Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

To continue from what I said earlier, if MAGA USA has a plan aside from Trump's ego and desire to exercise power, it could be that the tariff strategy is aimed at devaluing the dollar while also managing to retain it as the global reserve currency. I am not sure about that but it is a radical and risky strategy, if there is a strategy. It could equally be totally unintentional and be purely about reducing trade deficits and bringing jobs back, which is likely to happen quickly enough. However, if it is intentional and the dollar weakens too much, it could cause central banks around the world to diversify from holding dollars in their reserves. There could be a bit of bullying going on in the tariff bombast, trying to get a few countries to fall into line to suit US purposes, while ignoring others. Either way, Ireland needs to adapt.

I mentioned in my speech earlier today that it is likely there will continue to be a long-term shift towards a more isolationist stance in the US, irrespective of who is in the White House. Therefore, how we adapt will have real consequences for Ireland as a nation. It might not happen with one big drop-off in revenue or a sudden, catastrophic loss of jobs, but the trend will show in due course and we need to be ready. In my earlier contribution, I called for a special committee to be set up and I reiterate that. Input should be sought from various experts in their fields to help to formulate a paradigm shift in how we do business globally, albeit transitioning in an incremental way because we still have revenues coming in the old way. I also mentioned that it is a no-brainer to invest in and even borrow to achieve energy self-sufficiency.

I will now focus on diversification. The model of Ireland's dependence on a few operators in a handful of business sectors to generate a massive windfall has served us well. It has been criticised over many years but, in essence, we made hay while the sun was shining. Now we see the clouds and we still have an opportunity to diversify before the downpour. We should engage with sensible people in the US Administration who seek to mitigate the current policy. Many Republican Party elected representatives from export-dependent states might be worried right now. We need to hold up our noses and continue to keep channels open with the highest levels of the Trump Government. Of course, where that will go is another story. We also need to expand trade partnerships beyond traditional markets and develop existing ones outside the US and the equally risky China. There were some critics of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, but maybe we need to look at that great country as another English-speaking market with strong historical and cultural ties. Equally, I do not like the EU-Mercosur trade agreement but it might be forced upon us in some shape or form as part of the EU-wide trade agreement. We need to bite the bullet and come up with suggestions that will mutually benefit Irish and South American economies in a sustainable way.

From a food perspective, there is strong potential to sell to Middle Eastern countries that import most of their food. We also need to look at emerging Asian markets and examine meaningful and fair trade initiatives in Africa, our version of the Belt and Road initiative as part of an EU strategy perhaps but without the colonial hangover. We are in a good position as a European country because we were colonised. There is huge suspicion on the African continent about any European former colonial so-called masters coming in and trying to impose stuff. That is why there was openness towards China but, as with the Chinese, nothing comes for free. If we can get some kind of fair arrangement with Ireland at the forefront with our historical links to the religious orders, we should do so.

It is more complex than that. I am just talking a little bit off the top of my head here, but it is worth sticking all these ideas on the board because we need plenty of them. We need to provide practical supports to Irish jobs at risk and invest in our SMEs. I acknowledge that Enterprise Ireland has already built up a team to look at individual strategies for various companies. It is great to see. I could be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that up to 200 or 300 companies were being looked at in this context. We need to develop this approach in the longer term as we reorient for a more sustainable long-term pathway. By sustainable, I also mean in a climate-friendly way, using cutting-edge technology.

Last but not least, we need to invest in and develop our own innovations. We are years behind Scotland, Portugal and Denmark in terms of wave technology, as I said, but we can catch up and overtake those countries. Why can we not reorient and revitalise our potential as a data storage location by ensuring we have excess energy to export at all times and a back-up green hydrogen solution? Why can we not be at the forefront of green aerospace and shipping? We could be at the forefront of the revolution using electric cargo and electric short-haul planes, rather than letting other countries develop the technology. If not along with them, then maybe we could do this in partnership within the EU. In Weston in my constituency, for example, I heard there might be a trial of pilotless planes that have electric engines. Why can we not be the Irish version of Finland's Nokia, which was huge back in the day? Why can we not develop our own pharmaceutical capabilities and gain an intellectual advantage? Where are the next 20 great Irish inventions, for example? Perhaps we could even do what the Americans did during the Second World War and encourage some of the Irish Americans disillusioned with their fragile US democracy to come to Ireland and develop our own collaborative knowledge base within the EU. Out of every crisis comes an opportunity. Our current model will not end suddenly overnight, but it is unlikely to go back to the way it was before and so we need to start moving in new directions. Let us get some ideas together and try some strategies. Some might work, while others will not. We must collaborate. Let us think bigger.

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