Richard O'Donoghue warns US tariffs could cost Irish jobs
Richard O'Donoghue warned that tariffs due to be introduced by the United States could threaten jobs and investment in Ireland and asked what protections are available from Europe. He supported the Government's engagement with President Trump while urging Irish Americans to use their influence to protect jobs at home.
Tariffs and protections
He asked the minister what protections Europe can offer against US tariffs and warned these measures could lead to job losses and reduced investment. He referenced comments by Vance that labelled Ireland a "tax haven" and emphasised the need to safeguard the funds and employment generated by US companies.
Engagement with President Trump
He said the Government were right to meet President Trump and argued that all diplomatic avenues should remain open. He also said he is sending the message to America and urged Irish Americans, many descended from here, to voice support for protecting the country and its jobs.
Economic knock-on effects
He warned the knock-on effects of tariffs would reach transport, local businesses and wider supply chains, adding pressure to an economy already facing high inflation. He singled out rising house-building costs and said if unchecked the situation could head into a deep recession that would strain public resources needed to keep people fed.
Appeal to the minister
He called on the minister to take whatever steps are necessary to protect jobs and the monies that have come into the country, saying those funds have helped make the economy sustainable and must be defended amid spiralling costs and massive inflation.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Minister, the tariffs that are going to be introduced by America on our businesses here and across Europe. What protections have we got from Europe? What protections have we got from such a thing that is going to come down, could impact the loss of jobs, but also impact the loss of investment in this country? Vance had said that it was a tax haven for these companies. But from all the funds that we have got from these companies and all the jobs that we have got in these companies, it needs to be protected. But also from the point of view of how do we counteract the likes of President Trump and Vance. Now I do believe that the Government were right to go over to meet President Trump. I do believe that you have to keep all avenues opened. But the knock-on effect is not only going to be from those companies, the knock-on effect is going to be across transport, across local businesses, and also the cost of loss of jobs. At all times we have got to keep communications opened. And I am also sending this across the world to America. There are a lot of Irish Americans that are descended from here from here. They are living in America. And I am asking them also to voice their voice to protect where they came from and protect the jobs that are here. And that is a message I would like to send to President Trump to make sure that Irish Americans that have descended in there and are working within America and have built their lives in America, and have built America for what it is, that they should use that now in protection in the country where we come from. So Minister, whatever we have to do to protect these jobs, protect the monies that have come into this country, which has actually helped make our economy sustainable, in the time at the moment where we are seeing massive inflation as it is, where things are spiralling out of control. House building, everything is spiralling out of control. And if we are not very, very careful, we are heading into a deep recession where we will need all the funds possible to make sure that we can keep people fed in this country. Thank you.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
