Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

We welcome this motion and thank our colleagues in Aontú for putting it forward. We welcome the opportunity this morning and later today to speak on tariffs. We urged that this time be made available so that we can discuss this crisis. We in the Social Democrats share deep concerns about the impact of these tariffs on Irish jobs, the economy and consumers. These concerns are shared across the globe because so many people will be impacted by them. In particular, I want to mention the news we woke up to this morning that pharma, as we had suspected, is going to be in President Trump's crosshairs. I want to speak to the people who have jobs in the sector and who are surely enduring incredible anxiety now as to what the impact will be for them. We anticipate that the tech sector may also be caught up in this. I urge that we do everything in our power to prevent this from happening.

I will speak on the motion on three levels; the domestic, European and global contexts. I have found it really disheartening that, over the past few days, Government spokespersons have essentially ruled out the types of supports we think are crucial for maintaining the connection between employer and employee. We have heard from the Minister for Finance and from the Taoiseach that the supports will not be made available. However, other spokespersons seem to have had a softer approach to it. I want to be clear that nobody from the Social Democrats is suggesting that we need to see the same scale of supports that were provided throughout the Covid pandemic. However, we learned from the Covid pandemic how important and positive it was to maintain that link between employer and employee. We believe that we can see a similar approach taken when we know exactly what sectors will be affected and how they will be affected. Then, we can provide those supports on a sectoral level so that those jobs can be maintained and so that our wonderful indigenous Irish businesses can be supported to pursue supply chains and markets which might replace those they have lost because of these tariffs. This will help them, in a transition period, to diversify their operations and offerings and to reposition themselves into a more tenable position. We believe that those supports can and should be provided. I also urge the Government to look at the Kurzarbeit programme from Germany. This was heralded by the OECD as an incredible programme. I think it can be used as a potential model for our approach.

We also need to be careful about not ruling things out. Prior to these announcements, the Minister for Finance said that there will not be the same cost-of-living measures in this year's budget. As a party, we have been critical that over the last few years, the cost-of-living measures which were introduced as a response to inflation were not targeted enough. However, they have become something that people rely on. This is not the time to remove them. We urge that they become more targeted measures. For those Irish consumers who will face into increasing danger of poverty, cost-of-living measures have to be considered in the coming months in the run-up to the budget.

The economic emphasis of the country also has to be addressed. I refer to the surplus we have seen over the last number of years. Unfortunately, there has not been the investment in infrastructure and housing that we would have hoped for. It is the case that many multinationals face not only the barriers from Trump, but the existing barriers. We need to know that they can support their workers with the public services and housing that they would expect.

During the Brexit crisis there was great analysis across the Civil Service in terms of preparedness for the economic impact it was going to bring about. That can now be re-enlivened and reimagined for this crisis. I commend the work that has been done in that area and suggest that we double down on it in the new context.

On a domestic level, I want to speak about the danger of the differential tariff we have seen across the Border. It is crucial that we take into consideration any potential impacts that differences in tariffs and export and import measures will mean for peace and stability on this island. This threat cannot be underestimated. We saw this threat during Brexit. The Windsor Framework is delicately holding that together but is now under further threat. We need to also exploit it, as it can be a potential economic gain for companies here.

Most of what will be done in terms of negotiation will happen at EU level. We welcome the engagement that the Government has committed to over the past few weeks and in the weeks to come, to represent Ireland's interests at EU level and to make sure that we punch above our weight in terms of how our different sectors that may be impacted will be represented. Most importantly, escalation needs to be prevented and we need to be prevented from being dragged into further tit-for-tat and retaliation.

We also urge Ministers representing Ireland at EU level to seek partners in the pharma sector that will be similarly impacted by today's announcement, such as Denmark, Belgium and Germany, to see how we can collaborate with them to ensure that our joint interests carry additional weight. We also need to make sure to look at every avenue in which the European Union can offer alternative markets and supply chains that businesses will need during this crisis. Most importantly, Trump will win if he fragments the EU by pushing disunity. It is crucial that we promote unity among member states over the coming weeks, because that is a danger.

One more thing on the EU level is to suggest that the EU reignites its EU globalisation adjustment fund. We believe it is the perfect mechanism at this time to address the dangers that businesses are facing.

Regarding the global context, we welcome that the Tánaiste is travelling to the US at the moment to engage with key US Administration figures to pursue Irish interests and represent them in that forum. Although the motion does speak about the footprint that needs to be increased in those different arenas in the US, it does not mention the Democrats. I urge the Government to look strengthen our alliance with the Democrats in the US, because the domestic context has to be recognised. Trump is a megalomaniac and anything that can potentially affect him will probably come from the disturbances we are seeing at domestic level, because this is not all that he is doing. The tariff war is not the only action he is taking. He is laying off massive numbers of people in the public sector in the US, through the DOGE cuts. He has cut US aid, which is having massive impacts globally. In many ways, we are seeing a response to this in the US. We have to take that into consideration in how it will affect the potential for the roll-out of these tariffs.

It is crucial at global level that we prevent a race to the bottom. Trump has also indicated that it is not just tariffs he is after, but trade barriers as well. He is complaining that markets are not willing to import US goods because of other reasons, for example, chlorinated chicken or lower standard beef, and so on. We have to make sure that there is not any dismantling of the standards that we uphold in the European Union and the Irish market. This protects consumers and maintains a quality for consumers that they can rely on. At global level we also have to look at other partners.

We could potentially take a co-ordinated approach beyond the EU, if we try to partner with Asian countries, Canada, Mexico and so on. For example, we could identify a widget in the supply chain of a key sector in the US and look at how we could jointly bring about an increased impact. That is something I would like the EU to pursue.

The Social Democrats support the open economy Ireland has enjoyed and we recognise the threat that the tariffs bring to it. We must ensure we do not use them as a mask to once again pursue austerity measures. It is sinister to see that potentially emerging in recent days in the context of employment rights and other issues. This seems to be an attempt not to waste a good crisis. That cannot happen. We must hold strong, uphold our standards and make sure we protect consumers and businesses in the best way possible through the supports I mentioned at the outset.

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