I welcome this opportunity to brief the House on matters relating to international security and international trade. With the agreement of the House, I will share time with the Minister, Deputy Burke.
The two issues we are discussing are at the core of Ireland’s foreign relations at a time of great turbulence and change in the world. We are at a critical juncture in terms of the trajectory of the war in Ukraine. This is a defining moment for Ukraine but also for the security of our Continent. The US-led efforts to arrive at a ceasefire agreement, if accepted by both parties and followed by genuine negotiations for a just and lasting peace, would be a welcome step forward. Last month, when we gathered in this Chamber to commemorate the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, I reaffirmed Ireland’s continuing support for and solidarity with the people of Ukraine. That support remains as strong today as on day one of Russia’s war. If anything, recent developments have made clear now is the time to say more, do more and spend more to ensure Ukraine gets the supports it needs to defend its territory, engage in negotiations from a position of strength and guarantee its future security. If we do not do this, we will surely pay a much higher price down the line. Together with our EU partners, we are rising to this challenge.
Earlier this month, the Government approved a significant €100 million package of military support for Ukraine including non-lethal elements of air defence, anti-drone devices, IT provision and demining. We are working to deliver this support in a timely manner.
The Taoiseach met with President Zelenskyy and fellow EU leaders at a special European Council in Brussels on 6 March. The European Council will again today continue discussions on how Europe can urgently address Ukraine’s most pressing needs. Discussions have also taken place with non-EU European and like-minded partners. Across these engagements European leaders have made clear their unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. They also reaffirmed their common desire to see an end to Russia’s war and the restoration of peace in Ukraine. We all want this horrific war to end, but that is not enough; how we make peace matters too. Ireland and our European partners have been clear there can be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine. Equally, there can be nothing about Europe and European security without Europe. The EU and its member states collectively have provided more support to Ukraine than any other partner, so let us correct the misinformation about that. The EU and its member states have provided more support collectively to Ukraine than any other partner. Russia’s war directly threatens European security. There must be a European voice in any negotiations.
We need to see a comprehensive, just and lasting peace which upholds Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity based on the UN Charter and international law. Any such agreement needs to be accompanied by robust and credible security guarantees for Ukraine that contribute to deterring future Russian aggression. An important long-term guarantee we can offer to Ukraine is membership of the European Union. We in Ireland will continue to advocate at EU level for progress on Ukraine’s EU accession path. We will do so because the Ukrainian people have made clear their European choice and the Ukrainian government has demonstrated its commitment to the reform process. We will also do it because, for the European Union, EU enlargement has become a geostrategic imperative following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s expansionist ambitions and efforts to rewrite history highlight the clear need for continuing, ever-closer co-operation between the EU and our partners in the western Balkans and eastern partnership regions. Russia’s actions in Ukraine directly affect the security of our European partners, our Union and our island. How we respond will have far-reaching consequences. Our neutrality means we do not participate in military alliances, or common or mutual defence arrangements. That is what it means, and no more. We are not politically neutral. Regardless, partnership is at the heart of our international engagement. Ireland has always taken and always will take an active approach to global challenges and making significant contributions to international peace and security. We have done so with our international partners in the UN and in the EU. This country does not join military alliances, but we are certainly not neutral in a broader sense beyond military alliances in terms of the conflict in Ukraine. We have a long and proud tradition of contributing to international peacekeeping missions and supporting and sustaining peacebuilding efforts. We see ourselves firmly as part of the Euro-Atlantic area. We are committed to working closely with our fellow EU member states through the EU’s common security and defence policy to address the common challenges we face.
Not only is terrible conflict taking place as we speak in Europe, the fear of such conflict broadening to other parts of the continent is real. This fear is based on considered analysis of existing threats by our European partners. This analysis includes not only the experience of Ukraine in Europe but of recent hybrid attacks on EU countries. These include attacks on critical infrastructure like transport and energy, cyberattacks and electoral interference. These experiences cannot be taken lightly. Recognising this, the European Union is acting with greater decisiveness, ambition and speed to tackle these threats. Ireland must be a part of this process as we are part of the European Union, and as such threats are existential for the way in which we live our lives across the European Union. Ireland’s values and our commitment to the rules-based international order and multilateralism have not changed. However, these commitments, and our policy of military neutrality, do not inherently insulate us from the impacts of a rapidly changing and volatile international security environment.
