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Irish PM Preparing for Any ‘Shock’ Trump Might Bring, Sky Says

Angela Cullen

24 November 2024 at 4:15 am·2-min read

(Bloomberg) --

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Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris said he’s taking steps to shield the country from “any economic shock” from the incoming Donald Trump administration in the US.

“I think President Trump does mean what he says in terms of his position in relation to trade and tariffs,” Harris said in an interview with Sky News broadcast on Sunday. “That’s why I’m preparing my country and working with European Union counterparts to prepare the EU for that change.”

Harris, who called the early general election for Nov. 29 in a bid to capitalize on a bounce in polls and a slump in support for the main opposition party Sinn Féin, said he’s setting aside funds to protect against a potential onslaught from US trade policy, according to Sky.

Ireland in October made its first payment to its new sovereign wealth fund, the Future Ireland Fund, which it aims to grow to more than €100 billion ($104 billion).

“Ireland can approach this with confidence,” he said. “We can never be complacent, and that’s why my party is setting aside a very significant amount into funds, future funds, to protect our country from any economic shock.”

With days to go until the vote, support for Harris’s center-right Fine Gael party has softened, according to the latest Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll. Harris, the Fine Gael leader, who rose in popularity since replacing Leo Varadkar, ranked level with his deputy Micheál Martin, who heads coalition partner Fianna Fáil, among respondents asked to rate their performance in the election campaign so far.

The poll was carried out Nov. 21-22, before an incident came to light in which Harris was challenged about government policy on disability services by a voter while campaigning in the southern county of Cork. Harris apologized on Saturday for brushing the voter aside.

Support for Fine Gael has fallen four percentage points to 22%, according to the poll, while backing for Fianna Fáil was unchanged at 20%.

--With assistance from Jennifer Duggan.

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