The average consumer here isn't prepared to pay full price for a phone, like they do in France. Of course, to get their heavily subsidised Galaxy S7 for €100, they end up paying more for it over the contract period, but in general, that's what the Irish consumer wants.
You can buy any model SIM free (and full price, the cheapest I've seen the S7 for in online French stores is €515, it's €592 on French Amazon). You then get to choose a better value SIM-only plan. But if you choose to avail of a subsidised deal, then you know you're buying a locked phone that will be a pain to unlock should you choose to switch networks in the future.