This special issue of European Taxation is devoted to the subject of direct tax provisions in the laws of the Member States of the European Union that may be possible infringements of the fundamental freedoms in EC law. Country reports by various contributors focus on the following rights in the EC Treaty: specific freedoms (freedom of movement of workers, freedom of establishment, freedom to provide services, freedom of movement of capital and payments), and general freedoms (general prohibition on discrimination on grounds of nationality or origin; and general right of all EU citizens to freedom of movement and residence within the territory of the Member States. In this Irish contribution the author focuses on three of the four specific freedoms : the freedom of movement of workers, the freedom of establishment and the freedom of movement of capital and payments.