From Huaco to Hackathons: Why Ireland Must Rethink Its Economic Future; Fast

The David McWilliams Podcast

David McWilliams

News & Politics

4.6 • 643 Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this week’s episode, we dive headfirst into the economic storm clouds gathering over Ireland, and the urgent need to act before we get soaked. We explore how U.S. tariffs, Trumpian MAGA economics, and a Europe shrinking on the global stage all combine to put Ireland in the danger zone. We break it down simply: Trump’s $50 billion in new tariffs? Instead of hurting China, they’re taxing Americans. If America turns fully inward, the knock-on effect for Ireland could be devastating. We're the most U.S.-adjacent economy in Europe, and with 150 billion euro sitting in Irish bank deposits and 80% of our corporate tax coming from foreign companies, we're dangerously reliant on the goodwill of multinationals who may not stick around. So we ask: what’s Ireland’s Plan B? We look back to the IFSC and Ardnacrusha, bold, nation-shaping moves that changed our future. We ask why we’re not doing the same now. We speak to Patrick Walsh from Dogpatch Labs, who tells us that we’ve got the ingredients for an innovation boom, talent, capital, multinational know-how, but not the policies to unlock it. Right now, France has taken the lead on AI. Meta's accelerator is in Paris, not Dublin. Why? Leadership. Focus. Vision. Meanwhile, Ireland dithers over housing and passes symbolic laws that could alienate our biggest economic ally.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Mark, just before we start, you know I know loads of people in London.
0:03.5	Yes, I do.
0:04.2	And they're sending me picks of big posters down in the tube station of money.
0:09.9	And it says, the greatest story ever sold.
0:13.6	That's it.
0:14.5	We are all over the London Tube, John, this month because...
0:18.1	Brilliant.
0:18.4	The paperback of money is out in the UK and all over the world,
0:23.5	apart from America, where we are publishing in November.
0:27.2	So if you are looking for a brilliant summertime read, if you are going through Waterstones,
0:33.8	where it is Book of the Month for July, grab yourself a copy of money and read the story
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	...

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