Ireland is facing a significant economic storm. The threatened tariff war with the United States could do immense damage to the current Irish economic model. Proposed changes to the US corporation tax could be catastrophic in terms of the Irish economy. Successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have put all our economic eggs in bargain basement corporation taxes. For sure, FDI is good and needs to be nurtured and promoted, but FDI is more mobile than indigenous businesses and it could move with ease depending on the prevailing international economic winds. Ireland is currently facing into headwinds blowing against us from the United States. Tariffs will decimate the Irish economy. Irish exports to the United States, relative to other European counties, are far more. Last year, we exported €72 billion worth of goods, €58 billion of which were pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Under the threatened tariffs, these products could become much more expensive and demand could fall. Many of the businesses will not accept that fall in demand and could shift their production elsewhere.

Then there is the whole issue of corporation tax. A significant change to US corporation tax could actually gut the taxation system in this country. It would create a huge hole in our budget. It could lead to a situation where we have to cut public services, infrastructural spend and maybe even increase taxes in this State. Ireland is looking at, potentially, a fall in jobs, an increase in taxes and a fall in GDP. Ireland has not seen a potential economic shock such as this for at least two decades. The actual word "austerity" could be discussed in this Chamber again if the US proceeds with this particular tariff war.

One of the things that amazes me so much is that so little is being done regarding this potential economic existential threat by this Government. In fact, this bubble has spent more time fighting a speaking rights row with regard to Government-supporting TDs' speaking time than it has actually developing a system to help in this regard. I asked the Minister for Finance a couple of weeks ago what he had done and who he had engaged with in terms of senior US Administration to mitigate the potential damage as a result of the tariff war and the Minister said he has no responsibility to the Chamber with regard to answering such a question. I could not believe it. This morning, the Minister for Finance was on "Morning Ireland", on which he was asked what the Government's strategy is to deal with trying to persuade the US not to proceed with tariffs against Ireland and his answer, basically, was that we have to show that there is a reciprocal relationship of benefit between the two counties.

Correct.

That is hardly enough in this regard.

Thank you, Deputy.

I am asking the Minister what engagement he has had with the senior US Administration? What engagement have the Taoiseach and Tánaiste had with the US Administration-----

Allow the Minister to answer.

-----with regard to trying to mitigate against the damage of a tariff war?

The veil has slipped for a second time when it comes to Aontú on jobs within our economy. It is not so long ago I was in this Chamber when Deputy Tóibín referred to people who were working for large employers as transitional jobs. Here today, the Deputy now referred to corporate tax profitability receipts as "bargain basement".

That is what it is.

I invite Deputy Tóibín to walk into the large employers for which many of his constituents work and tell them that the efforts that they are putting in are bargain basement and that the taxes their work is creating are bargain basement. I invite the Deputy to do a tour of the large employers across our country that have played such a critical role in paying the tax at a time we need it, and in the modernisation and creation of jobs within Ireland, and tell them that this is bargain basement. That is the Aontú agenda.

Will the Minister answer the question that I asked today, not the question I asked two months ago, please?

That is the Aontú agenda. That is your agenda, Deputy Tóibín. I hear it again and again. As the veil slips, it is also characterised by typical misinformation from the Deputy. I heard the Minister, Deputy Chambers, on "Morning Ireland" this morning. I heard him outline a number of different things, including the reality that we have to yet consider what the United States may do, and, in doing so, it is essential we make the case for trade that is mutually beneficial and that creates jobs and investment in America. The Minister also outlined the work the Government is doing, that he is central to, in understanding what the economic impact of the environment we are moving into could be, which he and I will jointly conclude with the stability programme update, the economic forecast that will be presented to the Government and the Oireachtas in a few weeks' time.

He also made the point. that I will repeat here today, that we are doing that in an environment in which there have never been more people at work in Ireland than there are today. There are 2.8 million people at work. I did not hear the Deputy refer to the unemployment figures that came out earlier in the week which indicated that the unemployment rate is nearly at its lowest ever in the history of Ireland or the fact that we have gone by a position of full employment. We are also in a position that we are running budget surpluses, the very budget surpluses the Deputy has always said, like his former colleagues in Sinn Féin, we should be spending day after day.

The Deputy concluded amidst his diatribe with one question to me regarding what kind of engagement I am having. I am engaging directly with the OECD, which is the key organisation from a tax perspective in this regard. I met its representatives last week regarding this. I have met them on two occasions in recent weeks. This Government, most notably through the engagement we will have with President Trump next week, will look at all ways and at all layers in which we can engage in what is indeed a great challenge to our country.

It is a point of amusement that the Minister's instinct is to get tribal every time an Opposition TD puts him under pressure.

Under pressure.

It is incredible, when a straight question is asked regarding the engagement the Minister, the Minister for Justice, the Tánaiste or the Taoiseach have had with senior elements of the US Administration, in what is possibly one of the biggest existential economic threats to Ireland at the moment, that in the three or four minutes the Minister had to answer that, the summation of his response was "zero". At this moment in time, the Minister cannot tell me of any senior engagement between his Government and the senior US Administration, despite the fact that pharmaceuticals are a target of these potential tariffs, on which we are so heavily dependent, and despite the fact that our corporation tax as a country is more dependent on those sectors than any other country. It would create a massive hole in our budget if that corporation tax were taken.

Thank you, Deputy. Your time is up.

I ask the Minister to leave the tribalism aside for one minute and answer the question directly if possible.

Leave the tribalism aside. That is a bit rich coming from the Deputy in this regard. He asked me the question regarding what engagement the Government, the Tánaiste has had-----

With the US.

-----with the Secretary of State of the United States of America during the week and the fact the Taoiseach will meet President Trump next week. I have engaged with the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, through a G7 meeting that happened last week. I have met twice with the organisation that is, on a global level, involved in dealing with this issue. That is the engagement we have had. I invite the Deputy to go back. I am informed that international employers in 16 different companies in County Meath employ 3,047 people in the Deputy's constituency and county. Again, I extend the invitation to the Deputy. Go into those companies-----

I said FDI in Ireland is good. I said FDI is positive.

Go into those companies and tell them-----

The Minister is arguing a point that nobody has made.

-----that the tax receipts they are involved in generating are bargain basement and-----

It is about protecting FDI, Minister.

-----perhaps he might tell them again that their jobs are transitional.

The Minister is arguing a point that nobody has made.

The point is about protecting these jobs.