The war in Ukraine is far from the only conflict impacting on wider security. We in Ireland are particularly conscious of the fragility and instability in the Middle East, most pressingly in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon. The Israeli strikes on Gaza this week must be utterly condemned by all and the ceasefire, however fragile, must be honoured so that there is an end to violence, all hostages released and humanitarian aid can flow at scale. We must see a permanent end to hostilities and a pathway to peace. We had seen a degree of fragile hope finally in Gaza. Hostages were being released, thankfully, and returned to their families. Aid was finally beginning to flow. There was an interesting and detailed plan in terms of the reconstruction of Gaza by Arab nations on which we wanted to engage. That fragile hope has been extinguished by the horrific actions of Israel in recent hours, most particularly in the past 48 hours, when so many civilians have been killed, including many children. We need to get back to the ceasefire as an urgent requirement, no matter how difficult it is.
The security of our people and country has to be one of the most important duties of any Government. I hope that is something on which all of us in the House can agree. Domestically, we in Ireland are advancing a range of measures to ensure the security of our country, to enhance our resilience to hybrid threats and to prepare to meet the challenges of the future. This includes the establishment of a national security council, a new national security strategy, a counter-disinformation strategy, a national maritime security strategy and measures to ensure the security and integrity of our elections.
We have all seen that vessels of interest, including those of the so-called Russian shadow fleet, are active across EU waters, including Ireland's. The Irish Naval Service and the Irish Air Corps continue to monitor all such vessels and exchange operational maritime information with EU and international partners regularly. Ireland is a member of the PESCO critical seabed infrastructure protection project and our individually tailored partnership programme with NATO has a focus on resilience, including the resilience of critical undersea infrastructure. These projects help us ensure maritime security.
We have seen significant increases in our defence spending in the past few years. This has allowed us to procure much-needed capabilities to provide for Ireland and the Irish people. The 2022 Commission on the Defence Forces report recommended significant changes for the Defence Forces and defence provision in Ireland. Following the commission, the defence budget is increasing from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion in 2022 prices, which is approximately €1.7 billion or €1.8 billion, by 2028. This will be the largest increase in defence funding in the history of our State. For 2025, the total allocation for defence is €1.35 billion, the highest ever level and a 22% increase since the commission met in 2022.
It is clear that no state acting alone can address the entirety of our existing and emerging security challenges. Therefore, Ireland has engaged constructively with the development of the EU white paper on the future of European defence, which was published only yesterday. We will now engage constructively on its implementation but I welcome the publication of the paper. Ireland very much sees value in member states of the European Union working together to mitigate some of the threats and challenges we collectively face. The white paper makes clear what we in the Government have been aware of for some time, namely, that Europe needs to invest more to protect itself. The white paper presents us with a unique opportunity to join with other EU member states to enhance our individual and collective preparedness and our capability across all areas of security and defence. The white paper provides a framework to achieve this through common projects with groups of member states joining together to procure equipment in order to meet particular needs. However, let me be clear. Projects will be opt-in and member states will be under no obligation to participate in any project. Ireland will only consider joining those in areas where capabilities and needs have been identified by our Defence Forces, for instance, in cybersecurity and protection of subsea cables and other critical infrastructure. Other member states may have wider interests but it has been made clear in the white paper that the position of all member states will be respected, including those that are militarily neutral, like Ireland. This is welcome because it allows all member states to participate in meeting the defence and security needs of their countries while respecting the military neutrality of some countries like Ireland. I look forward to progressing the white paper’s recommendations over the coming months. We will work together with our European partners to ensure the way ahead fully respects the security and defence policies of all states while addressing our critical and pressing capability gaps.
