61. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions she is taking to prioritise economic competitiveness in the EU, strengthen the Single Market, advance simplification and support an ambitious EU trade agenda, promoting new free trade agreements, with appropriate assurances regarding sustainable development, human rights and the advancement of our economic interests; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37789/26]

The Government strongly supports the EU’s competitiveness agenda, and competitiveness will feature prominently as a core theme throughout our upcoming EU Presidency.

Ireland's experience of Europe’s Single Market as an engine for transformational economic growth has shaped our approach to EU policy-making. We want to bring that positive experience to bear during our Council Presidency term.

We will take forward work on the recently published One Europe, One Market Roadmap, which sets out ambitious timelines and deadlines for the agreement of proposals under our Presidency. The goals are grouped under 5 key pillars of competitiveness: Simplifying rules, a strengthened internal market, championing strong trade, reducing energy prices and decarbonising and driving the digital and AI transformation.

This roadmap will be vital to boosting European competitiveness and building our economic resilience. We will spare no effort in advancing this work, and we will rely on the commitment of all other Member States and the European Parliament to achieve these goals.

Simplification is a core part of the Roadmap, and a key enabler of Europe’s wider competitiveness agenda. Both the Letta and Draghi reports underlined the need to reduce the regulatory and administrative burden on EU companies, particularly SMEs.

The European Commission put forward ten simplification Omnibus packages in 2025. Each package usually contains several legislative proposals relevant to multiple Government Departments. My Department has been coordinating Ireland’s approach across Government to these packages, and we will take forward an ambitious simplification agenda during our Presidency. Simplification has to be about better regulation, not deregulation. We need to focus on reducing the regulatory burden, while maintaining high ambition in terms of consumer and environmental protections and other standards.

Ireland plays an active role in shaping trade policy, which is an exclusive competence of the European Commission. I will continue to actively represent Ireland’s trade priorities in the Council of the EU, including at the Foreign Affairs Council on Trade this Friday.

By acting together with EU partners, Ireland benefits from increased negotiating power, and I support an ambitious programme of EU negotiations with Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and the UAE.

My Department will prioritise the opening of these new markets to support the interests of Irish and EU businesses and market diversification, economic resilience and European competitiveness, and to strengthen the multilateral, rules-based trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core.

Ireland also supports the efforts of the EU to promote values-based trade, linking trade to sustainability issues such as climate change, labour standards and human rights. EU Free Trade Agreements provide the opportunity to set high levels of standards and commitments between trade partners through dedicated Chapters on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD).