes banknotes and coins, cheques, traveler's cheques, promissory notes and money orders without a named beneficiary, gold coins with at least 90% gold and gold bars, nuggets or clumps with at least 99.5% gold.
• Customs officers can search for, seize and hold cash of EUR 1,000 or more if they suspect it is linked to crime.
Prohibited
• Meat, milk and products made from them from non-EU countries, including Great Britain (limited exceptions, see Restricted)
• Live animals, including live insects, in luggage from non-EU countries, including Great Britain (pets traveling under pet travel rules excepted)
• Oral smokeless tobacco (such as snus)
• Illegal drugs
Restricted
• The following must be declared to a customs officer: domestic cats or dogs, certain foods (mainly meat, milk, fish and products made from them), products of endangered species, protected items of international heritage, medicines, firearms, weapons, fireworks and explosives, live or dead animals, fish, birds or plants, and indecent or obscene goods.
• Food from non-EU countries, including Great Britain: some processed products are allowed, such as bread, cakes and biscuits, chocolate and sweets, pasta and noodles without meat, packaged soup stocks, packaged food supplements and liqueurs. Under EU rules you may also bring up to 2 kg of powdered infant milk, infant food or special medical food and up to 2 kg of pet food needed for medical reasons (branded, unopened and not needing refrigeration), up to 20 kg of fishery products (or one fish, whichever weighs more) and up to 2 kg of other products without meat or milk, such as honey.
• Plants, fruit, vegetables, cut flowers, seeds, soil and timber from non-EU countries, including Great Britain, need a phytosanitary (plant health) certificate presented to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at the point of entry. Bananas, durians, dates, pineapples and coconuts are exempt.
• Pets (dogs, cats, ferrets) must meet EU pet travel rules: a microchip, a valid rabies vaccination and an EU pet passport or an animal health certificate. Dogs also need a tapeworm treatment given by a vet 1 to 5 days before arrival in Ireland. The pet must travel with you, or within five days of your trip with a person you authorize, and no more than 5 pets are allowed. Check the requirements for your country on www.pettravel.gov.ie.
• Pets from non-EU countries, including Great Britain, may enter only through Dublin Airport, Dublin Port, Cork Airport, Ringaskiddy Port (Cork), Shannon Airport or Rosslare Europort, after advance notice to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and a compliance check on arrival. Since 22 April 2026, EU pet passports held by residents of Great Britain are not accepted; they need an animal health certificate. Pet travel between Northern Ireland and Ireland is not affected.
• At Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports, travelers arriving directly from a non-EU country or the Canary Islands use the green channel if their goods are within the allowances and not restricted, and the red channel if they have more than the allowances, restricted goods or are in doubt. Passing through the green channel counts as a customs declaration; failing to declare goods is an offense.