French President Emmanuel Macron is in Ireland for his first official state visit to the country.

       On Thursday, Macron will be stopping off at áras an Uachtaráin, the residency of the president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, before meeting with Irish Prime Minister, Micheal Martin for a working lunch.

       According to an Irish government statement, their meeting will focus on current EU and international issues, COVID-19 and Irish-French relations.

       Ireland, Hungary and Estonia opt out of OECD tax deal and cast shadow over EU's unified position

       Firmly on the agenda will be the Northern Ireland protocol at the current state of the Common Agricultural Policy, the position in relation to Afghanistan and the very sensitive issue of Ireland's corporate tax rate.

       Recently, the OECD agreed to a 15 percent rate right across the developed world. However, Ireland is very determined to hang on to its 12.5 percent, an issue that has caused some friction between France and Ireland in the past.

       Three French ministers accompanying the president will hold bilateral meetings with their Irish counterparts.