CEO Update: Elections in Ireland and the USA
The General Election has been called, with Taoiseach Simon Harris confirming Friday, 29th of November as the date the public will go to the polls.
Since the launch of our comprehensive ‘Electing for Business’ campaign and manifesto in September, Ibec has been lobbying hard to ensure that business priorities and the economic agenda shape the debate over the coming weeks.
The campaign sets out four key pillars for business and the economy, outlining policies to –
- Foster a competitive national economy
- Deliver a sustainable quality of life, infrastructure, public services and regional balance
- Secure Ireland’s role in the world
- Prepare the labour market for the needs of the future
To learn more about these priorities, read the manifesto document in full, access interesting case studies and podcasts and stay up to date on the campaign as the election unfolds, please visit ibec.ie/electingforbusiness or the Ibec LinkedIn page.
We are also planning husting events with candidates focused on business and the economy later in the month, I will be back in touch to share details soon.
The other significant electoral event of the week is obviously the re-election of President Donald Trump in the USA.
In analysing the impact on Ireland and Europe economically, it is important to keep in mind that over several years, American economic policy has vigorously focused on investment in the US market. This was true under both President Trump, through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and President Biden with the Inflation Reduction Act and Chips Act.
The results of the election in the US this week will result in a continuation and likely intensification of that trend. While we may see a shift from subsidies favoured by the Biden Administration back towards trade and corporate taxation measures, there has now been for some years a shared purpose in US economic policy. Europe will need to increase its own shared purpose and focus on competitiveness, which heretofore has been lacking.
Ireland will continue to offer a competitive corporate tax regime which benefits from significant stability compared to our competitors. Both Ireland and Europe, will have to take measures to strengthen our competitive edge. The recent Draghi report identified high energy costs, an excessive regulatory burden and an incomplete Single Market as the major challenges for European competitiveness. These are shared challenges for Ireland. On Monday we will launch a new piece of research which will set out a plan to reduce Ireland’s electricity costs and make material progress on our competitiveness journey.
As always if you have any queries or feedback, please let me know.
Kind regards,
Danny
Ibec CEO
