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LAST UPDATE | 6 May 2025
IRELAND’S PLACE IN the world is the subject of a government summit taking place in Dublin today, with speakers ranging from Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister to a Republic of Ireland football coach.
The government is developing a new strategy dubbed Global Ireland 2040 to guide how Ireland engages internationally and deals with global challenges. It replaces a previous version of the strategy that was introduced in 2018 and covered up until 2025.
The Global Ireland Summit at Dublin Castle today has been hearing from speakers that include the head of the International Energy Agency, the US co-chair of the ad-hoc committee to protect the Good Friday Agreement, the CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland and the president of the GAA.
Andrii Sybiha, the minister for foreign affairs of Ukraine, addressed the summit by video link earlier today, while assistant head football coach John O’Shea will take part in a panel on “sports diplomacy” this afternoon.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will also give a keynote address.
Speaking ahead of the event, the Taoiseach said that “in a rapidly changing and challenging global environment it is an important moment to discuss Ireland’s place in the world”.
Tánaiste Simon Harris, who spoke at the summit this morning, said that the Global Ireland 2025 Strategy “ensured Ireland is more adaptable to change, more able to advance our values and interests, and more responsive to the needs of our citizens abroad, in what is a dynamic international environment”.
He said the Global Ireland 2040 strategy “will provide an overarching framework to Ireland’s international engagement over the next 15 years”.
“The Global Ireland Summit is an opportune moment to think with ambition about how we further enhance Ireland’s place in the world, how we maximise our global footprint to promote our interests and values, and how we strengthen vital relationships with our partners worldwide.
“Turbulence in international trade also means we need to urgently consider opportunities to diversify into new markets.”
Speaking at the event this morning, Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, set out Ireland’s priorities ahead of our six-month presidency of the European Union next year.
Ireland will hold the EU Presidency from July to December 2026. During that time, Irish Ministers will be responsible for chairing meetings of the European Council and steering the EU’s legislative and policy agenda.
This will be Ireland’s eighth time holding the presidency. Byrne said this time around, we will have less opportunity than usual to “speak with our own national voice”.
“But I think we have a greater opportunity, greater than ever, to advance one of our most fundamental national interests, that is ensuring that we have a European Union that works for all its member states,” he said.
Byrne said Ireland’s presidency will be one “defined by action” and will make sure our reputation is “retained and enhanced” at EU agenda.
He spoke of how the EU faces real and tangible threats, which he argued are in many ways more imminent and defined than at any time since we joined the EU in 1973.
Byrne said that in advance of the presidency, he intends to visit every constituency in Ireland.
Later this year, Ireland will open three embassies in three EU candidate countries — Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Moldova. Byrne said this shows our commitment to EU enlargement.
With reporting from Jane Matthews
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