Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Byrne.

The comments from the Tánaiste this morning are most welcome. His tone and approach are very welcome. It is very important that we are not caught up with what a lot of media have been caught up with since the US presidential election and throughout the whole era of Trumpism, namely, the constant rhetoric about what Trump is doing today and what he might do tomorrow. There is a much wider political landscape in the US. We also cannot forget the friends we do have in the US and how our island is held within the US. I welcome the Tánaiste's tone this morning. Rather than battering the President of the United States, it is important that we now start using the arms of government, the arms of this House and the Lower House, to reach out to all of our friends in the United States and start a lobby.

Senator O'Reilly is right. The mid-term elections in the United States are not too far away. There will be a full election to the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate seats are up for election in November next year. Within that there is an opportunity. As politicians, we know, when one gets within a year of an election, the vision changes, and I have no doubt the vision will change as we move towards the end of this year in the United States, whereby it will be less about Trump and more about where the power will be come November 2026. That is where the opportunity to use our power lies, which is quiet negotiation and using our friendship to reach out to all the friends we have across all of the United States of America. We absolutely should not panic but we do have to take this very seriously. Our strength is in that negotiating power with our colleagues in the US. I am not one to jump to conclusions about how we need to support businesses. We know we are coming from a position of strength, but let us not jump to conclusions too quickly until we assess where we are at and where things are at.

It would be remiss of me if I were not to mention Northern Ireland. While there is so much going on in the world, with the added consequences of these tariffs, it is very important we do not lose focus on the relationships in Northern Ireland and, by extension, the east-west relationships. In particular, we should reflect on how those relationships have been damaged since Brexit was first mentioned and brought into the era post 2016. We still have a job to do rebuilding those relations. Moreover, great opportunity exists in Northern Ireland, particularly in the work of the shared island unit, including the different research that is going on and the collation of that work. Many in Northern Ireland are waiting to see where Ireland goes next with the shared island, how we try to tackle an all-island economy and make it better and, moreover, how we create a future for all people on this island, North and South, to move forward, recognising the North-South relationship but also recognising, for many, the east-west relationship. It is important that we do not lose focus on Northern Ireland, because it would be easy to lose focus given where things are. I am delighted with the opportunity to discuss this issue this morning. I am also delighted with the approach. It is important that there are calm heads and that we reach out with all arms, not just across the EU, but to the United States. That is using all mechanisms of these Houses. I am glad the shenanigans in the Lower House have stopped this week because committees are now so important when it comes to issues like this. It is important that we get the committees of the Houses operational and, where we can, use them to lobby in our interests and to look after all the interests of our businesspeople across the island.