Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)

Aontú has raised concerns about the economic threats of the tariffs for quite some time. An Aontú Private Members' Bill sought to urge the Government to take steps to mitigate the consequences of the tariffs. In response, Deputy Alan Dillon, the Minister of State with responsibility for enterprise, stated that there is no threat to Ireland as regards these tariffs. I warned at the time that this was very naive and dangerously complacent and I hoped it was not reflective of the Government across the board. Since then, there has been a narrative change. Recently, the Tánaiste stated that there is a major economic challenge, and the EU trade chief, Maroš Šefčovič, stated that it would be almost impossible for US-EU trade to continue under a 30% tariff. Will the Taoiseach outline in simple terms whether there is a contingency in place should these tariffs continue? What does this mean for the people of Ireland and what does it mean for counties like Mayo, which is so reliant on medtech and pharma, for example?

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