Photograph; Allison Robbert/APReality and the rules of economics will catch up with Donald Trump at some stage. Ireland could still get caught right in the middle of a damaging trade war. The lesson of 2025 is that there are constraints on Trump from his domestic constituency and also from the financial markets. Ireland also needs to urgently refresh its education and skills policies – even though the jobs market is clearly softening, notably in tech. A low unemployment rate and readily available jobs has left Ireland complacent.

Source: The Irish Times February 01, 2026 01:03 UTC