Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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18. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a list of the attendees at the Government Trade Forum, chaired by him on 28 April 2025; to provide a list of all those invited; to provide a list of attendees from meetings on 4 April, 21 March and 26 February; to provide copies of any documents, minutes or agendas circulated in advance of, or after, the four meetings to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22241/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As a small, highly globalised economy, it is of the utmost importance that we maintain a strategic focus on the international trading environment.

The Government's Trade Forum plays an important role facilitating direct engagement between Government Ministers and key stakeholders and experts as we shape the national, multifaceted response to the trade challenges facing the country and the business sector.

In line with transfer in responsibilities for trade policy to my Department in the Programme for Government, I chair the Forum.

My intention is for the Forum to meet regularly. We have already had four meetings of the Forum. The most recent meeting, on 28 April, included a focus on EU-US trade developments and market diversification plans. The meeting also presented the opportunity to update on my meeting with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington DC on 9 April. The Minister for Finance and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine updated the Forum on their visits to the US earlier this month. I also updated the Forum on latest developments with respect to EU-UK relations, ahead of the EU-UK Summit on 19 May.

As part of its work, the Forum is considering the opportunities and challenges across the entirety of Ireland’s trading relationships. A comprehensive work programme for the Forum is being elaborated in close consultation with the Forum members and is expected to be agreed shortly.

Membership of the Forum includes Ministers and senior officials from relevant departments, senior business and sectoral representatives, including from relevant business and other representative groups and organisations, and senior leadership from the state agencies.

The Forum is also engaging with key businesses and senior business leaders in relevant sectors, who will be invited to attend meetings of the Forum on a case-by-case basis depending on the sectors and regions involved.

The views of private sector stakeholders can assist the Government’s efforts to identify opportunities, navigate challenges and ensure Ireland’s competitiveness into the future. The Deputy will appreciate that participation of and information received from private sector stakeholders may be of a confidential and commercially sensitive nature and as such it will not always be possible to disclose the detail of these interactions beyond the Forum.

In response to the Deputies question, please see below attendance at the Government Trade Forum meeting on 28 April. It is intended that minutes for these meetings will be published online shortly

Government Trade Forum 28/4/2025 - Participation

Government Ministers

- Simon Harris TD, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (chair)

- Paschal Donohoe TD, Minister for Finance

- Jack Chambers TD, Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform

- Martin Heydon TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

- Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment

- James Lawless TD, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science

- Niamh Smyth TD, Minister of State, Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment

Department Officials / Government Advisors

- Joe Hackett, Secretary General; Colm Hayes, Director General; Maeve Von Heynitz, Director General; Robert O’ Driscoll, Director; Liam Morris, Director, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

- Brendan Gleeson, Secretary General; Sinéad McPhillips, Assistant Secretary, Deptartment of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

- David Moloney, Secretary General, Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform

- John McCarthy, Chief Economist, Department of Finance

- John Callinan, Secretary General, Helen Blake, Assistant Secretary, Department of the Taoiseach

- Ronnie Downes, Assistant Secretary, Brian Keegan, Special Advisor to Minister Burke, Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment

- David Keating, Principal Officer, Department of Further and Higher Education, Innovation, Research and Science

- Clare Mungovan, Special Advisor; Stephen Kinsella, Special Advisor; Conor Glynn, Special Advisor, Office of the Tánaiste

State Agencies

- Jim O’Toole, Chief Executive Officer, Bord Bia

- Kevin Sherry, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Ireland

- Michael Lohan, Chief Executive Officer, IDA Ireland

- Dr. Ciarán Seoighe, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Research Ireland

Representative Groups

- Danny McCoy, Chief Executive Officer; Pat Ivory, Director of EU & International Affairs; Eoghain Ó Faoláin, Director, Irish Medtech Association, Ibec

- Ian Talbot, Chief Executive, Chambers Ireland

- Paul Sweetman, Chief Executive Officer, American Chamber of Commerce Ireland

- Simon McKeever, Chief Executive Officer, Irish Exporters Association

- Neil McDonnell, Chief Executive, ISME

- Paul Lynam, Deputy Director General, British Irish Chamber of Commerce

- Greg Ennis, Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Deputy General Secretary, SIPTU)

- Tadgh Buckley, Director of Policy and Chief Economist, Irish Farmers’ Association

Apologies

- Alice Mansergh, Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Ireland.

- Thomas Byrne TD, Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade