An Tánaiste Simon Harris
Minister for Finance
Ireland and the United States continue to enjoy an enduring and unique relationship based originally on our cultural and historical links but enriched through our shared spirit of innovation which has developed into our mutually beneficial economic relationship. As Minister for Finance for Ireland, I am committed to playing my part in ensuring that this relationship continues to prosper in this age of technological evolution and geopolitical uncertainties.
The US is Ireland’s largest trading and investment partner. When US companies invest in Ireland, they gain access not only to the EU single market of 450 million consumers, but also an environment of regulatory certainty with collaborative relationships between Irish Government, industry, education and research institutions. More than 800 US companies currently use Ireland as their European base, with many running their EU operations, R&D, data centres, AI development, and global operation teams from our island.
At the same time, Ireland is the 5th largest investor in the US with 780 Irish companies employing over 200,000 Americans across all 50 US states. I am immensely proud of the highly skilled talent base in Ireland that continues to succeed on this scale and innovate in a wide range of sectors.
The Irish Government continues to support this crucial two-way relationship by regularly reviewing our policies to ensure that they are the right fit to support the highly dynamic global business and technological environment. The current Programme for Government agreed to review the overarching tax regime applying to business to tackle growing complexity and ensure it supports growth. We have expanded the R&D tax credit regime and also the exemption rules for foreign dividends in recent budgets and my Department is currently progressing work on the reform of Ireland’s taxation regime for interest payments and I look forward to rolling this out later this year. Other initiatives such as the development of a new National Life Sciences Strategy to be published later this year also underlines this Government's commitment to maintaining an ambitious approach to future opportunities in key sectors and maintain our position as a destination of choice for investment.
The Government has made significant investment in the roll-out of the renewed National Development Plan, which will be the largest investment programme in the history of the State, representing a commitment of 160 billion euro over the next decade. We are investing in housing and sustainable communities, renewable energy and grid capacity, transport and mobility, digital infrastructure and connectivity, research, innovation and talent. But the potential of all of this investment can only be realised through the continued success of our people - their talent, skills and dynamism – supported by a Government committed to Ireland remaining an environment where entrepreneurism, research and innovation thrives.
It is clear over the past year that the previous certainties around global trading can no longer be taken for granted. While there is uncertainty around supply chains, market access, tariffs and regulatory alignment, there are also opportunities to adapt, to innovate, and maintain resilient partnerships. As Minister for Finance, I am determined to focus on how Ireland can leverage the huge advances in AI and innovation in technology and prepare Ireland to benefit from the fast-paced changes ahead. This will ensure that we are in a prime position to strengthen our close economic relationship with the US.