Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)

Every day, the Taoiseach comes into this Chamber and answers a different question from the one he was actually asked. He is the king of deflection when it comes to these issues.

The reality is this issue is far too important. There are tens of thousands of Irish jobs at stake and the Government is at the back of the class when it comes to influencing the European Commission in terms of how it structures its retaliation to tariffs. Out of all the issues we discussed, we saw Simon Harris go to the European Commission last week and ask for a number of different things. All of them have been refused and, as a result, we are enormously exposed.

We are already exposed in regard how the Government has structured this economy. Ten international companies pay 50% of the corporation tax in this country. These international companies pay a third of all the taxes collected. Stephen Kinsella, who is an adviser to the Government, has said Ireland is the most exposed of any developed country in terms of the business model we are using.

What influence did the Taoiseach use to defend the whiskey sector? What influence did he use to defend the medtech sector?

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