There are no statutory regulations with regard to flying of the national flag.
A booklet entitled "An Bhratach Náisiúnta -The National Flag", contains guidelines for the public, including state institutions, in respect of flying the national flag. It is intended to be advisory rather than prescriptive and to facilitate the according of appropriate honour and respect to the national flag. A revised copy of the booklet was sent to all schools in the country and placed in the Houses of the Oireachtas Library on publication in 2001. It is available for sale from the Government publications sales office and can also be accessed on my Department's website.
The booklet advises on display, placing and precedence. It gives advice on the raising and lowering of the national flag, the times and occasions on which the flag is to be flown as well as practices to be avoided. There is no procedure for specifying approved or recognised locations or national institutions from which the flag is to be flown. However, all government Departments are asked to fly the national flag from buildings under their control on specific dates. In practice this has tended to be the Departments' headquarters and those subsidiary offices and regional centres equipped with flagpoles, which individual Departments deem appropriate.
In February of this year, the Department advised all Departments of the following occasions during 2004 on which the National Flag should be flown.
Dublin
1. St. Patrick's Day, 17 March.
2. Easter Sunday, 11 April, and Easter Monday, 12 April.
3. The National Day of Commemoration, 11 July.
4. The Dublin Horse Show, 4-8 August.
5. Dublin Theatre Festival, 27 September-9 October.
Outside Dublin
1. St. Patrick's Day, 17 March.
2. Easter Sunday, 11 April, and Easter Monday, 12 April.
3. The National Day of Commemoration, 11 July.
4. On the occasion of any significant local festivals and events.
The protocol for flying the national flag is intended to be applied in a common-sense way, adapted as necessary to suit local and individual situations and requirements. The underlying concern is that whenever the national flag is flown, it should be accorded due respect at all times.
