Ireland has a lot to think about as voters head to the polls.

Ireland goes to the polls on November 29, with centre-right parties Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael expected to once again form the core of the next government.

The historic rivals have shared power with the Greens for the past five years, and recent opinion polls show the two parties reaching a peak as the election campaign enters its final stages.

Whoever leads the country after the vote will face unique economic challenges and opportunities. Ireland has a budget surplus due to its unique location as the European headquarters of major US technology and pharmaceutical companies, and the September ruling strengthened its balance sheet. The European Court of Justice ordered Apple to pay 13 billion euros ($13.7 billion) in back taxes to the country.

Meanwhile, there are concerns in Dublin that US President-elect Donald Trump will crack down on US companies that pay taxes in Ireland instead of the US.

Despite some difficulties for Fine Gael as the campaign winds down, the country’s two biggest parties are once again on track to form a government. The latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A poll, dated November 25, shows support for Fine Gael has fallen six points over the past two weeks to 19%, while support for Fianna Fáil is now at 21%.

The approval rating for the Republican Sinn Féin, which recorded a large vote share in the last general election, currently remains at 20%, while independent candidates are at 17%. Ireland uses proportional voting, and if no party can claim a majority in an election, a union is certain.

Nonetheless, it is unclear what policy changes Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael could expect, given the influence they might have on a potential government.

Housing is an important issue. The Central Bank of Ireland warned in a recent September report that Ireland’s “housing market has been undersupplied for more than a decade”, adding that soaring rents and house prices had increased affordability. The central bank forecasts that “around 52,000 new homes may be needed per year by mid-century, an increase of 20,000 compared to 2023 supply.”

Homelessness has reached record levels across the country, particularly in Dublin, with almost 15,000 people in emergency camps in September, of whom 4,561 were children, according to official figures.

Despite concerns about a shortage of housing supply, TU Dublin economist Emma Howard wrote in an email to CNBC that Ireland is “the only English-speaking country with access to the European single market and has a relatively younger and better-educated workforce than its European counterparts.” There are a lot.”

The good news is that more than a decade after the government applied for a bailout from the IMF, the European Central Bank and the European Commission, the country’s finances are on solid footing. It has recorded budget surpluses for the past two years, and in September Finance Minister Jack Chambers said he expected a surplus of up to 24 billion euros this year following the ECJ ruling.

A further boost came in mid-November when S&P Global Ratings upgraded its outlook for Ireland to positive from stable. It added that the rating could potentially be revised to AAA, the agency’s highest rating, if Dublin “continues to rebuild its economic and fiscal cushions”.

Nonetheless, the report included a warning to authorities that 10 foreign-owned multinationals are responsible for half of the country’s corporate tax receipts in 2023.

But Howard said: “Once the ‘windfall’ corporate tax is removed, the proportion of government revenue that does not come from domestic economic activity would effectively result in a budget deficit for Ireland, which would amount to a €50 billion deficit over the 2024-2030 period when combined with current spending plans.”

Many of these are American companies, which is where clouds may appear on the horizon for those countries.

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has raised concerns around the world as the president-elect begins to implement his ‘America First’ policies.

It could also threaten Ireland’s status as a tax favorite for U.S. companies, as Dublin’s corporate tax rates are currently among the lowest in the entire eurozone. Already the new Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, took a shot across the bow last October targeting Ireland’s trade surplus with the United States. Lutnick threatened to end what he described as “this nonsense.”

CEO Cantor Fitzgerald will also have “additional direct responsibility” for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative under the incoming administration. President-elect Trump has had business ties with Ireland since 2014, including owning a golf course on the west coast of Ireland. He previously used the resort as a base when visiting Ireland during his first term as president.