North-South Ministerial Council should meet to protect all-Ireland economy - Murphy

Seanodóir Murphy, who previously served as the Economy Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive, added that he has engaged extensively with Northern Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald, and he said that a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council should be convened without delay.

He added that the experience of Brexit showed that a close working relationship between the Irish government, the Northern Executive and the European Union was critical to navigating times of economic turbulence.

Seanadóir Murphy said:

“A trade war helps nobody. The immediate focus now for the Irish government and the Northern Executive is that both institutions work collaboratively to protect jobs and businesses across the island, and that we protect the all-Ireland economy.

“Businesses right across the island will be deeply concerned about the introduction of tariffs by US President Donald Trump and all the uncertainty that they will bring.

“I have engaged extensively with Northern Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald in recent days, and we both recognise the increased post-Brexit complexities on this island, and these are complexities that need to be understood by the Irish government.

“The likelihood of increasing designation of goods at risk and the complex and uncertain reimbursement procedures that might be involved is a significant concern to businesses, particularly at a time when the economy here, north and south, has been outperforming the British economy with higher growth rates and higher export performances.

“I know from my experience as Finance Minister and as Economy Minister during the testing times of Brexit uncertainty, in particular the approach of the British government which could have had disastrous consequences for business on this island, that close working relationships between the Irish government, the Northern Executive and the European Union were critical in navigating a time of economic turbulence.

“The reality is that the approach by the US government is the latest in a series of economic shocks that we have seen with Brexit, the pandemic, conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and these are not going to end anytime soon.

“That means the onus is on the Irish government to assess the vulnerabilities in our economy, in particular the concentration of corporate tax receipts among a small number of multinational corporations, and the lack of diversification among the FDI base in terms of sector geography and region.

“We must also address the infrastructural deficits in areas such as housing, energy, water, ports and airports, and to take the necessary steps to support our indigenous businesses, to scale, to increase exports, to grow talent right across the island, and to trade across the island and internationally.

“It is clear that many businesses will face challenges in these uncertain economic circumstances. That means that the conversation needs to move beyond words of reassurance to concrete action on how we develop and support our businesses.

“There are longer-term lessons to be taken from the current uncertainty because economic uncertainties are going to continue regardless of what emerges from the United States approach.

“We must therefore examine the current all-Ireland economic model, which leaves us particularly exposed in a growing uncertain world.”