Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 March 2026
116. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding the action her Department has taken to date to ensure Ireland’s trade relationship with Middle Eastern regions has continued and stabilised since the start of the war in Iran; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22373/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraBeyond the political, security, consular and humanitarian consequences, the Government is carefully monitoring the overall economic impact of the current Gulf crisis. This conflict is the latest in a series of geopolitical and geo-economic events that has had the overall impact of heightening uncertainty.
The primary economic impact of the conflict so far has been the sudden and large scale interruption to oil and natural gas shipments from the Gulf region, which includes some of the world’s major producers. This has produced sharp rises in prices which potentially affect every country, and may also affect supplies of fertilizers and petrochemicals.
There has been some disruption to general trade due to reductions in flights and unavailability of the Gulf ports, but commercial flights have in many case now resumed, albeit with some disruptions, and there are ports still free outside the immediate conflict zone. Ireland does little trade with Iran at present.
I convened the Government Trade Forum on 2 March and developments in the region were discussed. While our primary focus has been on assisting Irish citizens we have in parallel been carefully following the potential economic and trade impacts that may arise from the instability in the region. Even now, it is too soon to be certain what this conflict will mean for Ireland’s exports to the region itself, which are significant. However our Local Market Team, supported by the Headquarters Market Team and its component parts, are working to minimise trade disruption and continue to support Irish exporters to the region.
The most important factor for our long term trade relations in the area will be the duration of the conflict. My focus therefore, in concert with our European partners, has been to try and work for de-escalation and an end to the crisis. This has been a key theme in my many conversations with Foreign Ministers across the region since 28 February and in my engagement with EU counterparts.
