Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy's initial comments are spot on. If we can restore and improve the EU-US trading relationship, deal with some of the issues around steel and aviation and so on and get on with building a stronger trading relationship, then one of the countries that will benefit from that most is, of course, our country, Ireland. That is because of our strong trading links with the US and our political position as a country at the heart of the European Union and close to America.

At the meeting there was not much focus on trade relations with other third countries like Australia, New Zealand, Singapore or Malaysia. Progress is being made but it is pretty slow. Talks are under way with Australia and New Zealand. There are sensitivities because these are big agricultural economies. There are real sensitivities about opening up European markets to agricultural imports for reasons the Deputy will understand. There are also environmental concerns relating to Australia. We very much support trade and investment agreements with those countries if they can be made.

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