00:00Prime Minister thanks so much for joining us here in the studio. How worried are you about to the price
00:05of oil and everything that's happening in the Middle East given the already fragile state of European economics. I'm deeply
00:11concerned and I think from seeing the scale of the economic impact will obviously depend on the duration and the
00:18depth of the conflict. So of course from an economic point of view let alone a humanitarian point of view
00:22the most important thing we need to see here is de-escalation. The longer this conflict goes on the more
00:28concerning the economic impact.
00:29becomes and of course there is a degree of from an economic point of view here we are again in
00:34terms of the uncertainty channel. There's already been so much uncertainty in the world. This heaps further uncertainty on the
00:41European economy. Do you see any signs of de-escalation. Being very honest I know there's a lot of effort
00:46going on from many countries including positive efforts from the European Union. But I think the jury is out in
00:53terms of where that's going to go. But we really do need to see that de-escalation both from a
00:57humanitarian point of view and from a global economic point of view.
01:00Are you expecting the Irish government to have to intervene to do something on energy prices if they either stay
01:06at these levels or go up even further.
01:09So we're preparing a range of measures that we could deploy in a variety of scenarios. Of course we're trying
01:14to get the best macroeconomic analysis to make sure we make the right interventions because what could seem right today
01:19as you know could indeed be the wrong medicine tomorrow. But we are prepared to take action should that be
01:23required and we'll bottom out our analysis in the next few days.
01:26Yes. How do you think about that because again this is a timeline you don't want to make you know
01:30a rash decision too soon and then have to reverse it. But at the same time you need to give
01:34assurance to you to the people.
01:35That's exactly right. And if you look at the last 10 days alone and what we've seen in terms of
01:39the price of a barrel of oil we've seen it at $85, $120 down to $87 back to $100. And
01:44that's just a reminder of the volatility. But there is a point at which we'll have to call it.
01:48And I think all European governments and indeed the UK government I'm seeing the Chancellor of the Exchequer later are
01:54trying to get that intervention correct. So we are prepared in Ireland to act but we're trying to make sure
01:59that the course of action we take is the correct one.
02:02Because while we're talking about energy today should this conflict go on for a prolonged period of time of course
02:08the economic impact is beyond energy. Inflationary, impact on growth, impact on the Eurozone. So we do need to try
02:14and make sure we get the best possible data across the Eurozone in the days ahead.
02:18So what's the right way of thinking this for the EU to actually be more energy independent?
02:22This is the key point. I mean the key point is the European Union still finds itself too reliant on
02:29what happens in other parts of the world and still finds itself too impacted by decisions made by others.
02:34And this has to be a sharp wake-up call in terms of the acceleration of energy independence in the
02:40European Union.
02:41Ireland's president has condemned the violation of international law in the current conflict with Iran. Does the government back the
02:47same view?
02:49Our president has every right to speak on behalf of the people of Ireland and indeed has a mandate to
02:54do so.
02:55And she's right to remind us of the horrors of war and that we should never become numb to those
02:59horrors of war and the importance of international law and the UN Charter.
03:04Ireland always supports international law and we want to see a de-escalation as quickly as possible.
03:08The Spanish Prime Minister has been very vocal in actually going against what's happening from the US and the Israeli
03:15side.
03:16Again, would you support that view? Are you closer to the way the Spaniards are looking at this or other
03:22countries in the European Union?
03:23I think we've been very clear right across government that we want to see a de-escalation, that we want
03:29to see the conflict come to an end as quickly as is possible,
03:32that we very much believe in international law and indeed that this conflict, the intervention is not mandated by the
03:38UN.
03:39And Ireland has always been a very strong supporter of the United Nations.
03:42So we're deeply concerned about what we're seeing and we can never become a numb to the horrors of war
03:47and the impact on civilians.
03:49I mean, Ireland is a very close trading partner to the US. What does this mean for trade?
03:53If the US asks for full support of its war in Iran, what's Ireland's position on that?
03:59I don't think that will arise. I think Ireland's position on international matters is well known by all.
04:05I think our relationship with the US is deep. It's meaningful. It matters on both sides of the Atlantic, economically,
04:11but culturally, person to person.
04:13There's about 30 million people in the US who claim Irish heritage.
04:16But it's also OK to disagree with friends on occasion too and to have different viewpoints.
04:23And Ireland has very clear views around international law, around the UN.
04:26And indeed, we work with European partners in relation to that. But it's important to to show up and to
04:31keep talking and to keep engaging with the US.
04:33But what should the EU's position be, for example, in trying to secure the strait of our moods, something that
04:38seems very dangerous, but also unclear how that happens?
