Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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144. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 193 of 10 June 2025, when the forthcoming action plan on market diversification, which is being developed jointly by his Department and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, will be published; and if further clarification will be provided on the specific steps that might be taken to protect the pharmaceutical industry should US tariffs be increased on pharmaceutical products from the EU. [32248/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Government Trade Forum, established in February 2025 and chaired by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, comprises relevant Government Ministers, State Agencies, business organisations, trade union and other representative groups and was set up to facilitate engagement with key domestic stakeholders on latest and emerging trade developments and opportunities.

A clear message from discussions at the Government Trade Forum is the need for greater diversification in our export markets. This is in line with the commitments in the Programme for Government to further support enterprise over the lifetime of this Government.

To that end, the Government has agreed that the Departments of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and Foreign Affairs and Trade will jointly develop an Action Plan on Market Diversification. The Action Plan provides an opportunity now for new ambition in our approach to market diversification.

The Action Plan will provide a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to enhance Ireland’s economic and trading relationships with new and emerging markets. It will also consider actions which can be taken in established markets where there is value to be maintained and potentially more value available.

Effective delivery will require concerted action across the whole of government and engagement with other key stakeholders including those in the Government Trade Forum, State Agencies and business representatives.

The draft Plan is well advanced and further consultations with Government Departments and stakeholders are ongoing, with a view to bringing the final Action Plan on Market Diversification to Cabinet in the coming weeks.

Ireland has a vibrant pharmaceutical and life sciences sector employing over 50,000 people in indigenous and multinational companies. The success of this sector is underpinned by R&D capacity, outstanding regulatory compliance, a strong and high efficient manufacturing capability and a business friendly ecosystem with access to the EU Single Market.

The Government is committed to continued ongoing engagement with Ireland’s pharmaceutical and life sciences sector. They have engaged directly with the Government Trade Forum and I have also met the sector recently to discuss recent trade developments, including implications of potential tariff decisions by other Countries. We are also pursuing these issues at EU level with the European Commission who lead on the direct engagement with the US on current trade issues.