Trade uncertainty amid Trump tariff confusion already affecting economic growth – Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe
However, he added the Government has a “very clear plan” in response to this issue.Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Today with Claire Byrne, Mr Donohoe said: “Unfortunately, the trade uncertainty that we are now seeing is having an effect already on economic growth and is having an effect on sentiment regarding investment and how economies will grow in the future.”"Thankfully, our economy continues to perform well, and the Government has a very clear plan in place regarding how we respond back to this risk.”Today's News in 90 seconds - Thursday, May 1 The Minister said the Government has outlined three “major projects” to respond to the trade uncertainty, such as trade negotiations conducted by the European Union Commission and the review of the National Development Plan.He also said Enterprise Ireland is currently engaging with employers and firms and looking at how they can assist them.“The level of any kind of intervention back from the Government to this difficulty is different to where we have been in the past,” he said."Because it will be about helping companies diversify, it will be about helping them find new markets, and most importantly, when we're still in a period of negotiation, is influencing the common stance of the European Union on this issue, which we are actively doing.”Mr Donohoe added he “would love to see” the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the US President Donald Trump meet, however, it is “critical” that the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, is in regular contact with his counterpart.“Given that this is a negotiation, I am still of the view that it's best that it happened in a private way, that we allow the negotiation to continue and, I hope, conclude."It's really up to the US at any point if they want to be more specific about what they want, the European Union has been really clear.”The Minister said he has been hearing from multinational companies “a very positive and broad recognition of their global business and global supply chains”.“Given the political focus on this issue within the US, companies are going to be carefully considering investment decisions that they will make.“If they want to prosper and grow within the European Union, it is important therefore they have a presence within the European Union, that is understood.“Ireland and the EU can offer such clarity regarding how we can tax you, what our trade policy will be, how we will support innovation, and that, I believe, matters to their long-term success,” he added.He also defended the creation of the Strategic Housing Activation Office, describing it as a “very good idea” that he “wants to see happen”.“We have seen over 130,000 new homes built in our country between 2020 and 2024, but I and the Government know we need to do better, and the creation of this office is one of the ways in which that can be done.“What will now happen, conscious of the public discussion on it, is that the Government will make a decision on this matter, but focusing on what is the office and what then is the process for leading to the appointment of the person.”He added he “doesn't know at the moment yet” if Nama boss Brendan McDonagh is the “preferred candidate” for the controversial €430,000 job, adding that “the decision has to be made”.Mr Donohoe said the Minister for Housing, James Browne, is doing an “excellent job” and disagreed that the trust has been broken between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, adding there’s “an excellent working relationship between all the participants in this Government”."We are united, as I said, in believing that the creation of this office can make a big difference. We had an excellent discussion about this in Cabinet on Tuesday.“We know the progress [on housing] that we are making did slow down, and we have to look at new ideas for accelerating that progress."When asked about the “housing tsar” controversy and the proposed salary of €430,000, he said he is “mindful of the public concern about this” but also “equally mindful of the public need for us to build far more homes”."I believe the creation of this office is an important ingredient in doing that, and we will get that right. Both parties in government are united in wanting to make that happen.”Speaking about RTÉ’s write-down of €3.6m on a partly failed IT project, he described it as a “further big disappointment on two different levels”.“Firstly, it should be made clear at the point of time in which the issue occurred."Secondly, millions of euro for any of us, are still huge amounts of money, and particularly when they're invested in projects that don't actually then happen in the way that was intended,” he added.
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