Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said U.S. drug tariffs will cost the economy thousands of jobs, and his focus is on staying competitive to protect the country’s long-term success
Ireland has a huge budget surplus in corporate tax revenues on US multinationals such as Apple and Pfizer, and is in a strong fiscal position. The Future of Irish Finance Donohoe said at a Dublin event that the government must use the surplus for the long term.
This is especially true that tariff uncertainty and global slowdowns mean that most tax revenues are at risk. The government may tighten its wallet strings this year, in stark contrast to last year’s budget, which was spread with one-time giveaways from taxpayers.
If the drug tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump are the key issue. Donoho warned that they could spend about 75,000 pharmaceutical jobs in Ireland.
“I will do everything possible to protect and prioritize capital investments,” Donohoe said. He believes that cuts bring long-term costs to the economy, businesses and job opportunities.
“One of my deep lessons from the global financial crisis is that when capital investments are lower, future costs are rising,” he said. “If our growth outlook does change, we will use our fiscal position to maintain and support capital investment and do everything possible to avoid cutting it again.”
The U.S. government has repeatedly picked out the Irish model, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Ireland comes at the cost of surplus. Trump even brought the matter up with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin at the White House reception on St. Patrick’s Day.
