Ireland will work to strengthen bonds with US - Taoiseach

Taoiseach Simon Harris has congratulated Donald Trump as he appears poised to clinch the US presidential election.

He and Tánaiste Micheál Martin have pledged to work to maintain and strengthen the historic links between Ireland and the US.

In a statement the Taoiseach said: "I congratulate President-elect Donald Trump on his victory in the US presidential election.

"Ireland and the United States have deep and historical bonds of people, and we will work to make these even stronger in the years ahead.

"The world faces many challenges and needs leadership to meet them.

"With the US and Ireland's shared commitment to democracy and international law, we can, and will, tackle these challenges."

The Tánaiste said that the economy and immigration were significant issues in this US Presidential campaign.

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Micheál Martin said that the differences between the two candidates showed that the Democrats were weaker on these issues, while the Republicans were stronger.

"I think inflation does have an impact; we’ve all gone through a fairly high inflationary period over the last two and a half years."

He described the campaign as a "rollercoaster" and noted Kamala Harris’s late arrival into the campaign.

Regarding economic ties with Ireland, Mr Martin said that "we have to be careful in terms of how we interpret all this."

"President-elect Donald Trump is not the first President-elect who has endeavoured to bring back American companies to the US, indeed previous Democrat presidents have said something similar."

"The realities of world economics, the realities of the need to be close to market and to access markets is a factor here, and the bottom line is that American companies are global companies."

"They need presence in Europe, they need presence in Asia, Ireland has been a very effective headquarters and base for many pharmaceutical, biopharma, medical device and technology and financial companies for the US in terms of their reach into Europe."

"We had a good working relationship with the Trump administration from 2016 to 2020, and we will engage closely with this new administration."

He added that there has been a more "protectionist" trend in American politics over the last ten to 15 years.

"There’s a journey ahead here, and it remains to be seen how all it transpires,"

"What’s key for Ireland is that we are an open trading economy, we depend on fair and free trade, any move towards protectionism would not be good for Ireland, and that’s a more general point across the world."

He said that many of the American companies which are embedded here are "here for the long haul" having made "substantial investments."

He said it remains to be seen whether the US will withdraw from the OECD framework.

Mixed reaction from Northern Ireland's political leaders

There has been a mixed reaction to Mr Trump's election by political leaders in Northern Ireland.

SDLP leader Claire Hanna said there is "serious concern" about what Mr Trump's election will mean for the US.

"My thoughts today are largely with people in the United States who are fearful about what this might mean for their future," she said.

"Donald Trump has repeatedly shown himself as someone with little respect for most people or the high office that he once again holds.

"It's very disheartening that his divisive brand of politics has been so widely endorsed, but we acknowledge the clarity of the election outcome.

"There is serious concern about what this means for the United States, Gaza, Ukraine and indeed the world. In each, the most vulnerable will likely bear the brunt of the decisions the Trump administration will take."

TUV leader Jim Allister said however that he believes Mr Trump had been the better candidate.

"It's for the American people to make their choice and I do envy the fact that they are entitled to elect those who make their laws, unlike us in 300 areas where laws are made in a foreign parliament," he said.

"Donald Trump was better than the alternative of Harris.

"On the issues which impact Northern Ireland, I trust that the historic premise of the United States - no taxation without representation - is something which could give him something to think about when it comes to us.

"As a man who respects borders, when he comes to deal with the United Kingdom I suspect he may be surprised we have a partitioning border down the middle of the UK and that may dissipate the inclination to do trade deals."