Ireland has similarly taken a constructive approach to the proposals outlined in President von der Leyen’s ReArm Europe initiative. It is a further opportunity for EU member states to demonstrate a credible and unified approach in taking responsibility for our own defence while also stepping up our collective efforts to support Ukraine in the short term and ensure its strategic autonomy to defend itself in the long term. The white paper additionally contains a chapter on assistance to Ukraine. I particularly welcome the fact that it will help to ensure Ukraine gets the support it needs to defend itself, including through its industrial base and collaborative procurement. Supporting Ukraine in this way is not simply a moral obligation. It is also a matter of our collective security because Ukraine’s security is Europe’s security.
I will now turn attention to the international trade developments of the past few weeks. In an executive order signed on 10 February, President Trump announced a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports from the European Union. The executive order highlighted the increasing levels of US imports of steel as its rationale for the imposition of tariffs. It asserts that exemptions and modifications to the tariffs since they were introduced during the first Trump administration have undermined national security objectives by preventing sustained production capacity utilisation of at least 80%. I regret that, despite the best efforts to avert their imposition, these tariffs came into effect on 12 March. On the very same day, in response to the imposition of these tariffs, the European Commission announced swift, firm and proportionate countermeasures on US imports into the EU, and work is ongoing regarding their preparation and implementation. In total, the EU countermeasures could apply to US goods exports worth up to €26 billion, matching the economic scope of the US tariffs.
We do not want to be in the space of tit-for-tat tariffs. It is not good for Europe, for Ireland, for the United States or for the global economy. The EU, and Ireland as part of the EU, remain ready and willing to work with the US Administration to find a negotiated solution. All disagreements have to end in agreement ultimately and we need to shorten the length of time of the disagreement and get quickly to the point of agreement. We in Europe, including Ireland, want to sit down and cut a deal with the United States that is good for both. Let me be clear on that because there is disinformation asking why Europe will not sit down and talk to the US. Europe stands ready today to have those intensive engagements. The above-mentioned measures can be reversed at any time should such a solution be found and that would be good for Ireland and for Europe.
I am aware that the US has responded to the EU announcement of countermeasures, specifically with regard to beverages and spirits. To date, it is important to say there have been no steps to give this legal effect but it is, of course, a serious and concerning development. I give my full support to the Commission in its negotiations with the US to use dialogue and the time available in the following weeks to see if the tariffs can be avoided. However, this will require the US to remove the tariffs it introduced last week. I remain in ongoing contact with European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič as he seeks to resolve the situation. Indeed, immediately after my contribution here, I will be engaging further with EU counterparts in sharing information and insight so we can work together.
I echo the calls from across the EU for the US to immediately revoke these tariffs and to avoid unnecessary trade escalation. The US tariffs, as they stand, will weaken transatlantic trade, damage supply chains, raise costs for US businesses and citizens, and fuel inflation in the United States. They are estimated to affect €26 billion of EU exports. This is approximately 5% of total EU exports to the US. It could result in US importers having to pay up to €6 billion more in additional import tariffs. I see no justification for this unilateral action. The US Administration can fulfil its aims when it views the EU as part of the solution and not part of the problem. Irish and European exports present no national security threat to the US. The EU and the US should instead co-operate with other like-minded partners to solve common challenges, such as global steel and aluminium overcapacity, which threatens the viability of the metal producing sectors on both sides of the Atlantic. That is where our focus should be.
Ireland will fully support the EU's response measures to protect the interests of European businesses, workers and consumers but we want to continue to support all efforts at dialogue. It makes sense to look at the strategic relevance of some of the items previously on the EU tariff list in the context of where we are now and we stand ready to engage actively with the Commission on that. I also encourage all sectors of industry and our economy to make their views known to the Commission through the consultation process. Tomorrow, I will convene the Government's trade forum to further consider and analyse this. It will bring together all Departments, relevant Ministers, including my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, all State agencies that are relevant and broader stakeholders, including business representative groups.
