Trade Relations
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-09
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

The Deputy is very much right. That is the reason we set up the Government trade forum. We have in the room now all relevant Departments, including mine, along with the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, public expenditure, agriculture and enterprise. We also have the IDA and Enterprise Ireland meeting ISME, Chambers Ireland, IBEC, the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland and all the various agencies so we can continue to hear from the front line exactly what challenges they face.
We continue to see an economy that is growing despite the tariffs. We continue to see a significant amount of what we export being exempt from the tariffs but it is why we have taken a number of decisions to try to support Irish businesses and SMEs. It is why we took the decision on the VAT rate on hospitality. It was not popular with everybody in this House but it makes a real difference in supporting cafés, restaurants, hotels serving food and the rural pub. It is also why, through the NDP, we are investing significantly in the infrastructure our towns, villages and cities need to remain competitive. We also published an action plan on market diversification with supports available through Enterprise Ireland.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:26+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-09