Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

2. To ask the Minister for Finance the mitigation measures his Department will implement given the recent ESRI working paper on the impact of deglobalisation and protectionism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16440/25]

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Given the very serious announcements last night, what mitigation measures are going to be put in place?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The response the Government will put in place has three different levels. First is the engagement we will have with the institutions of the European Union and other governments in the EU to look at what the response should be. We believe any response should be proportionate and needs to create the incentives and environment within which negotiation can take place. Second, through IDA Ireland, we will engage with companies that will be affected by what has happened. It is important to be open and to continue to be honest by saying that what we need to do now is to focus our efforts on how we can identify new markets. We must also look at how we can engage and support our companies in engaging with other trading partners with a view to increasing trade and investment. Third, as we take those two steps, we will have to examine whether there is an opportunity for us to engage with the United States of America through the EU in all this. I hope and believe such an opportunity will develop.

The measures put in place by President Trump will not only affect the economy of the world, they will also have a significant effect on the economy of America. The President of the European Commission has been very clear in outlining that we want to negotiate and see if we can find a scenario in which jobs and incomes are not further affected and the progress we have made with inflation will not be jeopardised. Those are the three different layers of our response, namely engagement with the EU, engagement with companies here in Ireland that are going to be affected and then, I hope, an opportunity for negotiation develop with the United States.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I agree that the priority must be to minimise the damage. A major amount of work will have to be done on that. In respect of support measures for impacted workers and sectors, will anything be done domestically? Will anything be done at EU level? I previously suggested that the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund should be repurposed to support specific sectors during this crisis.

In the context of the differential in tariffs between the UK and the EU, of 10% and 20%, respectively, has modelling been done on the potential impacts of this and on the issues that could arise in terms of the effect on cross-Border trade? Is that a particular risk that Ireland faces? What are the Minister's views on that? What can be done about it?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy referred to three issues. First, the impact on our economy of the response to what has happened in the US was modelled in the paper published by the Department of Finance and the ESRI.

The response of the EU to this will become clearer in the time ahead and we will aim to influence that and, of course, be part of it.

Second, the Deputy is correct; the issue of the implication of all of this across trade flows on our island is an important matter. The Government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will now have to engage closely with colleagues in the Government of the United Kingdom and obviously within the Northern Ireland Executive as well to look at how we can understand and deal with this issue.

Finally, in terms of how we then deal with the issue of supports for companies that are affected, tomorrow, the Tánaiste has convened a trade forum where the different representative bodies of the employers that are affected by this will be present. We will look, through the Industrial Development Authority, IDA, and Enterprise Ireland, EI, at what response can be put in place but our first priority at the moment is to look at negotiation and see whether we can avoid the worst becoming permanent.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

With regard to the EU response, I agree that it needs to be level-headed, and that negotiation is the way to go. I also accept as part of that there is the potential for further actions by the EU. It is not realistic to think that that will not be on the table if negotiations do not work. There is a particular risk for Ireland in terms of the differential trade tariffs between the EU and the UK. We could have a scenario where the EU is taking retaliatory action and the UK is not, which could make that gap even more severe. Is that particular issue being worked on in terms of our interactions with the EU and how that could affect Ireland more than other EU member states?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Again, that is an important point. Every country is affected in different ways by the changes that have happened. However, there is a particular uniqueness to what it could mean due to the vital arrangements and agreements that are in place to recognise and protect the all-island economy in the context of dealing with Brexit. We understood this was a risk. It is one that has already been raised with the European Commission. It is an issue, of course, on which we will have to engage very closely with our colleagues in the Northern Ireland Executive.

At this point in time, given the announcements are only a few hours old, I am sure the Deputy will appreciate it is not possible for us to go into the detail quite yet of how we will deal with this, but it is an extremely important issue that is important to acknowledge here today. In terms of the response from the European Union to this, clearly, none of us wants to be in this position. There is a clear consensus from contributions so far regarding the need to negotiate and see whether we can get an agreement to lead us away from the precipice we are now on. It is not clear to me, however, that we will get to that point unless we indicate how the EU would be willing to respond from a trade point of view. However, the European Commission, correctly, is going to take time to engage with member states of the EU on this but stressing that negotiation is our preference.