Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chair. It is time we stopped pretending that we were caught by surprise with these tariffs. Over the past year, it has been crystal clear that Donald Trump was on fast track to the White House and with him the threat of escalating trade tensions, protectionism and tariffs which could hit Ireland right between the eyes. What was this Government response? It was nothing - no planning, no urgency and a serious lack of leadership. It is the same sluggish, slow sloth-like reaction that we have seen time and again from this Government, hoping that the storm will pass rather than securing the roof. The reality is that Ireland is dangerously exposed. Our economy is built on export. Our ties with the United States are deep and our industries from pharma to tech, to dairy to cosmetics, are directly in the firing line.

Tariffs just will not dent the profits of companies, they will close companies and small businesses. They will gut the tax base which we rely on to fund our hospitals, schools and public services. This should have been front and centre of the Government policy for the past 12 months. Instead, we had two Ministers for Foreign Affairs in the past 12 months who have proven themselves - let us be blunt in this House - utterly ineffective on the global stage. This particular moment demands a strategic diplomat and a doer. Instead we have a TikToker press releasing machine posing and spinning but never delivering. Now we are playing catch up.

Let us be clear. The issue is not just across the Atlantic. The cracks are here at home. In fact, there are some chasms here at home. Our economy is too fragile and unbalanced and this Government has tried for years but has done nothing to fix it. What has it done? We are still over-reliant on foreign investment. Indigenous businesses are under pressure, over-regulated, over-red-taped and overtaxed. Energy prices are crushing our competitiveness at home whether the Government likes it or not. Infrastructure, such as housing and transport, is light years behind where it needs to be.

What we need right now is to wake up diplomatically. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste must stop hiding behind the grandiose statements of the European Union. We must be direct and forceful and use our contacts in Brussels and in Washington and we must use whatever influence we have left, and actually use it this time. We must protect our local businesses, our SMEs and our exporters. We must support them immediately, not fix this in six months and not announce something for them in the budget. We must do it now.

I commend the Minister, Deputy Burke, who yesterday brought in some emergency measures but they do not go far enough by any means. We need to cut costs for real and slash our energy costs, fix our planning delays and reduce the amount of red tape across this country. I believe we have far more red tape in this country than any of our European counterparts.

We must not just talk about competitiveness but we must actually fight for it in the new markets that are emerging. We must invest in resilience, housing, clean energy and public transport. These are not just side projects of Government but are the backbone of any stable economy, if history has taught us anything.

We need a government which needs to see the storm coming. We need a government that is strong from the outset, that sees the storm coming and gets to work, and not a government that stands there soaked and surprised when the rain starts.

Let me be direct to the Irish people watching this debate today and to the fellow Members. This Government had its time, it had its warning and it did nothing. The people of Ireland deserve better, better planning, better protection and better leadership. This is our economy, our jobs and our future and it should not be gambled away by a Government asleep at the wheel. We in Independent Ireland support this motion but, more importantly, we in Independent Ireland support a vision of Ireland that is prepared, ambitious and brave, not slow, not scared and not stuck.

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