04:42Yeah, I think that is a fair point. And I know EU foreign ministers will give further consideration to this
04:47today, to what practical measures can we take?
04:50Because while there's lots of discussion, understandably, around cost alleviation measures that can be taken to help people across Europe,
04:57fundamentally, this is a supply side issue.
04:59And we need to ensure that there can be a supply of oil and certainty as that globally too.
05:05So we need to see what practically can be done at a European level. And I know foreign ministers will
05:09be considering that today.
05:10Deputy Prime Minister, how do you see this trade deal actually between Europe and the US?
05:13Because it's unclear if the old one holds. I mean, everything's been shifted to the Middle East. So we're not
05:19really talking about this deal anymore.
05:20I think that's true. The opportunity cost, and I say that purely in an economic sense, to this latest level
05:25of uncertainty and conflict is absolutely huge.
05:28It's, in many ways, taken attention off Ukraine. Putin has, in many ways, been a beneficiary of rising oil prices.
05:34And it is really important that we don't lose sight of very important issues around our trade agreements too.
05:39We worked very hard at a European level to try and agree a trade agreement with the US. It's imperfect.
05:45But it is very important that both sides now honour that agreement. We stand ready to honour it on an
05:50EU side.
05:50The relationship matters to both the European economy and the US economy.
05:54But it is important that they will be in a position to bring clarity from the US side as quickly
05:58as possible.
05:59How are you looking at defence spending? And actually, how much more can you increase, given the neutrality of Ireland?
06:04So Ireland is militarily neutral. In other words, we're militarily online. We're not politically so.
06:09We stand fully with the people of Ukraine. We're not immune from security risks.
06:13We have undersea cables. We're not immune from cyber attacks and the likes too.
06:17So we take very seriously our national security and we're investing more now in defence and security than ever before.
06:22And we stand willing to do more because, just because of our geographic location or our military neutrality,
06:27that doesn't provide a magic shield in terms of protection.
06:30And do you think that would be the case for all EU countries, given the uncertainty, actually, and the specters
06:35of war?
06:35I think so. I think absolutely.
06:37I mean, defence and security is such an important issue for the European Union.
06:42And we've seen many member states respond in different ways.
06:44From an Irish perspective, conscious of being militarily unaligned,
06:48our focus will be on increasing our own capabilities around radar, sonar,
06:53monitoring of undersea cables off the coast of Ireland as well.
06:57But defence and security is a really important issue of our time.
07:00So Ireland also takes the EU presidency a little bit later this year.
07:03What will your three main priorities be?
07:06Competitiveness, security and values.
07:07And when it comes to competitiveness, we have to remind ourselves that the European Union needs to build up economic
07:12resilience.
07:13And one very practical way we can do that is by getting Savings and Investment Union done for once and
07:18for all.
07:18It's been talked about for decades.
07:20I really believe it's within our grasp now.
07:23If people are pragmatic, if people are willing to approach these conversations in a can-do way that we could
07:28get this over the line.
07:29And during the Irish presidency, I want to try and see agreement on Savings and Investment Union.
07:34That would be a personal priority for me.
07:35Also trying to steer agreement on the EU's multi-annual budget, the MFF.
07:40Again, a very important moment for Europe at a time of huge uncertainty.
07:44And continuing to stand by Ukraine, of course, will be a fundamental part of our presidency and all EU presidencies
07:50in the time ahead.
07:51I mean, what does that look like?
07:52So trying to get people to invest more?
07:54Is it incentives?
07:55I think it looks like a number of things.
07:58It looks like continuing our practical support for Ukraine, finding ways of unblocking the very, very unfortunate and unconscionable Hungarian
08:06block on the loan to Ukraine.
08:09But it also looks at how we can help prepare for the day after, if there can be a just
08:13enduring peace.
08:14How we help Ukraine rebuild, how we bring Ukraine into the European family.
08:17Because the people of Ukraine have chosen their future.
08:19They want to be European.
08:21And I think that in and of itself is a security guarantee.
08:23Yeah, Deputy Prime Minister, I mean, on a very light note, there was also, like, you know, the greatest actress
08:28at the Oscars is Irish.
08:30Oh, we are so proud.
08:31She must be a source of, yeah, being proud.
08:33Jessie Buckley has lifted the mood of our nation at a time of such challenge in the world.
08:38She has done us immensely proud.
08:39And becoming the first female actress to ever win the Best Actress Oscar, I really want to congratulate Jessie and
08:44her amazing family.
08:45It's a very, very proud day for her, for her family and for Ireland.
08:49Deputy Prime Minister, thanks so much for joining us.
Comments