Dan O'Brien

The claim that young Irish people are being "forced" to emigrate is a nonsense. If it were true, there would hardly be large-scale immigration, with foreigners coming in their tens of thousands to fill jobs and, however hard it might be, put roofs over their heads.

It may be that Ireland can get away with not defending itself, as it did during the Cold War. But the risks are greater now with Ireland of interest to actors who care nothing about its "neutral" stance.

Driven partly by inflationary woes, an unusually large number of incumbent governments have been booted out of office by voters. How have Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil seemingly escaped the wrath of voters on inflation?

If mainstream politicians do not start reassuring the public that all sources of immigration are being watched and controlled in the best interests of voters, our politics might follow the nastier turn that has been taken in so many of our peer countries.

Trump’s first-term tariffs were small and on a limited number of goods. A blanket tariff on all imports of at least 10% is almost incomparable and would have an outsized impact on Ireland.

Terms such as ‘Global Ireland’ sound nice and inclusive, but in the emerging world order, Ireland will need to prioritise its European alliances and ties with the US and go much further in de-risking its ties with China.

Irish diplomats are not campaigners for global justice. More hard-headedness and less seeking to be the most virtuous in the room are needed in the conduct of Ireland’s statecraft.

The wheels of the Irish industry have never whirred faster. Yet, there are company and sector-specific risks that threaten Ireland’s economic prosperity, not to mention the potential damage of a Trump presidency. Budget 2025 will have to balance the risks with the opportunities.