Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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57. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when the next meeting of the Government Trade Forum will take place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66632/25]

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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61. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if she will report on the work of the Government trade forum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66429/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 57 and 61 together.

I propose to take the questions put by Deputies McCormack and O'Connor on the Government Trade Forum together.

Since its establishment in February, the Forum has become an important strategic vehicle for engagement with key stakeholders on trade issues, including across Government, business organisations, trade unions and other representative groups.

Discussions at the trade forum have helped shape the national, multifaceted response to the trade challenges facing the country and the business sector.

The Government Trade Forum has also focused on the opportunities to further build on Ireland’s strong trade performance, considering the entirety of Ireland’s trading relationships, including for example opportunities arising from EU trade agreements, and consideration of how best to advance Ireland’s economic interests with our largest bilateral trading partners.

The Forum has met on nine occasions and has already shown its value, playing an important role in the Government’s response to emerging trade developments and opportunities. It has also enabled dialogue and information-exchange, through engaging with businesses from strategically important sectors of the economy, including pharmaceuticals, med-tech, semiconductors, aviation, agrifood and international financial services. The minutes of each Forum meeting are published and available online on ireland.ie.

In addition to addressing ongoing trade issues, the Forum takes a longer term-strategic view on trade issues. The Forum’s work programme is guided by a Work Plan for 2025, which is also available at ireland.ie. My Department is currently preparing a Work Plan for 2026 for consideration by the Forum members. A key focus for next year will be monitoring implementation of the Action Plan on Market Diversification, published by Government in August, which includes a range of actions by Government Departments and State agencies, with the objective of supporting businesses in their market diversification ambitions. I would propose that we will also continue with the high-level sectoral engagements.

I very much look forward to taking on the role as Chair in my capacity as Minister with responsibility for trade policy and I plan to convene a meeting of the Forum in the coming weeks and confirm dates for a series of further meetings for 2026.