The programme for Government recognises the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape across the world. We promised to promote an ambitious agenda driving forward reform and advocating for our values. We have, and we will, continually do so as a priority. It is a message we continue to bring all across the world. Ireland is a small and open economy that promotes free trade policies as pillars to support economic growth. The evidence of the necessity for these policies is clear. No country in recent decades has sustained substantial increases in living standards without being open to the rest of the world. That is a stark factual statement. If you want to improve living standards, you have got to be open to the rest of the world. If we are to continue to sustain these standards, we have to uphold a system that is fair, functional and respects the rule of law. At the same time, it is always worth recalling the deep and strong bilateral relations between Ireland and the US, which the Minister, Deputy Burke, and I saw at first hand in the US this week.
This is a relationship we value. It is built on a rich foundation of ancestral ties and close economic, diplomatic and political links, including long-standing US bipartisan support for peace on this island. In the few days I spent in the iconic Irish American cities of Philadelphia and New York, I was so pleased to see a wealth of evidence that, in spite of certain headwinds and volatility at the present moment, the future of Ireland-US economic relationships is bright. In these most Irish American of cities, I saw exciting new Irish ventures expanding into America. In some of the most powerful private sector boardrooms, I encountered major American corporations with global reach whose commitment to Ireland is as resolute as it is ambitious.
I celebrated, honoured and worked to deepen our cultural bond, our people-to-people ties and political relationships as well as the remarkable and dynamic economic ties that now create so much prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic. Throughout I highlighted the strength of Ireland’s mutually beneficial two-way economic relationship with the United States. It is a little-known fact but we should shout from the rooftops that Ireland is the sixth largest source of foreign direct investment into the US. In 2023, Irish companies made investments in the US worth more than $351 billion. More than 200,000 people right across the US got out of bed this morning and went to work in Irish-owned companies - Irish owned companies present in all 50 states with more than 770 companies in total. Our overall economic relationship is valued at more than €1 trillion.
It is important to state that despite the challenging geopolitical landscape, our trading relationships remain resilient. Export growth has been strong for many years, with companies in Ireland diversifying and winning business worldwide. Ireland continues to maintain its excellent reputation as a world-class supplier of goods and services and companies have been successful in securing new business in markets around the world. As a small open economy, having unfettered access to global markets is a key component of our economic model. For Ireland, maintaining and growing our trade connections, including expanding the suite of EU free trade agreements and other trade-related agreements, such as digital trade and trade in critical raw materials, is a core objective for us. This can be achieved without undermining our key principles while securing the interests of key stakeholders, including in the agriculture sector.
As a globalised economy, it is vital we have the right structures to support the next phase of growth. That is why, as I said, we established our new Government forum on international trade to provide a forum to directly engage with key stakeholders and key decision-makers, including business, on the latest and emerging trade and investment developments. It will also serve as a forum to consider the opportunities to further build on Ireland’s strong trade performance and to navigate current and potential challenges. I chaired the inaugural meeting on 26 February 2025. We will have the second one, as I already referenced, tomorrow. I will flag to domestic stakeholders the need for them to continue to engage directly with the Commission public consultation process on tariffs. For the record of the House, I remind people that runs until 26 March. As the situation evolves over the weeks and months ahead, the forum will be important in listening to and engaging with key stakeholders but I also envisage it will have tangible outputs that will feed into and support the Government’s approach to successfully navigating the more challenging international trade environment.
We cannot reduce ourselves to just commentating on what happens in the US, this House, this country or the European Union. We must control what is within our control. We must address the competitiveness agenda. We must ensure we invest in our infrastructure, simplify regulation ad implement the Draghi and the Letta reports. During Ireland’s presidency of the European Union next year, these will be key areas of focus. Let us engage with our companies, European partners and the United States of America and control what is within our control in terms of competitiveness.
I want to finish as I began. Ireland is a militarily neutral country but we are not politically neutral in the face of the all too frequent breaches of international law we see across the world. Ireland is a country that stands for human rights, the promotion of democracy and the rules-based international order with the UN Charter at its core. This approach remains the core of our political perspective and must, even more so, remain at the core and indeed be amplified in these challenging times. I hope Dáil Éireann can continue to engage regularly on the current fraught international situation and the very difficult challenges Ireland and the EU face. Our partnership will be vital in the actions we take in response to protect our country’s interests and continuing to promote our values on the world stage.
