Written answer
Departmental Meetings
31. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update on the most recent meeting of the Government Trade Forum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50021/26]
Comment on this
The Government Trade Forum is the primary mechanism by which the Government engages with business and other relevant stakeholders on the latest developments in international trade. The information and real-time feedback received from the Members is extremely valuable.
The Trade Forum is one part of the comprehensive and deliberate approach we have taken as Government to ensure Ireland’s continued economic growth and resilience. This approach also includes the National Development Plan, Budget 2026, and the mutually supportive Action Plans on Market Diversification and Competitiveness and Productivity.
This year I have convened four meetings of the Trade Forum and the agenda and minutes of the latest meeting held earlier this week will be published on Ireland.ie in due course.
On 29th June, I was joined at the Forum by a number of Government colleagues, alongside CEOs of State Agencies and senior representatives from Irish business.
In this meeting, we updated members on the latest developments in international trade and discussed the upcoming Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU, including the Government’s Presidency priorities particularly those in the competitiveness agenda.
The Forum then engaged in a productive discussion on the economic aspects of security and defence, particularly the opportunities for Irish business in this space as well as a review of our national economic resilience. I was pleased to be able to update on the scale of investment in our national defence budget which has risen to just under €1.5bn this year and is 35% higher than the 2022 allocation. On the opportunities side, the message from the Government side was clear i.e. we are supportive of Irish business availing of the opportunities in these sectors.
The contributions at the Forum were confirmation of a real recognition of the ongoing importance of cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, research ecosystems, and support for Irish firms. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders to deliver on these and I look forward to convening a meeting of the Trade Forum again in the near future.