The Dublin region would be worst affected by tariffs and a trade war between the EU and US, as one in seven employees in the capital work with foreign-owned firms, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has said.
Research conducted by his Department has shown that 14 per cent of jobs in Dublin are with foreign-owned firms, compared with 11 per cent in the West and southwest, and 10 per cent in the midwest.
The numbers for other regions are somewhat lower: 7 per cent in the Border regions, 6 per cent in the southeast, and 5 per cent in the midlands and mideast.
The figures were compiled for the Department’s Annual Business Survey of Economic Impact which collects data from a wide range of enterprise agency client firms in the State.
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Mr Burke said that no region in the State would be left unaffected by US tariffs if they were implemented at the levels suggested by president Donald Trump.
“This shows that foreign firms – including those from the US – are a significant investor and job creator in each region,” he said.
Mr Burke was responding to a parliamentary question from Dublin Bay South TD Eoin Hayes this month.
With some 950,000 people employed in Dublin at the end of 2023, according to Dublin Chamber of Commerce figures, over 130,000 jobs in the capital might be impacted in some way by tariffs.
According to the Chamber, Dublin is home to the five biggest global software companies, nine of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies and half of the world’s top 50 banks.
Mr Burke also said that recent economic analysis conducted by the ESRI in conjunction with the Department of Finance looked at the impact of US tariffs in various scenarios, including different specifics, durations and reciprocal actions taken.
“In one of several tariff scenarios modelled, the analysis indicates that after four years of a 25 per cent permanent EU-US bilateral tariff, production could fall by 3.4 per cent compared to a baseline without such policies.
“This analysis suggests that the traded sector of the Irish economy, due to its strong global links, is likely to be disproportionately impacted by protectionist measures.”
He pointed out that ICT and manufacturing made up 18.5 per cent of total employment in the State.
“A rise in protectionism and a slowdown in trade would undermine activity in these sectors, and create an indirect, knock-on effect, in other domestic-facing industries,” he said.
Mr Burke referred to the action plan on competitiveness which the Government hopes to publish later this year.
“Given the heightened level of international uncertainty, the overarching objective of the action plan will be to focus on matters within our control by way of policy changes which can make the Irish economy more competitive and resilient to economic shocks,” he said.
