The main plank of the Government’s response to the threat of United States tariffs on Irish pharmaceuticals will remain “putting everything” into helping the EU get the best possible deal, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has said.
The Cabinet approved a proposal from Mr Burke setting out 16 immediate actions to be taken to improve competitiveness for Irish businesses including: early ratification of the controversial Ceta trade agreement with Canada; intensive exploration of new markets in Asia, the Middle East and Europe; reductions in regulatory burdens; and tapering back benefits promised to employees.
However, the Minister accepted that the main focus for him and his Government colleagues will be on negotiations to allay the threat of tariffs, especially on pharmaceutical exports worth €58 billion a year.
“We have to be honest,” said Mr Burke. “Tariffs are bad. They are a significant threat to our economic model. When you have a very open economy like ours, any imposition such as tariffs is not good, and we have to be very honest about that. That’s why we’re really putting everything we can into these negotiations,” he said.
He was speaking with Minister for Energy and Climate Change Darragh O’Brien outside Government Buildings shortly after the Cabinet meeting had concluded. Asked if Ireland was overexposed to the United States in terms of its international trade, Mr Burke said it was a “very important market” and he hoped to retain the majority, if not all, of Ireland’s market share there.
The Cabinet also approved a new action plan on competitiveness that Mr Burke will prepare by the summer. The 16 immediate actions will be implemented in the coming weeks, including measures to open up new markets in China, India, the Middle East and Europe as well as decisions that will affect the wages and conditions of workers.
One of those is an extension of the timeline to reach the living wage target. The Government has also announced it is not going ahead with increasing the amount of statutory sick leave for employees from five to seven days.
Asked if these measures were anti-worker, Mr Burke replied: “Absolutely not.” He said that the Government had consistently increased the minimum wage, brought in legislation to protect tips and banned zero-hours contracts.
“We have seen increases in the minimum wage of 29 per cent since 2022.”
However, he added it was important that wage growth was sustainable to protect the jobs in vulnerable sectors. He instanced retail and hospitality.
Mr O’Brien said the Cabinet meeting also agreed to quicker expansion of the energy network, especially in relation to the provision of offshore renewable energy. The target is that 5GW of energy will be provided by offshore turbines by 2030.
This policy will also apply to large energy users such as data centres, and the demands that will be posed by the increased use of AI technology.
“We need to ensure this country is open to those technologies, and that we continue to ensure that there’s a clear policy with regard to the location of data here in this country,” said Mr O’Brien.
“How can we grow that sector here in a sustainable way?”
Asked about the objection of comedian Tommy Tiernan to a proposed offshore energy farm on the Sceirde Rocks in Co Galway, Mr O’Brien said Ireland needed to be self-sufficient in its energy generation, and also be a net energy exporter. “I’m sure people, Tommy Tiernan and others, are very concerned about our climate also,” he said.
Mr Burke also confirmed that his proposals to introduce registration requirements for short-term lets, such as Airbnb and Booking.com properties, was approved by Cabinet. He said the sector, which was growing by 10 per cent each year, was not sustainable when it was unregulated.
The Minister said there was a housing need and the changes being announced were proportionate. “As a Government, it is a clear focus to ensure that we bring about 10,000 longer-term properties into the rental market,” he said. He pointed out that many more bed spaces were also being developed for hotels. “So it’s about a proportionate response to a very significant challenge that faces the country, and getting more data,” he said.
The register is scheduled to come into being in 2026, to coincide with a EU-wide register for short-term lets. The memo was originally earmarked to be discussed by Cabinet last week. A Government spokesman said no amendments were made to it. The only reason it was not discussed last week, he said, was because it was not on the agenda.
Mr Burke dismissed the suggestion that the new auto-enrolment scheme for people to begin pensions savings was being paused by the Government as part of this plan. He said the delays were caused solely by technical issues.
“Auto-enrolment has not been paused. We’re waiting for the systems to be ready. You will not see any significant delay. It’s important for workers to provide further future pension provision,” he said.
