Ireland’s newly appointed prime minister, Micheál Martin, has vowed to protect the country “at a moment of real threat” just days after Donald Trump threatened to wipe out its tax advantage and repatriate American jobs.
He was speaking moments as he was officially appointed as prime minister, but 24 hours after chaotic scenes in the Dáil caused the cancellation of his formal appointment.
Citing one of the founding fathers of the Irish republic, Patrick Pearse, he told parliament: “Every generation has its task. For us today, for this generation of political leaders, the task is to protect Ireland’s strength at a moment of real threat, while also addressing critical social needs. By any reasonable measure this is a challenging moment in world history.”
He added that Ireland could not “expect to stand unaffected on the sidelines” while operating an open economy competing with the rest of the world for foreign investment.
Central to the fight ahead was the strengthening of Ireland’s “three essential relationships with Europe, with the US and with the UK”, he said.
In a repeat of the novel rotating taoiseach deal Harris’s predecessor Leo Varadkar had struck with Fianna Fáil, Martin will remain in his new role for three years, with Harris taking over in November 2027. Martin last served as taoiseach from 2020 to 2022.
Harris will become the deputy prime minister, with a strengthened foreign affairs ministerial role to include international trade – a position already being nicknamed “minister for Trump”.
He is expected to launch an urgent diplomatic offensive in Washington to head off any threat from the Trump administration, with Ireland depending on multinationals for more than 50% of its corporate tax intake. Dozens of US companies including Apple, Microsoft, Meta, X and Pfizer have their European headquarters in Ireland.
