Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2025-04-03
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Pearse Doherty (SF), Donegal

I understand that the North-South Ministerial Council is awaiting confirmation from the Government. This is important because there will be cross-cutting in terms of agriculture, finance, the economy and jobs. We need the type of all-Ireland approach that we saw during the Brexit negotiations in a very clear and effective way.
I agree with the Tánaiste's points about Trump and about the fact that Europe did not bring this upon itself. I am glad Europe has not gone with immediate counter-tariffs, but we need to be very careful in the context of the impact of any countermeasures. We know that countermeasures will increase prices for Irish consumers.
That is something that should not be tolerated in these circumstances. It will risk jobs and the public finances. The real question is: will countermeasures bring Trump to the negotiation table? We need cool heads, negotiation and calm. During the first Trump Presidency, there were countermeasures and it did not result in his tariffs being reduced.
Is there discussion on non-tariff measures at an EU level? Is that in the sight lines of Europe? There is a big impact and a big risk for Ireland if it focuses on tariffs.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-04-03/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:53:41+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-04-03